ALL BLACKS WIN, BUT PLAY AT TIMES WAS ABOMINABLE

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32383, 24 August 1970, Page 22

ALL BLACKS WIN, BUT PLAY AT TIMES WAS ABOMINABLE

( From

T. P. McLEAN)

DURBAN. Be it hypercriticism or not, the point has to be made. In beating Natal before a record 40,000 spectators at the magnificent King’s Park stadium, by 29-8, on Saturday, the All Blacks often played abominably.

Their handling of admittedly lively ball during the first half was deplorably shoddy. They displayed an eagerness, stopping only just this side of mania, for various stratagems which had players tearing at speed into the mass of players in midfield. They made basic mistakes by the dozen, even of such elementary sorts as men bumping into each other when trying various kinds of feint plays. In the end, as the score effectively demonstrates, they were decisively superior—but there was a fair slice of luck about the 10 points which W. L. Davis and G. F. Kember between them scored in the last two minutes.

And there cannot be any reasonable doubt that if the backs had made a consistent use of the rucked ball the forwards gave them, more tries must have resulted. For New Zealand Davis (3), a P. Milner and T. N Lister scored tries, C. R. Laidlaw kicked a dropped goal, Kember got a penalty and four conversions. LOSS OF STANDING As a prelude to the third test next Saturday, the performance in many parts was depressing. W. D. Cottrell, as an example, lost some of his standing by making as many mistakes with his hands as any of the other backs—a remarkable and unexpected situation.

G. S. Thorne’s standing as a test candidate was affected when J. T. Viljoen, a very lively and effective wing, who earlier had outpaced Kember, scored again by recovering

from Thome’s ankle tap from 25 yards. At one stage Thome was put into the open with only T. P. Mehrtens to beat and the line 50 yards away. Thome could have given the ball a powerful boot and depended on his pace. Instead, he tried a dainty little kick, made with so much precision that it lobbed a yard or two, straight into the hands of Mehrtens. CARELESS STREAK This —and a good deal more —was distracting and sobering. It was attributable to that streak of carelessness which has limited the team’s performance on a good many occasions and which appears to be generated by casual methods at training, especially in tag matches. Natal may have disturbed the All Blacks by its very powerful opening. The early scrums, in which the referee (Dr M. H. Wessels) displayed pedantic strains, may have affected them too, for C. R. Laidlaw, as one example, became tetchy at rulings, and B. J. Lochore keenly inquired the reason behind decisions. Bv halfway through the first spell the All Blacks were starting to gain control but their command at rucks did not win reward because the running and passing were either not fast enough or because players, like Milner, kept chopping back infield into a defence that was both courageous and controlled. However, the crowd became enthused by these efforts, and to one attack, which rolled down the middle, then went out to the right to C. E. Meads and others, and all the way back to the left to Milner, who slipped over with the goal-line only yards away, the response was tumultuous applause for the quickness and qualities in the All Blacks moves. LIKE A WHISPER That tumult, however, was but a quiet little whisper compared with the noise raised as Viljoen streaked past Kember for his first try, and C. R. Holm, R. Greyling, R. M. Seymour and Viljoen, with a magnificent run of 50 yards, put Viljoen in for his second try. None of the New Zealand backs improved his chances of selection for the test. Davis scored three tries, the last very well indeed, but was deficient on the tackle. Cottrell’s hands were unusually suspect for so capable a player; Thorne could not foot it past Mehrtens and cover defenders and his ap-

pearances in midfield in the second half yielded no thrust through a fine defence. Kirton, too, had bad hands and a mistimed kick. Among the forwards, N. W. Thimbleby almost certainly restored himself to test match level, for he made some fine runs and displayed sound knowledge of the laws when Mehrtens, after claiming a mark, made a move forward. Thimbleby charged quite legitimately and the kick gained only a few yards. Lister and A. R. Sutherland were both in good form, the latter being especially prominent, with dashing runs. But whether this stuff was of test match standard was another question. However, S. C. Strahan was really splendid, B. E. McLeod won five heels against the head, and Meads was remarkably good in some high jumps and deflections at No. 3. The forwards, for a change, tried a number of drives at No. 2, and Hopkinson helped these greatly. But the dynamic drive of K. L. Tremain’s best days was not developed. There will have to be many improvements.