CHANCE TO DEVELOP RUGBY TEAM CONFIDENCE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 144, 21 June 1939, Page 4

CHANCE TO DEVELOP RUGBY TEAM CONFIDENCE

REPRESENTATIVE MATCHES HOOK-BARTON COMBINATION GENIUS OF WANGANUI BACKS FAST. SURE DELIVERY FROM SCRUM THE IMPORTANT FACTOR

(By “Cross-Bar.’’ The win at Palmerston North by the Wanganui representative team against Manawatu at a time wli.-n the Manawa n I nion was fairly confident ot success, having beatin Wellington, A\as encouraging. It was well deserved, showed the representative team in a good light, but had its lessons, nevertheless. Jt is a wise Rugby team which profits from every lesson taught it.

Wanganui has a full representative programme this season. A good start has been made. Let that be an inspiration to even better play but not an incentive to over-confidence. This is the representative programme for the seasonJune 5, v. Taranaki, at Wanganui, drawn. 8 all. June 17, V. Manawatu. at Palmerston North, won 14 to 11. July 22 (Saturday), v. Ashburton, at Wanganui. August 9 (Wednesday), v. Hawke's Bay, at Wanganui. August 12 (Saturday), v. King Country, at Wanganui. August 26 (Saturday), v. Taranaki, in Taranaki. August 30 (Wednesday), v. Otago, at Wanganui. September 2 (Saturday), Rangitikei v. Hawke's Bay Colts, at Marton. September 13 (Wednesday), v. Southland, at Wanganui. September 23 (Saturday), v. Manawatu, at Wanganui. September 27 (Wednesday), v. Wellington, at Wanganui. It is a big programme and will fall heavily on the players in two weeks in August. On August 9. a Wednesday. the team will play Hawke's Bay, always a hard match, and on the following Saturday will turn out against King Country, a side which will be

fielding at least three players of North Island standard. On August 26 the team will play Taranaki on its own ground and on the following Wednesday will play Otago at Wanganui. On September 23, a Saturday, the Wanganui side will play Manawatu and on the following Wednesday will have to meet Wellington. It is a good, solid programme and it should enable the selectors to build up some great team work. The match against Manawatu proved the worth of the Wanganui scrum on an eight-man against seven basis. All the other teams playing in

Wanganui this season will be packing , oight men and the Wanganui forwards will need to maintain their progress : with tight packing, and endeavour 10 ■ retain their wonderful harrying ability in the loose. On Saturday’s display the whole team deserves to be kept together. And that reminds the football world that ail the players in the team are in Wanganui, except M. Dickie, and ran be got together for practice, and good, hard training and team talks help to make the Rugby game. To a coach of the calibre of Mr. El. Whiling, who is not afraid to put his jersey on and do a bit of rough and tumble with the pack, it must be encouraging to know that he has all the scrum round him. not just a nucleus of the side 1o play against the invading team of the morrow. The fundamental success of the game in Wanganui depends this year on getting the ball as quickly as possible to the D. G. Barton-G. Hook combination. That is Wanganui's nerve centre on attack, and the faster Hook can be travelling when he gets the ball the better his chance of cutting in. If he has lo take the ball standing still because the first fiveeighth takes it that way and has to turn round slowly to pass, then that kills the sting of the line further out.

Supporters of the game may laugh, but the example set by the 1937 Springboks is being copied by the Wanganui backs of to-day. There was a resemnlance. too, to the British type of game in the way E. Nicholls moved up to support H. Brogden’s passes at Palmerston.

And why shouldn't the Springboks be copied? Why scoff about it? Remember, that the great All Black teams of the past when at the pinnacle of their form, were seen by a mere handful of New Zealanders. It fell to the Springboks to show NewZealand w hat the old All Blacks were. South Africa made no pones about it. They copied the old New Zealand orthodox game.

And the first thing the Springboks taught New Zealand was to give the three-quarter line every chance. To do that a good pack of forwards and a thorough understanding of ihe scrummage was essential. Wanganui

has set out to understand the scrummage, and is feeling the benefit of the experience of at least two of the new players in the pack —E. J. Callaghan (New South Wales) and M. Sutton (formerly Manawatu). E. V. Beiliss (formerly Auckland), also, has had good experience. The value of these three players cannot be set in words.

After putting down a good scrum the next step in a South African method of test winning, is to have the right backs to take advantage of possession. They did not want a solid, defensive player at first five-eighth. A good

rush stopper and tackler, yes, but a man with a safe pair of hands and an ability to move up to his passes, who could afford to stand well away from the scrum and look for the dive pass, coming up to it and so letting the Babrow-Lochner combination race at full speed.

Wanganui stood deep at. Manawatu, and it was encouraging to see it, Decause backs in that formation are confident of their own forwards and confident of their own pace and ability to move up when the ball comes. Those same backs had sufficient confidence in their pace, too, to defend if something went, wrong in the scrum or lineout and the other side got the [ball. | 11. Brogden had no dive pass, but he i got the ball away well and E. Nicholls, I with a safe pair of hands and able to 'give an accurate pass, saw to it that Hook was at full pace w hen he took : the ball. Once or twice Hook momentarily took his eyes off the ball to look for the best track for an open- : ing, and he droppea the passes. No back can take a pass if he takes his jeyos off the bail, even for a second. ! D. G. Barton i.; the Rugby genius of the Wanganui backs. He knows [the game well and would make a name i for himself in a New Zealand team. iHis play against Manawatu was virile, ‘ and he was always looking for the ball. One can understand now how' 'this player must ha\e felt all through last season when the lack of unity in the pack meant th u. the baCKs were starved for possession. “Let us have it.’ was Barton's cry all through. This season it looks as though his appeal is to be answered. I certainly was at IManawatu. and h? and Hook proved jwhat they could do when they got the i ball. ' M. Dickie is in his right place as a wing three-quarter. He may have Ihung on ana forgotten the fast

materialising support inside him on occasions at Palmerston, but. that can easily be remedied in the future. So

fast and eager for work is Barton, and so are the forwards being trained to support their backs that both wing three-quarters, while not shirking their jobs in pace and determination, must no forget the team work likely to support them inside.

That is not meant as an easy way • out for a wing, to hesitate and wait for somebody to come and help him. A wing three-quarter must make every yard of ground tell, and what support ; is to come must come of its own I initiative and not be waited for. With , the backs Wanganui has to-day both [wings will probably get the support ’they need, but neither should wait for

M. Shewan, though he saw' little of the ball on Saturday, showed that he is improving. He tackled with greater determination, going up on to his man quickly and not waiting for the man to come to him.

Now. what about this goal-kicking? It is time at least one, more if possible, took the art of goal-kicking up seriously. It was heartbreaking to Wanganui to see the chances at goal lost at Palmerston North. The task can be mastered with practice and those players in the representatives [who can kick at all should get to it. •Every point will count against teams [like Hawke's Bay, Southland, and :Otago.

' Another word of commendation for E. J. Callaghan—his rush stopping.’ Time after time the Manawatu forwards, coming away in dribbling rushes, were stoppea when he went down on the ball.

If A. G. Davidson and W. Firmin maintain their form, both should make the trial teams later in the season. It will be hard to get a place in the All Black pack, of course, because" there are many packmen who will be unlucky. If Ted McKenzie adheres to his knowm tendencies, 14 stone will be a minimum. That search for weight may be a fetish, but weight counts when backs want the ball. Philip Nel proved that in 1937. Dave Gallaher’s team of 1905 proved it, too. In ±935 England proved it against J. E. Manchester’s. All Blacks and let Obolinsky use his pace. The best of backs can be beaten if they cannot get the ball, and it is handy lo have a stone advantage in weight in the pack, though it is readily admitted that any selector who sacrificed football prowess solely for weight would be a fool.