WANGANUI RUGBY

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 June 1948, Page 6

WANGANUI RUGBY

WANGANUI THREE-QUARTERS

To "Crossbar.” —With interest I read the communications by "Give and Take” in Tuesday’s edition of your paper, a nd. while giving full credit to our speedy wing threequarter for his attacking ability, 1 would stress his inability, at times, to defend. In fairness to this player I am sure that if he could improve his defence and studv some finer points of the game, we would, without a doubt, look upon him with higher possibilities. This has been Droved by Taranaki’s O’Byrne and Webby, who, in my opinion, played Rugby of a better all round standard when Kaierau and Technical Old Boys played recently.—l am, etc-, "BE FAIR.” Much of what you have written is sound; but there is a tendency in Wanganui—ana we all suffer from it in varying degrees—of being too ready to condemn our own. We study the faults of a player rather than his good roles. The writer, is of opinion that Henderson, at the end of a good line of All Black inside backs, would make as good a wing threequarter as Hart. Hart had speed and, what was more important, he had Charlie Oliver inside him as centre. Poor centre three-quarter play has conjfiemned many a wing to that somewhat doubtful glory of the desert flower Gray wrote about, but in a wing three-quarter’s case it is a matter of wasting ability out on the touchline with no ball, rather than wasting glory in a desest. Any person who saw Hendeson defend against the All Black. J. K. McLean, when Wanganui played King Country last season, knows that he has the ability to defend when the need arises. It would be interesting to look back and see how many tries Henderson has had scored against him since he has been playing in Wanganui- His’handling will improve with practice. It is the writer’s opinion that he has the best chances of all the Wanganui players who are up to trial standard, with perhaps the exception of M. Hunter (five-eighths) of making a higher grade than the first or second trials. As noted Rugby critics have so often said, the player who can score tries is of the greatest value to any side, and that Henderson can score them is proved by the great cheer which invariably goes to the man who can stop him. This, is not written in any derogatory sense in regard to Alan Webby. He is a footballer and will improve still further. He deserves every encouragement.—" Crossbar.”