Loose-Forwards In Rugby Are Not All Destructive, Says A Noted One

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6919, 25 July 1932, Page 5

Loose-Forwards In Rugby Are Not All Destructive, Says A Noted One

THE RIGHT TYPE HAS BROUGHT IN NEW AND INTERESTING PROBLEMS

ANY unkind things arc being said at the present time both in Great Britain and in South Africa about the “loose-forward (writes, in “The Out span, Andre McDonald, captain of Stellenbosch University, who was one of the most successful torwards in tne South African Rugby team in Great Britain and Ireland a few months ago). In South Africa, however, there is less justification than in Great Britain. The loose-forward is part of the modern game. He has come to stay. In this article I shall deal with various aspects of the loose-forward’s duties, and I hope when the reader coincs to the end of it that he will agree with me that far from spoiling open Rugby, the looseforward has brought new and interesting problems to the game which are more beneficial than destructive. There arc, of course, types of looseforward, such as we met in Wales during our overseas tour, whose methods are not conducive to the playing of good Rugby.. Before going any further it is necessary to remove a misunderstanding. In Great Britain the scrum formation is 3-2-3. while in South Africa the most popular formation is 3-4-1. If we represent a scrum by means of small circles, say in a match between England and South Africa, it will look like this:

vcloped into a source of strength. I can recall only three instances when our loose-forward obtained the ball from a three-quarter in the act of being tackled, and although it did not result in a score, the movement was, nevertheless, carried on and meant territorial gain to us. To cover a hack-line from the flyhalf to the wing or to carry on a backline movement after having done your duty in the scrum, calls for a high standard of fitness. A loose-forward therefore must be absolutely fit; I may say the fittest man in the team. Otherwise he will find it impossible to. fulfil his duties outside the scrum without neglecting his duties in the scrum. The most common charge against the loose-forward, and quite rightly, is that he shoves very little in the scrum. This is a vice against which he must always be on the watch. Several times I was found guilty of this offence. Here I wish to say that in a scrummage there is one psychological moment when each forward, including tiie loose-forward, must give his full strength for a combined shove. Having done this and the ball being hooked cleanly, I think a loose-forward displays little sense if lie does not break away from the scrum immediately. When lie does this it often looks as though lie lias neglected his duty in the scrum; hut in reality this might not he the case. Linking With The Wing.

There is still another way in which the loose-forward can he of a formidable attacking force. If on account of some infringement or the other a fixed scrum results at a spot not farther than 20 yards from the scoring line and not less than seven. yards from the touch line, the defending side must be well on its guard or the loose-forward may be the cause of a score against it. What happens is, this: Just as the attacking side heels the ball the loose-forward breaks away from the scrum, takes his position between the wing and the scrum-half, and receives the ball from the latter. Generally the only players between the scrum and the touch-line arc the opposing wings. Therefore, when the looseforward links up with the wing it means that the defending wing lias to stop two men. Often the full-hack comes to the rescue, but then the scrum-half or the outside flank-forward can join in so that tiie full-back and wing will have to stop three men.

According to the. British formation one would have a right to consider the forwards, A and B, as “loose” forwards. In the South African formation some think that there arc three “loose” forwards, namely, G, D and E. This, however, is not the case. The duties of E and D arc totally different from those of C, who is in reality the only “loose” forward in the South African scrum. G and D are flank-forwards, whose two most important duties are to shove in the scrum and to prevent the opposing scrum-half from breaking past the scrum.

My first try in the Springbok tour was scored in this way. In the Gambridge match, from a fixed scrum, near the touch-line and the scoring-line, we hooked the ball. I broke away from the scrum, received the ball from Graven, and the opposing wing had to stop “Ponie” van der Westhuizen and myself, which lie failed to do. It is hard to tell when to break away from the scrum. Practice, I think, is the best instructor. No hard and fast rules can be given. Sometimes even a mistake can have a favourable result. I am thinking of an incident in our match with Scotland. I made the mistake of breaking away too soon from the scrum, and so revealed our intentions to the Scottish three-quarters. Their fly-half and wing consequently ran in my direction and left a gap through which Craven burst to score the winning try. Another .most important duty of the loose-forward is to take the place of any three-quahter who might be out of action.

Different Duties, These two players are in the position to break away from the scrum quickly—a fact which may account for their being thought loose-forwards, too. G, or the recognised loose-forward, on the other hand, also has the primary duty to shove in the scrum with all his weight; but, while the flank-forward has to guard the immediate neighbourhood of the scrum, the. loose-forward has to act as a second line of defence right across the field, from the fly-half to the wing. Let us imagine there is a scrum; that I am the loose-forward: and that the opposing side has gained possession of the ball and has passed it along its three-quarter line. My duty is to break away from the scrum immediately I sec the opposing scrum-half passing the ball to his stand-off, and run behind my own backs to tackle any opponent who might break through the defence; to snatch up any stray pass; or to take advantage of any mistakes my opponents might make. Some think that the loose-forward must try to tackle the fly-half, and only on failing to do so must he cover his backs. This does not appeal to me, however. Nine times out of 10 the loose-forward reaches the flv-half just after he has kicked or passed, so that it is a waste of energy. If, on the other hand, he is determined to catch him, lie runs the risk of getting in front of the ball, with the result that lie is penalised. Or lie might fail to do lus duty in the scrum. To avoid these risks I think it is better the fly-halves should guard each other, or do what Bennie Osier did on the recent tour. He always managed to be on the outside of the opposing flyhalf, thus leaving a gap between the scrum and himself. R. S. Spong, the elusive fly-half in the England international, for instance, could not resist running into this gap (I fear he regretted it) and was tackled every time by either the flank-forward or the looseforward. . - , In other words, Bennie chased tne fly-half into the forwards, making it in this way unnecessary for the looseforward to hunt for the fly-half. He had, consequently, more time to do his duty in the scrum. Besides these duties, the loose-for-ward must also follow bis backs when they are in possession of .the ball, with the intention of carrying on their movements. Say a centre or any other three-quarter is tackled: there are two possibilities. He can play the ball with his foot, pick it up and start a forward hand-to-hand movement, or he can link up with the other threequarters. To gain possession of the ball in this way requires much skill and not a little self-control. The loose forward must always endeavour to reach the place where the three-quarter, is tackled, practically at the same time as the tackle takes place, so that lie can get away with the hall before the other players reach the particular spot. He is, therefore, running at top speed, hut on reaching the spot must come to a dead stop. This is easier said than done, and if you watch the loose-for-wards you will notice how they overrun the hall, or reach the particular spot too late to do anything with the ball,

Very often the scrum-half is tackled. If the ball is hooked from the ensuing loose scrum, the loose forward must be ready to pass it out to the three-quar-ters. Of course, he substitutes for a three-quarter only for a few seconds; but it is expecting much if he must fill any position on the field.

Can Be a Great Asset. If loose-forwards will concentrate on these duties, they will be a great asset to Rugby football. If, however, their main object is to spoil all the movements of their opponents they will become the curse of the game. In Wales tiie loose-forwards are always ready to kick the hall just as the scrum-half tries to pick it up. In most eases they are off-side when they do this; but they are hardly ever penalised. They also enter the loose scrums from their opponents’ side and arc guilty of severe obstruction. The referees arc to be blamed for allowing such transgressions; but then it must be remembered that they hold a very dangerous position in Wales. They have to satisfy over-keen players and excited crowds.

Up till last year a player was allowed to have one foot in front of the ball, but now, according to the new rule, both feet must be behind the ball. I should not he surprised if this rule was made to abolish the destructive play of the Welsh loose-forward.

Good Understanding Essential. The other possibility is to receive a pass from the tackled three-quarter before he is thrown to the ground, This Is the work of a second, and a very good understanding must exist between the loose-forward and the three-quart-ers. Although tackled, a three-quarter in most cases will have time to look round and pass the ball, on the inside, to the loose-forward who has followed up. To execute this movement with success both players must time themselves perfectly. If the loose-forward is a second too late the three-quarter will find it impossible to pass the ball out; and if the three-quarter is rather slow in passing the ball, the loose-forward will run past him at top speed, and an excellent opportunity of breaking through the defence will be wasted. The'loose-forward, in a movement like this, is, therefore, a substitute for the tackled three-quarter, so that two backs will have to stop three opponents; or three will have to stop four as the case may be. The point is that as soon as the loose-forward joins the backs there is an extra man, causing an uneven struggle. Now I admit that the loose-forward on the other side can take the place of the three-quarter who has been tackled, but then the possibility is always present that he might be a little too slow to take the place in time. And even if he is up in time it must be remembered that there is then nobody behind the defending backs, and it is easier to pierce one line of defence than two. I maintain, therefore, that by using the loose-forward in this way a grand opportunity of breaking through is afforded. This aspect of loose-forward play appeals to me most. It increases backline movements and makes the game faster. Unfortunately, on the Springbok tour this movement was never de-