VIGOROUS PLAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22820, 30 August 1937, Page 12

VIGOROUS PLAY

TACTICS OF FORWARDS CROWD VOICES DISPLEASURE 'NEL'S FINE PERFORMANCE [BV TELEGRArn—SPECIAL MEI'ORTEIII TIMARU, Sunday Although the Springbok? scored 10 tries, eight by the backs, against South Canterbury, definite superiority was not secured until tho visiting pack Jliul worn down the husky and vigorous hpiiio forwards,' spiritedlybv Adkins, Strang .'and Gium.' passing movements' wero jiicntiful, but it was iii the rucks ahd that, the match was really won. There wevo no boy pai'dons about. the ; struggle for possession. •Sometimes a .man would bo dragged oil tho bull and hurled three or four yards by grim opponents, and occasionally tho crowd voiced its displeasure at thesu vigorous tactics The South Canterbury pack, lit and lively, gave as good as it got, and ,tho second spell was almost half over, before the Springbok forwards gained 'the ascendancy. From that angle it was probably their best performance in New Zealand to date, the whole •eight ploughed into the game with a ■zest and lire that had' been missing .from some earlier, games, lhe staging power was there as well. Thus, while South 'Canterbury won eight scrums in 'tlio first 1 spell -to South Africa s six, the-second spoil figures were:—South Canterbury, seven; South Africa, 1-. Forwards Assist Backs When scrum dominance was achieved the visiting backs had all tho opportunities they needed and quickly rattled on another 20 points, fcven then their forwards continued to give them every assistant in tho open. In fact, it was often the bouts of short passing between backs and forwards that loft tho opposition helpless and confused'. Bastard, Nel, Strachan and Vun den Berg seemed to be everywhere. Doughty toilers in tho ruck, they showed amazing skill at adapting themselves to _ back play, and their accurate handling and wonderful backing up drew cheers from the crowd time and again. Bastard was the best forward on the ground and Nel was little behind him. Nel on one occasion was seen battering his way through the opposition and then he stopped suddenly to • throw a long pass over the heads of tho forwards to Craven. He has not given a better performance on the Now Zealand tour to date. Polished Exhibition Craven and Harris gave a polished exhibition of halfback play and shot the ball about with uncanny accuracy. If there was a fault in Harris', play it was a tendency to attempt too much, although he corrected this in tho second spell. Lochner was not as elusive as in tho West Coast match and Babrow was the more thrustful centre. Mostly it was he who sent Williams speeding down tho right wing. Williams scored three tries himself and completed the opening for two others. HXs pace ' gave • the most edge to the Springbok attack, but the weak tackling of the man marking him, Hopkinson, was a factor. The big winger simply raced past. Turner was kept fairly well subdued by Ryan, the hardrunning South Canterbury right wing. Brand, the fullback, made one or two mistakes in the early stages, but from then on was faultless. What pleased the Springboks as much as anything was tho fact that Brand lasted the match without any recurrence of his leg injury. They aro rejoicing in tho faot that ho will bo available for tho second test. AN ENJOYABLE GAME PROSPECTS IN THE TEST NO OPINION FROM CAPTAIN [BY TELEGRAPH —PRKBS ASSOCIATION] TIMARU, Sunday C. Saxton, the South Canterbury captain. said the game was a most enjoyable one. He paid'a tribute to tho way tho visitors threw the ball about. Nel, the Springbok captain, said the game was a hard one, particularly in tho first half and the score somewhat flattered his team. Asked what lie thought the chances were of success in the test he replied: "You can't catch me like that. We played South Canterbury to-day and we play the All Blacks next Saturday." SECOND TEST MATCH MORRISON NOT AVAILABLE [BY TELEGRAPH—PUKSS ASSOCIATION] TIMARU, Sunday T. Morrison, of South Canterbury, who'iwas selected to go into camp in preparation for the second test, will not be available as be has not sufficiently recovered from the, injury he received some weeks ago. "The majority of the Springbok party Idft-Tiuiaru to-day for Mount Cook . and :will return hero on Tuesday to train'for the second test. _ ■ ■ RECORD OF TOUR NINE WINS AND ONE LOSS The Springboks have now played ten matches of their New Zealand tour, and have won nine and lost one. Their record is as follows: rtfl. Pts. Opponents Result For Asst. Auckland .. Won 3!) •"» Combined Team .. Won o » Taranakl .. .. Won 17 3 Manawatu .. .. Won 31) 3 Wellington . .. Won 20 0 New Zealand .. Lost 7 13 Combined .. .. Won 22 <> Canterbury .. Won 23 8 West Coast-Buller .. Won 31 o Kouth Canterbury .. Won 43 (J Totals 230 47