THE SPRINGBOKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22726, 12 May 1937, Page 20

THE SPRINGBOKS

TO COMBAT STBENGTH r KEEP BALL FROM FORWARDS VIEWS OF AUSTRALIAN BACK Cyril Towers, the Australian Rugby centre-tlireequarter, is well known to followers of the game in New Zealand. He has visited the Dominion, Great Britain and South Africa with Australian teams, and is one of the most experienced, backs 111 the game, lhe following opinions which he expressed to a representative of the Sydney Referee will make interesting reading for Rugby people here: — "The South Africans localise their play round their forwards," he says. "They realise that they have the biggest and most rugged forwards in the world, so they model their play so as to gain the best advantage from them. "It is useless for Australia to hope to select forwards to out-push the Springbok forwards. In the tests they will average round about 15 stone, and if Australia were to choose men of that weight, we would find that many of our best players would not be selected. "It will repay Australia to use her own type of play. Select those forwards who are absolutely the best on our own standards—fast, strong, and able to keep going for the whole game. "We must run the South African forwards off their feet, by keeping the ball away from them. If they are allowed to make a pushing match of it with our forwards they will tire us out.

"It is the policy of the South African backs to bring play back into the forwards a great deal, and thus allow them to form a battering ram against the opposing forwards. The five-eighths kick often for the line, bringing play down to their opponents' goal-line by degrees. Once there, the aim of the heavy forwards is to force themselves over. "This policy of bringing play into a limited area in which their forwards operate can be offset by the Australians. The Australian halfback must have a fast, long pass that will get the ball out quickly beyond the South African breakaways. The long pass out to the wingers from the forwards or five-eighths is a good method of getting the ball out away from the South African forwards. Once the South African forwards can be kept in check the Australian team can use its own ways and means of scoring tries. Those will appeal to all as sound tactics. "Australia will need a five-eighths with a good pair of hands who will be a reliable link in the backs. We cannot afford to have a five-eighths who will be caught. For the tackling of the Springboks will almost certainly make it so that the Australian forwards are offside when the five-eighths is tackled. Thus their own forwards will be in a position to take the ball through while the Australian pack is endeavouring to get back into position." KEEP BALL IN PLAY FORMER ALL BLACK'S ADVICE The New Zealand Rugby Union's decision to retain the amended kick-into-touch rule for club and provincial games this season finds strong support among former All Blacks. Read Masters, of Canterbury, lock of the 1924 team, said that the move was definitely a wise one—"ln the matches against the Springboks we must keep the ball as far as possible away from the tall South African forwards. In those games, the international rule permitting unrestricted touch-finding will be in force. Every time Ave send the ball into touch it will mean a line-out, with the advantage very probably with the South Africans. They are not likely to ask for a scrum. "Therefore, let vis practise our own methods in the club and interprovincial games beforehand. That is, keep the ball in play. Last season, Hodgson and the other tall Australian forwards heat us consistently in the line-outs. We should not give the Springboks too many chances to do the same. The more we kick into touch, the more we will play into their hands."