RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 141, 18 June 1927, Page 22

RUGBY

•v " Dnorxicw

IN SOUTH AFRICA

SPRINGBOKS ADVISED

"MUST BEAT ALL BLACKS"

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLES.

SENIOR "A" GRADE.

The All Black is out for our ■'. .scalp,''make no mistake about that, and will strain every nerve to get it. ■ Any excuse will merely convince him that the Springbok is suffering from cold feet The foregoing is an extract from a letter penned by T. Piennar, who captained the Springboks in New Zealand in'l92l, and published by "G.E.L." in a SoutL African paper. . The letter was written in response to a request for opinions, on South African Eugby in view of the visit of a New Zealand team. The "eXrSpringbok captain stated:— .

"A 'has-been' in any game, even although his retirement from active participation be of. comparative recent date, always has to be particularly careful in airing his views as to the present state of the game of which he was a devotee, lest he be suspected of glorifying, the past at the expense of the present.

' ''That Kugby as a thrilling spectacle has,^in, the estimation of the general public, somewhat fallen from its high estate \cannot be questioned; but' whether this is due to actual deterioration of the players in stamina and •football sensef is at least open to question. That machine-like precision of the three-quarter line, thoaa glorious dashes of;the wings down the/touch-line, those bursts down the centre of the'field, those skilfully executed cross kicks, all these, 'tis true, are, to a large extent, missing to-day. But should not these Charges be laid'at the door of the tremendous development that has taken place in the science of the game? Measures had to be evolved to counteract the above. . What more natural, therefore, than to try to smother such moves at their very inception, i.e., at the base of the serum? Hence to-day we get .the quiet-breaking pack, and that blight on'the game, the wing-fof-ward. The forward of to-day has come to be regarded as the handy man of the tea'nii He must shove and hook in the scrum, handle. and kick like any back, cover the field to assist in the defence, and penetrate the enemy's line as well. In a word, the modern forward kills fully 75 per cent, of movements which in bygone years caused the thrills Of the game.

"Forward: ;■ play, thon, has . been ■brought to a.high pitch. What of the backs? That their play, has been detrimentally affected^by' this advance in the forward game only stands to reason; to-day a back gets very little room in which to operate. For this reason I am very sympathetically inclined towards the new rule operating in Wales this season, viz., that no one may advance beyond the centre line of the serum until the'ball has emerged from it. The old rule leads to lots of off-Side play, such as I saw in the Transvaal 5 last season during; the visit of the Combined. Varsities side, and as a natural .result,, to an involuntary,, solo performance on the whistle on the part of the referee. Result: Slowing up of the game! I am. totally opposed'to the New Zealand rule prohibiting kicking into touch out of ona's own twentyfive (lack of space forbids my weighing the pros and cons of . the matter here); but I am convinced that the Welsh rule will go far towards solving the problem of opening up tho game again. :

Given the opportunity^ our backs will come into their own again. Our .full-backs are sound, our wings are ex-cellent-:—down Province way we have a Van Niekerk and a DeJongh, while I saw some promising Ti'anßvaalers whose' names I have unfortunately forgotten—our halves are O.K. Our one weakness is at centre, and yet I saw some very fine displays put up by the pair.of centres representing Border in the last Currie Cup tournament. For this weakness, the wing-forward and the quick-breaking pack are largely responsible. The poor harassed halves get rid of the ball as quickly as they can, and the unfortunate centre is either bottled up,or bowled over before he knows what is happening. To circumvent this, there is only one thing,to do, and that is to line back at a much sharper angle from the scrum. This would give the whole three-quarter line much more room, and would- obviate many of those forward passes from the first to the second centre, as a result of the former being. tackled and the latter over-running his partner. This, alternated with the quick inbreak; the break outwards (the opposition being beaten by the pass of the first centre, and not by the man), the reverse-dummy of which Bennie Osier is ,a 'past master, or the short forward punt (which requires rare judgment), would improve bur centre play out of all recognition, besides giving the wings more scope.

"On the whole, therefore, the' game has taken on a new lease of life. The smaller centres, e.g., Border, S.W., Dis* triets, have revealed a satisfying increase of knowledge of the finer points of the game, coupled with an intelligent application of that knowledge. But, when all is said and done, the foundation of success in football lies in fostering club football. In the Western Province we had during' the last season, some magnificent struggles in our club competitions,, games. which! could not but satisfy even the most captious critic. That kind of Bugger will go very far 1- towards assisting us in putting our house in order for the great 1928 season, when the, struggle for the Eugby crown of the world will be fought out on African soil. '

"■"We can beat the All'Blaeks, what is more, we must. But we must realise that we shall have to tackle the task in grim earnest. Our dilatory methods of selection must be abandoned, as also our happy-go-lucky way of assembling our Test and provincial sides two or three days before a match. Some amateur-run-mad will probably fall foul of me for even daring to suggest a thing like this; but it is either this or tamely saying to the All Blacks, 'We. do not wish to be considered as serious competitors in world. Bugger; we are quite content tq. take a .hiding for the mere fun of the 'thing;' we shall, thorefore, play you with practically scratch teams in a friendly, hap-py-»jp-lup.ky spirit, and retire gracefully in your favour.'

"Unthinkable, is it not? The All Black is out for our scalp, make no mistake about that, and will strain every nerve to get it. Any excuse will merely convice him that the Springbok is suffering from cold feet! .. M@ttrete -ghat was goasibje £o Jha

1921 Springboks in New Zealand' is possible to his younger brother in 1928 on his own soil. We have the physique, the spirit, the determination, the football genius; but, may I whisper, the query to the 1928 would-be Springbok, will he have the necessary form?" Old Boys Set the Pace. ' Prom the kick-off Old Boys set tlio pace against Berhampore at Nowtown Park on Saturday, and thoy kept things moving at a fast rate. The forwards worked well, and the rear division, particularly in the first spell, gave quite a sparkling display. On Saturday Old Boys surprised oven the most sanguine of their supporters.

Berhampore were ' surprised in the early part of the game, but having earned somewhat of a reputation as a seccnd-spell team, the Blues were expeer tei to improve their position before time was called.-They failed, however, though they played their part in a good game. No doubt the several penalty goals that were missed at various stages Of the game had a disheartening effect on some members of the team. Pickering, whose goal-kicking has played an important part in Berhampore's successes this season, was not in good form on Saturday. He had the elevation all right, but the direction was faulty. Pickering has put over some splendid penalty goals from well out in: two or three matches this season, but against Old Boys, although he made good attempts, his kicks all went astray.

J. Lamason, Old Boys'..wing-forward, was not playing, on Saturday, raving been transferred from Wellington to Carterton. Jones took his place, and several other younger players, who did well, were called upon to complete theteam.

Old Boys' half-back, Sadler, a fourthgrade player of last season,-is making good. He gave a fine display on Saturday; he showed more confidence and fed his backs in expert style. At centre, Grenfell provided some sparkling pieceß of play, and played his usual good and reliable game. Grenfoll had good support from Bushbrook and Nixon. It was.Wixon's first game in the Senior A grade,-and with a little more experience of senior football he should develop into .a very useful fiveeighths. The two "wingers," Bedell and B. Lamason, Were always sound. •Malcolm/.the full-back, was in splendid form; and never allowed anything to bustle or confuse him. He had his jkieking-boot" oil, too, for -he converted four tries &aa kicked ft penalty goal— 11 points out of the total of 26 scored by his team.

Ward and Lang were the best of Berhampore's backs, and both required watching when the ball ame their way •Lang, although he, has played better games than he did on Saturday, was always a thorn in the side Of the opposition, and got Berhamporo cut of some difficult situations . ;

M'Artney and Deere were the best of the Blue forwards. Charles and Pickrang also showed up.well at times. «,** ??l w? a- a^ sent oa Saturday, and tne _ lull-back, position was ■ filled by bcott, a former member of the Celtic team in Hawkes Bay. Petone v. Athletic. .The Petone-Athletio match on the KM*? £ ro£ nd 'WaS '^^X- Tne team w A^bi y 4 f et6ne Was at fuU strength, but-£thletic were without tho servicos of Warwick, while Svenson was making his first appearance for the season It was evident from the start that there wag little between 1 v the teams and that no quarter woald be asked or given.: This impression was borne out by the progress of the play. Just before the end the referee,' Mr. j. B. Benson, ordered off a player from each side:: i ,: ' : .'.-■'

The game wag' chiefly a tussle between two evenly-matched' -and hardworking packs of forwards. At the commencement the rearguard on either side made one or two very promising movements,, but thereafter the forwards held sway, with the backs coming into prominence again towards the end. •;■„': ■ ,:■.

■In scrummaging work the packs were about even, and managed to secure almo»t an equal share of the ball. The advantage in weight, however, went to Athletic, and when it came to an even push^hey generally shifted the home team. In the loose the honours varied. TTp to tho last twenty minutes each side had in turn exhibited superiority, but the final test fitness found Petone superior. . ■ . King, Carr, and Cameron were particularly prominent among tho honis forwards, while Dickens did good work in the tight. ,' Pope played an excellent gamo for Athletic at wing-forwafd, while Tyreo, Edgar, and Adam* also went well. The backs of neither side showed great ■ attacking ability, but there were some very attractive movements throughout the ,■ game. The Petone back-lino has' played better games. Coman again played a game particularly notable for its dofensive qualities, but the way he accepted Nieholl's pass and went 6ver for the final try showed that he is there in the attacking movements. , Nicbolls demonstrated that his kicking-boot is not a thing of the past, his first two goals being excellent efforts, while he made two or three fine attempts from the field. Kearns displayed real scoring qualities. On the Athletic side Svenson played in both tho first and second five-eighths positions, but was well marked. He showed, an inclination to undertake too much on his own, but his first-class form should be seen with a game or two. "Whinham played gamely, but was badly shaken by injuries. Ronberg showed glimpses of ability above the average, while. Keenan played a safe game at full-back.

An Easy Win. Little exoiting football was witnessed at the match between Hutt and Oriental at Kelburn Park. The Oriental forwards wero heavier- and constantly heeled the ball from the scrums. Hutt's forwards showed an improvement on their previous game, although they did not have much .suocosa in getting the ball out to the backs. The Oriental backs were superior, but of ten left their passeß too late. Passing rushes among the "suburban team were rare, and their tackling was poor. Berntsen played again in the forwards and Jarman proved an efficient full-back. Sundgreen played a fine game in the forwards, but lacks weight. Hester was prominent in the three-quarter line. Wyman played a splendid game as fullback for Oriental; his. sure tackling and good kicking were a pleasure to watch. Packnatz was a fast man on the wing, but he. was well watched. Allan and Townshend were -also prominent. The two hookers, B. Smith and H. Smith were very efficient. v Pringle was the most noticeable among the forwards.

An Unusual Incident. The game between Wellington and Poneke on Saturday was one of the fastest played this Reason. The pace was on all the way, and the ball travelled up and down the field with amazing rapidity. Thus there was always incident to arouse the spectators, and perhaps the outstanding feature of the match waß the final try gained by Poneko. Stubbs, the full-back, attempted to pot a goal. Tno ball.hit the cross-bar and bounced into play and Wilson (not J. Shearer as previously stated) pounced on it and went over. From the bank it looked as though Wilson was offside, but the referee, Mr. E.. Perry, states that the ball touched a Wellington player in its flight. Had the ball gone over, he would have ruled "no goal." The appeal by a Wellington player that tho ball had touched him backs up the referee's version. The bout of .fisticuffs demonstrated by two opposing forwards during the game would have brought the fancy that attend boxing tournaments to its feet.' Bx>3fieJHjr waa thg hflflt-ioßward of the

two packs, but he was not far ahead of Voico, Wilson, and J. Shearer. Matheson and Jessup were evenly matched at wing-forward, although tho former was the speedier of the pair. Johnson played a fine game, despite the fact that he was well marked. Ho made three or four splendid runs, and his defensive work was sound. . Kilby showed a tendency to run from the serum with the ball when setting his backs in motion. This, is a most serious fault, and should not be found in a first-class half-back. Corless and Morgan, the Wellington wings, made three or four splendid runs, but they were not speedy enough to break clean away. Algar and'H. Tilyard were the best of the Poneke backs. One of Algar's tries was the result of a brilliant run through a loophole in the defence. G. Nicholls was safe and his kicking was accurate. 'Varsity and Marist.

Details of the Univcrsity-Marist match at Athletic Park have already been given fully in "The Post," and there is little more to be said regarding the run of play. It wa3 the type of game for which followers have long been waiting—fast and open. Marist, after their runaway win over Poneko, were expected to provide tough opposition for the students,-.and .they did. But in essaying the open order they found that their speed was not up to that of the University. 'Varsity's pace was hot, and with it there was an amount of excellent combined work, some of it topped off by movements of high class. Marist were not so successful at the open game, simply because the ball was far too slow in coming through the inside backs. Their forwards presented a greater danger, and for a time in tho second spell it seemed'that they would over-run the students. The latter, however, succeeded in repeating the good forward work shown previously, and this placed 'Varsity in, the position of giving free play to a rearguard which takes some beating. 'Varsity's performance was bright and impressive, and Marist gave further evidence of their ability at a game which is likely to upset the best ■ of teams. A little more polish and Marist would be tougher still. , ■

The outstanding player on the ground was Ramson, the University , centre-throe-quarter. To the manner, in which this player made the most of work by tha inside backs ahead of him, University owed their success. Ramson generally took the ball at top speed, and even so ho Was able to do ■ side-step-ping and swerving without being thrown out of his stride. Ho ,is a '' find. ?' Mackenzie, as usual, played a good, heady game, well fed by Leys, and well supported by Irwin. Maokay showed dash and determination on tho wing until he retired injured.

The University forwards worked very well in the first spell, but appeared to bo off colour for quite a period of the second half. They all went well when in proper action.

Marist's full-back,'Cuming, was very disappointing after the good showing ho had made on the previous Saturday. The wing-threo-quarters not get the opportunities that were due to them, although Barry generally made good wnett the ball came his way. Condon, as ccn-tre-three>quarter, did not show up until Marist's forwards were holding sway in the second spell, but Johnson was always nippy and quite the bost performer, in Marist's.rearguard. Mur-phy-was riot fast enough on attack, but was of great service in defensive work. Among tho Marist forwards M' Hardy (wing)' was a good leader in the looao, with Barry and Mahoney tho pick of the pack. HaU and Griffin showed up as place-kicks. Bright Prospects. With an appreciable advance in the stahdard- of local senior football and a number of additions to the ranks of possiblo" representative players, Wellington's prospocts of an improved showing in representative) football this season are much brightor. For a timo it appeared that tho solo selector would bo unable to find material up to requirements so far as tho backs were concorned, but now he appears to bo well supplied. .

W. Elvy's shift to Wellington makes an outstanding wing-throo-quartor available; Eamson's recent performances have brought to light another "star" three-quarter; and Svcnson's roturn to the game opens up possibilities of another position being filled morb than satisfactorily. Svenson, Eamson, and Elvy would make up a great threo-quar-tor line.

Then, for five-eighths, there are two players tried and proved—Mark Nicliolls and Lance Johnston; and to serve these backs there are excellent players offering in Kilby, Warwick and others. Among other players who have been showing splendid form as inside-backs are Mackenzie, Lang, and- Grenfell, tho first two being also capable in other positions. Love also must claim some attention, but, after the fine reports received when the Maoris returned from their tour, it is a pity that h<r was not tried in the position in which he Was said to be outstanding, that of halfback. . '

■ There are other backs still, among them sonio senior B players. Batehelor, a representative back, from the Waikato district, is also in Wellington, and it is reported that E. Coupland, from Victoria, may play in Wellington, if not in Christchurch.

Some capable full-backs are offering, and there aro also the players who, if placed in that position, would no doubt fill the bill admirably. Not a few followers of tho game hold that Mark Nicholls would be an ideal full-back, but, as ho has struck top form again, can, ho be Bpared from his usual position? Grenfoll had a great reputation as full-back at Wellington College, but since playing for Old Boys he has hud to move up, as that team has been well served by Malcolm. Walters is back again, and showing good form. Reverting to inside-backß, another player has followed Svenson's steps in breaking from retirement. This is F. Tilyard, Matters look very good so far as the back division is concerned, and from the forwards offering a fine pack should be got together, but it will be hard to pick. . International Tours.

The desire of the Now Zealand Eugby Union that the visit of.: the British team to their country should take place in 1929 instead of 1930 as now arranged is another indication of the vaiue placed on these international tours by the Dominions (says "The Sporting Life"). The only doubt whether their request will be favourably considered by the International Board 1 is the fact that South Africa may desire to return tho : visit of tb« British team two seasons ago in the same peiiod. At tho moment ;there' are v number of these international tourg already ararnged. We visit the Argentine in the summer; a few months later Now South Wales will be played over here, and at the same time New Zealand visit South Africa. If South Africa come to England in 1929 and we go to Now Zealand the next season, there will have been an uninterrupted series of games botween various parts of the Empire for four years. Yet we still hesitate to give the Dojioger geßEeaentation.

Points. ;Chp. •, P. W. L. D. P. A. Pts. Jrtd Boys »....• 6 4 11 80 62 9 University .... 7 4 2 1 99 75 9 7 4 2 1 OS 61 9 Jrtraeke . 6 3 12 93 '78 8 Berhamporo ..6 3 2 1 72 ' 75 7 Oriental 7 3 3 1 78 70 7 Athletic 7 3 3 1 68 64 7 Wellington .... 6 2 3 1 fls 62 „ 5 a, r's' 7 2 5 0 SO 81 ' 4 Hutt c ... 7 0 6 1 41 109 1 - SENIOR "B" GRADE. Poiuts: Clip. .■••..• P- W. L. D. P. A., pu. Eastbourne. M .. 7 7 0 0 145 34 14 JohnsonTille ..752 0 95 54 in Oriental ..... 7 3 , 3 1 64 68 7 Training CoL ..6 3 ,3 0 57 50 8 oelwjn . 7 3 4 0 68 .66 6 Po»rua ■ 7 3 i ° 59 60 6 Athletic ...... 6 15 0 33 114 2 University.-...;■ 5 0 4 1 44 119' 1