Peter Bills: Backline jinks restore southern ascendancy

COMMENT

Last weekend marked the end of the long Northern Hemisphere rugby season.

And if ever the phrase "Wham, bam, thank you ma'am" came to mind, then it surely sums up this half of the world's crowning achievement in the game.

The so-called gap that we used to refer to in describing the Southern Hemisphere's ascendancy appears to have been restored. British and European rugby enjoyed its short-lived hegemony but it seems to be all over.

England have been flogged twice by the All Blacks and once by Australia. Scotland went out without a trace in Australia, like a damp firework on a wet Scottish night. South Africa are re-building, already well enough to see off Ireland twice and Wales.

So what happened ? Why has the Southern Hemisphere re-established itself so soon after the World Cup? A few factors are involved.

First, England won the World Cup with an ageing team past their peak. They did so principally because the Southern Hemisphere sacrificed the forward traditions of rugby football on the altar of Super 12 rugby.

But already, the new coaches of New Zealand and South Africa, with Australia's Eddie Jones, have begun to redress the balance.

And whoopee for that. It means that we're seeing an All Black tight five who are earning their corn at the coalface, rather than just by running around the garden all night, and a big, traditional, strong scrummaging Springbok pack once again.

There are signs that Australia are pursuing a similar pattern, although the crass lack of powerful props has to be of great concern to Jones (and of interest to Graham Henry when the Wallabies come to Wellington on July 17 for the Tri-Nations opener).

What the Southern Hemisphere sides have had in recent years, in terms of supremacy, is now cutting the Northern Hemisphere nations to pieces.

Strong-running, creative three-quarters seem to have been pouring out of New Zealand like Maori souvenirs, and the first half of the recent first test at Dunedin was a wonderful demonstration of vibrant, attacking backplay.

Australia scored a try against England last Saturday that was pure perfection - a quite brilliant demonstration of the free-flowing, fast-hands style of play that is an absolute delight to watch.

Meanwhile, the South Africans tore Wales apart by seven tries to two.

Contrast all that with the ponderous approach of the Northern Hemisphere backs, Wales' Shane Williams and Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll excepted.

Ireland could create little in South Africa. Scotland created nothing, and, like Wales, are simply not in the top group of world rugby.

England have declined alarmingly since the World Cup. But not up-front, it should be said, despite the retirement of men such as Martin Johnson and Neil Back, plus the loss of form (probably through fatigue) of Ben Kay, Trevor Woodman and Steve Thompson.

Where the Northern Hemisphere nations are being exposed is behind the scrum and there is a very good reason for that.

Since the game turned professional, a steady stream of former rugby league players and coaches have been lured to union.

Sadly, they have brought only one quality - expertise in defensive organisation. Their sole raison d'etre has been to destroy and be negative; to stop the opposition backs playing.

Where in England are the creative, skilful, clever runners who have lit up the game plans of New Zealand and Australia these last three weeks? Nowhere in sight.

And what is more, they don't exist right now, with a very few exceptions such as Ireland's O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy.

British backplay, which in the 1970s reminded New Zealand and South Africa what the game really ought to be about, in the shape of runners of genius such as Gerald Davies, Mike Gibson, Barry John, Gareth Edwards, J. J. Williams, David Duckham and John Dawes, has disappeared. What we have now is the elephantine brigade: huge hulks who crash and bash.

No finesse, no subtlety and no intrinsic skills like those of the All Black and Wallaby backlines.

Sadly, the creative aspect has been ignored by these one-time rugby league men, intent only on importing their grunt-groan style of play.

It worked well enough for England to win a World Cup when the Southern Hemisphere nations forgot about the basics of the game.

But as is being shown now, it won't work any longer, certainly now that New Zealand and South Africa are once again playing a proper all-round game.

The Northern Hemisphere nations have much to ponder this summer. Not least the legacy of rugby league men who seem to have come to union with only one message to preach: destroy and be as negative as possible. But what sort of a legacy is that to leave for the future.

* Peter Bills is a rugby writer for Independent News & Media in London.