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ADVANTAGE OF POSSESSION

Consistent Play By Springboks SPECTACULAR PASSING RUSHES (From Our Special Reporter) CHRISTCHURCH, September 4. It was a hard and exciting game. In the first half the. Springboks gained a big advantage in possession from the scrums and line-outs, and for about 30 of the 40 minutes of play had a territorial advantage that gave them opportunity after opportunity to attack. But it was New Zealand which scored the points of the half. Two opportunist tries, both scored by J. L. Sullivan, gave the All Blacks a lead of six points to nil at the interval. Sullivan’s second try, scored after a run of about 80 yards, was the highlight of many spectacular movements. In the second half the Springboks, again winning possession of the ball twice as often as New Zealand, made more of their opportunities and scored two converted tries and a penalty goal. F. G. Turner and W. E. Bastard scored the tries, and G. H. Brand converted both and kicked the penalty goal. The game produced a remarkable contrast of styles and tactics. The Springboks adopted safe methods of attack, and although they failed to finish off many chances to score tries, they were rewarded in the end for consistent play on sound lines. New Zealand, on the other hand, played a negative game and lost numbers of chances by avoiding the playing of constructive Rugby, indulging in spoiling tactics and trusting to breakdowns in the Springbok attack to produce opportunities of scoring. There was no doubt about the Springboks being the better side on the day. They played attractive football, and demonstrated in striking fashion that ball possession is the first step to success. They fielded eight forwards who did the work of forwards first. The backs did the rest. At first they were handicapped by the slowness of the turf at Lancaster Park. They threw the ball about with freedom and gave the huge crowd of spectators a delightful exhibition of accurate and quick handling. Some of the passing rushes were spectacular, particularly when the forward division joined the movements. NEW ZEALAND OUT-CLASSED The All Blacks were out-classed. They played disappointingly and could not be compared with teams which previously have represented New Zealand. Too much trust was placed in the ability of some of the players to win the game by goal-kicking. It succeeded in the first Test, but failed in the second. New Zealand will have to field a much-improved side for the third Test at Auckland, otherwise its chances of success will be limited. It is doubtful if there is a team available in New Zealand capable of beating the South Africans. They have proved themselves exceptionally good football players, and on their form on Saturday are almost invincible in opposition to any New Zealand side. An unsatisfactory feature of the game was the rough play of some of the players. Both sides were at fault and at one time the referee (Mr J. S. King) called the captains together and spoke to them. , G. H. Brand, the South African fullback, was the outstanding figure in the game. His exhibition of full-back play has rarely if ever been excelled in New Zealand. His line-kicking saved the Springbok forwards and won big stretches of ground for his side. He kicked seven points in goals. T. A. Harris, the stand-off half, fully justified his inclusion in the team. He was the pivot of most of the attack and repeatedly broke through New Zealand’s inside defence to develop the attack. For his first Test game he played exceptionally well. D. H. Craven and F. G. Turner also played outstanding games, and all of the forwards played well. J. L. Sullivan and H. Simon were New Zealand’s best backs. The rest were hardly up to inter-island standard, although J. Dick and W. J. Phillips, the wings, got few chances to show their ability. Of the forwards, A. A. Parkhill, R. R. King and S. T. Reid stood out in a hard game between the packs. The teams were as follows:—

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST19370906.2.108.2

Bibliographic details

Southland Times, Issue 23297, 6 September 1937, Page 8

Word Count
677

ADVANTAGE OF POSSESSION Southland Times, Issue 23297, 6 September 1937, Page 8

ADVANTAGE OF POSSESSION Southland Times, Issue 23297, 6 September 1937, Page 8

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