LETTER BOX

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31724, 6 July 1968, Page 11

LETTER BOX

SCHOOLS' RUGBY MATCH

“We are concerned about remarks made in the article ‘State of the Union’ on Wednesday, attributing Australian line-out tactics to St Andrew’s College first fifteen in the game played last Saturday with Shirley Boys’ High School. The facts in this article are incorrect. “Shortened line-outs were adopted on several occasions, not by St Andrew’s but by Shirley Boys’ High. The St Andrew’s forwards were, as you state ‘a little bewildered about what they were doing’ because this was a tactic not practised or employed by the team. “A try was scored from the incident mentioned after St Andrew’s had managed to win the ball and passed it along the back

line. No forwards were involved in the movement itself. "At all games during the present season, St Andrew’s team has attempted to play the open passing game. The College coach strongly disapproves of the tactics adopted by the Australians and this spoiling type of play in general, and at no stage have our teams followed it.” F. FINNEGAN, , Master-in-Charge of Rugby. The line-out law now states that once a line-out has been formed players cannot leave the line-out until it has come to an end. It is quite obvious that if Shirley Boys’ High has adopted a shortened line-out there wotfld have been no

need for the St Andrew’s players to suddenly rush away just as the ball was to be thrown in. They would not have been there in the first place, as the team throwing the ball in dictates the length of the line-out The reporter at the match considered that the St Andrew’s forwards left the line-out after it had been formed. In the second half a similar tactic was employed and on . that occasion St Andrew’s was penalised. It was not meant to imply that St Andrew’s was copying the negative line-out tacticts used by Australia, but that the forwards had taken part in a line-out tactic which was illegal and was some evidence of the undue attention being paid to ploys in the line-outs. The reporter agrees that St Andrew’s College does not adopt spoiling play and made special mention of the splendid attacking play by the St Andrew’s backs ir -he second half of the game.