Advice given All Blacks

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33065, 4 November 1972, Page 46

Advice given All Blacks

fSpeetdl Crspdt. N.Z.P.A.) CARDIFF. Intensive backing up might enable the AU Blacks to overcome unrelenting Welsh 10-man Rugby, a leading New Zealand provincial coach, Mr E. Griffin believes. Mr Griffin, who retired a few weeks ago after coaching North Auckland with considerable success since 1948, is on holiday with his wife in Britain, and saw the All Blacks lose to Llanelli on Tuesday. "Possibly the greatest factor contributing towards the defeat was the inability of

the New Zealand forwards to control the ball,” Mr Griffin said in Cardiff yesterday. “That applies to our three main phases of ball finding. We were under pressure in the scrums, hard pressed in the line-outs and were not setting up the rucks properly. “Our forwards were not coming in from behind and driving over the ball, and this will have to be improved if other Welsh packs are to be contained. "These deficiencies became more evident when the chance to make an impact through the backs was lost,” Mr Griffin said. "Our backs made three swerving runs which promised much, but far more emphasis is needed to be placed on this aspect of play.”