Rugby Volcano Appears To Be Dormant

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31134, 10 August 1966, Page 13

Rugby Volcano Appears To Be Dormant

'THE fine display by both teams in the second Rugby test at Wellington will have done much to ameliorate some of the friction caused by some of the earlier games on the Lions tour and the harshness of statements made by Mr D. J. O'Brien and New Zealand officials. In describing the start of the American Revolution, Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.” Who flung the punch or swung the boot that started the nastiness on this tour will never be known and it would be footling to try and blame any particular team or even any particular match for the foul play that has marred many of the Lions matches.

However, the first two games of the tour. Southland and combined at Timaru. did have a strong bearing on the subsequent play and attitudes of the Lions. Certainly there were incidents in those matches—particularly at Timaru—and mainly they came from the home side. But they hardly were the root cause of further troubles which came to a head at Christchurch and Auckland. Basically it was the deficiencies of the Lions which compounded into the rough and at times sour play of the touring team and home sides. Both Southland and combined exposed serious weaknesses in the Lions forward play. They found they could drive through in the line-outs and start surging foot rushes which usually ended up in fierce rucks and it is in this type of play that tempers can become frayed: particularly if it is an international team which is on the receiving end. It was after the buffetings at Timaru, when the pack often was swept aside by the ruthlessly crude combined forwards and the brilliant Lions backs floundered on defence when they also felt the brunt of upandunders and forwards rucking, that the Lions changed their policy and decided to get in first So at Dunedin for the Otago match they were bristling with aggression and the game was spoiled by punching. The Lions lost the fight and the game by a wide points margin and other provincial teams

got the message that this touring team was not equipped to hold a good provincial pack. Wellington capitalised on this: combined at Nelson almost achieved a major upset by the same tactics, driving, rucking, kick ahead, ruck, ruck, ruck. The Lions had to change their tactics, so back-play was reduced to a minimum, games became touch-line Rugby and after they had played Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Northland, New Zealand and in each match been subjected to a gruelling time in the forwards the Lions had had enough. The 110 line-outs against Canterbury provided the boiling point and the Lions and their managers who had been simmering finally bubbled over. There was an explosion at. Auckland but now this Rugby volcano seems to have become dormant: it is to be hoped it has. It seems now that the Lions pack will be able to hold its own from now on and this reduces the chances of further incidents. Last year the Springboks had a remarkably ineidentfree tour for the simple reason that their big. powerful, well-drilled pack was able to dominate most provincial sides. Therefore provincial teams were never able to loosen up the game and. given good possession, the South African backs were able to cut all sorts of capers, particularly if the ground was dry. On this tour so far, the Lions backs have not been a very potent force and this failing goes back to the forwards who have never been able to ensure quick and clean possession to the backs, even in minor games. Of course one cannot over-simplify the issue of rough Rugby by suggesting that if the Lions were stronger then there would be no incidents. There are some traits in New Zealand Rugby which have been apparent for years and finally became the centre of attention this season.

Too much hacking and kicking goes on under the guise of rucking: there has been too much obstruction in the line-outs and the fiercely competitive spirit right throughout New Zealand Rugby perhaps has conditioned not only referees but also officials and the public to accepting this as an integral part of Rugby, when, in fact, it almost has become a local phenomena. The many incidents which have marred this tour must have been distasteful to Rugby officials but at least some of the hypocrisy that surrounds rough Rugby when it is called “overrobust,” “a manly game,” “a game of physical contact,” as if that condones punches and kicks, has been cleared away now.

The Auckland-Lions game did a grave disservice to Rugby but in the long run it may have helped clean up the game for the violent reaction from officials and newspapers has brought a realisation to players that no longer will lack of selfcontrol be accepted as part of Rugby.