RUGBY IN AUSTRALIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 May 1935, Page 10

RUGBY IN AUSTRALIA

MAORIS MAY HAVE EASY TASK

The proposal to receive a tour from a. Maori team this year was not too well received by the New’ South Wales Rugby Union, some members of the management committee fearing that the New South Wales fifteens would prove too strong for them, and that they would not be a financial success. It would now appear that the New South Wales authorities altogether over-rated the prowess of their players, and that the question really is whether the Australian fifteens will be able to give the Maoris a decent game. .

It is many yeais since a New South Wales Rugby Union side revealed so many crudities as the fifteen beaten by Queensland 24 to 11 on May 4, yet, to the surprise of practically every follower of the old code, very few changes were made in the team for the return game two days later, which New South Wales won, 8-6 (says a Sydney writer). It is an admission that the supply is unequal to the demand. Certainly plaj r will need to improve considerably, or the Maori team, which many believed would not extend New South Wales, may have an easier passage than anticipated.

Forwards and backs alike were responsible for the poor exhibition. The notable defections from last Winter’s personnel cannot be entirely responsible for the slump in standard, for, in two positions ably filled by Ross and Syd Malcolm a year ago, the play was better than in others.

The dropping of Richards from the half-back place is inexplicable. He shared with Sutton the honour of being the best of the New South Wales backs. He did not get as great a share of the ball as did Bennett, but the fact that his fellow backs failed, could not be attributed to him. Richards did not get much protection from his forwards, but when opportunity offered he sent the ball out smartly, and in defence he was sound. The full-back, Sutton, has reason to be satisfied with his first appearance in representative football. The Manly lad handled very cleanly; he kicked with power, finding the line well, and his tackling was sound. With Ross an absentee, the full-back position seemed likely to be hard to fill, but Sutton undoubtedly made good in his trial.

WEAK BACKS. While the wing three-quarters, Kelaher and Cowper, can be excused for not catching the public eye more, there is nothing to explain the lack of penetration and thrusting power of the other backs. The wings got the bull any old way, generally when jammed on touch, with no room in which to work. Never has one witnessed so many hurried purposeless and misdirected passes. Onlookers could easily be pardoned for deciding that many of the backs did not want the ball, so quickly did they get rid of it after a short run across field, a run that ended with the 1 ball nearer to the New South Wales goal line than it was when the dash ' started. Primrose lacked enterprisei

entirely. Someone is needed here who is tricky and capable of beating an opponent, and is not merely a taker and giver of passes. Malcolm was very stodgy and rather weak in rush stopping. Towers, the best of the centres. was hardly up to the form of last season. The story of the forwards is equally as disheartening from a New South

Wales viewpoint. Devil was entirely missing. Queensland were the better scrummagers, they shone in line-out play, and in the loose and thick crushes completely overwhelmed the light blues. Holland seemed rattled very frequently, no doubt the importance of the game affecting him. He was seen to break away from the scrum unnecessarily .and he threw the ball about in a very unmethodical way. Quite a youngster, he has played some very fine games for Parramatta, and his time will come again. Queensland forwards were the main factors in the triumph. Green, who secured his place owing to Bonis being unable to make the trip, was a very efficient hooker, beating Mark Mortion for the ball, and the whole set were good in every phase of forward play. Howard was very solid and untiring. Bermingham, an Australian representative, has not lost his form; and Whyatt, who scored two tries, showed pace, and was quite at home against high tackling. Doneley is still a line back. He was success!ul in three penalty attempts, and his efforts to convert the tries, though they did not bring the desired result, were very good kicks. When he was having a shot from about 55 yards early in the game the ball rolled out of position. After being replaced it repeated its performance, and Referee Kilner then ordered a scrum, evidently classing the awful deed of the wayward ball as deliberate waste of time by Doneley. The punishment for “intentional waste of time” is a penalty kick, but a scrum satisfied Kilner on this occasion.

Half-back Bennett was the star of the backs. He had more opportunity to shine than did Richards, and he quickly sensed that the home backs were poor tacklers, so when he felt inclined to try a little individual work he nearly always had an uninterrupted pathway. The backs have not vet worked up combination, but Hayes and McLean seem likely to repeat last Winter's good form.