THE ALL BLACKS PLAY AGAIN

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 784, 30 July 1954, Page 12

THE ALL BLACKS PLAY AGAIN

BOB STUART’S ALL BLACKS, by Terry McLean; A. H. and A. W. Reed, 15/-.

(Reviewed by

R. G.

Wilson

landers lost a considerable amount of sleep over Rugby football, literally and figuratively. Solemn post mortems darkened many a Sunday morning. And now, with the scars aching only when the wind is from a Welsh or Gallic quarter, comes Terry McLean’s book, with a title which pays a well-deserved compliment to an outstanding leader. Mr. McLean was official New Zealand Press representative travelling with the team, a position not without its difficulties for an honest and candid critic. On the author’s qualifications, no better authority could be quoted than Mr. N. A. McKenzie, who writes in the Introduction: "I travelled for some time with the All Blacks and was able to compare Mr. McLean’s reports with the games played. I found them interesting, very readable, impartial and fair." [os summer many New ZeaIn spite of the brief period since the end of the tour, the author has managed to place things in their proper perspective in a remarkable manner. He writes good functional English, clear and fluent, with a pleasing absence of clichés and none of the literary pretentiousness that adds little to the merit of some books on cricket. He recap-

tures the tensions of the big matches without any straining for effect, and throughout the book gives evidence of his ability as an acute observer and shrewd judge. Approximately half the book is taken up with 10 chapters on various aspects of the tour, while the other half contains detailed accounts of all 36 matches. This book does much to discredit the suggested labels for the 1953 team — "The Incomprehensibles"’ or "The Indescribables." A short chapter on the tour preliminaries precedes an interesting long chapter with generous and revealing pen portraits of all the tourists. In the, chapter,. "Controversial Aspects," the author contends strongly that the substitution of Bowers for Haig would not have achieved all that its advocates claimed. He considers the Haig-Bowers issue an unjustifiable simplification of a much more complex problem which is bound up with the modern emphasis on defence and safety first. The kicking of the inside backs he found wearisome in quantity and indifferent in quality. Several competent British critics share his opinion that the prime weakness of the backline was a lack of subtlety in the direction of the midfield attack. His views on training methods and the value of more team talks may provoke lively debate; but he is temperate and persuasive, giving reasons and making constructive proposals. A high tribute to the quality of the opposition and some travel impressions complete this part of the book. It is generally admitted that objective descriptions of sporting events tend to be dull and usually fail to answer the fundamental question why one team does beat another. Description and interpretation are fused in a most satisfying way in the detailed match accounts, which are surprisingly fresh and interesting. Most of the 25 well-produced photographs afte of incidents during the games, with an almost inevitable preponderance of close-ups featuring phases of forward play. Photogenic backs. may have some reason to feel slightly disappointed, although facing page 77 there is a memorable photograph of R. W. H. Scott wearing a top hat and an expréssion quite as baffling as his own sidestep. At a time when many sporting books try to magnify trivial incidents into major issues, it is particularly pleasing to note the author’s firm and unbiased handling of such events. He neither minimises faults of the All Blacks nor becomes semi-hysterical over some of the obvious injustices they suffered. For the statistically minded, an appendix of eight pages gives all the figures mecessary, reminding us that "Tiny" White played in no fewer than 30 matches and Skinner in 27-prodi-gious efforts for of their type. ' The final paragraph of this. first-class work will be endorsed by most of its readers: "If this tour could.but check the grimness of Rugby in New Zealand and restore in all players a true sense of recreation, of physical well-being, above all of enjoyment, it would serve

the game a nobler purpose than any unbeaten record, no matter how delightful this may look in the history books of the game."