Taranaki Match Taught Lessons

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28630, 5 July 1958, Page 5

Taranaki Match Taught Lessons

J/ROM the point of view of the Rugby public and the Canterbury forward selector (Mr R. C. Stuart), Canterbury’s win over Taranaki last Wednesday was particularly pleasing; but it is doubtful if the back selector (Mr W. F. Clark) will be feeling as jubilant. When Mr Clark considered his line for this match he was faced with the problem of choosing a second five-eighths who could defend as strongly as he could attack. With this in mind, Mr Clark evidently felt that the reg-

ular second five-eighths for Canterbury for several years, S. K. Henderson, lacked one of his requirements. There was only one player who would fill these conditions, S. G. Bremner, and unfortunately he was injured and unavailable.

Experiment Last Saturday, as an experiment, Mr Clark played the threequarter, A. E. G. Elsom, at second five-eighths and in that game it appeared as if the answer to Mr Clark’s problem had been solved. Elsom was not called upon to show his ability on defence in that game, but his defence had never been suspect and his attacking play at second five-eighths was quite adequate. It came as quite a shock, therefore, to see Elsom attempting to tackle J. F. McCullough on Wednesday in a manner which should be completely foreign to a former AH Black and provincial representative. Not only his tackling was at fault, however. In standing as shallow as he did throughout the game he V. Sykes no chance to open up play—even if he had been allowed to. Early

in the game, he landed himself in trouble twice when he had to take Syke’s passes flat-footed. It must now be quite evident to Mr Clark, therefore, that if Elsom is to be retained in the side, it should not be at second five-eighths. Another doubt which may have entered Mr Clark’s mind as a result of the game, could be about the ability, of B. M. J. Dineen at full-back. Dineen has never played as poorly as he did on Wednesday, and his form was too bad to be true. At this stage, hewever, there seems little justification for dropping him in favour of K. J. Brown, another excellent full-back. Dineen had an off-day on Wednesday, nothing more, but Brown on the sideline he cannot afford too many off-days.

Few Worries With the remainder of the backs, Mr Clark can have few worries. B. P. J. Molloy and Sykes had a particularly hard day on Wednesday, but did not damage their reputations. C. A. McDonald, at centre, did the little he was called on to do competently, and both wings. R. M. Smith and B. McPhail, never faltered on attack or defence. With further coaching under Mr Stuart, the Canterbury pack

should develop into a very strong unit. On Wednesday it was pitted against a bigger, heavier pack of forwards, who have played together for three seasons. The Canterbury pack had not had this opportunity, nor had its members much chance of training together, so that its display in this game was creditable in the extreme. Only with training will the pack acquire the polish displayed by Taranaki in its lineout play. The ability is certainly there.