Front Row Forwards Are The Tank Corps Of Modern Rugby

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31030, 9 April 1966, Page 11

Front Row Forwards Are The Tank Corps Of Modern Rugby

I; RO NT-ROW forwards are 1 the tanks corps of modem Rugby; men. who because of their physical attributes carry out the bruising and battering in linenuts, scrums and rucks and forge the bridge-head which can be built upon by the infantry and cavalry in the team. Because of the tasks they have to perform, props seem to come from the same mould which produces a barrel-chested, thick-necked, sturdily built Rugby article varied only occasionally by a player with the craggy build of K. F. Gray. But then he came to the front-row from the locks. He was not actually born to the purple. It is because they are associated with physical strength that props have a certain sort of glamour and before every major tour stories begin circulating about the terrific strength of these players. Before the 1956 Springbok tour of New Zealand, H. P. J. Bekker and A. C. Koch were almost made into supermen

with stories about Bekker scrummaging against goalposts to toughen or tone up his neck muscles, a rather abrasive variation of a massage; Koch, the “iron man” of South African Rugby, and so on.

A. W. McDonald, the likeable Rhodesian prop in the 1965 Springboks, received the same advance publicitv. McDonald, said South Afri-

can papers, practised his scrummaging on his Zambian tobacco farm by pushing over trees; in 1960 he had buckled the All Black

captain, W. J. Whineray, when the All Blacks played Rhodesia.

Essentially a modest man, McDonald discounted these stories with a wry grin. The only trees on his farm, he explained, would need a bulldozer to even bend them. But there was no doubting McDonald’s great strength, particularly in provincial matches he wore down many opposing props, he said, “leaning on them.” Now the next player to come to New Zealand with a ready-made reputation is the Irish prop, R. J. McLoughlin, who is a squat sft lOin and weighs 15st 31b. McLoughlin, according to Irish supporters, was the man who was going to put the All Black front row in its place during the 1963-64 tour. He did not quite succeed. Gray and Whineray, although they do not have the reputations of “policemen” in the scrum, were not tyros as scrummagers and after some brief but harsh exchanges, an entente, which if not actually cordiale, was reached. McLoughlin, however, is still recognised as the best scrummager in the British

Isles and he will be a formidable member of the Lions front row.

Another prop who excited some interest when he toured New Zealand was A. Domenech—“The Duke” to French supporters, this colourful player, with a visage that would have graced any wrestling ring, tough and experienced though he was, never made much of an impact against the New Zealand forwards.

Then before all of these players probably was the most colourful, even exotic perhaps, of the lot—W. H. “Wild Bill” Cerutti, the durable Australian player who was never cowed by any opponent and matched by very few. Cerutti loved New Zealand Rugby; its hardness and toughness delighted him and he was mixed up in many a fracas on his innumerable trips here. Stories abounded about him. He claimed modestly that he was sent off twice in New Zealand but it was never reported. The last time happened against Bush. After one hectic ruck the referee singled out Cerutti and told him “you’re off.” Always an opportunist, Cerutti suddenly developed a limp as he walked slowly away. A first aid official rushed to his help and supported by him he struggled to the dressing room with a sympathetic clapping from the spectators. In post-war years. New Zealand bred some great props. J. G. Simpson, so broad of shoulder that it seemed he had to turn sideways when he walked through a door; K. L. Skinner, who took a pounding when he was a 19-year-old in South Africa in 1949 and then took his revenge in ample fashion in 1956. Whineray, said some overseas critics, was not a great scrummager. P. Du Toit could lift him; McDonald would twist him. But that never really happened in test matches; Whineray’s scrummaging ability was underrated because he was good at everything else that critics were inclined to assume that he must have a weakness somewhere.

The 1966 Lions perhaps do not have quite the collective physical proportions of the 1965 Springboks, McDonald, H. W. Parker and C. G. P. Van Zyl, but they have realised that weight and height are needed, and in D. W. Williams (Wales) they have an impressive figure of 16st 81b and 6ft lin It will be certain that the tests this season will again be fought just as bitterly as ever on the narrow front of the props.