Philosophies of The Boot as relevant as ever

By WYNNE GRAY

The book cover was as startling as the career of the man they called The Boot.

It was yellow, not a soothing hue but a bright, vivid splash of colour.

It was the All Blacks' Book for Boys by Pat Booth, a work first published more than 40 years ago which included Don Clarke's story.

Clarke was to continue his test career until the mid-1960s but his deeds were already legendary. He and Colin Meads were the mightiest of post-war All Blacks.

Clarke was the Jonah Lomu of his day. He was the colossus in the All Black backline from 1956-64 and midway through that career, when television was as much a mystery as the internet, Booth began to record some of those deeds.

There was a biography later in 1966 but that canary yellow book was a coveted treasure for sports-mad kids growing up in New Zealand in the 60s.

D. B. Clarke was the New Zealand fullback, one of five brothers, a massive man whose feats seemed to dwarf others when he played for Kereone, Waikato or the All Blacks.

Injury and ill-health have troubled Clarke in recent years at his Johannesburg base. But he will be at Eden Park today, watching to see how Lomu and the All Blacks cope with the Springboks.

Clarke made his debut in the third test against the Springboks in the infamous 1956 series, kicked six penalties in the first test against the 1959 Lions and scored the winning try in the second before being a star in the tumultuous tour of South Africa in 1960.

His kicking, with either foot, was staggering in length and accuracy but to dwell on that was to ignore his other skills, according to Meads.

"He was a fine field player at his best with good positional sense, unworldly hands and a very difficult man to beat," he said.

The message from Clarke in that original book was basic and clear. As a youngster with an ambition to be an All Black, he spent long hours practising his skills so his confidence was primed going into each match.

"Practise, practise, practise," he said.

"If you aim to make yourself an all-round footballer, then this training will not be boring or dull.

"Don't think that because you are a forward you do not need to pass or handle as well as the backs. Or if you are a back, don't forget that there will be wet, wintry days when ability to dribble a greasy ball could mean the difference between winning a match and losing it.

"And both backs and forwards should learn to kick a ball with either foot.

"Too often, forwards mishandle a ball or muff a crucial kick when practice could have changed that, and backs are pulled down as they position themselves to kick with their right foot when a quick left-foot stab would have cleared the line."

Those thoughts are as valid in the new millennium as they were when Clarke first pulled on that All Black jersey and will be tested tonight under tricky conditions at Eden Park.