LIONS FAIL ON WET GROUND

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28939, 6 July 1959, Page 12

LIONS FAIL ON WET GROUND

Otago Has Thoroughly Deserved Win, 26-8

The British Isles Rugby team floundered and failed on the mud of Carisbrook on Saturday. Its loss to Otago by 26 points to 8 was one of the heaviest ever suffered by an international team against a provincial side in New Zealand.

Otago’s victory, vigorously acclaimed by a crowd of 24,600, was thoroughly deserved. It was accomplished by strict application to Rugby’s basic principles, by the team’s tremendous will to win, and by the ineptitude of the British Isles backs in conditions which put their running and jinking skills at a discount.

Otago scored four tries to the British Isles’ two; yet.the game did not swing away from the visitors until half-way through the second spell. It was a fast and exciting match, although the strictness of the referee (Mr A. Farquhar, of Auckland) led to the award of 30 penalty kicks. It was the British Isles first loss in five games in New Zealand, but it was beaten by New South Wales, 18-14, whten playing one man short for almost the whole game.

Otago played magnificently. Every forward excelled himself, and when the pack swept through, ball at toe, It exposed cruelly the reluctance of the British Isles backs to go to ground to stop the rushes. The Otago backs handled safely, and they ran straighter and with more purpose than those opposite them.

The unwillingness of the British Isles backs to stop foot rushes was one major factor in the side’s defeat, but perhaps the greatest weakness was at halfback, where Mulligan failed badly. He was under persistent pressure, but when he was not kicking hastily for the line, he was sending out slow, lobbed passes to Thomas. The British Isles backs had no chance al all, with the inside pair so much at sixes and sevens. Time and again Thomas was standing flatfooted. or running very slowly, when he took the ball Thomas is a centre, and he was clearly unhappy at stand-off half. Panic Among Backs

But those further out also contributed to a very second-rate performance. The handling was very poor compared with Otago’s, and when Otago was on top in the second spell the British Isles backs panicked badly. The more desperate their efforts to make headway against solid tackling and a pack which had the bit between its teeth, the more ineffectual they became. The back-line was not recognisable as the effervescent combination which performed so brilliantly against New Zealand Universities. There were exceptions to

this criticism; Scotland played with considerable skill and tremendous courage, and Morgan, although getting few chances, was clearly willing to play the whole of Otago—and Southland if needs be—on his own. The British Isles forwards could not be blamed for the debacle. They were upset by the penalties given repeatedly againsi their best line-out forward, Marques, apparently for barging or for off-side play in the lineouts. On one such occasion he had a brisk exchange of views with the referee. The British Isles forwards out-nicked Otago in the second spell, an accomplishment not expected of them, and they gave their backs plenty of ball. In this they were perhaps misguided. It was a day for the ball to be kept on the ground, but the British Isles forwards, notwithstanding their individual skills, did not look capable of driving through as the Otago pack did so spectacularly at times. The Otago forwards revived memories of the Ranfurly Shield days in Dunedin after the war. Gillespie led them with spirit and intelligence, but all eight shared the glories of the day. They kept after the ball and at the defenders with grim resolve. Their dribbling was often superb, and devastating. The backs made the most of the chances their forwards gave them. When an Otago forward rush was halted, usually at the cost to British Isles of two or three players out of position and the game, the Otago backs went straight and hard for the gaps which appeared. The British Isles tackling was good, and it had to be. Nelson OntnaMing

Although the Otago paca was a single entity, and a tremendously powerful one. the play of K. Nelson, one of the locXa, was quite exceptional. Strongly-built, but remarkably quick on so sucxy a surface, he was with the ball all dav, driving, dribbling, rucking, tackling. His endurance was remarkable. for at the end he was still under a full head of steam. His backing up brought a try when a British Isles kick went astray. His ommission from the New Zealand Universities team is hard to understand, tor ne was reported to have played outstandingly in the universities' inter-island match. Conwey, on the side of the scrum and at the back of the line-out, was also first-class. He has eon-

siderable speed, but showed ability to control the baU at foot when at pace far in advance of the average. Irwin, massive and muscular, was at the top of his form, and so was Gillespie. Jennings was always on the job too, and the hooker, Stevens, apart from playing a particularly solid game, won three tight heads and conceded one. Batchelor, who is in only his first season of senior Rugby, played excellently at half-back. -He sent away consistently good passes to Bdwards, and although he is a light-weight. Batchelor stood up gamely to everything which came his way. The pattern of Otago's back play hinged completely on Edwards, He did everything safely and well. Mis grubber kicking was exceuently placed and timed; it added considerably to the difficulties the Brltian Isles had In meeting the threat of a slithering, muddy ball a yard or two ahead of an Otago pack in full cry. But when Edwards wanted the ball to go along the line, he handed it on to Jopson in the same stride, and his quick, safe transfers made Smith, the British isles number eight, a supernumerary—this although Smith stood a long way back from the end of the line.

Otago Takes Lead Jopson was sound, too, and he made a beautiful break at the start of the second spell. He went almost to the line with two men unmarked outside him, but elected to carry on by himself. He was taken, and his selfishness should have lost Otago the vital try which gave it the lead. However, the ball was nicked quickly from the ruck to Lloyd, who scored. Diack whose kicking brought 14 points, had little to do, and so did McAuley, until he scored the final try of the day. Leary had a comfortable day. the British isles tactical kicking being of interior quality, leaving him little running and ample time. If Nelson was the outstanding Otago forward. Faull was as prominent in the British Isles pack. He was in everything, he scored two tries, and all but scored a third. He does not look fast, but he is a strong and determined runner, as Leary would testify. McLeod played another very fine game. Smith covered a lot ot ground, but the pack, which enjoyed an advantage in weight 01 about 111 b a man. was not able to dictate the course of the game on a ground which suited Otago's methods admirably. Mulligan and Thomas, an unhappy pair, gave Price an impossible task. For O'Reilly, everything went wrong, from the first almost to last He dropped passes, mis-kicked, and ran into trouble every time the ball got near him. But Scotland was fine. He was one who went down on the ball in the teeth of the lorwaru rushes, he made some lovely takes in difficult positions, and he kicked soundly. Morgan, first at centre and then on the wing, tried desperately hard. He made two excellent breaks, through his determined running, but .hey were not adequately supported. The Play

The game was played in pleasant sunshine, but the mud and slush were inches deep The British Isles began badly when, after two minutes, Diack kicked a penalty goal after a line-out infringement. Batchelor was twice penalised for putting the ball under his hooker's feet, but the game was only 10 minutes old when Diack kicked his second penalty aoal. But the British Isles, attacking for the first time, tour mlntes later scored a try when a scrum went down on the OUao line. The British Isles pushed over the line and Faull went down for the try. Otago came baric with a foot rush of tremendous intensity, Scotland saving, ana when play went baric again, Faull scored a most spectacular try He broke loose with the ball about 40 yards from the line and went straight ahead. He ran past two or three defenders, and simply trampled Leary into the ground. Scotland converted, to give British Isles the lead . after 2S minutis.

The British Isles seemed to be getting firmly on top. There was a fine break by Morgan, and from rucks near the Otago line Mulligan was all but over twice. Just before the interval Otago was penalised almost on its own line, but Scotland, who had not been kicking well made no attempt to goal, a tap kick being used. Two minutes after the second spell began, Jopson made the break which led to Lloyd’s try. Diack converting easily. Then Edwards grubber-kicked beautifully. O’Reilly raced in from the far wing to gather in the ball, but his clearing kick went over his own line and Nelson was there as the ball bounced about the defenders, to fall on it.

Critical Period The game reached its crisis in the next few minutes. Two attempts at penalty goals which could have made the scores level were missed, one by Fault and the other by Scotland Then the British Isles hammered hard at the line for several minutes, and Faull was unlucky not to score. A try then could have swung the game again, but half-way through the spell Diack kicked his third penality goal to make the score 17-8. Otago was now firmly tn control, and the British Isles had to defend desperately. When a ruck was won quickly, the ball went along the line to McAuley, who had an overlap. He went in at the corner for a fine try. Eight minutes from the end another well-directed kick by Edwards had the British Isles in trouble, and Edwards himself was there to score after Irwin and Jopson had handled. Three minutes from time Diack kicked a penalty goal. In the last minute of the game, the British Isles at last succeeded with one of the all-in passing rushes which are the team’s strength. OReilly set the attack off. and about 18 backs ana f«-rw»rds handled in a movement which won 70 yards—a •feature perhaps, but a welcome one.

Harbour Dolphin.—The hope that Wellington may have found another Odo. was dashed on Thursday when the dolphin which sought haven in the harbour the day previous, left After exploring the harbour on Thursday morning the dolnhin. nicknamed "Pencarrow Pete" headed back for the open sea.—(P.A.)