Dive-pass Often Gives That Extra Punch to Rugby Rush

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 205, 30 August 1941, Page 5 (Supplement)

Dive-pass Often Gives That Extra Punch to Rugby Rush

Some utter nonsense is written from time to time about the dive-pass in Rugby. Critics see it as a stunt imported from overseas to confuse the nativeborn, and proceed to pour out ;i scornful attack on the enterprising young New Zealanders who would dare to break with alleged orthodox tradition. This is just laughable. The dive-pass was exploited in New Zealand long before Danic Graven was ever heard of.

In any case, the essence of Rugby is to try out everything, jpve everything a go that will speed up the game, and confuse the other fellow. Why condemn the dive-pass because it looks new and strange and "not the thing to be done in Pokoranga."

If a half-back comes along ■who finds he can pass swifter and surer by dive-passing, then for Heaven's sake let him do it.

To take an extreme case, a half-back might suddenly appear on the horizon ■who obtained best passing results with a-one-handed scoop motion. Well, why interfere? The best judges are the first five-eighths, and they want the ball to tie shot to them as suddenly as possible. They would not care about orthodoxy, even if the half-back toed it back with his boot, so long as it came with the right loft and direction.

But first it might be fair to let an rfjjector state his case. This is from the K&gby column of a recent number of the "New Zealand Observer":

"fane of the legacies of the Springbok tour has been a mania for the dive-pass, and at present half the donkeymen operating behind Wellington scrums setm to consider they are failing in their duties if they do not go off their feet in propelling the pill to the first five-eighth. Without wishing to discourage these imitators of Danie Craven, one might nevertheless point out that there is no point in giving a dive-pass when the ball travels no further than itjWould do if shot out by the orthodox method. "Craven Really Dived." "The whole virtue of Craven's terrific dive-pass was that he gained from it added length and impetus, so that it went to his stand-off half like a bullet. Most of the local practitioners merely lob the ball about four yards to the five-eighth and then flop down to make

the performance look artistic. They might do well to study the art of divepassing before attempting it in public, and as a guide to ambitious half-backs it is perhaps worth mentioning that when Craven dived, he really dived, and did not just sprawl.

"Even on a hard ground Craven would go down hard in a prone position and after a game the front of his jersey would be covered with dust and dirt. Those who are imitating him in New Zealand seem content for the most part to subside gently on hands and knees."

Certainly, there is more virtue in the arguments here put forward than in most of the objections brought against the dive-pass. It is a fact that the divepass should be employed only if it is to give the attacking side greater speed and thrust from the mark. Still, a young half-back must be allowed to practise something new sometime. He has to begin.

There is no law compelling him to keep in the same groove for ever. Most of the young half-backs experimenting with the dive-pass in Christchurch are doing a good job of work. At least, it helps them to defeat the destructive charges of the opposing breakaways.

The St Andrew's College half-back is one well worth watching in this connection. Lessons of 1937.

Remember, it was stagnation of mind and method that was wrong with New Zealand Rugby in 1937 when an

avalanche from South Africa descended on the land and buried *quite a iew reputations beneath it.

Many of the dyed-in-the-wool opponents of the dive-pass (and a 1937 New Zealand selector was one) contend that it temporarily puts the half-back out of the play as he is left sprawling on the turf while the ball travels to the first five-eighth. That is the foundation of their principal argument against it.

Cliff Jones, the great Welsh captain, bowls a nice, fast ball back to answer that one. Here it is from his book, " Rugby Football

" There remains one more general remark about passing from the scrum. It used to be, and to a certain extent still is, a fad that a scrum-half should not fall on the ground after passing, and that if he did he was a bad player; this criticism is made on the basis that if he falls on the ground he is temporarily out of action, and therefore cannot back up the consequent passing movement. It Means Extra Speed. "Certainly he is out of action, but it happens possibly once a season, probably less, that a scrum-half gets a chance to back up a passing movement within three seconds of having got rid of the ball.

" If a player passes better by falling on the ground, by all means let him do so (the actual tackle which often precedes the fall will add a certain power and speed to the pass). His object is to give the first five-eighth a

chance of doing something, not to back up the movement himself."

Think it out. How often is a halfback seen again in a passing movement started from the base of the scrum? Never matter if he keeps on his feet while passing, the opposing wing forwards almost invariably send him slithering to earth just as he has parted with the ball—to make certain surer.

As a matter of fact, the dive-passer often escapes the attentions of the wingers, and if his arms are springy he can rise again in a second or two unharmed—and undumped. Tour of Australia. \\ hen the 193S All Blacks toured Australia with Charlie Saxton, Berghan, and Jack Sullivan behind the scrum, their inside-back play was refreshingly clever and effective after the stereotyped methods adopted by NewZealand during the previous season. Read the following from the Sydney " Sun" of July 23, 1038, to get a glimpse of the reason: —

" New Zealand won, 2S-8 . . . Seen through the field glasses. Berghan's face was a study at the beginning when Saxon began to feed him dive-passes. Berghan looked amazed at the gaps left for him to dart through. After a while, there was something of the ' how long has this been going on' Mook about him."

In other words, the dive-pass, well executed, gave that extra second, that

extra yard or two's start to the fiveeighth which is so important in big Rugby of the modern kind.

Even though some may make mistakes, it is a sign of progress to see young half-backs trying out a method designed to help their team in the art of making headway to the other end. Give everything a go!