All Black coach unhappy with backs

Press, 13 November 1981, Page 26

All Black coach unhappy with backs

Fraser, was one of the few to shine. He bristled with aggression and enterprise and often looked dangerous. The game was one that should have been fairly comfortable for the All Blacks if their backs had shown more tactical appreciation and the discipline to eliminate errors. “There will be more discipline shown in the test on Saturday, make no doubt about that,” said Mr Burke. With Ajidy Haden and Murray Mexted spearheading a 23-10 advantage in the lineouts, the All Blacks should have been able to anchor the

French in their own territory and pressure them into mistakes. But against an opposition that was willing to contest the forward battle fiercely it was the New Zealanders that made the mistakes. Whether it was lost possession, knock-ons or other unnecessary errors, the French were generally able to clear dangerous situations quickly through their big kicking full-back, Jacques Brunel. The All Black backs’ tactical folly reached its peak in the final 20 minutes when, with the score locked at 6-6, they desperately tried to run

the ball from deep in their own territory rather than patiently exploit their forwards’ dominance. From one backline breakdown just before full-time, the French selection came close to winning the match when the centre, Jean Icart. was narrowly wide with a dropped goal attempt. One of the few bright spots from the game for the All Blacks was that they came through without injuries. Murray Mexted, playing his first game since the test against Rumania when he popped a rib cartilege, will be fully fit for the inter-

national on Saturday while Doug Rollerson, Steven Pokere, Bernie Fraser and Brian Morrissey also had no recurrences of the injuries they suffered last Wednesday at Grenoble. Although the forwards are playing well, the All Blacks clearly now have little cause to approach the first test with a great deal of confidence. The side’s captain, Graham Mourie, possibly summed up the present feeling when asked for a test forecast after the match: "Fine and warm," was his reply.