RUGBY WEAKNESSES

Waipa Post, Volume 47, Issue 3384, 24 October 1933, Page 7

RUGBY WEAKNESSES

DEFENCE A LOST ART FAMOUS ALL BLACK’S COM- ' MENTS “I think the men playing Rughy football to-day are as good as they ever were,” said Mr A. L. (Skinny) Humphries, famous All Black halfback, who first wore the’ Silver Fern in 1897, and finally in 1903, addressing the Tukapa Football Club’s annual reunion in New" Plymouth on K Saturday night. “However, there are just two phases of the game in which I think players of to-day are not comparable with those of yesterday. ’ “The first phase is the art of defence. Taranaki in past years were always famous for the defensive qualities of their play, and it was those qualities which enabled them to maintain such a sterling record of successes against visiting overseas teams. In 1888 the great Stoddart’s English team visited New Zealand and, after an unbroken line of successes, met Taranaki and were defeated by them. The wonderful defence of the whole Taranaki team was the deciding factor in the game. To-day, however, players have to some extent lost the art of defence, both ‘ in respect to tackling and positional play.” "i The next point of comparison, in which players of to-day. suffered, said Mr Humphries, was their sus- <- ceptibility to injury. In the old days a Taranaki provincial team never went on tour with more than 17 v players, but now at least 20 were taken. Once, he recalled, only 15 members were taken to play six matches—and Taranaki won every . match. , 1 The reason for this, considered Mr Humphries, was that players had not learned the art of defence. "When a player was tackling an opponent he should get in; quick and get in low. Then he would never get hurt.. The speaker, though he weighed only Si stone, and was tackling often 14 stone men who could cover 100yds in less than 11 seconds, was only once forced to leave the field through injury in all his 13 years of football. Support for Mr Humphries’ statements was given by Mr C. Brown, Taranaki provincial selector and former New Zealand Army team captain and All Black. Mr Brown also appealed for a return to the former New Zealand scrum formation, 2-3-2, which he said was the j best scrum formation the world had ever seen. The wing-forward, he contended, opened up back play and did not hamper it. But at present teams had often as many as three forwards playing a spoiling game.