The All Blacks BLACK TO PLAY AS SCRUM HALF ON WEDNESDAY

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 August 1949, Page 5

The All Blacks BLACK TO PLAY AS SCRUM HALF ON WEDNESDAY

KIMBERLEY, August 21 (Rec. 11 a.m.). —The All Blacks’ selectors have decided on the experiment of playing Black as scrum half in Wednesday’s match against North-eastern Districts at Aliwal North. A great weakness throughout, the tour, except for the first test, has been the slow service frpm the scrUm, partly due to the slow heeling .of the ball but mainly to the inability of the New Zealand halves to throw the ball as far or with the same speed as the South Africans, though their play in other departments, particularly that of Savage, has been good. In some practices Black, deputising as scrum half, threw out excellent long passes, and, though the tour appears too far advanced to try experiments, the selectors have decided on this change as the All Blacks have everything to gain if it succeeds. The team for Wednesday’s match is:— Full-back: J. W. Goddard. Three-quarters: Botting, M. P. Goddard, Henderson. Five-eighths: Allen, Kearney. Half-back: Black. Front row: Simpson, Catley, Dalton. Middle row: McNab, Willocks, * Frazer, Crowley. Back of scrum: Christian. The North-eastern Districts team is drawn from a widely-scattered area and is generally considered weakest in South Africa. Opportunity For Goddard With such players as Kearney and Allen inside him, M. P. Goddard, who will be playing his third game in succession, should have every opportunity to attain peak form for*- the third test at Durban. His dashing form has given renewed interest to the test series and the All Blacks are hopeful that in the lower- altitude for both the remaining tests they will be able to repeat their Newlands form, where they demonstrated that, given sufficient ball, they can overwhelm South Africa in general team-work. ; - - . They have only Wednesday’s match and the return game next Saturday against Orange Free State in which to find their test side, but a mood of grim determination prevails. A feature of this tour has been that every playei 1 has been given, Ji,fair chance to prove his claims; for the highest honours.