N.Z. BACKS FOILED

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

N.Z. BACKS FOILED

New Zealand tried, and failed, to emulate the French backs on attack. Although Thorne twice broke past his marker in the first half, and O’Callaghan and Stephens ran hard and purposefully, the French defence ran them all to earth in a most busi-ness-like fashion.

It became clear that the All Blacks’ most potent form of attack rested with the forwards, and their massed charges, followed by a ruck and then a run or a high kick by Going, gave the side its best chances of crossing the French line.

Had Spanghero not been on the field, it is highly likely that New Zealand would have gained greater reward for its efforts. It was the French No. 8 who foiled Going’s first bid, and it was he who tackled Gray three yards from the line when the All Black prop looked certain to score between the posts. On three or four other occasions it was Spanghero who stood between New Zealand and the French goal-line, snuffing out movements by catching the ball with his huge hands, or bringing down the player in possession with a vice-like grip. McCormick meant as much to New Zealand as Spanghero did to France. One crunching, head-on tackle of Bonal saved a certain ■ try, and France’s exploratory kicks were fielded surely and returned with interest. McCormick has not en-

joyed the best of health during the series, but on Saturday he was very nearly back to his best—nippy, zestful, and courageous. France’s greatly improved showing added substance to what Mr Bourrier and Mr A. Garrigue, the assistant manager, said throughout the tour: that if the French forwards could win a reasonable amount of ball, the backs would do their utmost to put it to good use.

This, in effect, was what happened at Eden Park. The French forwards, largely due to Dauga’s efforts, broke even with New Zealand in line-out possession, and gained 46 per cent of the ball from all sources—more than the figure they had estimated was necessary if France was to have a chance of victory. A Fine Try

In spite of some ballooned passes by Berot, the French backs ran with speed and daring; they seemed to be able to create the overlap at will. The New Zealand defence was at times bemused by switches of direction, and outflanked by the speed of the passing. Unlike New Zealand, the French team concentrated on developing the breadth of their attacks, and the All Black cover defence was never allowed to accumulate rust.

France’s finest try, fittingly scored by the captain, Carrere, ably showed the delights of French running, passing, and backing-up.

Berot ran on the blind side after a scrum. Carrere raced round from the open side to take his half-back’s pass. From this point, the ball was passed in to Maso, and out to Lux, and although the left

wing was stopped, Carrere. Dauga, and Billiere were on hand to take the ball over the line for Carrere to score. Maso delighted the crowd with his penetrating runs, and Dourthe, Trillo, and Lux applied a little French polish to all their moves, to the further delight of the crowd and the despair of the All Blacks. Forward Power

The New Zealand backs, apart from Thorne, were anonymous figures in set play, but Cottrell and Stephens showed their facility at snapping up chances in the loose. Some of New Zealand’s troubles in the set pieces stemmed from a falling-away in the standard of Going’s passes in the second half; the tendency of the pass to drift with the breeze added to the difficulties. McCormick. and Cottrell had to carry out some quick retrieving and clearing for Carrere was ever alert. The New Zealand tight forwards played with power and precision, Lochore guiding them deftly along the right lines. Gray and Meads were full of honest endeavour, while Hopkinson used his great strength to advantage. The ankle injury which kept Carrere out of so many matches on the tour was undoubtedly a great misfortune for the French. Carrere, fast and enterprising, was the best flanker on the field and the inspiration of his play had a marked effect on the efforts of his fellow forwards.

The creditable conduct of both teams was due to the control exercised by Carrere and Lochore, and to the firm handling of the match by the referee, Mr J. P. Murphy.