There Is No Substitute For Pace

Throughout his term of office as the England RU coach Stuart Lancaster has proved an inspiration with his approach to selection, coaching, and his handling of players both on and off the field. And there is no doubt that under Stuart’s stewardship our national squad has improved immensely, has expanded its style of play, and is now capable of making a real challenge for success in the forthcoming 2015 World Cup. So, well done to Stuart and his assistant coaches.

But, as one dilemma in his selections for the recent New Zealand Tests proved, there is no substitute for pace on the wings. Sadly for all his powerful running and guile in the centre, Manu Tuilagi was found lacking in pace when put clear for a possible match-winning try in the second Test in Dunedin.

In Rugby Union our readers of my generation might recall the former Harlequins winger, John Young, who I had the pleasure of playing alongside for England. He was a genuine sprinter and only required a slight overlap down the touchline to race past any defender. He might have lacked a sidestep to beat his opponent, but a swerve and blistering pace would see him past all but the very quickest of wingers.

In Rugby League where the man for man marking has always been intense and today the sliding defence system is so effective, speed has always been paramount -  a reason why clubs have, in the past, signed genuine track sprinters who could also play rugby. I well recall the former European Games 100 metres sprinter, Berwyn Jones, sprinting down the wing for Wakefield Trinity and coasting around myself and a couple of other St.Helens’ defenders for a try at Knowsley Road. Barrow’s former wing flyer, Mike Murray and Leigh’s Rodney Tickle, two supreme sprinters, both gained success in the famous Powderhall world professional sprint championship race held in Edinburgh on a New Years Day.

And what of two of the greatest wingers of all time in both codes of rugby, former Commonwealth Games athlete and St.Helens record try scorer, South Africa’s Tom Van Vollenhoven, and the legendary Aussie, Brian Bevan, who starred for Warrington and the now defunct Blackpool Borough RL clubs. Brian helped himself to a world record number of tries with 796 touchdowns between 1945 to 1964 and I must confess to him still racing past Saints’ international second row flyer, Dick Huddart, and myself for a try at the corner for Blackpool when he was aged 42 years! An outstanding professional sprinter too on the Northern tracks in the Forties and Fifties. Yes, as Tuilagi’s missed try and history in both rugby codes tells us, there is no substitute for pace.

Ray French  July 2014