LACK OF KILLER INSTINCT? Lions ease of win over Combined

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32635, 17 June 1971, Page 20

LACK OF KILLER INSTINCT? Lions ease of win over Combined

(From J. K. BROOKS)

GREYMOUTH.

Do the British Lions lack the killer instinct? This is the question which might be asked, with justification, after they had pulverised West Coast-Buller to the tune of 31-0 in the first half of the match at Rugby Park, Greymouth, yesterday and then eased off to win, 39-6.

The forwards had their richest pickings of the tour in possession, which led to a constant stream of flowing back movements in the first half. Within half an hour of the kick-off, the Lions had scored six tries on the wings—and the prospect of the record score of 64-5 by the 1959 Lions being surpassed was bright indeed.

But in the second half, the Lions sought to advance chiefly by kicking or by over-complicated movements, which caused them no little amount of confusion.

These moves often ended in the eager embraces of the Combined team’s forwards.

“There’s a lesson to be leamt from that.” said the Lions’ coach (Mr C. R. James), who at half-time, had given the thumbs-up sign to his players from the sideline. “When you’re on top, you keep attacking.”

So it was that by hearty foot rushes by die forwards, the snapping-up by the backs of dropped Lions’ passes, and the posting of D. M. Stevenson, a flanker, to the rear, Combined was able to limit the Lions to eight points in the second half, while scoring six itself. The teams were:—

British hies.—R. Hiller; D. J. Duckham, S. J. Dawes (captain), C. W. W. Rea, A. G. Biggar; A. J. Lewis; R. Hopkins; D. Quinneil; P. J. Dixon, W. D. Thomas, M. G. Roberts, J. Taylor; J. F. Lynch J. F. Pullin, I. McLauchlan.

West Coast-Buller.—G. W. Hart; C. Skates, L. B. Halsall, R. Alexander; B. Stewart, K. J. Beams; M. McQuillan; J. W. Halsall; A. Fussel R. Forsyth, D. Evans, D. Stevenson; B. Hearsey, J. C. Tacon. D. G. Bryce. Records in danger Before the Lions attacking rhythm broke, several scoring records appeared in danger. The consistency with which Duckham scored in the right-hand comer made it appear he would beat B. E. McPhail’s New Zealand record of seven tries in a match, and even equal T. R. Heeps’s world mark of eight. Had the Lions kept forcing gaps in midfield and capitalising on Combined’s lack of defence in breadth by using the extra man, there is no knowing how many tries Duckham would have scored.

A remarkable feature of the scoring was that Duckham and the full-back, Hiller —who returned to his best goal-kicking form with a

vengeance—both contributed 18 points to the team’s tally. Duckham scored six tries; while Hiller kicked a penalty goal and six conversions and scored a try. The other three

points came from a try by the left wing, Biggar. For Combined, Stewart scored a try and Hart kicked a penalty goal. Not surprisingly, the Lions forwards with advantages in weight, height, and experience, dominatd the set play, had the better of the rucks, and began some telling thrusts from the back of the scrum and the end of the line-out.

Thomas, the muscular lock, was in superb form in the line-outs which the Lions won by the big margin of 32-7 and Pullin played his best game of the tour, for, as well as winning six tightheads to none, he covered the field at astonishing pace. He was often the first forward up in support of a back movement, and made full contribution to the defence. Loose forwards Quinnell and Dixon helped the Lions obtain line-out supremacy, and were the most notable figures in the loose, choosing a direct path up the middle of the field. Both men displayed compelling form in the second half, after switching positions: Quinnell going to the flank and Dixon to the back of the scrum.

All this activity by the forwards brought the Lions more ball than in any match on the tour 75 per cent of the decisive possession. In the first half, this was put to the best possible use by the backs. Hopkins dispatched the ball wiffi alacrity, Dawes and Rea made the breaks, and Duckham, his fair hair streaming out behind him, supplied the finishing touches by sprinting hard for the comer. Then came the second half, with Lewis, the fly-half for the day, putting the boot to ball too often, and the other backs muffing chances by trying ill-advised switches of play with their forwards in front of them.

During these hesitant efforts, the Combined side came into its own. The forwards harried and chased, while Stewart and Alexander made the most of the Lions’ handling errors. The few times on which the ball emerged on the Combined team’s side from set play, McQuillan and Beams showed coolness and constructiveness. Beams varied his play remarkably well, always choos-

ing the right action for the situation, while McQuillan set up Stewart’s try with a quick dodgy run after J. P. Slattery had been caught near his own line in retrieving a loose ball. Slattery replaced Taylor who retired with a recurrence of hamstring trouble soon after half-time. In view of the success of the Dixon-Quinnell switch, it was surprising that Dawes did not make a further alteration by bringing Rea into fly-half. Rea in form In the first half, the Scots centre showed he was back in his best form by running strongly and passing crisply. Lewis, playing his first match for 18 days, would probably have appreciated the greater freedom of movement at centre.

Rea took the outside gap

with certainty, while Dawes broke through several tackles, timed his passes well, and made one try with a splendidly placed crosskick. Duckham had only to run to score some of his

tries, but not all of them were certainties—and in these cases he produced an

effective swerve to defeat the last defender.

Biggar and Hiller increased the striking force of the back-line by their judicious entrances from the blind-side wing and full-back; and

Hiller gave a wonderful exhibition of kicking by succeeding with seven out of nine attempts. All but one of his kicks were taken from within 6ft of the sideline.

Once again, the Lions* luck with the weather held, and the crowd of about 4500 watched the match played on a reasonably firm surface in mild conditions.

The spectators, not as paritisan as some the tourists have encountered, applauded the tenacity of the home side, the industry of the Lions’ forwards, and the brilliance of the Lions* backs in the first half.

There is no reason to suppose that they would have been any less enthusiastic had a further 30 or so points been scored against West Coast-Buller in the second half.