France May Use Short Line-Out—On Attack

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31728, 11 July 1968, Page 19

France May Use Short Line-Out —On Attack

France would not hesitate to use the controversial two, three or four-man line-out in the first test at .Lancaster Park on Saturday if the situation warranted it, the acting manager of the touring team (Mr A. Garrigue) said on his arrival in Christchurch yesterday afternoon.

However, this tactic would be used only when the team was attacking. “It will never be used as a defensive measure,” he emphasised.

Speaking through an . interpreter, Mr Gar- | rigue said that Aus- ' tralia had been forced i to adopt such extreme tactics on defence because it could not get the ball from line-outs. In desperation, Australia had to try something new. Mr Garrigue arrived in Christchurch with the team to find rain falling and a heavy ground now a cer-l tainty. And for the French-j men, who had been pinning their hopes on a dry ground I to enable their fleet-footed ■ backs to play the runningpassing game at which they excel, it was a dismal sight The touring party was officially met by the president of the Canterbury Rugby Union (Mr C. H. McPhail) and other members of the local union. Line-Out Rulings In the three provincial games played so far there had been no problem with

the referees, Mr Garrigue said. -- Their interpretations had generally been understood but he was concerned that they overlooked infringements at the end of line-outs. The team throwing the ball in had the right to determine the length of the line-out “They don't seem to be so worried about this aspect of play as referees do in France. There, they are very strict On this,” he said. When asked what he thought the outcome of the test would be, Mr Garrigue said that France would definitely start as the underdog. If the All Blacks played as well on Saturday as they did when they were in France last season, the Tricolours stood only a 10 per cent chance of winning. “But if they play as they did in Australia, France will have more chance,” he added. Party Not Split After three games, the i players were only starting to settle down but they were in fine spirits and looking forward to meeting New Zeai land. There was no sugges-

tion that the touring party was being split into two teams, one for the main Saturday games and one for the mid-week encounters. It was quite possible that the team for the second test would be quite different, he said.

One thing Mr Garrigue is sure of is that his players are not playing to the limits of their abilities.

“They can play much better than they are at the momeht and I am sure they will improve greatly as the tour progresses,” he said. The greasy conditions which seem inevitable for the test may affect France’s desire to play open football but the team would do so whenever possible, he said. Gashes And Bruises On the subject of rough Rugby, Mr Garrigue was emphatic that the French players could say the same things about the opposition they had met as had been said about the tourists. Quite a few French players had received gashes and bruises. He denied that the French players had deliberately

played roughly in any of their games and also said that his players had not been provoked by the opposition. Much of the ill-temper had been caused by the hard contact between forwards, encouraged by the tactical up-and-under kicks. He said he would take the same approach to the test as the assistant manager of the New Zealand team (Mr F. R. Allen), who has said he will instruct the AU Blacks in pre-match talks not to indulge in any rough tactics. Replying to criticism of France's tactics against Otago by Mr Allen, Mr Garrigue said that he had been told by referees that there had been many games rougher than this in New Zealand. “I saw New Zealand play Australia a few weeks ago and it did not use kindergarten tactics on that occasion,” he added.