Many Changes In International Rugby Teams At Home

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1935, Page 4

Many Changes In International Rugby Teams At Home

BRIEF CAREERS OF MODERN PLAYERS

YANE aspect of the current Rugby season in the United Kingdom and Ireland which is of special interest to New Zealanders, in view of the visit which the All Blacks will make to those countries late in. the. year, is the rapidly-changing nature of the international teams. The “life” of a player in British international Rugby nowadays is very much shorter than it was when, for instance, the New Zealand team of 1924-25 went Home. That seems to be due largely to the very small proportion of really outstanding players. Apparently the general standard has not risen perceptibly; it seems, rather, that in general the players who are chosen for. the trials before the' selection of each national team are very much of a muchness, ana that the selectors are less conservative and.much,more disposed to experiment than they used to be. * * . My attention was directed to this aspect of modern British Rugby by the fact that only one member of the British team which visited New Zealand and Australia in 1930 was selected in any of the four national teams for their first matches this season; that solitary exception was the youngest member of the 1930 team, and he is now the captain of England. At one time a player who had five years in British international Rugby was not considered to have had a long career in it. When France was in the international Rugby championship each of the four Home unions had four international matches in each season. Visits by teams from South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand increased that number occasionally, but when allowance is made for injuries a player would seldom average more than four such matches a sfeason over a long period that included visits from overseas teams. Consequently. a man would have to be in the international arena for quite five years to obtain 20 “caps.” Yet 55 players in the four Home countries have played at least 20 international games; 27 of the 55 have had at least 25 such matches each; and 10 of them have had 30 games or more. Now that France is out of the international champion-

ship men need to stay in international Rugby-for more than five years to obtain 20 “caps,” but it is obvious that the number of players of the present decade who will obtain 15 “caps” will be much smaller, in proportion, than: the numbers in previous decades; « '' * *

A comparison of the Englisn, Scottish, Welsh and Irish teams for three seasons illustrates strikingly how the personnel of them changes nowadays. Only three members of England’s team' which drew with .Wales in the first international match of the current season played in the corresponding match a year before, only two in that of a year before that, and none in the game of the 1931-32 season. Six of the Welsh • players- were in • last season s match, six in that of two years ago, and five ,in the .1931-32 game. Scotland’s first team of the current season showed eight changes, in one year, 10 change's in two years, and 13 changes from the side of three years ago. Ireland’s changes are very similar; only two members of the 1931-32 team were chosen this season. So of 60 players chosen for the four national teams three years ago only 11 were retained, although the selection committees concerned had already started, three years ago, considerable rebuilding of their teams because many of their international players were then past their prime. * * *

It is certain, • therefore, that the national teams which will oppose the All Blacks will include no old players who have lingered overlong in the Rugby arena. They should be vigorous enough. Whether or not the quality of their play will be high is quite another question. Their effectiveness will be increased considerably if they can find inspiriting players for certain vital positions, especially for that position which corresponds with our first five-eighth. Wales is the only one of the four Home countries which has a brilliant player there. On that question, it seems, New Zealand can sigh in sympathy with England, Scotland, and Ireland. - A.L.C.