Saving
Saving is the act of a defender diving onto a ball that is being dribbled along the ground by opponents.[1][2]
In the 1890s, this was cited as an especially important skill for players positioned in the threequarters and at full back to have.[1][2] Gregor MacGregor, a former Scotland international, considered saving to be "probably the most dangerous part of the game", and an action where players could expect "a certain number of hacks".[2]
[edit] Method
C.J.N. Fleming, the captain of Oxford University in 1890, wrote in 1896 that the safest way for a player to save was to "be on the same side of the ball as that on which the advancing forwards are, and the ball should be jammed in his arm-pit".[1] Fleming stated that the player should have "his head turned away from the forwards, and his back presented to receive what knocks may come".[1]
Fleming believed that it was best to approach the line of forwards from the side.[1] If the player was in the path of the forward rush, he suggested that if the ball was behind the defender, it having been kicked past them, it was best to drop on the ball.[1] Should the ball be in front of them, he said, the defender would have to make a decision on whether to "dash in and try to pick up the ball", while considering the chance of opponents being able to kick the ball on first.[1]
Fleming stated, "a smart [defender], who knows exactly the right moment to make a dash for the ball, can nip it from under the very feet of the forwards, and perhaps get away himself. Yet few players can do this really well".[1] A lesser option was to "charge in among [the forwards] and upset them...he may so throw them off the run that another back" can take the ball.[1]
[edit] Opinion
MacGregor considered the development of saving to be "great mistake", writing that it "spoils dribbling, and seems to put a great premium on rough play".[1] Despite this, he believed that "an alternative means of defence would be most difficult to find, and until found the [player] must continue to shield the ball with his body".[1]
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Fleming, C.J.N. (1896). "VI. Three-quarter-back play". In Max Pemberton. Rugby Football. A.D. Innes & Co. pp. 105-8. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924031244464.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 MacGregor, Gregor (1896). "VII. Full back play". In Max Pemberton. Rugby Football. A.D. Innes & Co. pp. 125-6. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924031244464.
