AUSTRALIAN TEST TEAM

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27733, 10 August 1955, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN TEST TEAM

STRONG COMPETITION FOR PLACES (New. Zealand Press Association) GISBORNE, August 9. With the first match with the All Black* now less than a fortnight away, the Australian team's selectors are concentrating on picking their test side. ’ ’ Some, of the positions fill themselves almost automatically with experienced internationals of the Wallabies’ 1953 tour of South Africa, and the last tour of New Zealand. For other test places, the competition is particularly strong, and play in tomorrow’s match against East CoaslPoverty Bay could influence the selectors considerably. At half-back, Cyril Burke, now on his fifth New Zealand tour, will be striving to win his twenty-second international cap and to oust the tiny Brian Cox, top halfback on the Wallabies* last New Zealand tour. An injury kept Cox out of the South African tour, where Burke was the international half. The Australian captain. John Solomon, will mark T. J. S. Riley, the former North Island and Wellington representative fiveeighths, in tomorrow's game. p.The most open position in the Australian test team appears to be inside centre (or second five-eighths) where the selectors tomorrow are trying the 19-year-old Queenslander, Barry Wright, who represented his State against the touring Fijians last year. The other inside centre, Petar Phipps, had a good opening match alongside his brother Jim against Thanies Valley-Bay of Plenty. Wright, under Solomon’s coaching, has sharpened up his handling, and looked impressive in yesterday’s training run.-He will have the advantage of playing between two experienced internationals, Solomon and Jim Phipps. The wing three-quarters tomorrow, Edgar Stapleton, of New South Wales, and the tall Garth Jones, of Queensland, probably the fastest man in the team, could well be the test pair. Stapleton, well remembered as a powerful, strong-running wing on the 1952 Wallabies’ tour, arrived in New Zealand this time over-weight, but is training and dieting down to his test trim of about 14sL Jones did not play in a test side m New Zealand three years ago, but was the hero of the Wallabies’ second * test against the Springboks, when, with the South African captain, Hennie Muller, on h|s heels, he ran 70 yards to score tna winning try between the posts. Competition is nowhere stronger among the Australians than in the flank forwards. The two chosen for tomorrow's game, Keith Cross, at his best a brilliant • breakaway, and Mac Hughes, captain of Australian Universities, both toured South > Africa two seasons ago.