Gus Black’s super-fast reverse pass caught rivals on the hop but knocked the wind from my sails
I read with much interest and enjoyment Allan Massie’s piece in The Scotsman of Saturday 4 April. It took me back to the rugby season of 1949-50.
I had just arrived at Edinburgh University to study medicine.
In those days, if you played rugby, you did not play for your old school but rather for your university. So it was I came in contact with Gus Black, Ranald Macdonald, DD Mackenzie (wing threequarter) and two fine centres, Len Gaunt, from Yorkshire, and Les Allan (later played for Melrose).
My reason for writing is because of a particular skill that Gus had that I have never seen since. Ranald played stand-off to Gus at scrumhalf; they had developed a very close understanding. When
Ranald gave Gus the ‘nod’, he would at the last minute switch from the open side and go blind and Gus would send, at an extraordinary pace, a reverse pass which travelled at least 20 yards and catch the opposition on the wrong foot: sometimes the pass eluded its intended target.
I believe the powers that be at Murrayfield did not like the uncertainty of Gus Black’s play and this accounted for his lack of caps.
I remember once playing at centre and being told to “go blind, Gus will pass to you”. He did, a screaming fast pass straight in to my bread basket. I didn’t drop it but worse was to occur – I fell to the ground, winded. It was very embarrassing.
I was 18 and only weighed 10st 10lb and was out of my depth. As I watch today’s rugby, time and again I long to see, in the opponents 25, a similar reverse pass to open up the blind side. Sadly I doubt if I ever will.
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