RUGBY HALF-BACK

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 30 November 1935, Page 4

RUGBY HALF-BACK

THEIR PLAY MAY MAKE OR i MAR LESSONS OF DEFEAT BY SABAN SEN. I A SOUTH AFRICAN VIEWPOINT. i Th. victory of SMuoea o .er the. New Zealanders is being useu as a sermon by overseas critics to show that ! • he old ideas about the game aie best, i •say® the Band Daily 51a;!. (South* Africa). In spite of the changes wxiica the I -ooie forward has forced in the very! haracter of the game, this match i proved that the old idea of bard serum- I waging, quick heeling and “leave the. rest to the backs’* can always }»e in- ' dicated. if half-backs will only learn the real art of half-back play. In this match Tanner and Davies Swansea s schooboy half-backs, recaptured the spirit of the great Welsh nacks oT the country's halcyon da vs and showed that half-backs can create mat ch-winning chances for their threequarters. They played with genius, and outwitted the New Zealand defence time and again. Howard Marshall • ommenting on the game in the Daily Telegraph, sajs: “Do not let us make the mistake of i >»ader-rating the All Blacks after their ’ defeat at Swansea. In that grey ■ drizzle they were fairly and squarely I beaten, but they must surely haxe} learned their lessons. They are still a • potentially great side, and when all ’heir injured players are available ; again we shall have every reason tu I fear them. “Their forward weakness though, nuzzling. It makes us think that since • New Zealand abandoned the 23 —2 I rummage formation they have lost • sight of all scrummaging principles in , their search for a quick heeling equi- , valent. “It becomes wearisome to talk, of i «crummage formations, but the fact is j oat th© All Blacks have forced us to; onyider once more the importance of close forward play.

Possession Means Initiative '‘Perhaps it is true that nowaday.‘ear tries are scored directly from the set »:rummage, but that does not lessen the value of securing the ball in the tight. Possession means initiative, and the side with the ball directs the run of play. “Possibly ibe All Blacks would argue differently. Let us pack 3—l I. they might say. in the hope that when we do heel, though it may be only half a-dozen times in the game, the ball will comp so quickly to our * rum half that we shall be able tu beat the defence and score. “As it happens, it was from a set ’c.’ummage that the All Blacks scored against Swansea. For the rest, this argument continues, let our opponents have the ball, for most of our tries will originate either from their mistakes or in the loose maul®. •‘Noir it is soemtimes policy for br;ef periods to allow your opponents lo heel when their backs are slow and umsy, but as a general principle it is surely essential io dominate the game by winning the tight scrums. The moral effect of successful scrummaging n itself is most important, any player will agree.

Stimulus for Backs. •’Every forward must naie ex peri enced the exhilaration which comes from shoving in a properly controlled •ack, and the corresponding depression • auaed by despairing attempts to hold heavier or more competent opponents. ••Jc is the same with the backs—- : uera is a constant strain and anxiety • n playing behind beaten forwards, but an immense stimulus with a dominant vaek in front of you. And there, as Bernard Shaw made !Don Juan say. you have our difference; to be in heli is to drift; to be in heaven is to steer. And you cannot steer a game of football without possession of the ball. “It seems to me th'at the AH Blacks are drifting. Tn no phase of close for- j ward play, save perhaps in the energy and strength they exert, are they really I competent. They dribble in a bunch— ! r.o spreading out—no —cross dribbling; I heir line-out work, for all their height, ! » poor; they pack too high in the ! front row; their attempts wheeling* with their 31 —1 fwrjuativi are i pathet. c; they have e* co-ordinated I system of defence round the scrum- > mage, if we may judge by the ease I with which young Tanner eiip’.-e.' aa ay | at Swansea.* ‘ Harsh cnU.wiu pernap!, but lj make them ia all friaudiiaees. Bogey •Jowers in this country are a.’ixiojs o see these very I Keabe New ZeaJandc.s co welk Wo expect brilliant fcot.ail from them. We enjoy ?. and it gives us extra cause: fur pride if we happen to give them a game. They have shown, moreover. :ac stud of brilliant football is in them. A iitue .steering of those fast and powerful forwards, and we may look out lor j fa South At. a * sue 'am.uar wi;h • tue trend ot the game described by | Howard Marshall, and various sugges- I lions for reform have been put forward j iucluding the restr: . '.ion o; the kick to • lojicb. in force in. New Zealand, the i Hand Dailv Mail continues. All to no effect, however, and the ! gaoie here, in so far as back play goes. I •ontinues to deteriorate. There is no I doubt that the suete?.- of a Rugby I cam rests on the shoulders of the half- 1 backs, (liven genius in this department and intelligent support by the three-quarters, back can still outwit their opponents, even although they be reinforced by a loose forward or two. More attention to this vital phase of the game and less to new-fangled ideas j nay yet restore Rugby to its old proud 1 position in South Africa.

I'br Victuiiau Amateur Swimming Association has got itself rather uflside witii associations in other States, by deciding to invite Duke Kahanamnku to visit Australia with other Hawaiians. Kananamoku was derived a professional aexera! years