BRILLIANT RUGBY BEING WASTED Flair of Going and Batty too much for South

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33254, 18 June 1973, Page 24

BRILLIANT RUGBY BEING WASTED Flair of Going and Batty too much for South

(From

J. K. BROOKS

AUCKLAND.

The absence of an overseas opponent for the All Blacks this winter appeared all the more regrettable at Okara Park on Saturday because of the abundance of talent on display in the inter-island match. North beat South, 27-14, in a hard-fought but free-flowing game in which fortune favoured the bold and the brave.

It mattered not that South had suffered defeat for the ninth time in a decade: the dominant impression was of the high standard of play, boosted by the contributions of a handful of outstanding individuals.

Chief among these splendid performers were North’s little danger-men, S. M. Going and G. B. Batty, whose flair and skill on a tricky slippery surface ranked with the best of their respective careers. One 100 many If South had possessed just one of these gifted footballers the result might well have been in the melting pot. Having to cope with both of them was a superhuman task. Other members of the 1972-73 All Black touring side who produced inter-national-class performances were I. A. Kirkpartick, P. J. Whiting and K. K. Lambert of the excellent and effective North pack, and I. A. Hurst and G. L. Colling, the most

constructive members of a competent South back-line. But these men had to share their lofty platform with a compartive newcomer, T. G. ' Morrison, the spectacularly ' swift Otago left wing, who celebrated his twenty-second birthday by scoring two tries in a fashion which could not have failed to have attracted the interest of the national selectors. Might be discarded Indeed, if an All Black test team was to be picked today, that strong and celebrated wing from Auckland, B. G. Williams, would have the utmost difficulty in dislodging Batty and Morrison. North won the match on the strength of a vigorous campaign in the third quarter, during which it delivered the virtual Knock-out blovz in the form of tries by A. M. Haden and K. R. Carrington in the space of three minutes. This put North ahead, 17-4, and South’s counter-attacks which led to Morrison’s two tries in the final quarter were quickly matched by its opponent. Until half-time, when the score was 4-4, South’s prospects were rosy, for its forwards displayed greater cohesiveness and its backs excelled in squeezing the ball out to the wings from unpromising positions.

Brothers in move An outstanding try by G. L. Colling at the end of a 55-yard move started by his younger brother, D. V. Colling, and in which B. A. Hunter, Hurst, K. W. Stewart and A. R. Sutherland all played prominent parts, suggested that South would win the game on the score of its superior control and constructiveness.

But this was to be a match of glorious tries and North I hit back with combined iefforts of equal magnificence and a brilliant solo try by Batty, which it is fair to say that no-one else in New Zealand could have accomplished. Just in play With precious little room in which to move, Batty displayed dazzling footwork and exceptional acceleration to swerve round Hunter and evade Hurst’s sliding tackle for a try in the corner. In the first half, Batty showed speed to match that of Morrison when he outran Hunter in an exciting chase' after the rolling ball, which! ended with the little Welling-' tonian scoring in a shower of sawdust at the left-hand' extremity of the in-goal area. Going, the darling of Okarai Park, did not score any tries but he saved two which' looked certain for South by! daring interceptions when he I was the last defender. In addition, his passing was better in quality and consistency; than it has been for several; seasons, and his generalship! was always in evidence. But although the class of Going and Batty widened the gap between North and South, the North pack won a| good deal of the credit for the victory by its unrelenting, reply to the efforts of its! well-drilled opponent. The North forwards! matched South in the scrums!

and rucks — which was not expected — and provided numerous attacking opportunities by its dominance of the line-outs.

North, principally through the athletic leaping of Whiting, won possession cleanly 25 times in the line-outs to South’s nine. South, in fact, won line-out ball only twice in the second half, and both these occasions were in the last quarter. Whereas South concentrated on a controlled feed from the line-outs, North favoured the quickest possible dispatch, and because of the accurate throwing of Carrington and Batty, and the understanding between Whiting and Going, this exercise was carried out with maximum efficiency.

Held ball too long Both sets of forwards toiled vigorously and to good purpose in the rucks and mauls, and the amount of tidily-delivered second-phase possession gave the backs every chance to display their wares.

Unfortunately for South, D. V. Colling was not quite quick enough at centre to exploit the sketchy defence of his marker, M. G. Hepple, but the devoted backing up of Hurst and O. D. Bruce, and the eagerness of Morrison, enabled the side to make its mark.

North’s efforts were sometimes spoilt by R. M. Parkinson’s penchant for retaining possession too long—a fatal fault against a defender of Hurst’s standard. But Hepple twice placed splendid grubber kicks into gaps to vary the attack and Carrington, on the right wing, played one of his best games, making the extra man effectively and seizing his chances with certainty. E. S. Mcßobbie, the controversial choice as North’s first five-eighths, was consistently neat and efficient, and his only break was carried out so swiftly that South’s defence was left in a tattered state and proved no hindrance to the powerful Lambert as he charged for the line.

G. L. Colling had a rewarding day as South’s halfback and Bruce was an able servant of his outside backs.

Hunter effected a consider

able improvement on his form of the All Black trials and his covering was firstclass. He was overshadowed by Batty, but most wings would have suffered a similar fate. Karam superior Neither full-back,, J. F. Karam (North) nor N. A. M. Pickrang, kicked for goal (with certainty, but Karam had the better game for Pickrang’s patchy positional play often placed his side in awkward situations. In a mobile pack of North forwards, Kirkpatrick bounced back to his best form and Lambert, a massive young man, showed the benefits of his trip to Britain. P.| H. Sloane, a good forward and a skilful hooker, held the All Black, R. W. Norton, to one tight head each in the scrums, and Haden was good value in the rucks and mauls.

K. A. Eveleigh started unimpressively, but as a lightweight flanker on a difficult surface he soon made his mark, diligently pursuing the loose ball as effectively as South’s non-stop All Black, Stewart.

Team well prepared

Sutherland and A. J. Wyllie launched some promising thrusts for South, but Kirkpatrick had prepared his men well and the southern dreadnoughts were allowed little latitude. W. K. Bush ranked with the best of the tight forwards and Norton and L. A. Clark filled their roles with distinction. H. H. Macdonald, still short of peak form, nevertheless contained Haden, while his youthful locking partner, G. E. Seear, showed courage in surviving a stern buffeting and surprisingly emerged as an excellent cover defender.

There will obviously be no shortage of candidates for the 21 places in the All Black team to play four games in August. On the evidence of the inter-island match, some good candidates might be unlucky. For North, Batty (2), Carrington, Lambert and Haden scored tries, and Karam kicked a penalty and two conversions. Morrison (2). and G. L. Colling, tries, and Pickrang, conversion, scored for South.