Rugby Test Takings A Record At Over £29,000

Northern Advocate, 15 August 1949, Page 6

Rugby Test Takings A Record At Over £29,000

(From CLAUDE KING.) , JOHANNESBURG, Sun (11 a.m.).—Gross takings for Saturday’s second test match at Ellis Park were reported to be £29,500, the greatest cash receipts in the history of the game m South Africa. • j I Of this amount £19,500 was taken in pre-match booking and Af 11 The^uge 7 crowd* of 70,000 created no problems for the traffic Roads converge on Ellis Park from all angles and though there were cars parked for miles, it took only half an hour to clear the ground of its multitude.

South African newspapers and commentators are unanimous that the All Blacks lost any chance they may have had through the sluggishness of the forwards and slow service to the Louis Barrow stated: The All Black forwards appeared to lack the dash and fire which characterised their plav at Newlands. "We saw little of the intensive backing up which is typical of their play. “Savage played bravely, but took tremendous punishment, and his service to Kearney was slow, though this was often due to slow heeling from the scrums. "Kearney, as a result, had little room in which to move, and the New Zealand backs rarely looked dangerous.” EFFECT OF ALTITUDE? Tony Harris said: “The Springboks won on their merits. They paved the pay for their backs. “On the other hand, there was no zest in the play of the New Zealand pack and the backs were hampered by slow service.” This lack of dash among the New Zealand forwards has nonplussed the team and all observers. The only possible explanation is the effect of the altitude on the players and the intense dry climate. At Newlands, for the first test, where the weather approximated that of New Zealand, the All Blacks were in fine fettle. Immediately on coming to the Transvaal after the test they repeated this dash, but subsequently in Rhodesia, and then on returning to the Transvaal, there has been a fluctuation in form. GASPING FOR BREATH Jack McNab, probably the fittest member of the side, who neither drinks nor smokes and who gives the utmost

attention to training, said after Saturday: “I cannot understand it. There were times on Saturday when I was gasping for breath. “I am nowhere near as fit as in New Zealand last season; yet I have trained just as hard.” There is a feeling that the reason for the All Blacks being beaten in the line-outs was the absence of Willocks. In the first test he was a fine binding force between Harvey and Grant. In that match when Grant won the ball New Zealand held this advantage. Grant has no superior as a high jumper for the ball but sometimes becomes unbalanced and loses possession. However, when Willocks is in the side it is noticeable that if Grant does lose the ball after taking it, it still comes out on the New Zealand side. On Saturday Grant at times suffered the same fate as H. Koch did in the first test. ARMS LINKED If he won the ball he was pulled through to the Springbok side and robbed of it. The shrewd line-out practice adopted by the Springboks on Saturday also went unnoticed by the referee, namely, forwards linking arms to prevent the All Blacks from breaking through. Several members of the test side left this morning with Mr Alec McDonald, the assistant manager, for the game reserve. Their visit will be a shorter one than that of the nen-test players last weekend in order to have- all the players back in Pretoria in ample time for Wednesday’s game against Northern Universities. Following is the All Black team: J. W. Goddard, Botting, M. P. Goddard, Meates, Elvidge, Delamore, Conrad, Simpson, Wilson, Dalton, Crowley. Harvey .McHugh, Thornton and Christian. (DESCRIPTION OF GAME—P 3)