The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1948. CLIMAX TO AN INTERESTING RUGBY SEASON

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22759, 4 October 1948, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1948. CLIMAX TO AN INTERESTING RUGBY SEASON

WITH the announcing ’on Saturday evening of the New Zealand Rugby football team to tour South Africa next year, one of the most interesting home seasons we have had for many years came to its climax. No visiting sides toured the Dominion to enliven the programme, but the public can have had little complaint with a fixture list which included the renewal in full spate of the Ranfurly Shield challenges and the staging of the most comprehensive series of All Black trials ever held.

The form shown in the trials has been good enough to lead to the hope that New Zealand in 1949 is sending to South Africa a combination of players who will do credit to their country on and off the field and who, even if they do not carry off the test match honours, will win a reputation for providing bright, constructive football throughout their sojourn in the land of the Springbok. New Zealanders would not be true to their enthusiasm for the national athletic game, however, if they did not view with some optimism the chances of their chosen of at least regaining the mythical “ashes” by winning the majority of the international encounters. If the many people in the Gisborne district, unfortunate enough not to have seen the trials can safely judge from press and radio reports, the. All Blacks of 1949 will be a formidable combination. In the selection there is hardly one man who can be considered lucky; on the other hand, outside the favoured circle there were many knocking at the door, so to speak, who would not have weakened the'team to any noticeable extent if they had been going on tour. This indicates that the standard of Rugby at the moment is uniformly high. Well-Balanced Team Selected

One of the tragedies of the 1928 season was the inability of A. E. Cooke, the wizard, to make the trip. On the dry grounds of South Africa Cooke, with his speed off the mark and general elusivencss, might have paralysed the Springbok defences. The 1949 side may have no back quite up to Ihe Cooke standard, hut the rearguard as a whole promises to strike a higher average of penetrative ability than their predecessors. For instance, each one of the five-eighths chosen has jinkiness developed to a very effective degree—an attribute which is most important in an international team facing the dour Springbok defence. The three-quarters arc chock-full of pace and determination, and in Scott, at least, an ace full-back is making the trip. Among the forwards a pleasing uniformity is also found. As individuals they fall short of the height and weight of some of the giants led so ably by Maurice Brownlie, but, by way of compensation for this, their weight is more evenly distributed and extends right into the front row. This team, moreover, will not be outlegislated, and consequently disorganised in the earlier stages of the tour, through the rulings of the South African authorities. It can be safely assumed that after all these years the three-fronted scrum lias been mastered. The two-three-two scrum, with its quicker heeling, had its advantages, but it is more satisfactory by far to be able to play the South Africans at their own game right from the outset. Our forwards, even though they may he a little lighter than the test match packs they will meet, should do well. Efficient Combinations Kept Together

It is probable that no New Zealand Rugby team about to embark on what is regarded as a major venture has been so strongly represented by two provinces. Between them Otago, with 10 selected men, and Auckland, with nine, comprise well over half the total personnel. Although it may be regretted in some quarters that other unions are not more liberally represented, the selectors are evidently satisfied that no alternative course was open to them than to keep certain efficient combinations together in order to get the best out of the side. After the conscientious combing of the Dominion there can be no quarrelling with their judgment. A happy feature of the selection is the reward_ that goes_to nine members of the 2 N.Z.E.F. Kiwis who have continued to give their best to the sport. Indeed the influence of Kiwi Rugby, which, we should imagine, is the enterprising type of game best calculated to defeat t.he Springboks on their own dry grounds, should be regarded as a permanent lesson to New Zealand footballers. Kiwi ability is manifest not only in the men selected to tour South Africa but also in the fact that, had he been eligible, the masterly J. B. Smith would have been among his old comrades; also in the fact that, but for his transfer to Rugby League, Cook of Wairoa would have gone as another full-back. Then again, it is possible that Saxton would still have been the best half-back in the country if he had extended his football career just a little longer. The lessons taught by Saxton should not be forgotten. Oldtime backs, most of whom enjoyed the advantage of a speedy service from the two-three-two scrum, seem to have a prejudice against the long dive-pass. The truth is that the dive-pass, or any pass that is both quickly delivered and long, goes hand-in-hand with the three-four-one scrum. If the selected half-backs are not coached along those lines, the five-eighths will have a torrid time in South Africa and will need all their agility to keep out of the kind of trouble that might cramp rearguard enterprise. Otherwise the team is tactically well-equipped to meet New Zealand’s old rivals on equal terms. Football enthusiasts throughout the Dominion will wish it good luck and a happy tour.