Record Score In Dunedin Rugby Test

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 300, 15 September 1936, Page 14

Record Score In Dunedin Rugby Test

Springboks Unlikely To Have Faults Shown By Wallabies

(By

W. H. BICKLEY.)

qpHERE is a good deal in the conten- -- tion of Mr. E. G. Shaw, that had the Wallabies been able “to stand on their feet” they would have shown New Zealand that they could be a very fine side. They had almost unbelievable luck in the run of injuries, losing ,E. S. Hayes, their captain, and one of the best centres, for most of the tour; K. P. Storey, their best full-baek from the second game till the sixth, when he played without having trained or even exercised for a fortnight; L. S. Lewis, their best five-eighth, tor several of the more important games, including the first match with New Zealand ; and R. E. McLaughlin, also considered one of their best centre backs, •halfway through the second game with New Zealand. For the first match with New Zealand they took the field without Hayes, Lewis and Storey, and in the second they did not have Hayes and fielded Lewis and Storey out of the hands of the doctor, and lost McLaughlin. The Wallabies also experienced heavy grounds and heavy rain for three of their first four games,’ and while an international side should be able to adapt itself to conditions, the going seemed to unsettle the tourists and prevent the development of combination and confidence in time for the two games with New Zealand. Admitting their handicaps, however, it can be said that the Wallabies have hardly lived up to their reputation of being “the best side that ever left Sydney.” Their play in this country suggests that they are not as good as the Wallabies in New Zealand in 1931, wh<k had forwards almost as good, as the present set, and backs like Sid. Malcolm (half-back), Cyril Towers (centre) and Alex. Rose (full-back). The present team may have men to compare with these, but so far they have not shown it.

Where the Weaknesses Are. The Wallabies, for an international team, have shown some surprising weaknesses, turned to excellent account by Hawke’s Bay at Napier, by WairgrapaBueh at Carterton, and by New Zealand in the second half in Dunedin. In the forwards they have weight, height and pace, and can undoubtedly field a strong pack, even if the way they were shaded in the second half at Wellington and eclipsed in the second half in Dunedin prompts the thought that they have not been properly fit,, though, allowance must be made for the fact that Aubrey Hodgson played in both games with an. ankle that would have kept a lesser man off the field, and that “Bimbo” White took the field in both matches with a broken toe.

The backs, however, undid .much of the good accomplished in front for almost without exception they displayed little skill in halting forward rushes, a fault used to the full by Wairarapa-Bush at Carterton, and they were not hard tacklers by any means, a weakness exploited by Hawke’s Bay at Napier. In Dunedin, the All Blacks made the most of both deficiencies.

In R. Rankin they have a utility baek whose defence has/at. times been grand, either at centre or at full-back; but . for attack he is a little slow, ' For that matter, E. de C. Gibbons hhs'failed to live up to his reputation' for smartness in clearing the’ball from serums and rucks, and, as the-Wallabies'did not try to penetrate; through l the centre,’but relied almost' Wholly bn chain-passing, the ball quite often .reached the flanks too late for the best use to be made bf the exceptional speed of A. D. McLean > and J. D. Kelaher. , i ■ . '

Profit From Opponents. In international football, playing on the weaknesses of opponents is as profitable as playing up to one’s own strength, and this was well shown in Dunedin, where the‘ result arose as much from the failures of the Wallabies as from the successes of the All Blacks. The All Blacks in- Dunedin did something to’revive the name of New Zealand for ability: to see and use chances in the open, a characteristic which. has distinguished most of our best sides, which have-never relied merely on orthodox passing and running for success. The Australian University - players ,bf ■■ a few vears back, in fact, expressed disappointment with the standard of our game, be* cause, although they were beaten in match after match, they did not see one try scored by straight “along-the-lme passing from half-back to wing. In New Zealand we have generally won on pace all round, with forwards ana backs supporting each other instead or playing as separate divisions, with parti-cular-attention. to.fast spoiling leading,to quick counter-attacks from movements ot the! opposition,' which are checked or which break down. - . In Dunedin: in-the second half this was accomplished. . black-jerseyed figures swarming everywhere, at times simply surging through the defence. It remains « to be seen if we will be able to loosen the game to anything like the same extent against the Springboks. Their forwards can hardly be much bigger or faster than the Wallabies, but they win probably be tougher. Their backs will almost certainly be much more resolute tacklers and rush-stoppers, and if the Benny Osler style still persists there they will use the old out-on-the-full” touch-kicking rule for all it is worth to nurse their forwards.

Just How Good Are Our Backs? The success of the All Blacks at Dunedin is encouraging, to Be. sure, but we must not forget just how it came about and just what has been shown us by the Wallabies. They have shown us that we have forwards who can stand up, man for man, with what is a sizeable opposing eight and have enabled us to confirm the fact that we have an exceptional hooker in W. E. Hadley. They have also shown us that we no longer lead the world in line-out work, and to this section of forward play we can well give attention, for there are as many line-outs as scrums in most games, and generally more under the old touch-kicking rule. Possession from the line is to a large extent secured by preparation of tactics before the match. In this the visitors were carefully drilled, there being excellent understanding between their wing forwards and the forwards.

In back play they have taught us little, except to show that in G. F. Hart and J. W. Watt we have two top flight wings, and that H. R. Pollock, under the amended touch rule, at any rate, brings to the full-back position unlimited confidence and considerable skill. They have not enabled us to see whether bur inside backs are of the quality really required, and have, if anything, left a disquieting suspicion that they are not. B. S. Sadler is full of tenacity and energy and is no doubt the best halfback in the country, but those who say lie is a second Jimmy Mill .must have short memories. j. L. Griffiths lias improved as an attacking player, and may prove to be the type of five-eighth wanted against the' Springboks. B. A. Killeen was.•“•railroaded” out of his position at second, five-eighth in the first match by his opponents, and C. C. Gillies made good use of some of his chances at Dunedin. It will be interesting to see, however, if -the-second five-eighth in the New Zealand team next year does not prove to be C. M, Le Quesne. With Sadler and Griffiths, as with R. R. King, S.T. Reid. D. Dalton, W. E. Hadley and R. M. McKenzie and others, allowance must be made for “football sickness.” These players have had three fill! seasons on end—l93s in New Zealand. 1935-3(1 in Great Britain, and 1936 in New Zealand. Possibly there will be a new zest in their play next winter, after a rest through the summer. In the test match at Wellington easily the most eager of the All Blacks seemed to be George Hart, who has played very little football since returning tc New Zealand.

Policy Vindicated. .The New Zealand team's performance at Dunedin, after a not very impressive display in Wellington, justifies to the hilt the policy of ordered preparation for big games, gained even with international teams only when the players arc assembled in good time and properly trained.

Mr. Mark Nicholls, their manager and coach, must have derived great pleasure from their success, as must the members of the selection committee, who praiseworthily persevered with the same play, era instead of yielding to any possible desire to chop and change after the first match, for they made only one alteration that was.not forced upon them, the substitution of C.C. Gillies for. Brian Killeen. “Brushy” Mitchell came in through T. H. C. Caughey not being available, and R. Ward took the place of the injured “Squire” McKenzie. Killeen must be accounted a little unlucky as he was the victim of a system worked to the full by the Wallabies. T P. Pauling, a big, fast and hard forward, was placed at inside centre to mark him in the first match, and made a thorough job of it, his enthusiastic dumping, being enough to disconcert a player of greater experience and more robust build. Killeen disappeared from the scene and for that matter, so did Pauling. He has been in bed ever since with double vision following concussion. How he managed to know which ball to catch at full-back in the second half, , when he was . seeing two of them is a mystery. Killeen,'however, is not altogether to blame for his own eclipse. When such tactics are being employed a certain' responsibility rests on the inside partner of the. man marked. Another rather unlucky player is J.’ Sullivan, of .Taranaki; After playingwell for his province all the season he had to give way to Pat Caughey for the first game, although the Aucklander had then played only two matches this season, and one of those oh the wing, and in the second “Brushy” Mitchell, having re covered from injuries, ■ Was preferred The selectors went for men' of proved ability, and were justified, but it was hard luck for a young player to go through all the qualifying rounds and then be beaten for the position at the finish by late entrants.

A Record Total of Points. The score at Dunedin was surprising for an international game, in which it is rare indeed for the points to top the halfcentury. We have never had it before in New Zealand. The New South Wales team of 1923 lost 34-6 and 38-11 to New Zealand, and the Anglo-Welsh team of 1908 went down 32-5 and 29-0, while the 1913 Australian team was beaten 30-5 and 25-13.

The 1925 New South Wales team, which had about the best record of any Australian team in New Zealand, losing only two games in nine, lost 36-10 to New Zealand at Auckland, but that was against one of the strongest teams that has .represented New . Zealand in New Zealand, the players being G. Nepia, F W. Lucas. A. E. Cooke, K. S. Svcnson, M. F. Nicholls, N. P. McGregor, J. Mill,

0. G. Porter, R. T. Stewart, J. Richardson, M. J. Brownlie, R. R. Masters, I. Finlayson, W. R. Irvine, A. Lomas. Another point about the match that made it interesting was the selection as referee of Mr. H. J. McKenzie, of Carterton, Since 1920 he has established a record with the whistle that must be the friendly envy of his fellow referees. Ranfurly Shield matches played under his charge run into double figures—no other referee has controlled half as many —and he has refereed for practically every provincial team as well as British, African, and Australian visiting sides, not to mention two games between the North and South Islands. His refereeing has always been, marked by capacity to use the whistle with impartiality and discretion, and it .is. interesting to study the number of Joints scored in games under his control. An ability to blend judgment with firmness probably comes of an old player’s knowledge of the difference between hard play and rough play. A fine player in his. day ami a great referee for years, he is actuated by a great enthusiasm for the game, evident also in his two brothers, and demonstrated by the fact that, though still an active referee, he carries the responsibility of being sole selectof for Wairarapa. It is a high tribute to his fairness that he has been chosen more than once this year as referee in games played by his own provincal team.

RANFURLY SHIELD GAME NEXT SATURDAY

Differing Forward Styles Will Be Tested In Dunedin Wellington will play Otago for the Ranfurly Shield on Saturday. If all the players are fit, the challenging team will probably be H. R. Pollock; L. H. Edwards, J. Fleming, A. G. Hansen; J. L Griffiths, H. L. Baldwin; B. S. Sadler; A. H. Andrews; J. R. Lamason, M. W. Devine, F. H. F. Smith, J. Wells; R. R. Hull, A. Lambourn, F. C. Leahy. No one knows how good this team is on a dry ground. It has played only once this season, on a sea of mud against Hawke’s Bay. On that day the dribbling and combination of the forwards was remarkable, and two or three of the backs displayed uncanny ability in handling and kicking the heavy and greasy ball.

' Wellington has played four other games this season, winning three and losing, the other by three points, but in not one of these was the province at full Strength. Against Taranaki in June Old. Boys and Poneke players were not considered because of a club fixture on the same day in Wellington. 'I he Auckland match was. played on the same day as the North-South Island match, and the Manawatu and second Taranaki games coincided with' the New Zealand-Austra-lia matches-which took, away ; the AU Blacks. ....

That Wellington 'was still able to win three of the four games illustrates the immense reserve of useful talent avail'd ble, contributed to by the almost consistent influx of good ■. players .from outside. The Wellington ’ team ‘ which playedl Taranaki' on 1 Saturday, for instance, bad hb fewer than six men who made their names with other provinces before coming to' Wellington—J. 'Vartan (Hawke’s Bay), L. H. Edwards (Taranaki), Andy Andrews (Canterbury), K. Guy (South .Canterbury), F, H. F. Smith (Wairafapa). and F. C. Leahy (Wanganui). ' ■ ■ . . , 1 '- Wellington’s style of game, however, is well known, and .does not vary with changes in. the team. Considerable reliance is placed upon quick passing and fast running by the backs, with handling and dribbling preferred to close work by the forwards. • The Otago conception of the game is entirely different. In Dunedin they play more closely in. the forwards and decline risks of any sort. That this caption his its points, seems to be shown by the fact that only three tries have been scored this season against Otago-in matches for the Ranfurly Shield. . ' . Otago 7 has played six shield games, scoring 113 points to 16. Of this total, no fewer than 55 have been- contributed by Dunedin’s Benny Osler —D. Trevathan. This five-eighth, in general play follows the line of “slow but. sure,” but as a goalkicker he is out on his own. He has potted four goals in six matches, kicked six penalty goals, and converted nine tries. In chib and representative fixtures this year he has scored 181 points. Such a goal-kicker is a menace to any side. The Otago forwards are not big as packs go nowadays, but they are hard

workers carefully coached to a particular style of game—a style that has been successful in every match so far, though anything might have happened against Auckland and Manawatu. Much will depend on whether Otago or Wellington calls the tune in the forwards; If Wellington can open the game out there may be heavy scoring—on both sides. Otago, notoriously hard to beat at Carisbrook, has not lost a game there for three years. The record this season is: beat Southland, 16-3; beat Auckland, 145; beat Manawatu, 11-5; beat South Canterbury, 26-3; beat Canterbury, 16-0; beat North Auckland, 30-0. The Otago players did not have a game last Saturday, but most of the Wellington players were engaged, at either Dunedin or Wellington. Match play is great practice, and the fortnight away from the game may leave its mark on the play of Otago.

At a meeting of the Auckland Rugby Union attention was ■ drawn to the fact that A. Knight (Grammar O.B.) had represented Auckland 67 times between the years 1024 and 1936. This constitutes a record, beating the performances of W. Batty by a few matches. Knight plays in the lock position and possesses the admirable quality of being able to hold the scrum together in fine fashion. Unfortunately he was not . able to accompany the reps, on their southern tour this season.