SPRINGBOK RUGBY MIGHT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 282, 28 November 1936, Page 4

SPRINGBOK RUGBY MIGHT

PENDING CLASH WITH ALL BLACKS

SOUTH AFRICAN WRITER STUDIES BOTH SIDES

A m riter in the Outspan, a noted South African weekly, deplores the lack of optimism with regard to Rugby of modern days, and in a very interesting article dealing with what he considers will be the likely Springbok touring party for Australia and New Zealand, and also has something to say about the promising talent ot the Dominion, ne strikes an optimistic note. "I may possess an over-sanguine streak in my make-up, for I am optimistic enough to believe that there is nothing to get pessimistic about in our present-day Rugby and its players, nor, from letters I have received and papers I have read, can I discover any justification for the New Zealand lament or the Australian dirge," he says. While it is a fact that the Springboks and the All Blacks will be endeavouring to take the lead in victories in international matches between the two countries, there is a tendency to convert these contests into supergladiatorial combats rather than to treat them as purely and simple games of rugby football. “Two of the six New Zealand selectors were in the party of All Blacks who toured South Africa in 1928 one a back and the other a forward. The names of these two are Mark

Nicholls and Jim Burrows, and nothing more requires to be said as to their ability to spot good talent. Their tour colleagues are G. W. Nicholson, A. A. Adams, E. McKenzie and W. J. Pearson, the last three of whom helped to choose the New Zealand players who loured the British Irlcs last season. New Zealand Talent. “The New Zealand selectors have also good material available for their I team. They possess two good fullbacks in Gilbert, and Pollock. The former was a great, success throughout the tour of the British Isles last season. An injury during the present season has handicapped him somewhat but he should bo in fine fettle by the time the Springboks arrive. The second choice falls on Pollock, who has been gaining international experience in the recent games against Australia, in which he showed up to great advantage. “For the wing positions, Hart, Ball, and Mitchell, all of whom played in the British Isles last season, will be available. There will also be Dick, of Auckland, who has developed into a player with the dash of a Lawton combined with the brains of a Williams, a really excellent combination. In addition to these there is Killeen, who played on the wing against Australia. He was, originally, an excellent fly-half, but Jost form in that position only to recover it as a dashing centre. “The centre positions are likely to be tilled by T. 11. C. Caughey. who played a number of most brilliant games in Great Britain and also a number of very ordinary ones, and Watt, who is a class player. Caughey’s defence is rather weak, and for this reason it. is likely that Killeen will be played in this position with Watt as his partner. “The scrum-half position should go without any question to Joey Sadler, who played so brilliantly throughout the tour of Ihe British Isles. This player has been compared favourably with the Maori, Jimmy Mill, who was such a success at. the base of the scrum in the famous All Black side that toured Great Britain without defeat in 1924. Such a comparison is high praise indeed for Sadler, and proves that he has the capabilities of providing very strenuous opposition to the South African scrumhalves. His most likely partner in lhe flyhalf position will be Griffiths, who combined with him so well in Great Britain, and who is the brainy type of player who proves such an asset in a key position. Failing these two. New Zealand can still call on two other reliable halves who have the experience of representative games. These are Corner in the scrum-half position, with Tindill for the fly-half berth. “So far as forwards are concerned, there appears to be plenty of material available. The big difficulty that has been experienced in New Zealand has been getting the forwards to combine in packing three in the front row against the traditional New Zealand formation of 2—3—2. This difficulty is not insurmountable, and by the time a new season arrives no effort will have been spared to conquer it.

“The selectors will be able to avail themselves of Lambourn, Hadley and Wells, in the front row. The first two of these players were in Great Britain last season, and the last-named did good work against Australia in the recent matches. In Hadley they have the best hooker New Zealand has had since the 2—3—2 formation was abandoned. “There seems to be little doubt that the services of McKenzie and King will be requisitioned for the lock posi- ? tions. Both these strong, good players i have gamed considerable experience together in these vital positions, and ■ I ought to be capable of holding their I own against the best South Africa can. > send. i For breakaway forwards they will * have a choice of Manchester, who captained the side in Britain, McLean, who played the part of singleton back- ■ row man on the same lour, Jackson ■ and Rankin. The last two have been in the New Zealand side against Australia recently. "The remaining position will go to. ■ Mahoney or Dalton. The former • played very well in Britain, and the | latter has been doing excellent work I i against the Australians. I What of South Africa? ‘From the material I have mentioned as being available should come ■ the Australian and New Zealand op- I position to next year's Springboks, and i it now remains to be seen if South , Africa is equipped to stand up against | it. “With requirements in mind, our i first choice for full-back is the re- . doubtable Gerry Brand, who selects himself and walks into the team. The second choice seems to lie between B. , Reid, of Border, and Jim Vlok, of Western Province. In the games againts Transvaal, Griqualand West, I Orange Free State, South-Western i Districts and Border, Vlok deputised I for Brand. In the first three matches he gave a brilliant performance, but | against South-Western Districts and i Border he was not up to his usual j form. He was a member of t he i “Junior Springboks" who toured the Argentine in 1932. Reid played against the Wallabies in the fourth test at Port Elizabeth and gave a splendid account of himself this season against Transvaal, Griqualand West, and South-Western Districts. Against Western Province he was extremely poor, but so poor that the form he displayed that day was too bad to be I true. Both Reid and Vlok have good i experience, and either will prove a worthy deputy, with the balance probably in favour of Reid. “The wing three-quarters have to j be speedy, quick off their mark and j determined runners. They ought to | be able to make use of the swerving ; run, and to in-pass or kick across judiciously. They must be capable of sound defence and see to it that they so bottle up the opposing wings that] any attacking movement started by | the opposition ends with their tackle I of their opposite number. “I suggest D. O. Williams as an easy first choice for one wing position, with Lawton, of Western Province, and Coetzee, of Eastern Province, for the other. Turner, or Transvaal, should go as the fourth, for ' he is a far finer player on the wing than he will ever be as a centre. 1 j am assuming that, after his recent, serious and regrettable illness, Zimmerman will not be available. The centre men must take and give their passes cleanly and with accuracy; they must be ever ready to lake I a gap at speed, and having done so, I to open out to their supporters and so avoid the risk of the movement' failing through selfishness; they must) understand the full use of the in-pass, and if it is necessary to kick ahead ' they should do so with such judgment 1 that the ball falls short of their opponents ahd within the pace of their] wing men coming up in support. Above all, they must run straight. That should be their principal asset, for straight running means thrust, and thrust means successful attack.

I Shepherding their co-centre and their j w’ings across the field in a crab-like I amble will not produce scoring results. “The centres ought to come from Waring, of Transvaal, Hofmeyr and Babrow, of Western Province, White and S. Reid, of Border, and Campher, of the Free State. The last-named can, like Babrow, also fill the fly-half position, where he has been played by ' his province, but, to my mind, he is a : better centre, and in good company : should do well. On the basis of two

.men for each position, I would choose I White, Ba brow, Waring and Reid, ■ Serum-halves have to be able t< i make full use of every chance tha I presents itself at the base of the I scrum. They must be competent t( I give their line immediate delivery o ! the ball, gaining those extra seco; 1 I that are so precious in attack, Iw sending out long, accurate and rapu passes. They ought to be ready t< I vary the orthodox pass out will | clever breaking round the scrum, am I they must be prepared, if need shouk I arise, to stand up bravely behind i I beaten pack. Unless they are abso I lately forced to do so they should no • kick. These remarks apply with equa [ force to loose scrums ami at the line out as much as to the set scrums. i At the bast? of the scrum 1 thinli the unanimous choice will be Craven iand for his deputy there are those who would select without any hesb I tation the light and agile Pierre de I Villiers. This player has staged a reI markable come-back, ami his sup- ■ porters maintain that on a dry day he is belter than Craven. Whether ht could stand up to the buffeting of r I strenuous tour is another matter. ■ "A player who should be in the i running is Todd, of Natal, who ditl sc | well against Border. Had he playec | against Western Province at NewI lands the game would. 1 believe, have been much closer, for it was the halfbacks on that day who let Nata down. "But I am strongly of opinion that I the selectors will be .miking no mistake in giving the position to Snelgar of Border. Here is a player of tht •sturdy, dependable type. He can sene I out Jong and accurate passes, and hit ability to play in adverse condition.J and to rise superior to them was de- | monstrated fully when Border playec I Western Province in the worst j weather of the season. ; The fly-halves must be able io lit in with their scrum-half colleagues, anc they must, take their passes on the ’ run and not like memorial statues o! I famous Rugby players of a bygone I age. They must give their passes ' crisply, and be prepared to alter the usual procedure of breaking with speed through a gap. But they must! remember that if this manoeuvre is I successful on the first occasion it by no means follows that it is going to be successful every time they get the ball. It has Io he worked judiciously, in just the same way as the quick return pass Io their scrum-halves. In ’ that way the opposition arc kept I wondering, and that is half the battle. I “But. fly-halves have to evade the | attention of Hank forwards, and can only hope to do so by getting the I long, quick pass from the scrum and taking it at full speed. When it comes 110 kicking they have two choices, i They can short punt ahead or kick |to touch. The former should be attempted only when a pass to their I centres is obviously useless- the latter I to take play out of their ewn terri- | lory, or to save their forwards when j tired. j “Judging by all that has been said and written, it. would appear that the i i tilling of the fly-half position is a 1 matter of extreme difficulty. As this is the pivot of the entile back division, if. is only natural that the choice must be made with care, but. 1 cannot agree with lhe pessimists who wring their hands in anguish as they look back to the flays of Bennie Osler. ■ or who consider the most unfortunate | injury to Geoff Gray as a disaster ! without remedy. “Candidly, 1 think that our style of I .Rugby has improved since the days of ' Bennie Osler. That he could win a I match on his own by the brilliant in- ! dividual work of a quick-thinking j rugby brain is beyond doubt, but the I individual brilliance of a brainy player • is always detrimental to the effective- | ness of the team as a combining unit, i “So far as Geoff Gray is concerned, I he is a class centre three-quarter. In I that, position he can be positively brilliant, whereas in the lly-half berth ' he is only very ordinary. “Why there is so much fuss about i the position 1 cannot, say, for, to my; mind, we have a fly-hall, ready to oc- ’ cupy the post. Be is not of the in- j dividually brilliant, type, but, what is I far more necessary, ho is dependable, both in attack and defence, and he makes a perfect link with the other | backs. T refer to Douglas Holmes, of I Border. "His display against the Transvaal was, I am told, of a very high i standard. I had the pleasure of watch- [ ing him when he played against West- ; ern Province, and when he was easily the best back on the field. In the art I of the short diagonal punt, when such i was necessary, his work was a joy to | watch and ho had the Province men I stone cold. He was able, on several ' occasions, to break clear of the op- ; posing flank forwards, and, in addition ■ to all this, his defence was safe and | sure, and his kicking was incaluable. ( He should walk into lhe side without • anyone having to think twice about • it. Next to him I would play Newham. : of Transvaal, or Seymour, of Nata!. The latter is a useful typo of player, : and showed his worth against Border, i Why he was not played againstWestern Province is a mystery. “But the lad I would like to see in ■ the party would be Cluver, the j former partner to Craven when at j Stellenbosch. I have not included him i as I am afraid he will not be fit • enough to undertake the tour. What the Forwards Must Do | “The first consideration in regard to i forwards is that they must be an | equally balanced and mobile pack. 1 Forwards must also he capable of hand-to-hand passing movements, and must be ever ready with keen follow-ing-up. The latter procedure puts

(them into position for a kick across, ‘and it. is also most useful in putting | a defender off his kick. In loose 'scrums they must heel back quickly so that their backs can get away on the attack with the defence disorganised. "I pass no comment on the art of wheeling the scrum, for this groundgaining and try-scoring art is a dead letter in this country, as it is bound to be so long as we persist in the 3—4 —1 scrummage formation. "Taking the front rankers first and starting with the hooker, there ought to be very little doubt about the choice of E. Gordon, of Transvaal, and 1, Maartens, of Border. To my mind these are the two best hookers i: the country at the present time. I do not mention "Boy" Louw for this position as 1 shall put him in later in his most useful place. "The lirst choice for the front row flankers must go to S. C. (“Fanie”) Louw, with Jennings, the brilliant [young Border forward, as second. The 'other two will be G. Reid, also of I Border, and G. Englebrecht, of Western Province. An injury early in the I season deprived the Province of the i valuable service of this player, but he I ought to be in line trim to make the [ tour. , The first two locks I would choose I would be M. van den Berg, of Western Province, and K. Fourie, of Southi Western Districts. A number of ’ people will, perhaps, cavil at this 'second selection, but, in the company •of good players, Fourie will prove himself a most valuable asset to the | pack, and he never gives up for a moment from the first whistle, to the [last. My next two choices for these [positions go to Geel, of the Free i State, and J. Smit, of Western Proj vince. j "For one of the two flank positions 'in the second row I would select, [without any hesitation whatever, G. [van Reenen, of Western Province, and I for the other 1. would be prepared to I rely upon L. Strachan, of Transvaal. IMy second choices for the Hanks 'would be L. Froneman, of Border, and ;W. liinrichson. of Western Province. "For the back row position "Boy"

! I Louw goes in without opposit ion. It is [definitely his proper place and the one 'in which he gives his best displays. But he is also the useful type of I genius who is equally at home as hooker or a flank man in the front row, and is. incidentally, the best forward playing in South African Rugby at the moment. As his deputy I would choose Howard Watt, of Western Province. This player was also injured during the season but he will be in form by the time the team is due to leave, and he is just the type of man who will prove his worth on such a tour. "We now come Io the two selections for the final position of general utility I man, and I don’t think there could be any grumbling at the choice of A. | Duffy, of Border, and R. van der Reit, I of Western Province. Both of them I have played at full-back, scrum-half, i centre and forward, and anyone who wants any more is hard to please. "The thirty-two I have mentioned constitute in my opinion, a really magnificent party to uphold the honour of South African Rugby, and I should defeat be the reward for their efforts, no true South African sportsman will plead, lot us hope, loss of form or any other equally futile excuse. Rugby intelligence has carried South Africa to her present, proud position; she will only he defeated by a side that can counter with intelligence. To sum up, my touring party would ■ be; Full-backs.—G. Brand and B. ' Reid. Wings.—D. O. Williams, A. D. Lawton, J. Turner and Coetzee. I Centres. - J. White. L. Ba brow, F. | Waring and S. Reid. Serum-hah os.-D. Craven and C. I Snolgar. Fly-halves.--D. Holmes and Now- I ham. Forward*: Hookers.—E. Gordon | and I. Maartens. Front Row Flank*. S. C. Louw, C. Jennings, G. Reid, and G. Englebrecht. Locks.- M. van fieri Berg. K. Fourie, Geel and J. Smit. Flanks.—G. van Reenen. L. Str;.chan, L. Froneman, and W. | Hinrichsen. Back Row.--M. M. Louw and H. Watt. General Utility Men.—A. Duffy and R. va-o -L?r Reiu