BETTER RUGBY IN BRITAIN

Taranaki Daily News, 23 April 1932, Page 6

BETTER RUGBY IN BRITAIN

SCOTLAND BELOW THE AVERAGE.

GOOD SIDE FOUND IN ENGLAND.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) London, March 3. When the Rugby season opened it was feared that Scotland’s strength was below the average, and this has since ■been proved, not only by their match with the South Africans, but by games with Wales and Ireland. All have taken place at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, and all have been lost. Their last defeat was at the hands of Ireland, who were successful by four goals (20 points) to a goal and a try (8 points).- • The only excuse that can be offered for the severity of Scotland’s reverse is that in the first half W. D.' Emslie, the Royal High School stand-off half, was injured and had to retire. This meant that a man had to be taken from the forwards, and, though the remaining seven made a fine effort to hold their own, they were worn down in the second half.

But before the Scottish team were upset the superiority of Ireland was marked. Their backs were not only faster, but they played with more resource and penetrative power. Too much of the Scottish passing broke down in the middle, with the result that the 'ball rarely reached the wings, and once tn ore lan Smith seldom had a chance to show his scoring ability. I shall be surprised if. Alacpherson is not brought back for the match with England. He is undoubtedly Smith’s best partner. When England beat Ireland in Dublin there was a tendency to depreciate the merit of the performance, but after the way in which the Irishmen outplayed Scotland, it looks a good deal better. Last Saturday a final English trial match took place at Twickenham, between an All White England team and an All Blue Rest side. The going was good, and the weather fine, except for a •bitter east wind blowing straight across the ground. It may . have been the east wind, or it may have been a growing disenchantment with up-to-date rugger, that kept down the attendance to about tn ordinary club “gate.” .With sound horse sense, however, practically all the spectators, except the Olympians of- the Selection Committee, huddled themselves on one side of the ground—and that; not the one where the royal box is. At the crowded east , side the onlookers were well sheltered by the huge stand from the biting blast off the Ural mountains. A number, of enthusiastic feminine rugger fans attended, and sat it out, draped in big topcoats and thick travelling rugs. It proved the best display of genuine open rugger we. have seen this season. The England pack was not quite but almost overwhelmingly su-. perior to the Rest scrum, pushing them yards in each set formation, getting the ball four times out of five, and showing better dash and leadership in - the ■loose and the line-out as well. Their leader was Black, the former, international and present Blackheath player, ■and his vim and acumen seemed, to leaven'the lump marvellously. At halftime England were up by 23 points to 11. Key and Tallent were playing as halves for the Rest against Gadney and Elliot, and Key compared rather better with his vis-a-vis than Tallent did with Elliot, though Gadney was on the whole master of Key. Well served from the scrum and by their halves, the England three-quarter line—Aarvold, Gerrard, Burland and Tanner, with Barr at full-back—opened up the game well, the centres time and again cutting through to make openings for their wings. The Rest scoring was mainly individual effort combined with a lucky follow up. At half-time, to the amusement and bewilderment of the crowd, the two entire back divisions were reversed. England’s players, from scrum half to full-back, now appeared, still in white shorts, but in blue jerseys, whilst the Rest back division Was promoted, still in blue pants but with white jerseys, to manoeuvre behind the England scrum. Presumably the selectors desired to see how far England’s backs were being brilliant because their forwards were tops dogs, and what the Rest line could make of, similar opportunities to throw the ball about. ■ Though the England pack still kept

its superiority, the score ended 36 points to 19 in’ favour of their team, the second half adding only 13 points for England as re-modelled against 8 for the reconstituted Rest, who actually scored nearly as many times, though their place kicking failed. The conclusion drawn from this game was that, at last, England has a pack worthy of her tradition, and that, with the backs now available, we ought to have no great difficulty in recovering the Calcutta Cup from Scotland at Twickenham this year. I should estimate the new England side, now the selectors have got out of their earlier doldrums, as at least 50 per. cent, better than, the All White sides that succumbed to the Springboks and Wales. I should very much like to see the England v. South Africa or England v. Wales games restaged with the present English side, available and in its mid-season form.

All the scoring on Saturday showed speed, brains, and team work of some sort. Aarvold, who got his full quota of the England and Rest tries, playhd a real'captain’s made , one try very coolly. He had got a good pass from-Gerrard, and dashed for the corner. His path was barred by Block; the Harlequin full-back, . who proved himself a very sound man in good company, and another player was tackling him at top speed from the side. Aarvold suddenly put on all brakes, checked his headlong course, off the side-tackler with- a thrust that helped him onward' into, the arms of Block, and himself dodged round- these two entangled opponents to score a fine try. The best effort of the game, individually, came from Mercer, the Durham centre, who played for the Rest during the first half. He raced right through from his own 25, down the touch Hine, with young Harrison close at his elbow, and both travelling fast. When they came to Barr, Mercer sold a verv convincing dummy, and sailed over to place the ball behind the posts. That is the best individual try scored at Twickenham for some seasons. My own impression is that, though it was almost impossible to drop either Burland or Gerrard, the best threequarter line to have played for England, behind the new and vigorous pack and the Gadney-EUiot nalf-baek combination, would be the Durham County players —Harrison, Mercer, Aarvold and Smeddle. But the selectors do not share my penchant for team combinations. It was very cheering, however, to see rugger played with the old vim and open passing adventure again, and less forward smothering and touch-kicking. At rugger it is better to have passed and lost° than never to have had a dash at all.