No. 2 POSITION
No. 2 must be the hardest worker in the team and have the handiest ponies. He must keep after the ball continuously on the attack and always be on the look-out to get breaks from rucks. His aim should be to positionto pick up the fore-hand or back-hand shots of his No. 3 or Back and punch them on up to his No. 1 for the latter to try and carry on and score.
His aim should not be to make runs. He must generally keep well up and close to his opposing No. 3, endeavouring to out- position him, and always turn early, assuming a good back-hand hit from his No. 3 or Back. If, on attack, he is ridden over the ball or misses it, he must ride on and then look round quickly to see whether it is desirable for him to turn and cover his No. 3, who is backing up the run. The No. 3 cannot ride in with confidence for a fore-hander unless he knows that his No. 2 is ready to cover him if he misses or gets hooked or ridden-off.
No. 3 POSITION
Keep your brain alert. Watch your corresponding opponent continually and ride him out. Manoeuvre unceasingly for positions that will enable you to meet balls and, if the opposing No. 2’s position makes that impracticable, take him out and get a back-hand! Don’t hit back-hands back into ponies. Always cut or drag them. Never go for risky meets or backing up of runs- unless your No. 2 can cover you, otherwise you often let two opponents on to your Back. Never turn up till the Back has hit the ball and you can see where it has gone. If you get into No. 2 position, do the opposite; turn early, assuming a good back-hand hit. When you cover your Back, cover fast and deep. Don’t let big hitting slow your game up. Be ready to turn up on your No. 2’s back-hands. Watch your opposing No. 2 continuously and ride him out.
No. 4 BACK
A good Back should position close enough to the game and at such angles to the game that he can enter easily on to the line the ball is most likely to be hit without crossing. The position of the opposing No. 1 will always influence what you can do in this respect and will generally make you play deeper than you would prefer. You must watch him unceasingly and ride him out before he can get in front of you, and then look for and try and hit the ball and, if you cannot get to it, you will have to depend on your No. 3 being able to get it. But, if your opponents are in possession, you must not let your No. 1 get offside of you. A good Back is one who continually positions so cleverly that he can cover the opposing No. 1 and get the majority of his back-hands without riding hard. This gives his forwards confidence to turn for his back-hands and conserves the pace of his pony for the desperate occasions when he has to race hard to save a goal or beat two opponents.
Do not hit your back-hands back into ponies, cut or drag them. You may steady your pony a little to hit your back-hand, but immediately you either hit it or miss-hit, ride on hard for some lengths before steadying or looking round to see where the ball has gone. If you fail to do this and your back-hand is met, the No. 1 may slip past you and score from the ball when it is hit up.
Always be ready to turn and meet a ball if your No. 3 calls you or you call on him to cover you. You get many opportunities to do this if you are playing reasonably deep. Always be ready to dive in to meet the ball if the opponents are hitting at goal.
Occasionally your No. 3 can bring you up with a wide-cut back-hand.
When you get up don’t hang around and speculate, start to get back as soon as possible, but if changing positions is undesirable for the moment, ride out your closest opponent.
The best and mostly the easiest time to regain your position is when your side gets on the attack and you and the No. 3 are only backing up.
Never meet a ball (except to prevent a goal), or back up a run, unless you can see that someone can cover you. It is too risky; let your opponent ride in and hit the ball and play for his shot. You must be a pessimist. If you get into No. 3 position cover the opposing No. 2 on defence and never turn up on the Back’s back-hander until it is hit and you see where it has gone.