WITH THE SPRINGBOKS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 July 1937, Page 10

WITH THE SPRINGBOKS

FIRgT TEST AT SYDNEY. (Dy J. G. McLean.) [SPECIAL TO “BTAB.’j SYDNEY, June 27. Sunda-y, Jupe 27—a miserable dank day of doors, fiut a ay satisfaction for the Springboks. who yesterday avenged theif defeat at the hands of New South Wales the previous week. . Truo, yesterday’s inatdh was against Australia, not New South Wales; but only four new men had come into the side, so that it remained virtually the same as that of the previous week. In; addition, its policy was still directed by the astute John Wallace, its captain was still Cyril Towers, and its guiding principles of daring attack 'remained unaltered. What a different atmosphere prevails in Usher’s Hotel to-day, compared with that of last Sunday! As Philip Nel remarked after the smash-?, ing victory of New South Wales, the first thing was -to maintain the morale of the Springbok side. A heavy and unexpected defeat, as he well knew, is always liable to have a depressing influence on a touring side. Last Sunday, although the Spring-

boks did their best to be cheerful, one could see that they felt disheartened. The speedy New South Welshmen had simply cut their backs to ribbons. Five tries to one —it was victory clearcut and convincing., Worse still, cheery and popular Ben Du Toit was in hospital with spinal injuries. Danie Craven, who had been heavily knocked about but did 'not leave the field, was still-white and shaken, and so was “Johnny” Bester. And even the weather seemed to be conspiring against them. Since landing at Melbourne there had scarcely been an hour of the famed- but apparently mythical Australian sunshine, and that of a pallid description. Fogs had enveloped Melbourne, morning, noon and night. Up at Orange and Jenolan it had been bleak and showery. And as for Sydney—words fail!

We have been ten days in Sydney, and in that period over ten inches of rain has fallen. Rain has fallen every day, sometimes in torrents, and often for hours at a time. Cyclonic storms have uomo marching out of the west. High seas have lashed the coasts. Picnics and excursions had to be postponed. Instead of getting out to enjoy the sights of Sydney in the expected balmy sunshine, the Springboks were confined indoors except when actually training. Everyone, even the non-playing "ca,mp-followers," fell glum and irritable. The players, faced with the urgent' task of remedying the weaknesses evident against New South Wales, had to go and train hard under the most exacting conditions. So wot were tho grounds after heavy overnight rain that each day training was postponed until the afternoon. But rain, hail, or blizzard, the training had to be (lone. Every afternoon for two hours every fit member of the party went out and toiled like a. Trojan. The team responded gallantly to the need of the occasion.

To-day, with victory von and prestige restored, there is a. gay and cheerful atmosphere in the hotel. Instead of tho subdued “post-mortem’’ of last Sunday there is a pronounced lightheartedness. Last night, I may add, it was-even more pronounced. Philip Nel was very pleased and proud last night. “The forwards, were splendid,’’ he said, “and the backs did their part well.” The backs, of course, had a negative part to play. After the previous week’s dramatic exposure of the lack of thrust in the Springbok attack the South African “general staff” had' to decide on measures which would assure them a victory in the. first test, alter which there would be a breathing’ space, giving them time to take stock and perhaps evolve a more effective plan of attack. The' main thing, obviously, in the meantime, was to “play safe,’’ particularly as it became evident as the week wore on that, no improvement in either tho weather or the state of the ground could be expected. FIELD LIKE GLUE. An inspection of the ground on Thursday and again on Friday shower that the worst conditions could be prepared for. The outfield at. the Sydney cricket ground' is of light and sandy soil and drains rapidly, but in the middle is tho famous test cricket wicket, a large square area of the notoriously sticky llulli soil, probably measuring forty or fitly yards each way. Here the field was literally like | glue. It squelched underfoot at every step..

It was fairly sale Io assume that the ball, instead of being washed clean in the large pools, as happened the previous Saturday, would this time become smeared with mud, and far more difficult to handle. The Springboks, having chosen a. provisional twenty players on Thursday (dropping only Bester of the backs who played against New South Wales, hut. adding White, Babrcw and de Villiers) therefore elected in Hie ••nd Io play men known for their steadiness. They put "J’ecrie" de Villiers behind the scrum, because, although not generally considered a duck-weather half-back, he had played well at Orange and could be. relied upon to give nothing away. This left Craven free' for the .onerous "key position of fly-half, or first live-eighth, as New Zealanders call it. Then the line was further stiffened by the introduction of Jimmy White, and Babrow, both of whom had done well at Orange. With Turner on one wing and D. 0. Williams on the other, the latter playing in his first, official match of tho tour (and a test match at-that!) an essentially sound threeQuarter line was put in the field. Pauling,' a big, powerful fellow, Whose father was a former All Black, and who himself played as a. forward before developing great gifts as, a ientre, was recognised as the chief | menace in the Australian backline, it was Pauling who forced his way through to make the opening for the first try by Now South Wales. To check him the ‘ Springboks deviated from their usual practice of playing a left and right centre, and placed the dependable Wliite as their inside centre, throughout the game, in a position corresponding to the New, Zealand second five-eighth, so that] he was opposite Pauling throughout. White’s determined tackling undoubledly had a lot to do with the breakdown of the Australian passing movements. He launched himself at the big Australian with the utmost vigour. Often the pair of them crashed to the ground together, ball and all, and at other times Pauling barely had titne to send the ball on, so persistently was he “spotted” by White. The decisions as to the composition

of the team' and the final tactics to bo adopted were not made until an hour or two before the game. Nel had taken all the Springboks out for a drive on the morning. of the match, wisely taking, the view that they needed a diversion from the stuffy atmosphere of the hotel and the constant succession of visitors talking nothing’ else but Rugby. Oil‘returning, the selection committee immediately went into conference, and it w? & not until after 1 o'clock when the team were, lunching, that Assistant-Manager Alec de Villiers ( came into the dining room and told each of the -selected players that, they were to attend u. team talk after lunch.

: There had in the meantime been a few hours of watery sunshine ■ Strange though it seemed, it had not ’ rained since breakfast time. The tine ’ spell, brief though it proved to be, ’ was providential for the New South : ..Wales Rugby Union, for over 33,00 b people paid for admission to the ' ground. The. stands were already ' packed at 2 o’clock, and from that ' time until 3 o’clock there was a steady stream of people into the uncovered ' parts of the ground. The famous hill, 1 haunt, of the renowned barracker, was closely packed, in contrast to the previous Saturday, when owing to the wet weather there were only a tew dozen hkrdy enthusiasts there. Alas, even on this occasion, the “Hillites” were to get wet;- for though bright sunshine cast long shadows across the ground when the match started, there was already an ominous cloud bank over to the south-west. The curtain-raiser between two Grammar School teams had shown the field to be in a . deplorable condition.- The boys were caked in mud and’ the slimy ball repeatedly eluded them. Thus’the ' wisdom of the Springboks in choosing a safe side rather than a brilliant.one was amply confirmed, and as the match wore on their prearranged tactics, of taking no risks whatever in the open, were also to be vindicated by the result. It was interesting to note on the sideline two buckets of clean water, for the use of the ambulance men in wiping mud from players’ eyes. Other interesting points were the appearance of the Australians in the special jerseys adopted for the occasion, white with green and gold bands, to avoid clashing with the Springboks, and the. gaudy turn-out of the referee and the official Australian linesman, each of whom wore a blazing scarlet jersey aiid contributed a vivid patch of colour to what was subsequently to become a somewhat drab picture. Dendy Lawton was I lie Springbok touch-judge, and profiting from the experience the previous Saturday of U. B. Jennings, who wore his ordinary clothes and got soaked to the skin, Juicing to return to the hotel in wet clothes, Lawton was prepared for any eventuality in football kit and a cream sweater. The special line-out flag used b.v the Springboks for test matches was brought out for the occasion, and in the first few minutes dropped off its stick. However, Lawton picked it up.and put it on again, and after the match it was presented I by the Springboks’ manager, Mr Percy | Day, to the Australian linesman.

NO CHANCES TAKEN. Quito early in the game it was to be seen that there would be no repetition of the chapter of accidents and lapses which had marked the Springbok delenco the previous Saturday. Every back went hard and solidly into his opponent. There was no haphazard fly-kicking, no lax positional play. Every man was viligant and on his toes. If the ball came loose along the ground it was either scooped up or else the nearest man flung himself on to it in the old traditional style—the only safe way to arrest a forward rush.

Craven, repeatedly putting the ball into touch instead of sending it out to the backs, soon gave a foretaste of Lite general plan. Once or twice in early passing rushes the ball went out as far as White. He promptly sent it up tho middle of the field. With a less accurate or cool full-back than Rankin, these kicks might have brought results. But Rankin, whose magnificent steadiness has been one of the features of the matches with the Springboks, making him one of the prime successes of the season in Australia, never faltered, and again and again caught the ball cleanly and drove, the Springboks back with accurate touchlindcrs.

. Still, it was evident that the Springbok forwards had taken command and meant to hold it. They were camping either on or within the Australian twenty-live line. Close work was the feature of the, play. To and fro in that, narrow section of trampled turf swayed the hot and fiery struggle. It was evident that, no quarter was being given; ami several early penalties against, the. Australians for line-out breaches indicated that the methods ot which the Springboks had complained the previous Saturday, including bumping and obstruction, were this time not to go unchecked. Biand had two or three shots al goal from, those early penalties, and cm a, dry day there is little doubt that they would have brought points. But already the. ball was heavy ami areas,' and almost, impossible to lift. Even Bra ml. one of ifie world’s greatest goal-kickers, could not hois! it over the bar.

Even with a territorial advantage i- so marked that, according to a graph t published in the “Sydney Sun,'' the j Australians were only in their twentyi live once during the entire first spell, [• tlic Springboks ’diu not risk opening • up the game. It almost appeared that, if unable to score with their forwards, ( they would be content not fo score at . all. Once or twice there were tenta- . five attempts at passing movements, . hut when no opening appeared the ball was quickly put into the air. Lotz, playing a strong, robust game, was prominent in several of the early I forays. So, too, was Boy Louw, playing this time as eighth man in the back of the scrum, instead of in the front row as in earlier matches. Nel had gone up from the lock position to the front, while Ferdie Bergh and Van den Berg locked the scrum, with Strachan and Bastard on the flanks. The playing of Boy Louw- in the back was something of a/gamblc, as he is not tho fast, agile type of forward the , Springboks usually prefer for such a I position. But the selection committee argued that on a heavy ground his comparative iackjof pace would not diminish bis tactical skill and general utility, and* this reasoning proved correct. He played a very sound allround ganie, easily his best on the tour to date. VIRILE FORWARD PLAY. It was his brother, Fanie, however, who carried off the real honours of the day. I have selddm seem a more spirited exhibition of. sustained virile j forward play than Fanie Louw gave. Repeatedly, in spite of the homerie of- ' forts of the Australian' forwards, he '

came away from loose rucks with the ball in his arms, fending off one man, hammering his way through tackles, cleaving a path even where it seemed impossible that anyone could find a way. It was from one such run that the first try came, Fanie broke away on the blind.'side of a scrum about on the Australian twenty-five line, and simjyly hurled himseli toward the goal-line. Finally blocked, he gave a short pass to Bergh, who gained a couple more hard-won yards before passing tho ball infield. where Strachan carried on the attack. Within six feet of the line Strachan found himself checked, and it looked as if the attack, like several earlier ones, might peter out; but Bastard, up with the play all the time (and playing his first international match) snapped up ti>e loose ball and plunged over. Several ol th*- Australians appeared to think Strachan hail thrown Hie ball forward, but. the referee, Mr A. L. Irvine, han no hesitation in awarding the try.

, At half-time, after dominating the play in a manner seldom seen, (he South Africans were three points up. Un the run of the play they should have had at least a dozen points in hand, and -the scoring of only one try when they were within striking disfance practically the whole time certainly indicated a lack of finish. Nevertheless, their strategy was that no risks were to be taken, and to have sent the greasy ball out to the threequarters would have meant taking risks which they did not consider, justified. I In the second spell the Springboks! again swept immediately to the attack. “Wib. Bill’’ Cerutti, who had gone off ,m; i before half-time with a very painful injury to the face, ''.inch left bis eye horribly black and swollen, was back on the field again and was to figure in one of the most dramatic incidents of the match. But first of all the only movement remotely resembling the brilliant New South Wales attacks of tho previous week wjs to yield an Australian try. At STRALIAN SCORE. It started on the Australian side of, half-way, when Richards, receiving I the ball from the -base of a loose) ruck which had developed from a I line-out, sighted the narrowest off openings between Craven and the Springbok scrum, and with a superb sense of opportunity went through it like a hare. In an instant he was out in the clear field in the grand manner, with only Brand ahead of him, and

his outsides coming up last in suppci t. A long pass to Towers at. about (he twenty-five line saw the Australian skipper striding lor home and glory. Babrow, showing unexpected ! ace, was in hot. pursuit, but dived a traction of a. second 100 soon, just flicking Towers's heels, so that he stumbled, but did not. fall, and went cn to plant the ball over the line within six feet of the posts. He converted unerringly, and Australia, against, all the run of the play, led by two points at a. clitical stage of the game. Xow was the time for the Springbok forwards to show their mettle, and nobly they rose to the occasion. Once again they swarmed into the Australian twenty-live and stayed there, 'they were sending Hm ball back repeatedly, and if de Villiers did not run hack among the forwards to keep play light, then Craven created the same cff'M.t by pivoting towards the touchline and sending Im ball out a lew yards up the field. ironical cheers greeted this recourse to tactics which the Australian onlooker, bred in the traditions of a breezier type of football, does not pretend either to appreciate or admire. Eventually. after Towers had fumbled a. dropping ball near his own line, a scrum ’ went down, and the Spiingbok forwards, trapping the hall, simply "walked it over’’ by sheer ihysical strength. Unconverted, the try gave them a lead of a point, but a few minutes later the Australians were penalised for obstruction, and this time Brand did not fail. With the Springboks leading by f) to 5 and continuing to dominate, all seemed over when suddenly (lie burly form «jf Cerutti emerged behind the roiling half in a. spectacular challenge to the African defence. Running hard and ticking harder, ho carried the attack fifty yards unaided, almost to the line, where others joined in as the frantic Springboks tried to cover up their defence. Right alongside the posts the ball bounced up into the hands of the Queenslander. Wilson, but be knocked it. on and Hie Africans forced. The try would almost, certainly have been converted and might have robbed South Africa of a well-earned victory

! Some of I he Sydney critics were ! somewhat grudging in their tributes 1 to the victors and commented adversely on their methods. Truth, for instance, said: “And they call that Rugby!” Nevertheless, any impartial and knowledgeable critic would concede the extreme skill shown by the Springbok forwards in keeping the game tight, and the resolute impregnability of their general defence. White and Babrow (the latter playing

his first international) covered themselves with glory. They closed up the gaps of the previous Saturday, and have consolidated their claims to further international ' matches on the tour.

Thai night the corridors of Usher's resounded with songs in English and Alrikaans. The Springboks faced the future more confidently; and we New Zealanders began to wonder if the All Blocks had it pack which could match the crushing strength of that valiant eight, whose sledge-hammer blows carried the day.