NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL LESSONS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12499, 9 May 1906, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL LESSONS.

« . "QUICKLY FORGOTTEN."

"BACK IN THE OLD GROOVE."

(raoii our own oohmbfondkot.) LONDON, March 2k>. Mr H. Alexander, the well-known authority on fooUxail, has » good deal to cay to-day ebout Englieh Rugby football. Hβ takes a distinctly pessimistic view, as may be judged from the headings he has chosen for his article,- viz.:—" Short-lived Enthuaieem," "'All-Black' Leseone -Quickly ' Forgotten," " Britieh : Rugbyite* Back in the old Groove." Hβ cays:—"Now tha* the Rugby seaeou is nearly over, we aa*y take a general view of the progress cl.. the game through the past six months, «nd eeo to what extent the viflit of the New Zealanders has left it» mark. It muet frankly be admitted that, whereas at the height of their career, , the tlattery was sincere enough "to produce acertain amount of imitation, all four counti-ies have, however, now discarded ,tho innovations and returned to the old style. More then that, there has been a Terj distinct improvement in the play of at least England end ireland, eince they again adopted the gamo with which they are familiar, «nd it cannot be eaid that the display <rf Wales at Richmond was euoh ac to inspire one with any great confidence in their prowess under the new system. The whole case seems to <mc to h»re been made to cotttre in a poaut which was wrongly accorded the chief place. The diecusteon as to tho rival merits of the New Zealand and-Englien for- , mationa gradually dritted into one of tho advisability of playing seven or eight forwards, and little or no heed was paid to the placing of the reeb of the Held. Experience in thie, a* in many other things, o«e ehown ac that a half-imitation, whose offepnng Iβ a - ieeble hybrid, can *vail noUung. .«•..-, team ihat I know of, oertainiy nq firetckfie team, for any length, of tune, hae * adopted a root-end-branch policy and •. gonein for the New m ite entirety; yet, so dependent » their machinery ac a whole on rto ; ponont parts that thie half-wutation was not likely to be more eahefaetory. than would be the experiment of itting, - the engmee of •motor-car ma rail.. > way locomotive. We may aai **** the arrangement of eefen forwarde Mid ' eight bacte, for purely deleneiTe parposee, ac a measure only reeorted to »a cases of extreme need, for no team would be wortb he salt whiojx alway*; took the field in a defeneiT* fflood. . " The New Zealandere found, that by ( . increasing the of baoke' »»e- #- placinfi them intelligently they. oouldV vary tfaeix attack more readily, 4|nd, were often enabled to iemte theiropponente completely in the dark a* to the side from whieb. danger wa* to be. ' expected. They found that their,; attacking otrength, apd ooneequently. , their try-getting and matoh-winning etrength, lay with their back*, and accordingly developed a game which war to give them increased ooportunibem. But in order to put the reduced naxor ; ber of forwarde on more equal torn*-'. with their opponente they realised that that department of the game muet also , undergo alterations, or »t any rate < modifications. ■ Their forwards -werp now' to be a heeline-maohm*/ quite \ ftubservient to the baefce, and in order to attain tberr objeofc more than 1 ordw nary fekHl ia securing «od heeHng the ball was necessary. Hence came the. hookers, the lock, and the places in the ecrum, and, with these, »; increased efficiency in these several departmente. To make the most of the . eight backs, and to avoid crowding, the two five-eightiie and three three-quar-ters came into being, and tibfc arrahgement of the ooteidee, with Ihe one half end wing iorward, c the strength Of . the formation, of which the eeven faris only a corollary. It will be eeen from this that to pleyen extra/ back in a more or less indefinite poet- > tion, end to leave Vthe eertfa forward»; to muddle along ac Beat may, ja *' form of imitation which » but iE-calcu- > lated to strengthen the attack of a > team. Neverthelem, the » what w« ,. done in every case by the Home clohe, . even when tmey professed to he making "khe alteratione with a view to improv. Ed attack and not defence only. The net result of the whole experiment ha* been a complete and unqualified re- , turn to Uje old order of thing*, wnich n the result bent calculated to pfeaae most of both past and present Bngby enthueiaets. It may be mere,conservatism, but expreesione of approvel at the good old forward game played between Wales and Ireland were heard on every hand, end whatever the tractions a game confined to the backs may have for the uninitiated, there wiH always be c large—l hope a predominant—eeotion which will appreciate good forward play and a good fcrward Mm*. Such a game » by no means you of interesting play among the backs, but - entails searching for opportunities on their part, instead of havae every chance put in their hands by the for-. warde." „ A , _ In conclueion, Mr Alexander re- ' marks:—" What is abundantly evident in that if tho outeidee ere to 2se?B >* . all their own way, end the forwards to 'bo quite eubsid'iery to them, the thing ! murtta done half-hearted manner, '■ and something much more like the New Zealandera , game in its completenees - imist 1» learnt »and perfected by tne team which hopes to profit by this style lof play." I ■ ' *