FINE TEAM WORK RETAINS RANFURLY SHIELD FOR OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26839, 2 August 1948, Page 6

FINE TEAM WORK RETAINS RANFURLY SHIELD FOR OTAGO

Displaying brilliant team work, combination and understanding, the Otago Rugby team reached All Black heights in overcoming the first Ranfurly Shield challenge of the season from Southland at Carisbrook on Saturday afternoon. Played in the spirit of sportsmanship characteristic of matches between the two provinces, the 30,000 spectators were treated to a game worthy of the occasion, Otago winning by 25 points to nil. As the opening Ranfurly Shield match of the season, it fulfilled all the requirements of good Rugby and should do much to whet the appetite of patrons for the coming matches. This was Otago’s biggest win over Southland in a shield game.

After two weeks of wet weather it was only to be expected that the ground would be heavy, but it had made a surprisingly good recovery. The ball, though sticky, was not as hard to handle as might have been expected, as was shown by the fact that six tries came from back movements. Otago’s score consisted of two goals from tries and five unconverted tries. The weather remained fine throughout the afternoon, but there was a fresh south-westerly breeze. During the afternoon the Caversham Citizens’ Band and the Boys’ Battalion Band (Invercargill) played selections.

The withdrawal ‘of H. McCulloch from the Southland pack and his replacement by J. Stuck balanced the weights in favour of the Otago forwards, who averaged 14.3 a man compared with Southland’s 14.0. The difference in the weights, however, was so slight as to be almost negligible, but the well-trained and powerful Otago forwards played with perfect understanding and cohesion and displayed more mobility in the open, with admirable backing up and cover defence. ' In the first half, Otago held a slight advantage in possession from the set scrums, but with a firstclass exhibition of hooking in the second spell, J. Mcßae, the Southland captain and former All Black, turned the tables on A. Foster, and the final scrum figures for the game favoured Southland by 23 to 15. Forwards Call Tune In the line outs and rucks, however, Otago was much superior and it was their domination in these phases of the play, and especially in quick heeling from the rucks, that' enabled the holders’ pack so largely to dictate the

trend of the game. Otago won 48 line outs to Southland’s 18, and the loose rucks favoured the shield holders by 17 to 9. Every mah in the Otago pack did the job assigned to him, and where all played like champions, it is not easy to individualise. The superlative line-out play of L. R. Ilarvey and C. W. Willocks, however, was again a feature of an outstanding forward display. Both men jumped high for the ball to win possession with almost monotonous regularity, and their excellent control and the vigorous close rucking of the Otago pack as a whole assured their backline of a feast of the ball. J. McNab and R. A. Dalton were tireless in the. solid rucking, and on one or two occasions the latter showed surprising speed in the open, a clever centring kick paving the way for the movement which gave R. R. Elvidge his try in the second spell, while strong supporting work brought Dalton a try himself. D. H. Hamilton and P. Johnstone hunted the ball closely and their short passing was effective. Hamilton was adept at launching passing for his backs from midfield play. The tall country forward went close on a number of occasions, once losing the ball after he had hurled himself over the line. The Southland forwards were given a little too much latitude round the scrums in the first spell, but showing marked improvement in the second half, the Otago forwards were able to counter 4hese tactics successfully. The heavy ground conditions did not slow up the Otago backs to the extent that was feared, and with L. S. Woodhouse operating an admirable service at the base of the-scrum, the whole line combined in some scintillating

passing movements. Woodhouse’s delivery was crisp and clean, and he used judgment in switching the play back to his forwards. In his play away from the scrum Woodhouse was also excellent.

L. S. Haig got through a tremendous amount of work at first five-eighth, and if prone to overdo the cut-in during the first half, the same criticism could not be levelled at him in the second spell when his play reached a high standard. Haig made some excellent openings, and his strong and well-judged kicking to touch frequently won position for his side.

Playing at second five-eighth, J. C. Kearney was always noticeable for his deft handling and brilliant backing up, and although for the most part he was content to let the attack develop from the centre, several times he swept through to the attack only to be halted just short of his objective. He exploited the scissors passing which he and his follow-Kiwi, W A. Meates. have developed to a fine art only once, and it brought the winger his third try. Brilliant Three-quarter Flay The Otago three-quarters were in brilliant form, with Elvidge, the pivot on which the Otago attack hinged, displaying his best form at centre. The Otago captain was fairly closely marked, but this did not prevent him from giving a display fully in keeping with the high reputation he has enjoyed in the past few seasons.. When the game had been in progress only three minutes, he electrified the crowd ■ by bursting past his opposite number, D. Smeaton, to run his wing, I. J. Botting, into position for a spectacular try. Thereafter Elvidge concentrated on getting the ball to his wings with room in which to work, and he succeeded admirably. Once he shot through a gap inside the twenty-five to score a characteristic try himself, and his covering work and backing up generally were equal to his best. He nad bad luck on another occasion when he lost the ball as he went over the line in a tackle. Whatever critics Botting may have had, these should have been silenced by his exhibition of constructive wing three-quarter play. In scoring two glorious tries he showed pace and determination while his defensive work was first class, his play generally indicating that he has returned to the form which made him an All Black prospect two yefirs ago. Meates was equally as impressive on the other flank and scored three tries, all of them the work of a polished wing three-quarter. The Maniototo player showed considerable resource, was especially dangerous when in possession near the line, and proved apt at making play for himself when circumstances demanded.

The one or two minor lapses in ground fielding made by G. J. Moore m the early stages were more than compensated by his thoroughly competent all-round display, and in tl\e latter stages when play was swinging Otago’s way he frequently came up to support the backs in passing movements. Moore was only called on to display his ability as a tackier on two or three occasions, but it is enough to say that no one got past him. Skilful Hooking

Although lacking the experience and cohesion of the Otago forwards, the Southland pack battled hard throughout, and it was by no means a spent force at the finish. The feature of the Maroon forwards’ display, however, was the skilful raking of their captain, Mcßae, more particularly in the second spell when he enjoyed a three to one advantage in the set scrums. In all-round play, Mcßae was one of Southland’s best forwards. Two of the solidest workers in the Southland pack were the 1946 All Black, T. A. Budd, one of the locks, and D. M. Brown, a powerful frontrow forward. Both frequently came through from the rucks, and both were effective in rush-stopping. Until this year Brown locked- the Southland scrum, but with his strength and fitness he is well suited to the front row.

A. Smeaton, who represented the South Island in 1943 but has been out of big football for several seasons, showed up in the line-out play, but of the newcomers, L. Moynihan, a tall .and rangy forward, was the most impressive, putting plenty of sting into his work in the tight and controlling the ball well in the loose. The nippy little half-back, J. T. McKenzie, was the star of the Southland rearguard, and did his best to open up the play whenever the opportunity offered. He sent out long and well-directed passes and was usually on hand to set going again any movements which broke down. He had a strenuous day in coping with t/he rushes of the Otago forwards, and did not wilt under the strain. The five-eighths, F. H. Stewart and J. Prendiville, both handled well, and although neither displayed the resource of their Otago counterparts, Stewart showed ability to penetrate on

several occasions, one burst taking him from half-way deep into Otago territory before Willocks and Moore cannoned into him to halt his run.

The promising Southland centre, D. Smeaton, who injured his thigh in the South Canterbury match, had a recurrence of the trouble after only 12 minutes’ play and had to leave the field. This caused some reshuffling of the backiine, L. F. Ward moving from full-back to centre, while E. Gorton came on as a replacement. Ward played a solid defensive game, but the most dangerous of the Southland threequarters was A. S. Chandler, who made several good runs and also got through much solid tackling.

The Scoring

Otago’s first try came three minutes after the kick-off when from a ruck passing reached Elvidge. who brushed past D. Smeaton and, running Bptting nicely into position, sent the wing a perfectly timed pass just inside the twenty-five, Botting finishing off brilliantly. Haig converted. Otago 5, Southland nil.

Eight minutes before half-time Woodhouse, Haig and Johnstone joined in passing which threatened the Southland line. Haig made a bid but fell short, and then Woodhouse secured from a ruck and whipped the ball to Meates, who went across near the corner. Moore failed. The half-time score was Otago 8, Southland nil. With the wind in their favour the shield holders attacked strongly in the second spell and eight minutes from the resumption Haig paved the way

for a try with a sharp break up the middle of the field, with Johnstone and Dalton in support, the lastnamed scoring under the posts. Moore converted. Otago 13, Southland nil. Haig used the line to good effect, and a long touch-finder from halfway gained about 50 yards. From the line-out, the Otago backs came away in passing, and Elvidge broke through between Ward and Herbison, Meates going across wide as Moore raced up in support. Moore’s kick was unsuccesful. Otago 16. Southland nil.

Southland looked dangerous when Prendiville, A. Smeaton, Chandler, and Mcßae shifted play past half-way, but Botting halted the movement, and Woodhouse sent Dalton away, the Otago forward putting in a centring kicked which paved the way for further Otago passing, from a line out. Elvidge received just inside the 25 and was through the defence in a flash to score Otago’s fifth try after 22 minutes’ play, Haig did not convert. Otago 19, Southland nil. At this stage, Otago was well in the ascendency, and Botting capped off passing from a ruck when he ran in from the 25 and threw himself over at the corner for a real wing threequarter try. Moore failed. Otago 22, Southland nil. Stewart lifted the siege for a while but Meates, Hamilton and Elvidge put Otago on the attack again, and Hamilton launched further passing which reached Kearney, Meates moving inside to score well out. Moore missed with the kick, and the game ended:

Otago 25, Southland nil. The teams were:—Southland (Challengers) Backs Full-back: L. F. Ward 12.7. Three-quarters: A. S. Chandler 11.0, D. Smeaton 12.3, I. Herbison 11.13. Five-eighths: J. Prendiville 11.13, F. H. Stewart 11.4 (vice-captain). Half-back: J. T. McKenzie 10.0. Forwards Front-row: D. M. Brown 13.9, J. Mcßae 13.2 (captain), J. J. Boyle 13.11. Middle-row: L. Moynihan 14.2, R. W. Woods 15.13, A. Budd 13.8, A. Smeaton 14.0. Back-row: J. Stuck 14.0. Otago (Holders) Backs Full-back: G. J. Moore 13.2. Three-quarters: I. J. Botting 12.5, R. R. Elvidge 13.2 (captain), W. A. Meates 12.8. Five-eighths: J. C. Kearney 11.7, L. S. Haig 12.10. Half-back: L. S. Woodhouse 12.4. Forwards Front-row: K. L. Skinner 14.3, A. Foster 13.3, R. A. Dalton 14.12. Middle-row: D. H. Hamilton 14.3, C. W. Willocks 14.8 (vice-captain), L. R. Harvey 15.0, J. McNab 14.2. Back-row: P. Johnstone 13.10. Mr A. Fong (Greymouth) was the referee.