opponent. In order to do this he must nowadays stand quite close to the scrummage, taking care not to get offside, and constantly informing himself of the position of the three-quarters, to whom he is to pass the ball the moment he gets it, before his opponent can smother him, provided always that the said three-quarters is on the open side. If he is not favourably placed for this manœuvre, he can either punt into touch or start a run round the back of the scrummage himself, but in all cases his main object should be not to be tackled with the ball. The days of the old half-back, who gained a few yards by sheer force before being held, are over; such a player is now useless to his side, as he spoils all the possibilities of their game.
In the neighbourhood of his own goal a half must be as chary of passing as every one else on his side. The danger of an intercepted pass is then too great to warrant the attempt. In that case his play is to punt into touch until he has removed the game far enough up the ground to be able to pass with impunity; and the further up the ground he gets, the bolder he may safely become. We have so far considered the play of a half who succeeds in getting the ball; no less important to his side is his play when his opponent gets it. It must then be his first endeavour to smother that opponent before he can pass; failing that, to intercept the pass himself, or at least to get into a good position for tackling the three-quarter to whom it has been passed before he can get off. And here we may remark that tackling cannot be done too soon—a runner becomes more and more dangerous as he proceeds. As he passes each line of defence the situation becomes more critical; the forwards therefore must do as much as they can, but still more must be done by the halves, because they can see the ball come out of the scrummage, and can get a clear
