All Blacks May Face Change Of Tactics

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30145, 31 May 1963, Page 8

All Blacks May Face Change Of Tactics

[By our Rugby Correspondent]

Any team which has lost it last three matches must start as underdog in a test match, and England will be no exception when it plays New Zealand at Lancaster Park tomorrow.

But it would be unwise to,under-rate England. The only loss that can have bearing on tomorrow’s match was that in the first test. Although New Zealand finally won the match easily, it was a hard, bitter struggle and it took a magnificent display by the New Zealand forwards and a return to controlled rucking to defeat England. * z

At Eden Park it took the All Blacks 60 minutes to subdue the English pack, and that was only possible because England had insisted on disputing superiority with New Zealand in the forwards and had neglected its backs.

as yet as a really effective attacking force. In fact, in the last two games, they have given only mediocre displays. However, if England is prepared to use the main attributes of its centres and threequarters—their size and strong running—much of the pressure will be taken off the forw. ds. Almost certainly New Zealand will try and use its backs far earlier in the match than it did at Auckland. And if England, also trying to avoid a head-on forward struggle, does the same, then it could be a test match with far more running by the backs than has been the case in recent years.

It is unlikely that England will follow the same policy at Lancaster Park. Certainly, England will still place considerable faith in its very solid pack, which will be strengthened 'by the inclusion of J. E. Owen and B. J. Wightman.

if the English pack is hot going to crumble in the second half, its tight forwards must give greater support when the ball is loose. New Zealand gained the upper hand at Auckland be* cause there were always five or six All Black forwards near the ball, while England often had one, or maybe two, there. This allowed New Zealand to develop momentum in its forward rushes which by the end of the game had opened up the English defences.

The inclusion of P. T. Walsh at second five-eighths is a strong indication that the selectors want to see the New Zealand three-quarters in action. Walsh, far more than Wolfe, is a player who sets up play for his outside men and this match could be the chance for I. N. Uttley to show the gifted attacking play which gained him his AD Black cap. However, no matter what amount of back play is used by both teams, New Zealand will have the trump card in its forwards. Even with Owen and Wightman included, England is unlikely to gain more possession in the line-outs than it did at Auckland, and in the loose England, unless it alters its game radically, will not have the applied ruthlessness of the All Blacks. That could be the decisive factor.

But this time it must use its backs to move play away from the arena of physical contact and not allow the All Blacks to exert the inexorable forward pressure which was the deciding factor in the first test.

England will have one advantage in this match denied to it in the first test: it knows what to expect from the rucking game. England cannot be expected to nullify completely the effects of the driving of the All Blacks, but this time the blind-side, which is an integral part of the rucking game, will not be left as wide open as it was last Saturday For that was where New Zealand scored its three tries. All efforts on attack on the open side, even with a plentiful supply of ball, never broke through the English defence.

But even if England is prepared to use its backs more often, it still has to face up to the fact that there will be at least 60 minutes of tough forward play during the match. What England must ensure is that this period is spread over 80 minute; and not concentrated into the first half and early in the second half as it was at Eden Park. Capable Forwards

Its forwards are very capable. D. P. Rogers, D. G. Perry, and B. J. Wightman will match the New Zealand loose forwards, but this time,

But even if its forwards do contain New Zealand, it is still difficult to see Ei gland winning the match, for although its backs are competent they have not impressed