OUTSTANDING ALL BLACKS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27308, 26 March 1954, Page 5

OUTSTANDING ALL BLACKS

SCOTT, WHITE, AND STUART [By the special N.Z.P.A. representative who toured with the All Blacks] AUCKLAND, March 25. Although the record of the fourth All Blacks compared unfavourably with those of the preceding teams sent by New Zealand to the British Isles and France, the country successfully maintained its reputation for producing great players. If it is possible for such distinctions to be established, R. W. H. Scott may be considered the finest full-back of all time. There would, too, be general support in the British Isles for the nomination of R. A. White as the best big forward New Zealand has fielded, and for the ranking of R. C. Stuart with the best field captains in All Black h£tory. Scott had uneasy moments in early matches of the tour, notably against Gloucester and Somerset at Bristol. He was then obsessed with the idea of putting thrust into back attacks as a means ox overcoming the difficulties encountered midfield in the opening matches. Accordingly, he tended to play further out than normal from the forwards and to take risks which caused uneasiness. With Bristol behind him, Scott cast foolishness aside. Thereafter he used defensive play as the foundation, and attacking play as the edifice. Everything he did was instinct with genius. Had White been as efficient with the ball in hand in the loose as he was in line-out, scrum, and ruck, he would probably be ranked with, if not ahead Ox, Charlie Seeling and Maurice Brownlie, but he tended to run too far and to rely too much on dodging a tackler when Others were well situated beside him. In every other respect White was tremendous. His vitality and vigour were astonishing, and particularly- at Bordeaux he spent himself to the last gasp. Stuart’s Leadership Stuart was a methodical, careful, and conscientious captain who spared himself least of all and who kept extremely sound control, especially of his forwards. If he had a fault it was his belief in the ability of the forwards to soften up every team. One of the great lessons of the tour was that in test matches backs and forwards must complement each other. K. L. Skinner only occasionally, and I especially in a very hard match against Neath and Aberavon, reached his superb ■ form of the second test against Australia : in 1952, but he played so consistently wen that British critics unhesitatingly called him magnificent. Apart from such young forwards as , R. C. Hemi, P. Jones, and W. H. Clark, another exceptionally fine forward was W. j A. McCaw. Then there was H. L. White, . who, with good cause, became the No. 2 . prop to Skinner. When he, Skinner, R. A. . White, and G. N. Dalzell were together ; in the scrum there was a remarkable i concentration of weight, strength, and . speed. > J. W. Kelly had the misfortune to be J subordinate to Scott, but he never quite . reached Scott's standard on defence. R. A. Jarden promised to be the sen- . satioq of the tour, but the difficulties of i the All Black inside backs turned the [ wing three-quarters into mere throwersi in. t M. J. Dixon, on the other wing, though I not so formidable as a scorer, became perhaps the most successful of the wing i three-quarters by ceaselessly pursuing . every prospect. i Many of the other players, notably . young and promising ones, had their days t and games of special merit and the great i glory of the tour was the match with the Barbarians, when everything went well.

LATE START OF TOUR

EFFECTS OF CHANGED ITINERARY [By the special N.Z.P.A. representative who toured with the All Blacks] AUCKLAND, March 25. In assessing the merits of the All Blacks' performances in the British Isles and France, it is of prime importance to make due allowance for the late start of the tour. By October 31, when the All Blacks played their first game, the 1905 and 1924 teams had each played 13 matches, and on that day the 1935 team was playing its fourteenth game. Each of the preceding tours finished about the end of the year, but at that stage- the 1953 team still four of its five internationals and two months of matches still to play. The change in the itinerary was made by the four Home unions’ tours committee at the request of the New Zealand Rugby Union. The British Rugby season begins in the, first week of September and finishes at the end of April. The first three All Black teams began their tours more or less at the opening of the British season. The fourth All Blacks faced Cardiff, which has every right to be called the strongest club in the world, after having played only six matches, against 15 already played by the club. Also, they faced international teams which had been carefully selected on the basis of form shown in several trial matches. When the Springboks of three years ago beat Scotland by 44 points to 0. the match was played in November as against a February fixture for the Alj Blacks, and the Scottish selectors had no even had a trial to work upon. This yea Scotland had already played France, anc its fixture with Wales was scheduled a fortnight before the match with the Al Blacks. In the event, of course, tha J match could not be played because o frost.

Achievements of Tour It is evident, therefore, that the task of the fourth All Blacks was substantially greater than that of any of the preceding teams. In the light of this, it is interesting to consider the achievement of the team. The fourth All Blacks renewed and perhaps strengthened the popularity of New Zealand Rugby—a popularity that is not accorded the South Africans. They reaffirmed the importance of solid scrummaging, and showed the need of some form of curb upon the activities of No. 8 forwards operating from the end of the line-out. They showed, too, that where there was some line of demarcation between backs and forwards, as against Combined Services, North-eastern and North-western Counties, Midland Counties, and some other matches (in each of which games the opposing team eschewed winging forward play), Rugby was still as grand a game to watch and play as it had ever been. Finally, they played a brand of forward play that would rank with anything in New Zealand history. I have tried in these articles reviewing the tour to lay due emphasis on the difficulties which the All Blacks encountered in back play and .which, in my opinion, mainly caused the natural feeling of disapointment aroused in New Zealand by a record that on the face of things compares so unfavourably with the teams of the past. In this connexion I would emphasise the importance to New Zealand Rugby of the international occasion. Rugby in the British and France is constantly stimulated and enriched by the different temperaments and techniques of the five nations. New Zealand, by contrast, is .sometimes, as will happen this year, left upon a line, with only the Ranfurly Shield to provide excitement. Because of this isolation New Zealand Rugby tends to become formalised —adventurousness is considered unsound. At its best British Rugby has an electric quality. One never quite knows what is going to happen next. This vitality would not do New Zealand Rugby any harm.

CANTERBURY SUB-UNIONS’ OFFICERS The following, officers were elected at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Rugby Sub-Unions:— Chairman, Mr C. W. McKeegan; vicechairman, Mr T. M. Wheeler; honorary treasurer, Mr S. Maxwell; honorary secretary, Mr.W. A. Hadlee; honorary auditors, Messrs Laurenson and Green; delegate to Now Zealand Rugby Union, Mr S. Maxwell.