OUR NATIONAL FIELD GAME

NZ Truth, 7 June 1924, Page 11

OUR NATIONAL FIELD GAME

THE 1924-25_ALL BLACKS THE SELECTORS FINISH THEIR WORK •1 . i / , . ■ . ■ ■ . . ■ . • ■ . ■ ■ ' ■ "New Zealand's Best Twen^

(By "Tackier.")

A RUNAWAY

r ?; the North-South Match Superior Ail-Rouncl Play. t ''..■- ' . •*', . ' ■■:■ ' ■ :' ■ ■ ■ I ' At Athletic Park; Wellington, last (vSaturVlay, the 19,000 spectators present A. witnessed the most one-sided interVisland/iTiatchi ever' played. ;In the anma.lH.oi the game never has such a Crushing defeat been inflicted and the to the 3Q to 8 defeat is the win of the North m 1905 when the score 'Was^to nil.- '■'■ '■■- ',':'■'■' '"- '■•' '"'■' '' ■'■ iStrange $ relate the 1900 game was the "trial" fat*, the ' All- Blacks that made history at Hpjme. If anybody on the morning^ of the . galme-Jmd '.iflured to suggest' that there; would 1 be. ajUhirty joints difference be-. tweett £ !the .teams at the finish he would have been in,stant]yj consigned to the nether ,'regl6nsi< ; >V v • I ' , North were favorites, most, people reckoning 'on a 1 five-point call m that direction. . • ' ■ - On what the writer had Been m the trials down South, he expected, a good win 'for the Northerner*. •. The slashing forwards tha,t were so predominant m the. South Island last year were not out this season. Perhaps it is not correct to say they arc not out this year. Practically the same men are out, but they are not the giants they were. [ • > That being the case it flrOmßts.this question: Have they deteriorated? No* they have not hit the tobMg^n,; Why then the difference between#his and last season? Xy '■■■■■;.■ :ji 'Easy to answer.' • i ?. <^: ■'..•:■••- Just take your mind; back asfew years and picture the forwards were, playing m the North ilsla^a*^ $ At best they' were only' mediocre; They were of the usual slow, plodding sort that never would or* never could get ;ariywhere. r "• * j , . T)ie visit of the Springboks m 1921 showed a. weakness jin; our forward play. Good little men weire no mritch for good big men. ' .After that tour the North Island jjtarted . tP experiment with a new type :pt player^-the big man. ! •'• 1 tfe.hqts taken a few years to perfect but on Saturday last we saY the finished: article. • ■•;■>.. And what a splendid type of mknihood he is! ' „ \ ■ ' -."> ':■■■■■. Hejs riGarly si* foot! high, can , r gallop! like a back, has the weight,.. ' arid What is ''in^it "Important, the .brains. ■■'■■■■■. ■ !; ■'•■'.■•. ~\ ■'■ He has every- right to be known as a super man. He is the equal of any forward this country has ever turned otit. the South things have not taken ,^tnis somersault. '• , ' ,V. There forward play has not been given -'the 'trouble it deserves. A sort of "wait and see" attitude has been adopted. .: .' Qne man — Richardson — set them the example, but his type was never copied. " ; , - ♦ 'His play was applauded, but never was it used as a basis o£ reconstruction;.' ••'.'. '■■.■•' -:i : ••• • ■ error was discovered, but When it jfrasitoo late to rectify. .: r . „^ Saturday the Nortih forwafd^ln -'fihe 'tight Svoa the equal' of his South pnponent; m the loose he \yas infinitely Superior; and m 'brainy ;Work he .was .'hoiyl and shoulders above] the southern 'wail. . : /'■'■• ■ ■"■'■'. v .-'I ••■. . ;:.-•■.■ ; '■■X -The -North men played magnificently; >the,v South- mon as well as they, were aJlQwed. . ':'■'■.[■ ' '.• . \ .\;:; : ' < ■•" ,-•'• , „.■'' fy| ttresistlblci 'is- the word that de.vscrlbos tho play of the :j Black jersey i^inep. j. . \.--y,, „ '-„;.•:■■ < ' : .' if."'.. •..'.: .■' fv% They had a set object! m view and j nothing ' oil earth- was going to stop jthohv from carrying out their Intonii' Opposition mattered not to them. $rf strength failed to achieve the ob--1 i JectlVe, well brains would succeed, jl Bfairis were more often, called into faction than strength. For Instance: £.. Wi.a looso scrum how many time? ' did fi North forward obtain the ball {'and'iiiass back to his rearguard as com- • pajcedl with- the South? ' j About ten to one. ■ .■-!.. : |n.a line, quit who tipped the bail ■*back to his' half the moro oftener— \ North or South? ■'■.',' ; s ; .jKorth by a large majority. ' '.Another piece of play the North foffi^rards. came at on several occasions i'*waa tho short pass. When tho for--1 wards come at the short passing stunt tjj'ey stnrt a movement that is one of • -the hardest in> the- worlci to stop. m one phase of forwnrd play did the South pack shino'and that wan Hi' hooking. The South jfront row pair hooled like clockwork and if any of the tiim helped to koop (he score down it wks Munro and Mcploury. . ;v: Had tha N.orth received their fair ' tharo of tho ball from the scrums '\ the soora would have been m the » region of sixty. Here is tho place to 'get m among -.■■■■ thftback«. ■ . •■•■■! As with the fonvards on tho day the :twb sets do not bear com pnrison, T,hoy >vcro «s- chalk and cheese. The South backx are pcrhnpH not to be plomofl its ' a body.> Indlvfdually ', aevoral of them 1 need talking to. THe balJ was coming to- St. O«orgc '/ four put of five scrums, but, a», far as • usefulness to him It might us well huvo gone the other way. ' ' \ SHU. on the other side, with a very poor sharo of the ball was a very striking coritraflt. Ho knew he had backs that were starving for the, leather and ho gavo them, it— every time. On attack the South were weak enough, but on defence they were lamentably, so. Cookc cut the defence to pieces time and again and, without wishing to detract from; the brilliancy . of his game, it was cruel at times to WltncHß the fcoblo efforts to gather him. -\t ■ ■ If Jnnlde backs fail to «mothor an attack when it is Juki being formulated they are making the tank a lot moro difficult for tho«« fu;*thctr out who will have to Mop It \vlnon it hns got well into Itß stride. / • To my mind a flvo-elKhthn that falls tograMK hitt mania not worth his pla/e. , no matter how brilliant he may be on Attack. The South five-eighths failed on Jnhumcrublo occasions to up-end their &MM).

Another feature of five-eighths' play that stood out most prominently was the way the respective men took their passes. Nicliolls was.on the. move when Mill passed out to him and when he sent on to Cooke the last-named was going at top. On the South side there was a' difference. Perry was always feeling for the ball and most often he had it juggling on his finger tips. On the odd occasions he did get it to send on McGregor was never on the premises.

The fault of Perry not getting his passes cleanly was two-fold. St. George was not slinging it put too well — he was inclined to hesitate till it was practically too late— and Perry was standing, too deep.

The natural thing for Perry to have done 1 .when he found his passes falling short .was. t6 h'aye;gone up a step or so. ;The South batks were being repeatedly- out- manoeuvred by the fleet inside North men and' if Perry had shifted his 'line up on top of the Black men he could not have failed to make any worse job than he did.

It is not the least . use trying ro play a winning team at its own game. When a beaten back line takes up the deep . line of defence it is asking for trouble. The farther back the line is the (more time the attackers have to get under way. Get up on top of the attacking line and you have a reasonable''chance of smothering.

A lot of good time was lost 'during the game through the inability of kickers, to gauge distance. On a largenumber of occasions from drop-outs and : kicks-.off at halfway tho ball was sen tl sailing out on the full. This fault was to be found- more with the South kicker, who seemed to be m a. > bit : of a quandary about the touch lines.?-. ■ .''■•■•;•■■ "' "''" ': ' ■.".•'• ' ' : "J '.:,.'-

Pot-rijtis got the players bad early m the, game" a nd Nepia was the first to put one" across. It was a sterling effort and (his following on his pot m the North Island Possible^ — Probable game stamps him as a very dangerous snapkicker. Several others had goes for pots, but it was not till well on m the second spell when Hart landed one home from rthe- touch line. This, too, was a nice kick..' ;

Luck generally has a, large say m a game of this- character and what small amount there Was m the offing went with the North, team. They won .the 'tossand played with the lwind the first flpelLand it wiis a pretty .hefty zephyr ,t661. • r Witli i itß assistance in-.the second 1 spell the South "were expepfed to do a ; bit better,' but just change around the wind took a spell also and |hen followed up by having; a change. 'And sp the ;,Nor,th were fiyore£ by a following •wind m 'both specs'. s ame (he changing of the wind m this fashion is a heart breaker and the South ' men have every reason to say a few na6tv things about the '■, Weather man. : * -

TJie game was a fine one from; the selectors' points of , .view. . Quite a number of players were so prominent that it was made an easy task to select sixteen morals. '

• Nepia, as fuli-back for the Northj played a corking game which at times was brilliant. In every department of a full-back's play he was a» master. His high punting was a revelation and when, he put his boot into the ball there was always a' murmur of admiration from the crowd.* '• ; ■'•-'.,/

.Lucas used his pace when he got the ball and tackled most soundly. Somehow or other Lucas always slows up a fraction when getting near the opposition and to all outward appearances he is losing heart. - However, after watchIng, the Aucklander most closely for sometime 1 .Have come, 1 to ' 'the conclusion that it is more tbffall his sidestep Into action than^jt^vturn It m; Lucas has a side-step that is most dls-; concerting and ho. proved^thls fully on Saturday

Before' the game a lot were of the opinion that Svenson' would be too alow for the swift moving Cooke, but In actual play Svenson showed he was capable of keeping up with his inside man. All things considered Svenson '.s doing extra well m the centre position, for the last two years, hayo found him occupying most 'every position m the backs. Play him as centre for keeps and he will not fail the team. !

Hart was set a task to mark Steel, bu;t he went into it with all the confidence necessary. . He got into his stride at once and before the game had hardly got under: way he had scored. T6 a certain extent he was lucky, as early m the gamo Steel Injured a shoulder and was unable to do himself justice, but fltill there was a lot of merit m. Hart's play. In the trial at Wollinglon ten days previously Hart, when' ho found himself hemmed m, threw the' ball wildly over hjs head, but on Saturday he dropped this practice and put his boot into it Instead. .He could with ndvantage practise a centring kick. With it he will be a more polished player. Though very light, Hart is a tiger m defence arcl tho man that passes him has to be much above tho average.

Cooke was the best back on the padflock. He showed a superb burst of, spood which at times left his supports far m the rear. Talking to that prewar champion. Jock Cuthlll, the other day, he expressed the opinion that Cookc was possessed of a footbaSl head. Jock put it correctly for Cooke luim undoubtedly a hrnln that is found In very few footballers. H'.s quick thinking was very apparent In this gnmo and at time» he knew what he was going to do before tho ball ever reached him. Ho showed an unciriiiy sense ai anticipation and of the fiveeighths seen out m recent veru'a he Is easily tho most promising. V/Uh the knowledge he will absorb on u»t trip he fthould conic back a real star and ho will still have years of football ahead of him.

M. NlehollH was solid all day without bolng brilliant, He playod for his team all tho day and never at any time tried tho lone hand stuff that ho now and again Hhlnen at. It wan a right attltudo to take up for if the team m to be successful at Home It mu»i phiy an a combination, not an a lot of Individualist*. NlehollH' defence is very Mtrong and he now never fails to got his man.

With very Uttlo ball to work with. Mill gave his bent display to da to. His transfer* woro of tho criwp nature that moan everything to a five-oJghthH. It was hl« bosl effort to data anil if he could only retain tho' form h« would not have to got excited over the trip. ' The fact that Porter wiut playing alongside such a great pack took a lot

of the glamor off his play, but nevertheless he was responsible for a fine display. He repeatedly inaugurated back rushes and galloped up and took a hand m the movement. He is a rover m everything but name and, say, what is wrong with changing that wing- forward to a rover at once? It is a name that is not too well liked— sic— at Home and the change would perhaps help the man who is to fill the bill. The hookers, Q. . Donald and Irvine, were oiit-hooked. They were chopped out at the barrier rise and never at any time did they get up m the running of the hookers' handicap. As toilers m the open they were there all the time and m this work they are worth their places. Still. 'when two hookers aspiring for All Black honors are beaten time m and time out for the ball there is more than something wrong. ■ . Harvey locked the team well and as he has youth with him he can be looked on to become an outstanding player m this direction. He held his front row men like a vice and several times they went through' the opposition pack with him still locking when the rest of the supports had broken away after -the ball.

Grand is the word that describes tho play of M. Brownlie. He is. the sort 1 of forward that has usurped the throne of the common garden variety forward that held sway m his place a few years back. ' Brownlie is a magnificent type of player who has all the weight necessary, yet is as fast as a deer. On Saturday he was ever with the ball, whether it be coming through the pack with it at toe or throwing it about m the open. Let him produce his form at Home and critics will go into raptures over him. .

C. Brownlle is not m the same class as his brother, but he is all the same a fine forward. He was a good second to Maurice on Saturday, and was always with the ball. Cyril has one bad habit and he will have to drop it pronto. He is inclined to go fora man when ho has gOtrid of the ball. This can easily be mistaken for dirty play and at Home he will find himself m hot water if he should come at it. Drop it once and for all is the writer's advice. .

In such company, as he was surrounded, Pringle did not get a chance to shine, but he Was there boots and all. In the line-out one did get a glimpse of- him. "TPrlngle is far yet from a polished "player, but with the right handling h'exwottld be as 'fine. a forward as Wellington B^-s turned out for some time. / '.; -'!~ '" *? ■'..".' •".-'

McNab is honest and does not look for medals. If there were medals for toiling McNab would be up on the platform thje day they were being presented. ■' --

Fairbrother' 'is just as I described him last week— -solid without having a spark of brilliancy. He does not mind how much is given him to do, he will do it,- but all his work will be carried out m the same old orthodox lines. He tackled very well on Saturday and few points wejrcf scored on account of his failure to stop the man ''with the ball. ■ An injured shoulder caused Jack Steel to leave at half-time. He sustained the hurt early In the game and was not able to show his beßt form. It was a great pity for Jack would have most assuredly given a fine display had he been not so unlucky.

At centre, Gilmour m both his trials has sh'dwn a hankering to get out of position-- and several times on Saturday he 'was up giving the forwards a hand. Ho hardly saw the ball m a rush and so we do not: know what he is capable of m that.ijdirection.* He is strong m defehce-Pthat he showed on more i-.'lhah. one occasion.

RoblUlard was .starved. and had a fine view of the game, most of which, through being called on for a large share -of the defensive, wjork, he saw on r tho ground. • ' • :

McGregor was the disappointment of the game. After his two brilliant exhibitions m tho South the writer expected to see his star well m tho ascendancy, but it is not too much to say that it failed to rise. He was certainly not getting the assistance he merited, but with that missing he could have endeavored to make some sort of a game on his own. 'it was not the lad's true form — not by a long way.

Has Perry done his dash? In his throe last games he certainly has. Ho .was lucky to get m tho South team ahead of Lawson, for the Timaru boy outplayed Perry at Chrlstchurch last Wednesday. It looks as if tho selectors expected Perry to strike his last season form and so gave him another opportunity In this game.' Well, he did come to light on Saturday. He was a failure, that's all there is to it.

At half-back St. George is one out of the bag. He had so much ball on Saturday that he became Intoxicated with it and he never managed to do tho right thing. His was a painful exhibition and how ho was not changed from the position and superseded by Dalley when tho latter, came on at halftime m place of Steol is beyond mo. At wing throe-quarter he could not have done . half the damage he was doing at the pivot of the scrum.

The pace that wlng-jforward Parker had at his call caused 'a lot of people to gasp. He is wasted In this position and could quite easily bo placed In 'the "back*. Tho tryvho scored was a gom and he deserved It, Not a great many noticed how he Just missed a tackier who foil at his hoolH from bohjnd. Just an the man reached for Parker's heels the Canterbury man picked up both feet and eluded the grasp, It was a most clover action.

McC'leary and Munro gained the admiration of all for the manner m which they heeled back. Scrum after scrum went to; the pair, who gave the best exhibition of hooking seen m the interisland games for many days. Both are good workers outside their positions, Munro especially so. McCleary does not appear to put the snap Into his gamo ho did at this time mat your,

Mneuers wan not prominent us he was down Sou^h and the South Hcrum was not held as well as it could havo been.

Even with hlg crook ankle that went on him m tho second npell, Richardson was the 'be«t forward on the ground. H« tolled like a domon In tho pack and when the ball came out he hart lo get out and do work that fthoulri have been part of the backn' duties. Ho has an much paco as any tmck In the country and when ho RetH under way ho ha« tp be stopped. Ho la no eaHy man to ntop and tho poor unfortunate that Ik unlucky enough torui Into him i» not too ready to go looking for a «ccond dose. If Now Zc/datid has produced uny better forwards than

this fellow "Tackier" wants to know who they were. ': . .

Stewart was always m tho picture till his ankle went and he is certainly going to be one of the forwards who will most benefit by the tour. As a player he is only a lad and It is quite reasonable to expect him to improve v whole heap.

After the Invercargill trial the writer thought that White was going down hill, but after his last Saturday's display I take it back. He is still a fine forward and one of the very few we have at tho present time that knows anything about dribbling. On more than one occasion he went through half the North team with the ball at toe, but when ho lost it there was never any one at hand to carry on. Another thing— nobody would ever dream of saying that White Is not honest. " :

Turpin is not a New Zealand forward. He has played some fine games m interprovincial football, but on Saturday with so many great men m action he was outclassed.