No Excuses Offered For All Blacks’ Defeat

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32359, 27 July 1970, Page 24

No Excuses Offered For All Blacks’ Defeat

(From

T.P. McLEAN)

PRETORIA.

There were no excuses from the All Blacks for their 17-6 defeat by the Springboks in the first test at Pretoria on Saturday—because none were needed. The All Blacks were beaten fairly and squarely by a very much better team.

The All Blacks began inauspiciously by committing several errors. Within 12 minutes, the bitter fruit of these was nine points to a South African team which in quality was at least 10 points better than any team fielded by the 1965 Springboks in New Zealand. And after South Africa had kicked a second penalty goal for a 12-0 lead before half-time. New Zealand’s hopes pretty well departed.

They revived somewhat when McCormick —■ strangely nervous and uncertain in most of his play—kicked a simple penalty goal in front of the posts.

There even seemed a possibility of a fairytale ending when Going—who replaced an injured Laidlaw soon after half-time—snaked round the blindside far enough to give Williams a run for a try with only McCallum, the Springbok full-back, as a serious defender. Williams, with his splendid gliding side-step, went infield of McCallum for a try which was brilliant in plan and performance. Mistakes Made But after this the All Blacks turned glum. They made many attempts from some of the 19 penalties awarded them to run the halibut the mistakes they made from this simple play were unholy in nature, and reached their peak a few minutes from the end when Lochore, running to put his backs into position, tossed a one-handed booby pass which Nomis took and sped between two men for a 40yd run for a try. That was it; and perhaps not since that- grisly day at Eden Park in 1937 when Philip Nel’s Springboks demolished the All Blacks by an identical 17-6 has New Zealand Rugby suffered quite so much. Explanations There were several explanations. The simplest and most convincing was that the Springboks were decisively the better team. They were quicker to the ball. They won more of the line-outs that mattered. Their harassment first of Laidlaw and then of Going was devastating. Their loose forwards were quicker and more efficient—though a special word must be said of Lister, who was by far the best of the All Black forwards. But the tackling of the

Springboks really was out of this world. In a very early movement Cottrell lay as stiff as a corpse from a severe but eminently fair tackle by Jansen. This sort of thing went on all day. I cannot remember any All Black team which has remotely approached this standard of tackling. The effect was to destroy the rhythm of the 15-man Rugby the All Blacks intended to play. There were, of course, serious faults on the All Black side. Some of these reflected upon Lochore, whose command of the forward play did not develop a sufficiently tight-knit scrum, and whose handling of many tap-kick penalties was based rather too much upon hope instead of a planned thrust into the Springbok defence. Until Going appeared in replacement of Laidlaw not one All Black was playing with genuine inspiration. There was an explanation for Laidlaw's poor display—he was concussed very early in the match, and played most of the first spell from memory. Laidlaw himself was reluctant to discuss it, but teammates said that an accidental kick he suffered from Jansen in the first few minutes was the cause.

Going, however, made some transformation. After he had coine on, Cottrell made two or three fine breaks, Dick made a great stab at the corner flag, Williams scored his extraordinary try, and Lister made some dashing efforts. But from a tactical point of view Thorne might just as well have sat in the grand stand because he was never put to use—while Cottrell’s inability to pitch punts on a sixpence exposed himself and his fellows to yet more of those devastating tackles. These and other mistakes seemed the fruit of those recent matches in which the All Blacks have handled so untidily and exposed limitations which no opponent with the possible exception of Western Transvaal—has been competent to capitalise on.

Scorers tor South Africa: tries by de Villiers and Nomis, two goals from penalties and a conversion by McCallum, and a drop-kicked goal by Visagie. For New Zealand: a try by Williams, and a goal from a penalty by McCormick. The teams were:—

Naw Zealand.—W. F. McCormick; B. G. Williams, G. S. Thorne. M. J. Dick; I. R. MacRae, W. D. Cottrell: C. R. Laidlaw (vice-captain); B. J. Lochore (captain): T. N. Lister. S. C. Strahan, A. E. Smith, I. A. Kirkpatrick; B. L. Muller, B. E. McLeod, A. E. Hopklnson. S. M. Going replaced Laidlaw after 42 minutes.

South Africa. —I. McCallum; G. H. Muller. M. Roux. J. Jansen, S. H. Nomis; P. J. Visagie; D. J. de Villiers (captain); A. J. Bates; J. H. Eflis, F. C. du Preez, J, Spies, P. J. F. GreyUng: J. F. K. Marais. B. van Wyk, J. B. Neethltng. Referee: Mr P. Robertse.