GIANT SOUTH AFRICANS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23220, 18 June 1937, Page 10

GIANT SOUTH AFRICANS

.SPRINGBOKS REACH AUSTRALIA EYES ON NEW ZEALAND By W. S. Noble MELBOURNE, June 8. To-night I stood in the main entrance of the most fashionable hotel in Melbourne, Under the brilliant lights, groups of magnificently athletic young men crossed and recrossed the floor. I did not need to glance at the small gold emblems in their coat lapels to know that they were the 1937 Springboks

Melbourne had been intrigued by the stories that have been circulating of the physical prowess of these giant South Africans "Human tanks" they were called .vhen they first reached Australia a week ago But since then someone has made a rough and ready calculation, based on reports of the weight of the forwards, and to the Melbourne public who know nothing of Rugby, they have come to be known as " the ten to the ton men.'"

That is a good enough " catch " to stick in the mind of an Australian crowd, but from what 1 saw of them to-night and from what I was told by those accompanying the team, the 1937 Springboks are much more than a collection of burly weight pushers. Everyone is agreed that they are a much better combination than the famous 1921 Springboks, and some of the team's supporters say it is the best that has ever left South Africa. So far no game they have played in Australia has been of a standard to give them a trial, but, if they live up to the opinion of those who have seen them play as individuals in South Africa, the All Blacks are going to have some of the hardest games in the history of New Zealand football. To-day the team was out on a suburban ground before the fog had lifted. Ostensibly they were preparing for their match against Victoria on Saturday, but in reality the Springboks are starting immediately to get into their stride for those three test matches ahead of them in New Zealand. From now on the 29 players are going to leave no stone unturned to take the field for the first test at the peak of their form. They are under no delusions about the strenuous nature of the tour that lies ahead of them. But, barring serious injuries to some of their star men, they are relying on the splendid material they have in the side to provide a team that will more than hold New Zealand. And they have grounds for their hope. I should think no country ever sent, abroad a physically finer group of footballers.

To-night as the.v gathered in thenhotel they were simply sparkling with physical fitness and vim. Groups of six-foot athletes, broadshouldered but active, showed where Ihe forwards had foregathered, and the backs were smart looking and strongly built. All of them looked in perfect condition, though they may have been carrying a little superfluous weight after their long sea voyage. In one little circle Nel, the captain, a blond giant, was talking to half a dozen forwards as big as himself. He is the veteran of the team, and all of them seem to hold his long experience in South African and international football in the highest respect. Across the floor walked a youthful, almost slight, figure. It was Brand, the famous fullback, regarded as the real star cf the side. They say he completely eclipses G. H. Morkel, of the 1921 Springboks, can drop the ball exactly into touch 50 yards away, and can drop-kick goals anywhere from 10 yards outside halfway. " Cucumber " Brand they call him, and as he walked across the floor to the stairs he cei*t«ajnly looked a cool, confident individual. The South Africans have no doubt how he will play in front of New Zealand's charging forwards, but there is one player whose performances on the tour have them guessing still This is Bester, the young centre threequarter, who two years ago was playing in a school team and created a record by getting into the national side without having once played in interprovincial football. If he strikes real form, the selection of the rest of the backs will be easy, and New Zealand will see a brilliant footballer.

A feature of the team that will strike New Zealanders is the absence of knee bandages among the players. We have grown so accustomed to seeing All Black teams take the field with knees swathed in bandages that it will be quite a novelty to see these big men showing no signs of years of play on hard grounds in their own country One effect that the hard grounds have had is to make the Springboks tackle high. A photograph of the team at practice to-day shows a back tackling another well above the waist line. From what I heard there is likely to be some strong talking on this weakness before the team reaches New Zealand Since the 1928 tour of South Africa, the Springboks assured me, there has been a remarkable change in the style and standard of the game. Play has become more open, the forwards are faster ind handle the ball better, and the backs are developing more initiative and enterprise on attack For this they give the credit largely to the visit of the Wallaby team to South Africa a year or two ago. when the right open football of the Australians made such an impression on the crowd? that there has been an insistent demand since for a similar type of football in South Africa. Coupled with this is the reaction produced by the play of the famous Benny Osier Osier who has retired from the game, reduced football to a series of accurate kicks to touch that won matches but robbed football of most of its spectacular movements

" You can tell New Zealand we are going to play open football," the manager of the team (Mr Percy Day) said to me " We are looking forward with a great deal of pleasure to our visit. Tam not going to say that the team is the best that has ever left South Africa but it certainly is a bptter side than either the 1921 or 1923 Springboks We have a splendid 'ot of big forwards and a young set of backs whoso average age is about 23 'They are not <?oins to olay sterentyned fnMh*U and (.hey will go on to the field without an> in struetions from me and able to su their plav to the varv'np condition' t.hev will meet in N»w Zealand W c will pack a three-fouf-one scrum throughout the tour In the main we will follow the South African stvle of feeding the wings but where the opportunity offers our men mean to play up the centre of the field.

"The match that is worrying us most at present is the first game against Auckland We will be play ing that soon after a sea voyage and from what we have heard Auck land will be fielding a very strong side The cold weathei in he South Island is going to worry some of our men also Altogether I think it is going to be a very even thing, and for our part we are going to play the tests for the sake of the game and hope that the best side wins."