THE 1935 ALL BLACKS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21906, 6 October 1936, Page 13

THE 1935 ALL BLACKS

GENEROUS ENGLISH

REVIEW

SPORTSMANSHIP PRAISED

“TRIUMPH OVER DIFFICULTIES”

A generous yet critical appraisal of the strength and weaknesses of the 1835 New Zealand Rugby team which toured Great Britain is contained in the editorial section of the “Rugby Football Annual” for 1836-37. While pointing to the lack of success of the 1935 team—compared, of course, with the remarkable performances of its predecessors of 1905 and 1924—the annual refers gratefully to the fine spirit in which the teams met and the happy nature of the tour as a whole. “The Hew Zealanders were far too good sportsmen to accuse themselves by making excuses,” the editor says. “They recognised their own weak spots but they preferred to talk of the strong points of their opponents. The latter, for their part, preferred to think less of facts and figures than the excellent spirit in which most of the matches were played. “The very few exceptions to this pleasant rule, it should be granted at once; were due to an excess of local keenness and the' scarcity of good referees. The restraint of, the New Zealanders on these occasions was admirable. Indeed, of the whole party of 29, only- two—one back and a forr ward—seriously offended against the rules. Calculated obstruction was the sin, and then was committed on only a lew occasions. As some of the home sides Offended by the way In which they inserted the ball Into the scrummage we should feel suitably humble in- dealing With such delicate subjects. Wing-Forward Retires

‘The main point was that the tour was a happy one for all but the unlucky ‘crocks’ and, perhaps, one or two others of the touring party who apparently could not Justify themselves as players. One can only hope that even those-unfortunates felt at home in the best sense of the word. And may one add without patronage that the management of the team, if not above criticism, was above reproach, Mr Meredith was a man of courage and character, mostly invisible but charming. New Zealand, like Great Britain, however, is apt to ignore the value of strong captaincy on the field of play. “Broadly speaking, after a promising start at Devonport, which,, however, proved a Pyrrhic triumph—in it two key men, Page, the first five-eighths, and Hadley, the hooker and soundest forward,, wore badly injured—the third All Blacks .were, in danger of losing much of the prestige that serves all touring sides so well. Happily, the disturbing and somewhat unexpected sight of the so-called winging forward, operating as ,an extra scrum-half, ended with the second match. In answer to friendly protests the ‘obstructionist,’ as Britain will always regard him, was withdrawn into the scrummage at halftime “qn each occasion. Undoubtedly contributed to a pleasant tour. •* Was the decision, tq use the 3-4-1 pack formation when at least three things were evident:—-. (I> th&t the theory of the converging shove to lock the front row was not applied; (2) that the exceptional weight of the South Africans, who often \ .were able to .‘walk over the ball’ Was hot there; (3) that the 3-4-1 formation seldom was exploited as a quick-heeling machine. “No less important was the fact that, with Page a casualty, the back play sadly lacked the essential straight running and drawing power at first five-eighths. Oliver conceivably might have remedied the defect, but he was used as a centre except against Woles, When he took the place of the injured Caughey at second five-eighths, Oliver was- the most constructive of the backs, ..but much of his work was wasted by having to make openings In the three-quarters line Instead of at five-eigths. Caughey, a runner With a fine .stride, but liable to be suppressed by , close marking and heavy tackling, scored some first-class tries, but he was not a constructive player in the full sense of the words. Griffiths became the chief first five-eighths and, in defence wafi magnificent. His picking up of the rolling ball and - clearing under pressure could hardly have been : improved upon. In attack he sadly lacked the penetrative power and .elusive brilliance of the old All Blacks —he was the mere shadow of a Hunter, for example.

Confidence Sapped “To be fair, the bad period of the forwards early In the tour must have sapped the confidence of the backs. There were moments when the whole side played their part and then the backs of the third All Blacks showed form which was very good indeed. Griffiths in the end lost his place to young Tinditt, whofalled, In a.new position for him, only fromwant of experience. Tlndill was feared for his drop-kicking. Solomon had his moments but lacked confidence. Page showed himself to be a . penetrative runner and New Zealand may well have been desperately unlucky to have had him Injured beyond full repair.* Discussing the other backs, the editor says that Hart had the speed and polish, and given more runs must have scored many mere tries, Mitchell was a strong and fine player who looked as if he should have been a centre but actually played all his best games on the wing, Sadler, the hero of the tour, was "dead game, cool, a splendid passer, and the possessor of a sllpaway that would have cost British teams many more tries if the All Black forwards had not been held for most of the time.*’

The Outstanding Players

Gilbert was such an essential player that he appeared, and no doubt relished it, In 28 out of the 28 gaffies. the article continues. “He had the physique and the easy spirit to do so. Gilbert really was over-tall for the position, but it was only one or two sides which realised that long-legs cannot turn or kick as quickly under intense pressure as short-legs. None the less Gilbert was a superb catcher of the ball and mostly a sound touchfinder and place-kicker. Sometimes, too, he showed a fine sense of attack. “Broadly speaking, the touring team triumphd over a general situation that did not make thing* too easy for them. The outstanding mayors were Gilbert. Hart, Oliver, Mchell. Sadler, and Hadley. The last-mentioned was not a dramatic player but in many ways he was the complete forward from the British point of view. Perhaps, as the chief try-scorer, Caughey should be included, while the Hore was not far behind Hadley. Lamboume was another sterling front-row man. Men* Sch g tdbe a highly useful occupant of, the back row on great occasions Hadley recovered from hxs mjuiy in timo to help his fellows refind themselves in the scrummage. Slow heeling, however, tended to be a serious weakness. _