PHYSICAL FITNESS BIG TEST IN AFRICAN RUGBY

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 February 1949, Page 7

PHYSICAL FITNESS BIG TEST IN AFRICAN RUGBY

‘ ‘ Apart, of course, from the tests, 1 expect that the Northern Transvaal provincial sides will give the New Zealand Rugby representatives their hardest matches in South Africa this'year,” said Mr Arthur Joseph, a Christchurch Rugby enthusiast and senior field judge to the Canterbury Centre of the N.Z.A.A.A., in an interview in Wellington on his return from South Africa.

Mr Joseph, who spent a considerable time in the Union, visited Pretoria last May for the first match between these two teams and he later watched the return match at Johannesburg, where he also saw Transvaal play Western Province. “I would like to impress upon the New Zealand representatives that, in their engagements with either Transvaal team, much will depend upon their form in the first 15 minutes,” Mr Joseph declared. “Because of the high altitude (it is 9600 feet above sea level in the veldt), the All Blacks will find this vital period a.very' trying one. Moreover, the tactics of both combinations in their games this season also suggested that the issue may' well be decided in that vital period. The pace was a cracker.” Splendid Physique Mr Joseph emphasised that play was hard but clean. He predicted that the bulk of the Springbok pack would be drawn from the representatives of these provinces. “I noticed that, many of the sixteen were policemen.” he continued. “They' are men of splendid physique (they’ll be heavier than our fellows), and, if you can appreciate what a high standard of physical fitness is demanded of members of the: South Africa police force, You will understand just how tough their forwards arc.” j He. suggested that the police influ- ■ ence in South African Rugby’ was best illustrated in Pretoria. “Their: club team there, for example, simply i dominates the local competition. And,' make no error, their football is of an exceptionally high standard.” Touching on individual players, Mr Joseph predicted that Kotze, the burly Transvaal winger, would make the grade in the trials next season. “He is really fast, and his effective swerve reminded me very much of C. D. Aar- i void, crack centre in the British team , that played in New Zealand in 1930,” Mr Joseph declared. “The Transvaal full-back, Louw, appealed as a potential Springbok, too. His positional play was ; first rate.'he handled well, and his line kicking was impressive.”

Dive Pass Retained

The Christchurch man remarked that the South Africans have retained, the dive pass. “All the leading scrum halves used it,” he said, “arid, though it put a man out of action in a set movement, the speedy service still looked as though it would pay dividends.” Reverting to forwards, the Canterbury man'’insisted that the New Zealanders will have to jump for the ball in the line-outs.

“I thought it most significant that, in all the leading fixtures, the wingers lobbed the ball in slowly. And, speaking as a man closely associated with athletics you can take it from me that their forwards get height.” Discussing tactics generally, Mr Joseph suggested that thrust in the centre would be the policy most likely to succeed. “Although a different approach is always on the cards, the Transvaal game follows very much the pattern of play shown New Zealand by the 1937 Springbok,” he remarked. “The Transvaal backs rushed the ball out to the wingers at every opportunity.”

Hard Ground Problems

Commenting on grounds in the veldt, Mr Joseph said that the grass tended to make the ball shiny and difficult to handle. “It was well blown up and the firm turf did not assist matters,” he observed. “The, All Blacks must bear that fact in mind. The hard nature of the grounds is not going to make their task any easier in the veldt. I believe that they will enjoy their football more in Western Province, where the conditions are similar to ours.”

Mr Joseph ventured the opinion that the New Zealanders would find the Johannesburg Rugby followers most impartial. “They anticipate great crowds at Ellis Park,” he said. “In fact, preparations are being made to accommodate 50,000 for the Test match in that city! interest is quickening. The names of some All Blacks are already household words in the Union. When South Africans learned that I was a New Zealander I was frequently asked how full-back Bob Scott was playing new. Many had seen the Aucklander in Middle East Service matches.”