Decisive win but All Blacks should have done better

Press, 9 November 1978, Page 32

Decisive win but All Blacks should have done better

From KEVIN McMENAMIN in Belfast Phe All Blacks had their first taste of a British winter at Belfast on Tuesday but the greyness of the day was lifted for them with a decisive 23-3 win over Ulster.

But on the monopoly ofi possession they enjoyed, nearly 70 per cent, the tourists should have won by more and the way the backs; kicked away good possession! was a bad blot on the team’s play. The forwards, however, ■ performed exceptionally well: it was certainly the best exhibition to date of controlled mauling and driving. The scrummaging, too, i was of a high order, several times the Ulster eight being; made to yield ground. The All Blacks led, 7-0. at half-time. The only time they had any cause for concern was in the early part of the second half when UI-! ster had a number of chances to narrow the gap with penalties. They landed one but three others, in spite of being good kicks, were unsuccessful. The game began with New Zealand playing into a strong wind, which soon died away. However. Ulster took the early initiative and the Al! Blacks were helped considerably by a string of penalties: eight to one was the count at one stage. The books were balanced later and the final count was 13-12 in Ulster’s favour. It was an impressive display bv the New Zealand: forwards and the four Johns; of the pack, Ashworth,! Black, Fleming, and Loveday, were all in commanding form. Fleming won a steady stream of line-out possession and Loveday charged about the field like a man with something to prove. Billy Bush, too, was a 1 forceful figure, taking very seriously his role of pack leader. He kept his forwards on their toes and he was not far behind Loveday for agility. . i It was disappbointing, therefore, that with such forward control the All Blacks did not move the ball through the line more freouentiy. Eddie Dunn probably killed what little chance he had of test selection in the near future by over-kicking and outside him Lyn Jaffray not only kicked too much but more often than not badlv. Ulster was a willing, if not especially skilful, opponent and a sketchy cover defence was an obvious weakness that the All Blacks seemed reluctant to exploit.

When the All Blacks did swing the ball the way of their three-quarters the game was injected with new life and the first try, scored ■by Bryan Williams after Bruce Robertson had found the outside gap, was made Ito look so simple that it was hard to understand why kicking was so often preferred to passing. Brian McKechnie began as though he was still affected iby the same uncertainties that marred his game | against Munster. After muffing two catches he could even be excused for wondering if he would not have been better off to have 1 stayed at home and had a | full season’s cricket. But happily for all concerned, McKechnie improved later and two fine kicks at goal, one a conversion and one a penalty, further enhanced his standing. In rhe final quarter the Al! Blacks won the hearts of the crowd with some stirring movements which had : the forwards cutting off great slices of ground and frosting their efforts with a clean feed to their backs. The backs made some attempt to break theit shackles but there was a sad lack of rhythm about their Play. Still, it was pleasing to ;see Robertson running with ■ greater freedom and Williams put paid to recent' criticism with a more aggressive approach, adding to his usefulness by scoring the All Blacks’ first point from a 43m penalty into the wind. It was probably a desire to increase McKechnie’s confidence that he was given some lengthy kicks later and although he finished with only a 50 per cent success rate all his kicks were well struck. Williams opened the scor- • ing with a penalty goal in the twenty-sixth minute and 7min later scored a try. McKechnie made it 10-f with a 45m penalty a minute after the interval and the gap was narrowed to 10-c when Adrian Goodrich landed a penalty for Ulster 4mir later. New Zealand’s forward supremacy was obvious fot most of the game and the forwards were totally responsible for New Zealand’s second try in the twentyseventh minute of the second spell.

I Ashworth pulled down a f short line-out throw and the ’■forwards smuggled the ball Jto Fleming, who broke into I the clear and gave a clean rlpass to Black. The Canteri bury hooker was untroubled e to cover the 10m to the line, t: McKechnie converted with a / beautifully judged kick. -' Just before this Robert Kururangi had lost the ball s iover the line when seeming J i certain to score but he was s i compensated in the seventye I first minute when the ove"r= ’-[lap was created for him, d after some good work by - Ashworth and Loveday. e i Towards the finish both e' teams were down to a t ; walk, the forwards’ exhaustion being due in no small . measure to all th cross-field di trekking they had done in t nursuit of a ball kicked j iaimlessly away by the New Zealand inside backs. ; One, however, who should e inot be covered in this criti,f;cism in the half-back. Dave . i Loveridge, who gave his d five-eighths every chance to ■fi swing into more creative ac-l d tion a McKechnie completed the •scoring with a 40m penalty ■.)3min from the end but Ulrjster, with Mike Gibson ded I lighting the crowd with a . I mid-field break, won a few I extra kudos by making a 0 1 final brave bid for a try. h;The chances were never i.lmore than slight. I Notwithstanding the faults Jit was an encouraging diss | play by what was very ] much a second-string All a Rlack side. It also gave further substance to the belief e j that the achievements of .[this tour rest squarely on njthe forwards. d The backs, at this stage h anyway, seem too inhibited s ! by self doubts to rise to lllgreat heights. I The All Blacks now begin their countdown for Saturn day’s test against Wales d with some of the confidence ; knocked out of them by 0) Munster ebbing back. e : But their three games in have all been notable 3; for their inability to trans- [. late possession into points, a n : serious chink in any rugby team’s armour. For New Zealand, tries by , r Williams, Black, and Kurue rangi, Williams a penalty :-igoal, and McKechnie two s ) penalty goals and a con- . J version for Ulster, a penalty goal by Goodrich.