he Half-Back Position Has Been The Cockpit Of Canterbury Rugby

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31416, 8 July 1967, Page 11

he Half-Back Position Has Been The Cockpit Of Canterbury Rugby

’’HE rather idyllic situation which exists at present whereby L. J. Davis has been appily and comfortably ensconced as Canterury’s half-back since 1964 contrasts sharply ith other years when the half-back position as the cockpit of Canterbury Rugby.

between 1947 and 1950 the allies of the selectors and Rugby public were ided between the Unisity player, L. T. Savage, 1 the Old Boys’ half-back, B. Vincent Arguments

rut the relative merits of two players waxed and led but never stopped lie Savage was playing in iterbury. Vhen Savage left Christirch in 1950, Vincent med assured of a regular :e in the Canterbury team he had to face a strong Henge from P. J. Creedy, tough, nuggety former ithland player and was n supplanted by the rist player for some tches. Canterbury has produced ee All Black half-backs ce the War, Vincent, Savand B. P. J. Molloy. But le of them commanded a ular place in New Zead teams. Savage toured ith Africa in 1949, Vin-

cent had two tests against the Springboks in 1956 and Molloy toured Australia in 1957 but did not play in a test. Savage was a neat little half-back. A quick but not particularly long passer, he varied his play well and had a diabolical kick over the scrum which would lob just in front of the would-be catcher as the forwards arrived. He was a good attacking half-back but his running from the scrum was not spectacular. His were darting thrusts close to the line and in one dub game against Technical Old Boys he scored three tries, all from scrums near the goal-line. Quick and precise in everything he did, Savage seemed likely to occupy the All Black half-back position for many years when he was chosen for the 1949 South African tour. But his lack of a really long pass and the slowness of some of the New Zealand first fiveeighths were capitalised on by the Springbok No. 8, H. Muller, and Savage, like many other members of that team, did not play for New Zealand again. Vincent occupied the Rugby stage in Canterbury so prominently between 1954 and 1956 that many might have forgotten his earlier tribulations when, after first playing for Canterbury in 1945, he had to vie first with Monigatti and then with Savage for his place in the Canterbury team.

However, if his career was one of stops and starts for some years Vincent had the last laugh on his critics with his successful captaincy of Canterbury and his many brilliant matches which finally gained him his international cap. Playing behind a magnificent pack of forwards and with some brilliant attacking backs outside him, Vincent controlled matches with all the skill and aplomb of a puppet-master. He seemed to be able to sum up a situation a second or so quicker than the opposition and his shrewd changes of attack, skilful deploying of his forces, and ability to force gaps with his own runs from the scrum made him the axis of Canterbury Rugby in those days. Vincent was a superb running half-back. His deceptively fast lope would carry him through a confused defence with his tongue characteristically poking out and the ball held in front of him like an alter offering.

He did have his critics who claimed that he was not prepared to mix it with the forwards and that his passing was sometimes too slow. Vincent, however, had the correct attitude that it was pointless for a half-back—-the player supposed to start most attacks—to be buried

on the bottom of a ruck. His passing at times seemed rather deliberate but that was because he had planned already what he was going to do. S. G. Bremner, who played many matches with Vincent, considered that he was the best half-back that he had played outside. Apart from his considerable Rugby ability, Vincent also made another contribution to Canterbury Rugby. With his droll sense of humour, he was a delightful after-match speaker. After a match against Southland, the referee, who had awarded a penalty which might have cost Canterbury the chance of winning, was introduced by the

name of Baron. “I wish his mother had been” was a sotto voce comment which, because of the quiet in the room became fortissimo, is still remembered and quoted.

B. P. J. Molloy took over Vincent’s mantle in 1957 and Molloy’s great game for New Zealand Universities against the Springboks in 1956 gained him All Black representation that year. A solid player, Molloy later found that his studies had to take precedence over Rugby and he retired from competitive Rugby in 1958.

Molloy was a very fine half-back. Playing in the accepted style then he was adroit at turning play back to the forwards. His passing was clean and quick with a lengthy flat pass when attacks were being mounted. Like Vincent, he too was a fine tactician and an excellent running halfback.

M. F. Whitta made a grand impression for Canterbury when he played against the 1957 All Blacks who had returned from Australia. His good form continued for some years and in 1959 he was included as

an emergency for the All Black team to play against the Lions at Lancaster Park. Whitta’s roly-poly build disguised an agility at clearing the ball quickly and a surprising burst of speed when he ran with the ball. He had a long booming pass which perhaps was inclined to float a little. Between Whitta and Davis came G. A. Stanley and B. A. Coulter—two dependable half-backs. Coulter, once he

left Canterbury, became a force in the fine Wellington team of recent years. Davis, the present incumbent, already has played for the New Zealand Juniors against South Africa and the Lions and his selection as an emergency for all of the four tests against the Lions last year suggests that his debut for New Zealand is not in the too distant future. Davis now a leading halfback at a time when half-

backs have to have even more skills than were required in previous years. A slick reverse pass is one of Davis’s accomplishments; a few years ago a reverse pass was hardly ever seen at Lancaster Park. A precise passer who clears the ball quickly off the ground,

Davis kicks well, is a determined runner and a dour defender.

In 1946, R. Monigatti played a full season for Canterbury and made a fine impression with his sound play. Another half-back to play with some skill for Canterbury was the Technical player, M. Logan, who deputised most ably for Vincent in 1951.