Forward Power Too Great For South

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30782, 21 June 1965, Page 15

Forward Power Too Great For South

(From Our Own Reporter!

WELLINGTON, June 20.

Tremendous forward power, skilfully directed and crushingly applied, brought North Island a resounding victors’, 25-14. against South in the fifty-seventh inter-island Rugby match at Athletic Park on Saturday.

W. J. Whineray and his fellow test forwards of the British tour —K. R. Tremain, B. J. Lochore, W. J. Nathan and the Meads brothers—gave a magnificent display of driving and rucking to roll back South’s plucky- challenge.

» The black-jerseyed forwards scored five of their team’s tries and achieved a two-to-one advantage in the battle for the ball.

South Island, buffeted by the vigour of an opposing pack which averaged 151st a man. was rarely in the hunt up front. But the resolution shown on defence and the enterprise of the backs on attack made South’s contribution to a splendid game a notable one.

As an expression of the type of Rugby with which New Zealand will confront the Springboks in the coming series, the game could not have given cause for greater confidence. The best aspects of the play were the wholehearted application of the forwards and the purposeful way the ball was moved about. Kindled Memories

The inter-island game is the shop window of New Zealand Rugby and the standard of play exhibited kindled memories of the third test display by the All Blacks of 1956 against the last South African tourists. North’s victory was all the more meritorious in that its ranks were vastly disorganised Two of the original selection, R. W. Caulton and K. F. Gray, were unable to play ana three others, J. L. Collins, B. T. Thomas and M. W. Williment, retired injured during a 12-minute period tn the middle of the first half. For two-thirds of the match. North had a hooker playing at prop, a full-back at second fiveeighths. and a half-back at fullback. The three replacements. M. A. Herewini, D. M. Connor and F. J. Colthurst, had all played in the preceding trial match.

During this period, too. South lost its half-back, C. R. Laidlaw. who was showing excellent form, but L. J. Davis (Canterbury) made a capable substitute and South’s backs continued to have the better of the rearguard actions. Scintillating Runs

W. M. Birtwistle, on the right wing, captured the imagination of the crowd with his scintillating runs. He was the outatanding back on attack. The five-eighths, E. W. Kirton and B A. Watt, also played ex tremely well. Tremain. now a hefty l*st bui who retains all his mobility, scored three tries for North Whineray. C. E. Meads and P fl. Murdoch scored one each and K. C. Briscoe converted two and kicked a penalty goal For south, Birtwistle scored two tries and W. F. McCormick kicked two penalty goals and a conversion.

A shattering burst by the North forwards in the first 10 mnutes of the second half really decided the issue. The side scored three tries in this period to consolidate the advan tage gained by holding South to nine-all in the first half while plating into a stiff wind. The South players were cast about like corks on an ocean

during thia period of North supremacy. But, characteristically, the side fought its way back to score one try and narrowly miss three others.

Whineray’s Leadership The key to North's success lay in the astute leadership and intelligent play of Whineray, allied to the ferocious power of the second row forwards and Lochore. Whineray, besides scoring himself, engineered two of Tremain's tries and that scored by Meads by driving deep into South’s ranks, turn ing in the tackle and flipping the ball to an unmarked colleague. Tremain was a tremendous force in the loose and the try i he scored by dropping his left shoulder and charging right through a group of six defenders was one of the most redblooded acts of the match. Nathan made two startling runs with the ball, but was a little below the standard that caused him to be dubbed "Panther’’ three years ago. Colin Meads remained undisputed king of the mauls and won much of the ball for his side, but his habit of retaining possession after a line-out to draw South's loose forwards into the ruck placed his already beleagured backline under further pressure. For all-round excellence, Lochore gained full marks. In driving ahead or running with the ball he was the equal of ‘remain. and in the line-outs he assisted the Meads brothers to win the ball 33 times to bouth s 12. Stan Meads was the essence of solidity, and McLeod, while overshadowed in general play by his opposite, B. F. Duncan, won four tight-heads to one.

Kicked in Stomach After being felled by an accidental kick in the stomach in the first half, Briscoe, with characterstic reslllience, played a game notable for its sounness and shrewdness. He kicked, to be sure, but he also passed effectively. Murdoch, a quick-moving five-eighths, prob ably kicked more than Briscoe, out there was a suspicion that he was doing it to save the weary Herewini outside him iJcKay was the best of the lack-lustre North threequarters, and Herewini made one dazzling break to pave the way for Whineray’s try. Willirnent was sound, and nothing but Collins was bursting with pace and penetration in minutes he was on the field.

But it was South’s day in the backs. Birtwistle created a spendid impression with his swift running and solid tack ling. On his try scoring runs he was given an overlap by I. S. T. Smith and McCormick, respectively, and then followed a straight course to the line beating Williment easily on the first occasion and leaving Connor bemused on the second. Kirton and Watt teamed ex cellently in the five-eighths, they were sound and sensible in everything they did and showed more imagination on attack than their opposites. Skilled Dribbling in the IS minutes' play be fore he injured an ankle, ‘Laidlaw created a better impression than his rival half-back, Briscoe. His service was swift and accurate and he made two skilled dribbling bursts. McCormick did not have an opportunity to show his attributes on defence and made one or two minor errors of kicking and handling. But when he ran with the ball it was to good purpose and even Colin Meads took a second look at the

stocky full-back after he had attempted to bump his way past the 16st All Black. The left wing, Smith, was a potent force on attack, but his defence was sketchy. Davis made a most creditable showing as the replacement half-back, and Arnold was a much more active centre than R. M. Rangi. But it was to Arnold’s sorrow that an electrifying 75 yard movement by the South backs that should have produced a classic try ended with the redheaded centre being borne to the ground five yards from the goal-line after making an inexplicable change of direction. Watt provided the impetus for the move and Davis, McCormick and Kirton joined in. When Arnold received the ball only one defender was left and Smith was unmarked outside him, but Aronld cut back infield to disaster. South Thrust Aside South’s forwards had little chance against the opposing dreadnoughts, and they were often pushed back or thrust aside without ceremony. But E. J. Hazlett grew steadily in stature as the game progressed and J. M. Le Lievre and M. R. Dunne strove courageously in the rucks and mauls. D. J.‘’Graham drew the loose strands together expertly, but it was not a day for him to shine.

The referee, Mr J. P. Murphy, contributed to the spectacle by allowing the game to run. He awarded as few as 14 penalties in the game, only four of them in the second half. The teams were:

North Island.—M. W. Williment. D W. McKay. R. M. Rangi. W. L. Davis, J. L. Collins, P. H. Murdoch, K. C. Briscoe, B. J Lochore, K. R. Tremain, C. E. Meads, S. T. Meads, W. J. Nathan, W. J. Whineray (captain), B. E. McLeod, B. T. Thomas. M. A. Herewini replaced Collins after 15 minutes, F. J. Colthurst replaced Thomas after 25 minutes, and D. M. Connor replaced Williment after 27 minutes. South Island. —W. F. McCormick, W. M. Birtwistle, D. A. Arnold, I. S. T. Smith, B. A. Clark, E. W. Kirton, C. R. Laidlaw, H. Morrison, D. J. Graham (captain), R. H. Dench, M. R. Dunne, D. W. Clark, E. J. Hazlett, B. F. Dunean, J. M. Le Lievre. L. J. Davis replaced Laidlaw after 18 minutes.