Feb 1963

RUGBY FOOTBALL RETROSPECT The tally of four wins, one draw and three losses proved better than any record of results since 1956, but how deep were our fears up to the first week of November! After this the team turned the form-book upside down and finished the season in a blaze of glory. An explanation for this transformation may be hard to find, but without doubt it coincided with the time when the team sought the opportunities to tackle their opponents, rather than shirk the issue, and a complete change of heart resulted. It is also becoming abundantly clear that Easter Term rugger, which six out of eight of our school opponents (the exceptions being Trent and Worksop) are participating in, is having a telling effect over the period of years.

Moreover, the team-building programme for the following year can largely be undertaken in the Easter Term, and by comparison we look very green and unprepared. This lee-way should not have been so marked this year, for 10 old colours remained; nevertheless the same indecisiveness was very apparent and the backs generally lacked constructive ideas and were very slow to react. Finally, after successive wins against Ampleforth and Worksop, the season seemed all too short, and the cancellation of the Old Peterite match was a bitter disappointment.

Above all, the season will be remembered for the innovation of playing seven forwards and eight backs (two full-backs), which received wide publicity in the Press. The experiment, which proved so successful, was only applied in the Worksop match, a report of which can be read elsewhere. The team, by this late stage of the season, was already accredited with eight forwards (all colour men), so the self-sacrificing No. 8 forward, M. A. Clegg, was transferred to the right-wing to displace the luckless M. J. Howard, and the two full-backs, our forte, were suitably installed.

Such a distribution could never be justified if a team were to be deprived of a reasonable share of the ball, nevertheless it need not be considered purely defensive. The opportunity for one full-back to join the threequarter line at unexpected places is clear for all to see, and at the same time the manoeuvre can be covered by the second full-back. In spite of its obvious weaknesses in and around the scrum, such a tactical move could also make a valuable contribution to the game, in that it could quickly baulk the tactical kicking by opposing sides, a form of attack which is rapidly ruining the handling game. J. R. Brown, the skipper, readily accepted the experiment, and it was a fitting reward to one who has completed a first span of 25 years of coaching. Just how seriously the instigator or anyone else intends to treat this move remains to be seen.

The activities of the 1st XV, including the weekly circuit training under the guidance of Mr. Maw, must not be allowed to overshadow the fact that all this while many other School teams were striving to prove their worth. None fared so successfully as the 3rd XV, a team comprised of both old men and ex-Colts who, through enthusiasm and team spirit rather than any technical ability, enjoyed an undefeated season. While the Senior Colts team had a very disappointing season, winning only two matches by the narrowest of margins, the "Under 15" team showed distinct promise early in the season, only to fade in the closing stages.

Technical skills will only be mastered by enthusiasm and assiduous practice. Never is this more true than in back play.

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