RUGBY PLAYERS OF YEAR

Southland Times, Issue 23649, 26 October 1938, Page 3

RUGBY PLAYERS OF YEAR

SELECTION OF FIVE THREE NEW ZEALANDERS INCLUDED The Referee, Sydney, selects the “Five Rugby Union Players of the Year” and includes in the selection three New Zealanders—N. A. Mitchell, C. K. Saxton and J. L. Sullivan. The others are Australians—C. Ramalli and M. Carpenter. The five selected can be of any country provided they play in Australia during the season, writes V. C. Davis in The Referee. They must have turnedout for a first-class team, that is, an interstate or international team. They are the five players who have made the greatest impression in quality of play, in iron determination, in despising foul methods, in sinking their individuality for the sake of the team. In a word they are to be regarded as models, each in his own position, for young and aspiring players to look up to and emulate. A preliminary survey of the position narrows the field down to the following seventeen: —N. A. Mitchell (N.Z.), outer-centre; J. L. Sullivan (N.Z.), inner-centre; C. K. Saxton (N.Z.), half-back; J. Dick (N.Z.), winger; A. W. Bowman (N.Z.), breakaway; J. Taylor (N.Z.), full-back; R. McKenzie (N.Z.), lock; H. Milliken (N.Z.), 2nd row; T. Berghan (N.Z.), five-eighth; T. C. Morrison (N-Z.), winger; R. Rankin (N.S.W.), fullback; C. Ramalli (N.S.W.), half-back; M. Carpenter (Victoria), winger; K. Windon (N.S.W.), breakaway; C. H. Towers (N.S.W.), outer-centre; K. M. Ramsay (N.S.W.), second row forward; V. Richards (N.S.W.). fiveeighths ; and A. J. Hodgson (N.S.W.), lock. . J Whittling down one’s selection to five from this array of talent is by no means easy. Each man mentioned is a footballer worthy of the name, a man who has proved in one way or another a fit subject for hero-worship. A FIRST-CLASS PLAYER With due deliberation and recognizing the difference his absence made to the All Blacks when he was unable to play in the last Test, we nominate N. A. Mitchell, the New Zealand captain and outside-centre, as one of the “five.” , . , , Mitchell portrayed everything that is good in outside-centre play. He instinctively knew the strength or weakness of each set of circumstances as they unfolded. The brain was always functioning brightly to direct things in Mitchells play and it is fitting to pay this tri-

bute to him—that all his efforts were devoid of undue individualism and were consistently aimed at co-operat-ing with his men. That quality, so much to be desired in a captain, was of great value to the wearers of the silver fern in their programme of matches in Australia.

One valuable means of penetrating that was brought home to us by Mitchell was “fending.” _ The value of this fend was shown in the way Mitchell treated a courageous if not experienced tackler in V. Miller during the New South Wales match. Mitchell’s own defence has been questioned in some quarters and indeed, before coming to a conclusion about it, one would like to see more of it. Suffice it to say that Mitchell’s defence in the cases where this writer saw it functioning was no worse than international standard.

In other respects, such as handling, passing, following up to anticipate a valuable pass, and in quick thinking, Mitchell was the really'ifirst-class footballer. SULLIVAN’S ELUSTVENESS Second of the “five” in our eyes is J. L. Sullivan, the New Zealand in-side-centre. Sullivan had an elusive quality that made' him really magnetic whenever he got the ball. This elusiveness sprang from, first, his great speed, second, a facility of swerving that must have been tantalizing to the Australian tacklers. A great pair of

hands for. taking or giving a pass made Sullivan the ideal link in the New Zealand three-quarter line. But he was more than a mere link. Quick thought and precision-execution of the plan was seen from Sullivan on the occasions when he centre-kicked so well to his forwards. Sullivan always had a spectacular dash up his sleeve when the occasion warranted it.

The third player of the quintet is C. K. Saxton, the New Zealand half-back. Saxton, from the inception of the tour, was exemplary in his work from the rear of the forwards. Faced with desperate efforts on the part of the Australians to hold his backs in check, Saxton varied the play to catch them unawares, making full use of his forwards and his winger on the blind side. He ran brilliantly himself when he saw his backs faced with anticipating Australian tacklers. The movement in which Saxton and Morrison crisscrossed behind one another in bringing about a try in the first Test will remain as an example for any coach who wishes to illustrate what backing up can do. Just to show that in no respect is he anything but a really masterful half-back, Saxton turned out trumps as a defender, .the manner in which he up-ended big forwards showing what

a little man who knows how to time a tackle can do. RAMALLI’S CLAIMS Our fourth choice as one of the players of the year is another halfback, young Cecil Ramalli, of New South Wales, who left no room for doubting his claims as a really great half-back, despite his extreme youth. Ramalli was great, not only in play, but in red-blooded courage. He took the father and mother of a hiding, and came through it all as cheerful as he went into it. His colour scheme with two glowering black eyes, and a battered nose was something that had to be seen to be appreciated. Ramalli’s attributes make quite a short story in narrating. Most prominent of these are: pluck, speed of thought and action, capability to pass the ball in a split second and over a great range of distance. In tackling, Ramalli has the same gift as Saxton; in fact, the two men are very much on a par in ability to run, pass and tackle.

Ramalli has a great future in football given an ordinary chance. He

may make a name for himself on a par with the reputation achieved by Syd. Malcolm. The fifth and final selection in the 1938 “Best Five” is Max Carpenter, the Victorian winger, whose form both as a winger and goal-kicker, improved to the point where he took the fancy of all who saw him in action. In the first Test Carpenter played well generally but for one or two errors. But it was in the second Test at Brisbane that he captivated the popular fancy. Phenomenal speed along touch in scoring two tries and sterling defence caused the Brisbane crowd to single him out for special acclamation after the game. All sections of the Press spoke warmly of his deeds. Carpenter, who scored twenty points in the first and second Tests, was prevented by injury from playing in the third Test. But it is not the last we shall see of _ this sparkling player in the international sphere. It will be noticed that all five of the footballers of the year are backs. This is due to the fact that a forward has to be outstanding indeed to take the eye before a slashing back. But to give the forwards a modicum of recognition is only fair, and one would name K. Windon (New South Wales), A. Bowman (New Zealand), R. McKenzie (New Zealand), K. Ramsay (New South Wales), and H. Milliken. (New Zealand) as the five greatest for- 1 wards seen in action here this season.