All Blacks’ speed augurs well

Press, 16 September 1976, Page 36

All Blacks’ speed augurs well

From

T. P. McLEAN

In the light of the fourth test at Johannesburg this week-end, the willingness of the All Blacks to run the ball fast in beating Griqualand West, 26-3, at Kimberley yesterday was gratifying.

One of the speediest backs, Terry Mitchell, may well have qualified for a test I cap by skirting all over the field past tacklers, much in the manner of the celebrated Peter Jackson of the 1953 British Lions.

In scoring twice, Purvis, now with nine tries for the tour, reached Bryan Williams’s total, a likelihood unthinkable in the early days of the tour.

Bruce Robertson was exceptionally brilliant, and if he can hold this form and be given adequate chances, he could be a matchwinner in the test.

Lynn Davis played well, too, clearing his passes swiftly and accurately. But for too many knockson, the All Blacks very likely would have won by a bigger score. As it was, they lost the chance of several easy goals, and it would rank as a major surprise if Laurie Mains, the culprit, was seriously considered for the test team.

The sensation of the match was the ordering off of the Griqualand West flank forward, Jimmy Young, by the referee. Professor Tinkie Heyns — who stuck firmly to his decision in the face of many protests from the home team and the evident considerable displeasure of the crowd. It must be admitted that while Young from the start had been a confounded nuisance, having split Andy Leslie’s denture with a solid, aimed punch during a dustup in the second minute of the match, his crime within the context of the situation looked less serious than Bill Bush’s wild punching at Upington eight days before. However, Professor Heyns, who has held the chair of education at the University of Cape Town for about

seven years, and who has been refereeing about 25 years, fulfilled exactly the requirements of the rule book in sending Young from the field. At a second outbreak of fighting, he had issued a general warning, and was scrupulously diligent in warning all players that at the next instance of punching, he would send the offender from the fiel?. At a line-out three minutes before half-time, Oliver backed into the Griqualand West line and in Professor ; Heyns’s opinion obstructed. He was declaring a penalty against the All Blacks when Young crunched Oliver in the face. “At that” Professor Heyns said, “1 had no option — the man had to go.” After the match, Professor Heyns was sorrowing that the incident -»- which was the first time he had ordered a man off — would leave sour memories of the match, and almost certainly have a painful impact upon his career.

In fact he must be complimented for an excellent display of refereeing, in which he was quite remarkably vigilant as to knpekson.

Oliver himself suffered a tom hamstring late in the match and so may have removed himself from consideration for the test. But it was a- comfort that Macdonald was in excellent form, while among the loose forwards, Leslie recovered well from his hammering, and Eveleigh set up some fine plays from long throws oyer top of line-outs. Laurie Knight was also gratifyingly vigorous, and valuable at

plunges from the line-out. Perry Hanis, it is clear, has not yet reached topnotch scrummaging standard, but Kerry Tanner, playing for the first time in his career at tighthead prop, was sound and reliable. Both Crossman and Mains carried on after shoulder injuries. Crossman’s was suffered when a scrum collapsed close to Griquas’ goal-line, and it was a tribute to his courage that he lasted out the match.

Even when Young went, the Griqualand West pack gave the All Blacks close competition, and in the lineouts two extremely tall men, George Crongje and Vanas Jordaan, won a good deal of ball.

Griqualand's tackling and chasing were outstanding, and the side gave one of the finest displays of midweek sides against the tourists. The All Blacks battled for just on half an hour before Purvis scored, and a few minutes before Young’s dramatic departure Duncan Robertson, with a superb kick, upset the defence and gathered in the ball himself to score.

Five minutes into the second .half, Purvis scored again after Mitchell had sizzled clean through Griqualand’s defence up to the veteran full-back, Tos Smith. Mains this time managed to convert. He also converted Bruce Robertson’s try two minutes later, after a defensive mix-up in which Robertson’s speed took him between the posts. Daan Wiese then goaled a 30yd penalty kick for Griqualand and just before time, after a long break begun from their 25 by Davis, the All Blacks scored through Mitchell, Mains again converting.

Borg beats Laver.—Bjorn Borg (Sweden) beat Rod Laver (Australia) on the first day of a four-man, round-robin tennis tournament 'at Guadalajara, Mexico, yesterday. Borg won, 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, in the opening match of the *llO,OOO Marlboro tournament.