SELECTING RUGBY TEAM

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21972, 22 December 1936, Page 18

SELECTING RUGBY TEAM

MEN TO MEET SOUTH AFRICANS

NEW ZEALAND UNION'S PLAN APPROVED The New Zealand Rugby Union's plan to have 66 of the Dominion's leading Rugby players gathered in one centre for trial matches before the selection of the All Black team to meet South Africa's touring team next seaeon was approved by the management committee of the Canterbury Rugby Union last evening. Several members expressed the opinion that North Island and South Island trials should be held before the 66 players were called together, but no recommendation to this effect is to go forward to the New Zealand Union.

One of those who favoured this suggestion was Mr A. I. Cottrell, who strongly contended that it would be a definite improvement. Mr A. E. McPhail: This plan sent down by the union is what we asked for, and I think it is going to be the means by which the selectors will arrive at a combination that will click. The chairman (Dr. W. S. Seed): I don't see any better way. "Preliminary trial games in each island would <»ive an additional number of men a chance," remarked Mr H. Davis. "It would be possible to weed out some who would have no chance and put others in." Mr E. V. Phillips mentioned the difficulty of securing leave for the preliminary matches, and then for the series to be held in the one centre, and Mr J. T. Burrows remarked that the bulk of the preliminary selection would have to be done on last year's form because of the shortage of time. The only recommendation which the committee decided to make to the New Zealand Union was that the selectors should be empowered to take men for the trials who were not nominated by their provinees. The Itinerary Mr Davis remarked on the provision in the itinerary for only 17 games in New Zealand, when, according to a report he had uead, the South Africans had been expecting 22 games. "It is a matter of time and boat arrangements, as far as I can see," remarked the chairman, "but I suppose those unions which have not been given games will be bringing pressure to bear."