NEW LEADER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 206, 31 August 1936, Page 9

NEW LEADER.

ALL BLACK TEAM. GRIFFITHS APPOINTED. KING AS DEPUTY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The New Zealand Rugby team will have a new leader in the first Test match against Australia at Wellington on Saturday. The management committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union has appointed J. L. Griffiths, of Wellington, as captain, and R. R. King, West Coast, as deputy-captain.

The new leader of the All Blacks plays at first five-eighths and it was in that position he made a reputation for himself when the All Blacks toured Britain last year. Griffiths is the solid, defensive tvpe of player, but without brilliance or strikingly incisive work in attack he is very reliable, handles well, and can make occasional good openings for. the men behind him. The son of an old representative player and All Black selector, the new leader made his mark in Wellington football as a colt, and soon won a place in the Wellington representative side, where he has been sure of his place during the past three seasons. In 1034 Griffiths was a member of the A,ll Black team which toured Australia. In the All Black trials last year he played so well that ho wa; early singled out as a certainty for selection, and on the tour he won high praise for an outstanding game against Scotland when his partner in the five-eighths line was T. IT. C. Caughey, of Auckland. Griffiths is 24 years of age, sft Tin in height and weighs lOst lib. The deputy-captain, R. R. King, is a product of West Coast football, and plays in the second row. He represented New Zealand in Australia in 1034, and last year was one of the best forwards in the All Black team on the tour of Britain. King is 24 years of age, 6ft 2in in height and weighs 14st.