Quality Forward Play At Carisbrook

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28658, 7 August 1958, Page 13

Quality Forward Play At Carisbrook

mud confined the inter-island Rugby game last 9 Saturday almost entirely to the , forwards and an assessment of • the strength of the back play was .-Dot easy. But the standard of . forward play was particularly heartening. Although height and weight in ■ the forwards are confined mainly to North Island players this year, the South Island is not without some great forwards who can, as they showed on Saturday, produce just as good a standard of Rugby. It was also pleasing to find that the big North Island packmen have great ability as well as the which modern , Rugby demands. The North Island pack on Saturday was so well-balanced that it is doubtful if more than three South Island players at most could hope to gain selection in a New Zealand eight—D. J. Graham, M. W. Irwin and D. Young. Several other South Island players distinguished themselves, but because of lack of size and experience they have little chance of selection for the first test against the Australians on August 23. Weight Question On Saturday’s game. S. F. Hill would seem a logical selection, for he played inspired football, but if he was to be given a lock position, New Zealand would have to be prepared to drop some weight in the scrum: both C. E. . Meads and I. N. McEwan are heavier. The same applies to W. D. Gillespie and M. R. Dunne, both loose forwards whose weights are well below that of E. A. R. Pickering. Neither of these South Island men could expect selection over the other flanker, P. F. Jones. I. J. Clarke and R. C. Hemi were not available for selection in the North Island team, so that for the front row there are five

main candidates. Although Irwin played a grand game on Saturday, both he and W. J. Whineray could not grumble if the selectors did not consider them, for in fighting as they did on Saturday they allowed personal differences on the field to interfere with the real purpose their presence there—to play football. Irwin appeared eager to play football — and in fact played much better than Whineray—but he allowed himself to be goaded into a retaliation which did neither player credit. The No. 8 New Zealand has such a heavy Pack that it could afford to have a comparative light-weight in P- J- Graham as No. 8. Graham a better side-ranker than a ‘ No. 8, but he is too good a player to be left out of a side, and there i are no other number B’s of outstanding merit. . Not for a long time has New i Zealand had so many good threequarters from whom to choose. . South Islanders have not seen J- R. Watt and P. T. Walsh this year, but North Island reports i indicate that both are playing • good Rugby. As well there are

R. R. Cossey, R. F. McMullen, E. S. Diack, C. A. McDonald and B. McPhail in the running for test selection. McMullen, even on a treacherous surface on Saturday, showed his great ability and Cossey has shown before that he is a very strong and determined runner. McDonald had no- chances on Saturday but, with McPhail, his ability is well-known in Canterbury. McPhail, a very promising

player, could possibly do with another year in representative Rugby. The big Waikato full-back, D. B. Clarke, is a certainty for New Zealand teams for some time to come, not because of outstanding skill, but because of his tremendous goal and line-kicking. A Problem The second five-eighths position might set the selectors a more difficult task. Here the main contenders are T. R. Lineen and C. Prain. Lineen has already represented New Zealand in Australia but Prain, wjth only a Colts* tour of Japan to his credit, still requires further experience. Lineen has, however, had something of a chequered career in first-class Rugby and he is not the complete second five-eighths. But there is little available outside these two.

The Taranaki first five-eighths, R. H. Brown, is undoubtedly the best player in this position in New Zealand, but the young Canterbury first five-eighths V. C. Sykes could not but have impressed the New Zealand selectors last Saturday with his handling, speed, and the manner in whifli he scored a brilliant try. Four half-backs are in the running—K. R. Davis, B. P. J. Molloy, K. C. Briscoe and L. T. Townsend. Although Davis was selected half-back for the North Island team, reports from the North Island suggested that Townsend was the best of the trial half-backs of last week. Molloy is the only South Island half-back in the running. He played slightly better than Davis last Saturday, but his form this season has not compared with that of last year.