Ken Catchpole on the other hand looked magic whether he got good ball or bad, going backwards or going forwards. That's why he is in the Hall of Fame and is our greatest ever halfback. Our pack in the sixties after the leaguies pinched all our best players was always second rate compared to NZ and SA, and sometimes third rate. But one thing could always be guaranteed - that Catchy could fix it up and get clear.
Gold that about Catchy—I thought he was the greatest Wallaby ever, let alone our best halfback, though, no doubt others who never saw him play at the ground will say differently.
The late John Hipwell was another crapmeister. He and Catchpole were the best passers we have ever had: not in the beauty of their deliveries, but in their effectiveness in dispatching well whatever quality of pill they got.
Mind you Catchy and Hippy had so much practice with crap ball that they had to get good at it.
NFJ became a good passer but he came in at the time when our forwards were going well.
Catchpole and Hipwell must have practised a lot with their feet and body in the wrong position. It's a pity that current scrumhalves don't practise like that in drills.
Modern scrummies routinely get their outside foot in the wrong position to swing the ball from the deck; so they have to put in a backswing before they can pass it. Others stand up to pass the pill like a "forward press" in a golf swing, or take a couple of little steps, to get a rhythm.
To be fair: no coach told them how much time they robbed from their backs in doing those things, probably.
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