N.Z. COULD LEAD CRUSADE AGAINST ROUGH HOCKEY

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31512, 28 October 1967, Page 11

N.Z. COULD LEAD CRUSADE AGAINST ROUGH HOCKEY

'THE latest pre-Olympie 1 international hockey tournament in London, promoted by the International Hockey Federation, may well have increased confusion with regard to the choice of the sixteen nations for participation in Mexico next year, but New Zealand’s success in emerging without

defeat should ensure its inclusion.

Although New Zealand did not meet all the major teams, and was restricted to drawn games with certain opponents of modest recent records, enough was accomplished to suggest that it could provide strong opposition to any of the leading countries.

The partial eclipse of Pakistan and the narrow margins of India’s successes, combined with the general pattern of wins and losses by the other competitors, tend to confirm the impression that there is little difference in standards amongst the first 16 or more nations. This development has been taking place during the last 15 years, and is a logical product of the almost universal acceptance of speed, vigour, concentrated defence, hardhitting counter-attack, and solo dribbling, which have reduced the teams to a common level. It has excluded from their play the close stickwork, the swift, short passes within confined spaces and the constructive, attacking role of half-backs so necessary to the exposure of what has become a form of Italian soccer catenaccio

in the unwholesome and erroneous preoccupation with defence.

The real skills of hockey have been sacrificed, and the exponents of the so-called modern game seem quite unaware of the fact that recent soccer developments have produced some flaws in the theory of catenaccio. During their participation in the London tournament the New Zealanders were criticised in certain quarters for rough play, and reference was made to their shielding of the ball on their right side.

The critics would do well to consider the left-side tackle rule and its significance in regard to the acquisition and exploitation of skill in controlling and using the ball constructively. This rule is being largely ignored; its application would emphasise the mediocrity of those who ignore it, and its neglect has been the greatest single contributing factor to the decline in skill and to the increase in rough play. It is highly unlikely that the New Zealanders have been guilty of questionable methods. More probably they have been the victims of such, and, in the absence of informed and strict umpiring, have been obliged to defend themselves from illegal and bruising tackling. For doing so they are denigrated, but in fact they are drawing attention to the need for restoring to the game that pro-

hibition upon body play so necessary not only for its recovery of the true skills inherent in it but also for its survival.

If they have exerted any influence at all, their contribution will have been even more valuable in this respect than their performances in terms of match results.

It would appear that their critics are quite unaware of the vast potential for skill and artistry which hockey contains, and possess no knowledge of that historical background which formed the era in which Dhyan Chand and his colleagues dominated the world by a standard of ability which seems to have aroused more jealousy than admiration. These critics have made their contribution to the decline in standards, and are continuing to do so. Even the Indians have succumbed to the general malaise. New Zealand may not win the gold medal at the Mexican Olympics, but she could lead the world in a crusade against rough play and for a vast increase in skill in every nation. The attack would be upon the unscrupulous player, the weak umpire, the uninformed administrator, and even the International Hockey Federation itself, which has tolerated mayhem for so long. Such a contribution would be greater than a dozen gold medals.