A MEMORABLE TEST N.Z. Wins In Sparkling, Satisfying Match

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31755, 12 August 1968, Page 22

A MEMORABLE TEST N.Z. Wins In Sparkling, Satisfying Match

(From J. K. BROOKS) AUCKLAND. “Thank goodness there isn’t a fourth test!” This remark by the New Zealand captain, B. J. Lochore, after the third and final test in the Rugby series against France at Eden Park on Saturday, expressed the feelings of many of his countrymen on the All Blacks win in a sparkling and satisfying match.

New Zealand won deservedly, 19-12, but the undaunted Tricolours scored three tries to two, and played with such verve and spirit that their deficit of 16 points at the interval was reduced bv more than half.

For once, the result was not as important as the manner in which the game was played.

The approach of both teams washed away sour memories of the second test at Wellington, and by giving vent to their abilities to attack, they produced one of the most memorable tests in post-war New Zealand Rugby.

The All Blacks, true to their word, played a 15-man game—and if the victory was gained chiefly through the medium of the Lochore-led forwards, with the very able assistance of Going and McCormick, this was no more than an accurate indication of where the strength of the game in New Zealand lies.

The French filled in the spaces left blank by the All Blacks with skilful and adventurous back play, supplemented by the wholehearted endeavours of the loose forwards. The Tricolours might have lost the war, but by scoring three tries against a dedicated New Zealand defence they won perhaps the most important battle. “We came to New Zealand to learn from the champion I All Blacks,” said the French manager (Mr J. C. Bourrier) after the match. He could well have added that in this one, at least, the pupils were also the teachers. For New Zealand, Going scored two tries, Cottrell dropped a goal, and McCormick kicked two penalty goals and two conversions. France replied with tries by Carrere, Trillo, and Lux, and a dropped goal by Dourthe. McCormick’s 10 points gave him an aggregate of 28 for the series, two more than the figure D. B. Clarke achieved in the 1961 tests against France.

Fitting Climax

Eden Park was in splendid order, the weather was fine, and the crowd of 55,000 was generous with its praise. The stage was set, and, to their everlasting credit, the players did not miss their cues. The villains of Athletic Park were forgotten as the game flowed on: there were only heroes at Auckland. Every man could say, with justification, that he played his part in the production of a fitting climax to the series, and to the tour.

But there were some who, through a blending of courage, determination, and ability, attained a greater stature than their fellows. Lochore and Carrere were exceptional leaders; Gray and Darga were the most faithful followers. Maso sprinted and swerved to the confusion of Kirkpatrick and Kirton; Going lived up to his name by the ease with which he scuttled past the French forwards; and McCormick, as solid and uncompromising on defence as ever, fielded and kicked like a champion.

Just a little ahead of all of them was Spanghero, whose tall, almost majestic figure seemed to be everywhere at once, so dedicated was he to his team’s cause. Little wonder that Carrere waited to escort him from the field. Little wonder that French journalists said he had never played a finer international game. The Eden

Park crowd will long remember him as he was on Saturday—fit, fearless *- fantastique. •- Carrere’s influence on the match began before the teams took the field. He won the toss and chose to play against the wind—contrary to M. Puget’s decision in the test at Wellington. New Zealand made the most of its initial advantage and led, 16-0, at half-time. But the shadows of the third test against the 1965 Springboks seemed to be creeping across the ground as France scored tries in the fourth and thirteenth minutes of the second half. A dropped goal six minutes later closed the gap to seven points; Gray, one of the five current All Black forwards who played in the Christchurch test of 1965—when New Zealand scored 16 points in the first half, but lost the match —admitted afterwards that New Zealand realised that it was slipping into dangerous water.

“We knew we shouldn’t relax, but we found ourselves doing it unconsciously,” he said.

This time, however, there was no landslide. McCormick kicked a goal from a penalty in the twenty-third minute, and the All Black forwards at once tightened their control and kept a firm hand on proceedings for the rest of the match.

As expected, the All Black forwards had to give ground to France’s improved squad of line-out jumpers, but they maintained their scrummaging supremacy, McLeod taking three tight heads to Yachvili’s one. France did no better in winning possession from the rucks, but the enthusiastic way they piled into these tussles caused the ball to be trapped more often than not This reduced the New Zealand quota from a most vital supply line—for when the All Blacks forwards first pushed the French back, and then raked the ball swiftly, Going was at his most dangerous.

This remarkable Maori half-back perpetually worried the Tricolours with his breaks from behind scrums and rucks, and his two tries were masterpieces of acceleration, timing, and elusiveness.

He showed great presence of mind in scoring his first try. The All Black forwards won a ruck so quickly that when Going shaped to pass to Kirton, one of the French forwards was still retreating and came between the two New Zealand backs. Going, who was in the middle of a dive pass, held on to the ball, then jumped to his feet and threaded his way, on the blind side, through a jumble of players to score. Going crossed the line twice more in the first half, but once was robbed of the ball by Spanghero, and on the second occasion the referee ruled the ball not correctly hooked from the preceding scrum.