OUR NATIONAL FIELD GAME

NZ Truth, Issue 877, 16 September 1922, Page 7

OUR NATIONAL FIELD GAME

TRENCHANT TROUNCING Of TO-DAY'S TACTICS OTAGO, WANPUI & SOUTHLAND DOWN WHIINSTON

(BY "TACKLER.") Pride of place m "Truth's" Rugby budget this week is given to a^ vigorously virile, candid criticism of some aspects of the great game as we see it to-day., The article is from -'the pen of one of our- greatest: football authorities on and off the field., In his trouncing of the: vying parasite and his fervent appeal, to prominent ex-players to take an active part '".the maiv agementof the game, the>:-critic not aim at _being purely destructive,^ but contributes valuable , constructive sugges-, tions. We cb'mmend 'therti to the serious consideration of ail true lovers of Rugby;. ; -:\ ■ I ... ■'■•', Li j t * The feature of play last week-end was the double defeat of Wellington, by. .Wanganui at home by 19 points to 15, and by victorious Otagoi-^iH Dunedin by 27 points to 18. Only once previously had Wanganui put it-over Wellington— in 1913. Sydney 'Varsity outplayed Ca nterbiiry College to the tune of 13 points to 9. r : The results of.-^fep. games were as follow:— ' ' ■ *c Wanganui -.... 19 v. : Weljincjton - ....,.., 1-5j-Otago 27 v. Wellington i» Sydney 'Varsity 13.. v. Canterbury College 1 ...... 9 Southland .. 17 v- , Well. ngton . ... , 9 Sydney 'Varsity ... 21 v. Victoria College \°t

1 FOOTBALL PARASITES-^ON \. AND OFF. Away With the Spoiler) Wanted— Experienced Men for Managements. One very strong conviction I have after having viewed'" the various interprovincial matches this seaso- 1 ana that is the total absence of plans 01 attack and defence. A captain is usually chosen or his superior knowledge of the game, especially tactics., his .personality, and, above all, nis capacity to handle men. Nowadays, with" rare exceptions, captains run from front-rankers "to full-backs, and as iiegards the fornier position one might as well appoint a commanding officer to direct ■ his 'battle from, the front line trenches, or, perhaps, when hidden ., m a "pill box," as to expect a front-ranker to direct a i football scrap; The first thing a captain sHould'-'do on meeting a strange team is to ascertain the strength' of his scrum, and he should quickly know whether he can get the ball or whether his opponents can. ' This is ' ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, for his forwards-are, after all, his first line of attack or defence, as the case may be. Having arrived at this he then is m a position to place his men and decide on a plan of action. The team that can get possession m the scrum have a decided advantage over their opponents, for they can either attack with their backs, or if the backs are w-eak, can make it a forward game, the backs playing on the defensive right close up and getting amongst opposing backs. _ It is a well-known fact that on defence you should get as near to your opponent as possible, and -on attack get as deep as you can, because the bigger run you havie at 'a man tne better chance you have of beating him. With few exceptions this year, teams are undecided 'Whether they have the mastery m the scrums and, constant "fear -and -., trembling-, are almost cuddling each other so closely do they play to one another, tf a captain would only have the courage to set a definite policy, i.e. learn, and learn quickly, how he fares m front, more SPECTACULAR FOOTBALL would • result. It is .this crowding of opposing backs on top of one another that is "cramping their style" and killing the passing, and ..this is due entirely to the uncertainty of getting possession m the scrums. Make sure of hooking and you can. place your backs deeply and out of danger from sneaking wingers, and prowling backrow men. Nowadays half the backs get the "word of advice" when they are placed m a defensive position and a good winger gets busy among them. The wingers or wing forwards are nothing- else but "football parasites." In the old- days Tom Ellison arid "Offr Side Mac" stood out oh their own as the 'champion "catch-as-catch-can; football! artists of the day. They provided the cleanest side : shows to many a "Royal,"' and one could airways rely on a good "go" and much slaughter when they were m opera^ tion. Protected and sheltered' by the rules, 1 these- wingers were not Such a NUISANCE TO TEAM WORK as . they are to -. day. ■ Usually •■ wingers wetfe. opposed —py -.. ',-■; men- r of ■ picked ability to scrap, and their ■ scrapping process kept them fully occupied and. allowed the backs to ..'carry on unrao-' lested. '/The wingers I refer to above were perhaps super-men, but eventu- . ally the Jap invasion . began to h]3,ve its effect m .this A tr.f,air.c.kind, and "ju jitsu" m its ; "highest form '.was in-. troduced-.by a s >Soutb,eßh(.rW.inger carried; out ..with fearsome effects. .!-It \y.aS'nr&tv:brough.t > unfier my notice by that :rgreat.:.vQlcl:;;:. wag and humorist "Tiffy 1 ' •'-- jTj'aing; the Taranaki and Auckland/.; .winger, who, during the first -'North- v. South game' produdpcl a broken finger as evidence and complained most bitterly of the ungentlemanly behaviour of his opponent. .1 had occasion to come m contact with this form of amusement myself, and for ever swore vengeance on wingers'. . The winger reached its zenith, perhaps.'in dear old Davy Gallagher. He had '-no wiles and ';•,_• .; ' - "~ NO DIRTY TRICKS, \ \'~. and. got there through sheer, damn, Irish rugg'edriess. But the British people,, although they loved him p'ers'o'jnaljjfc/:. did not appreciate his posi^ tiqh ajnd play, and since then :the. winger '■ is being quietly and most certainly, shelved. .To -day., the wiri'g-' :ors are .-not allowed to obstruct one 4rother, and the c'onsecp.u;nce is that they become purely spoilers, and jare' not conducive to what the public appreciatfe arid demandj and-.. that is .the open, and spectacular;. : ; However,., they are nearly finished' with, and. next year may possibly see the last, of what has been the most interest?'' ing column of specialists pass out for ever. We all .loved, to see Fz-eddy t-(1 Tp'd Roberts make those sensational openings, but we never had' a real fill of it on account o£ the prowling wing forward. We rise ..up as one man, woman and'- child whenSteele or Barclay are scaling and sigh when their effort is .tended, and why should we public be deprived ,'of what we pay for and what we want : just because of the roving, spoiling' wing forward? We want to see r..An of the Steele type get more opportun-ities-arid we want -to see more of the- 'heady,- tricky, inside men that. break down the second lines of defence and allow, the flying columns'; through.^;- '"Skinny" Humphries,' "Scrummy" Mason, brave little half--, backs, were . -/' .■•■" MAN-HANDLED UNMERCiFULLY-; by wing forwards principally, arid were practically broken by them..; but Freddy Roberts was built ; 0f....

sterner stuff and he came through safely." Th;e, charm of Rugby is its variety, and "Sandows" should not have an advantage. Weight and 'strength are nothing, for there are places for. every build of man, from the. front row to the full-back, and ■each, place requires a specialist. If we are to retain the. old Rugby code ■ with its monumental . traditions wo must move with the, times, and as the' "old maul m goal" was ' chucked overboard so will the winger go .too. Eviery- man born and educated m this country, has had his close of football.and the "British public" of to-day are ■a highly critical crowd. It behoves lithe various managements nnt to turn a. "deaf ear "to 'the voice of the crowd, for.it is "the crowd" that ; maintains the .game. . It is the duty Qf players «and' supporters to see that ; only :.''.;. ; ' ■', ..-■'■-•'-, ..".:• ; • ' • -MEN. %; OF EXPERIENCE land busines 1 /?.' ability .control it. Just loriiV at the personnel "of the management of Auckland football when the Blue and Whites were unbeatable: : Solicitor D'evore, "'Curly" O,lsen-, iLengsford, Judge Charlie McCormick; land men of that type. In Wellington: : Colonel .Campbell, George Fach©, •Alex- Cafnpb'ell.' Dan McKenzie, A. C. ■Norris, and other prominent men, all of them cjxrplayers and brought up ■m the game. To-day the opportunist is creeping m, and many of the executive are m for what they can get out of it. Jimmy Prendeville is ;m, charge of Wellington, and a greater Rugby enthusiast never "punted a goal," but he should have as coworkers men like Billy Wallace, Freddy ." Roberts, and Teddy Roberts and men of this . stamp. The same ■applies to : referees,' only more so. I have no time." for the' football bully, but Have less for the referee why m his younger days' hadn't the guts tci play the game 1 excepting from the bank, and to-day has THE CHEEK AND AUDACITY to try and control real genuine up-to-date players. No wonder/ players sicken at some 1 decisions and the personality- introduced by some ( referees is an incitement to revolt. Don't tell me that some are not selfseekers, ■ for I -have, heard the most pitiful bickering when a dainty morsel m the' shape of a Rep., match happens along. However, men of the stamp of Parata, "the McKenzies, Maddison (of Hawke's Bay), .Albert Neilson, are an ornament to the game, a pleasure to . the public, and, above all, an education to the players'! All the old interprovincials should be' rounded up and driven into the fold, and if approached properly they are all sports enough to give any assistance they. can. They are the 1 men to cull our referees and management committees . from, and not leave it to really uninterested parties. By these means only will the improvements m the game be effected, for ex-players would have the experience and courage to carry out any changes they thought ; BENEFICIAL, TO THE GAME. I do not suggest' adopting the League game with its monotony and standardisation of players, for Rugby gives you more variety and caters for every class and build of man, A few simple alterations is all that are necessary meantime. When the next two years' draft of cQlts comes along- from th'e schools it will be found that they will eclipse almost anything . produced m , the. Rugby world., of • New Zealand, so let us ' get the right men on the managements sd that their environment will be right 'find they will ,riot be wearied off too early on to} individual games like tennis and golf. .«. • ... . .;.

Right from the start the Wellington forwards got the ' ball m the scrum, but although it was sent out smartly enough- by .Gilchrist, the backs did not seem to understand each others play, and many misunderstandings occurred. When the Otago hookers did secure the ball Mathieson invariably set his backs m motion, and one or two of their runs were brilliant; typical of the football so often seen at Carisbrook this season. Who scored' for either side doesn't matter a great, deal, the scores were so, frequent, but one effort does really call for special mention. From loose play out wide near the side line the ball went across to Mahoney; he had no one near him at the moment, and very coolly 'he potted a goal. It was from, a difficult angle, and was 'one of the", best "shots" the writer has seen for many years. It was a question of "E'en the ranks of' Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer!" : Thje game as a whole was not one quite up to representative standard, although it had many flashes - - brilliancy. One Wellington man remarked m the hearing of the writer: "Why, Otago is playing a team of Senior Cadets." Naturally this was exaggerated, but at the same time one is interested to think what Wellington's "best"- might have done. The Wellington forwards, playing with- great dash, were quite a match for their heavier opponents; indeed, they probably gave the Otago pack one of the hardest games it has had this season. . Mansfield was a clever five-eighths for the visitors, cutting m very nicely at times. He was closely attended to by some of the Otago forwards. The same may be said of little Gilchrist behind the pack; occasionally he was just picked up and tossed aside. All the other Wellington backs did their share nobly, but suffered m comparison with their opponents m the matter of speed and smart passing. ' Stanrlen worked like a lion m the Wellington pack. 1 On one occasion he broke away m possession and "dummied"' his way past half-a-dozen of the Otago men before .he was brought down. . Primrle 1 shone particularly m the line- out work. His 'efforts m this direction quite equalled the excellent display given by West for Taranaki a week or so previously. Jack Shearer was always m the picture. The handling by some of the Otago backs .left a good .deal to be desired, but there was some clever individual work. There has been quite a storm of criticism down this way at the action of the selectors m omitting Fpa, Perry, Dickson and Munro, of the University team, from the team to represent Otago against Wellington. Obviously, the- fact that the third 'Varsity test is to be nlayed next Saturday, and that these players would not be available for the return match here against Southland -weighed with the selectors. Whether it was a wise decision or not is a matter of opinion, and views are widely divergent. Certain]-"- from the point of view of improving the combination, it may have been wise to stick to the same team which der f eated Southland and which .will meet them again. One can only hope that there is no truth m the persistent rumour that Fca and the selectors are at "daggers drawn" owing to the 'Varsity man's declining 1 to be "coached" by them as to the style of play. One story going the rounds is that the selectors told Fea that he would never represent Otago again! But surely that cannot be so. It is reported that two of Southland's best backs, Diack and Macdonald, will be playing- m Dunedin next year.