IF THEIR STEPS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18631, 4 March 1926, Page 3

IF THEIR STEPS.

EXAMPLE OF ALL BLACKS. CHANGES IN BRITISH RUGBY. (ntOJI OCR OW.Y CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON. January 21. Tho most recent indication that tho Rugbj' players of Great Britain have a tendency to follow in tho footsteps of the All Blacks is the outspoken utterance of V. G. Davies, the captain of the Harlequins, who has publicly stated his belief that tho remedy for the prevailing epidemic of too much touchfinding lies in the adoption of tho New Zealand rule penalising a player ior finding touch outside his own twenfylive. It is'agreed to be. a notable ©vent in the Rugby world to find such a prominent English player as Davies, tha leader of an essentially English club, pleading for such a drastic departure from existing practice as the New Zealand rule. Mr A. Kershaw ithe English international discusses the subject again in his weekly contribution to the "Sunday Express." Ho consfders that the suggestion by Davies is a straw showing how the wind is blowing, especially as it comes on the heels of Mr Rowland Hill's plea, in tho Rugby Union Annual, for a more tolerant attitude bv Rugby men in this country towards reasoned amendments of the laws put forward by other countries. "One striking point- Mr Hill made, which I do not think has received tho notice it deserved." the writer goes on ,to say, "was that, during the last twenty years, twenty proposed amendments have been suggested by New Zealand, and 110 fewer than seventeen of tlycnu are now incorporated in the rules of Rugby as played in Great Britain. As Mr Hill says', this proves two thiti2s: First, that the Dominions are in the habit of making wise proposals; and. second, that the II.U. is not quite the conservative body some people, imagine. "Lot mo add that it proves, too. 'hat: Rugby has by no means reached its limit, and that the process of evolution is going 011. Tho bounty of our great English ball game, as it seems tome, is this elasticity. Cricket, Lawn Tennis. Rugby, Soccer, have all evolved froivt rough beginnings into the attractive and delightful games of skill they now are. I should be sorry to think that Rugby has become static, and that no further improvement is possible. ITse Ball in the Scrum. "Take, for instance, the burning question of getting the- ball into tho scrum. There is no doubt that the patienco of spectators, as well as players, is often severely taxed by the spectacle, unfortunately becoming more common almost every week, of the half whose duty it is to put the bn!i into the scrum, vainly burling the ball at the impenetrable barrier of legs and feet set up by the opposing front rows. Minutes < of valuable lime are wasted in this way, with the result that the game is hung up. arid forwards are kept down, shoving their heads off, and expending energy which often they ill can spare. "The Rugby Union has tackled this problem by the recent amendment allowing the outside front-row men to hook for the ball simultaneously with its - being put in by the serum half, hut tho innovation has hardly been in force long enough to permit of judg- i ment being passed on its efficacy. At j present, judging by the interminable' scrummaging one sees, it has not been as effective as was hoped. Personally, I think it is largely a matter of accurate timing by the serum back, and

I will guarantee to make tho ball go clean through the scrum, whatever" the 'hooking abilities of tho front ranks. "I do not know any other reason for the present trouble, beyond bad timing by the half. Jt does not appear to exist in New Zealand to anything like tho extent it does here, and Miii, the All Blacks' serum balf was emphatic on tho point. He said his te«am were greatly puzzled by tho apparent inability, of our halves to get the ball into the scrum, and wanted to know why our referees didn't penalise the front ranks for obstruction! (Some of us thought the obstruction was sometimes the other way!) Wing-Forward Play. "In New Zealand and Australia, I am told, every one in the front rank is allowed to have his foot up before tho ball i 3 put in, but in practice this is confined to the outside men, the centre men standing firm, so that the half has no difficulty in getting it in lirst time. It may be that we shall have ultimately to follow this lead. I should add that some hookers liko the ball sent in hard, the reason being that it glances straight off the inside of the hooking leg through the second rank. I do not altogether agree with Davies that the wing-forward is killing back play. To me the battle of wit 3 between tho modern wing-forward, as we know him—such as Pillman, Yoycc, Price, and other spoilers of their type—and the half and stand-off half, is one of tho most attractive features of the game to-dav. The wing-forward is the bug-bear of serum halves, and, if he is fast enough, of stand-off halves as well. After all, if scrum halves would only concentrate on developing not only a quick paBS, but a long one, also, from the base of the scrum, they would effectually put their-partners, the standoff halves out of range o! spoiling forwards. It is just a question of competing with an added spoiler, and I look on wiug-forwards merely as additional incentives to increased speed oil the part of the scrum half."