French Unlikely To Stop All Blacks’ Unbeaten Run

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31730, 13 July 1968, Page 15

French Unlikely To Stop All Blacks’ Unbeaten Run

(By

J. K. BROOKS)

There is unlikely to be any liberty, fraternity or equality to be gained by the French Rugby team from the All Blacks in the first test at Lancaster Park this afternoon.

The All Blacks, unbeaten in their last 12 tests, are not in a mood to make any concessions, and the soggy ground will not be helpful to the French cause. Everything points to a New Zealand victory.

The All Blacks have recently completed an unbeaten tour of Australia; the Tricolours have had a break of two months since winning the Five Nations championship.

And, to make France’s task even more difficult, eight of

its test men will be having only their second match of the tour today. Lancaster Park oval was a sorry sight yesterday. Pools of water bore mute testimony to the soaking the ground has had this week. Muddy strips along the grandstand side-line and around the 10yd mark on the southern end of the ground looked full of treachery. The New Zealand players are more familiar with this type of surface than the Frenchmen, so it can be expected that they will display sounder tactics. Biit the condition of the ground and the strength and proven combination of the All Blacks are not likely to inhibit the French approach. Gambler’s Instinct France has big, strong forwards and talented backs, and with Lacaze at fly-half, the All Blacks will have to be prepared for the unexpected. Rightly or wrongly, however, Lacaze has given the impression on the tour that he is a Rugby gambler; a player who lives in hopes of turning up a six every time he throws the dice. The All Blacks, therefore, must be prepared for the chance of a break-through as well as maintaining a watchful defence. Lacaze drop-kicks with the inside of his right boot and he potted several goals at practice yesterday. A quick heel by the French forwards on the New Zealand 25 would be ideal for Lacaze, but the rival captain, Tremain, is unlikely to give him much leeway. Forwards’ Match Lacaze, too, will remember Tremain as the man who snatched the ball from his boot to score the All Blacks' only try in the second test of the 1961 series. The All Blacks have strength and experience in key positions. Tremain and the durable Meads will bind the forwards into a formidable unit, and New Zealand will benefit on both attack and defence from the presence of

McCormick at full-back and Macßae at second five-eighths. Both men have the ability to play the right game on a wet ground. The oval has seen worse days, however, and there is no guarantee that the match will develop into grim, slogging nine-man Rugby. But it is still probable that the fate of the game will be determined by the forwards. If the New Zealand selectors had gazed into a crystal ball they could not have made a more fortunate choice than that of Muller in the front row. The 17st Taranaki prop was most impressive in training yesterday and looks ideally suited to make his mark on today’s game. It will be a grand opportunity for New Zealand to exhibit its ability at driving from the line-out, with men such as Meads, Hopkinson, Tremain and Kirkpatrick to supply the impetus. Line-out Specialist

The French, too, showed competence at peeling and wheeling from line-outs and scrums at practice yesterday and their reverse passing as the moves developed was impressive. Spanghero will be

a leading figure in these variations and Dauga will be the king-pin of the line-outs. The French technique of palming the ball in the lineouts, however, might lead to trouble, Dauga, Spanghero and Cester are all skilled in this practice, but unless they can exercise a Meads-like control over possession, they would make their half-back, Puget, an easy prey for Kirkpatrick, Lister and McLeod. In the rucks and mauls the French forwards are unlikely to yield the ball easily, but the solid, unified look of the New Zealand pack has persuaded the French selectors to include Salut in the side, chiefly for his speed on cover defence. The blond flanker is also an extremely sharp attacker, and the All Blacks cannot afford to let him slip through their net. Both back-lines are full of enterprise but it is likely that they will have to cut their suit according to tbeir cloth today. Kirton’s grubber kick might prove to be the most effective attacking weapon of all. New Zealand should win the match, if only because the French are still in the throes of team-building and the All Blacks are well-versed in each other’s play. But the winning margin probably will be small.

There will not be a repetition of France’s 32-3 loss to New Zealand on the same ground seven years ago.