RUGBY PROSPECTS

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 5, 7 January 1928, Page 15

RUGBY PROSPECTS

NEW ZEALAND TOUR SOUTH AFRICAN MATERIAL '•NO GIANTS" Close followers of the Rugby gam.c in youth Africa include quite a number of New Zealanders, and in advices received from some of them the opinion is expressed that the standard of play there is not ■what it was some few years ago. The TN'ew Zealand, team for the big tour appeals to them as a side good enough to beat the Springboks. Interesting references to play and players in 'South "Africa, with a line as to prospects for this year's tour by the New Zealand Rugby representatives are contained in a letter from Dr. J. Drummond, of Natal,, who also refers to the state of grounds on which the tourists will play their more important games. Dr. Drummond is a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Drummond, of Dannevirke, and ho has been actively connected with Rugby football in South Africa, one of his official positions being selector to the Natal Rugby Union. "You seem to have got a wonderful side together, and I cannot see them being beaten over here," he writes in a letter to his parents. "In my opinion, and, as you know, I have been in close touch with Rugby here for years, the quality of Rugby football in this country is considerably below that of four or five years ago." LIGHTER FORWARDS. Discussing the present-day forwards in South Africa, Dr. Drummond states that the type is lighter than formerly. "We have no giants of the 'Baby' Michau and. Frank Van Rooyen stamp, nor have wo the combined packs of the former Transvaal or Western Province standard. Last season Natal had a good pack, averaging about 13st 121b, probably the best pack Natal has ever had, and though wo were beaten by the Western Province side by a margin of 14 points, our forwards had complete mastery of theirs and it was only the weakness of our backs that let us down. The same thing happened when we played the Transvaal, while the latter was only beaten by the Western Province by one point after having had immeasurably the better of tho game." OUTSTANDING PLAYERS. Other interesting observations on play and players are made by Dr. Drummoud as follows:— "The Transvaal have a pair of halves in Devine and Sieff who on their day are individually and collectively brilliant, but they are not consistently in this form. They will probably play together in one of the Tests. / "Dr. Van Druten and Kruger (the latter of the Springbok side in New Zealand) are their best forwards, and combine weight with dash and thorough knowledge of the game. The other forwards are on the light side. They have good three-quarters, but no worldbeaters amongst them. The wings, Pretorius and Oostbinzen will be in the running for honours. "Osier, fly half for ihe Western Province, is a match-winning player with a wonderful facility for dropping goals, but to my mind is too prone to kick for touch. His defence may not stand too much punishment. He is the best fly half in this country. Their forwards were lauded to the skies by their newspapers, but were nothing more than a good average pack, with Mestert and Mellish, of tho New Zealand tour, tho best of them. "The Griqualand West side, who in the past made history in this country, are a negligible quantity now. "The Free State have a bustling side of average weight forwards with serviceable three-quarters (one of them, Wansbury, brilliant at times), and a really clever pair of halves. They sprang a big surprise last season by beating the Transvaal on their own ground. "The Eastern Province and Border sides wore ordinary, the former beaten by Natal last year, and the latter drawing with Natal, 11-11, after being down 0-11 at half-time. WEAK POINTS. "So far as one can see, there isn't at present a full-back of outstanding ability in the country, unless one arises before next wincr. "To sum up, our forwards, so far as I can see, will bo lucky if they average 14 stone, and will probably work out at about 13st 101b. They will be fast and clever. Our halves should be above- the average. For three-quarters we have wings with plenty of pace, but we have no great centres of the old type, and I fancy our weakness will lie here and at full-back. "Judging by scores put up in the All Black trials, the defence must have been sacrificed for attack, or else it wasn 't there. "Defence in this country will be a strong suit. It always has been and there are no signs of its being wanting now.'' GOOD GROUNDS. Regarding the comment made ii <""iincction with South African playing areas, Dr. Drummond status: — "The All Blacks and their advisers seem to dread our grounds. They have littlo cause to do so. Most grounds in this country are turfed now. Durban has a beautiful' grass pitch, and no better ground can bo found in New Zealand. The same applies to Western Province, Newlands; Transvaal, Johann sburg, Kimberley, Port Elizabeth; East London, and Potchefstroom. These | grounds will all be in good order and not hard. Maritzburg is grassed but hard, and the same applies to Bloemfontein and Petoria. The Test matches in Johannesburg, Capetown, Port Elizabeth, and Durban will all bo played on grounds of excellent condition. "Things which may animadvert against the staying power of the side are the altitude of the Transvaal, 5000 feet, and the climatic conditions—playing under a hot sun very often. We get littlo rain in much of this country in mid-winter. "The team here will not be picked until early next season, though certain players may be advised to prepare for trials directly the season opens." OURRIB CUP. The Curric Gup competition, on a par with the Raufurly Shield contest in New Zealand, was won in the past season by Western Province, which went through the series of games without a loss. Transvaal, the runners-up, was unlucky in its match with Western Province, general opinion being that the better team lost on this occasion. The final points for the Currio Cup were as follow:—Western Province 18, Transvaal 14, East/em Province 12, Orange Free State 12, Natal 11, Border 7, Griqualand 6, South-Western District 4, North-Eastern District 4, "Western Tranßvaal 2.