RUGBY LEAGUE BRITISH COACH FOR N.Z. TEAM

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27794, 20 October 1955, Page 5

RUGBY LEAGUE BRITISH COACH FOR N.Z. TEAM

SUGGESTED MOVE REJECTED

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, October 19. A suggestion that the New Zealand Rugby League team now touring England needs an English coach, Is made by the Yorkshire Post” sports writer. He says the New Zealanders try to play a cheerful brand of open Rugby League, but their lack of tactical knowledge is such that with the best will in the world it is difficult to see how they can win the second test next month. Individually they have some good players, yet there are so many loose parts about their play, especially in defence, that their machine rattles badly. “Yet some facets of their play shine with such promise that I wonder they have not sought the services of a first-class British coach to try to knit the individual good points into an integrated whole. Given control of training sessions, men like Trevor Foster, Frank Dawson, Jack Walkington, or Jim Brough, could, I am positive, bring about a vast improvement in the tourists’ play. “When such an appointment was suggested early in the tour, the New Zealand managers were quick to reply that they had not the slightest intention of seeking outside help to supplement their own coaching. “Their determination to stand or fall by their own efforts is commendable enough in theory, but the tourists would not lose caste or dignity by availing themselves of outside help,” the correspondent says. Huddersfield’s team to meet New Zealand on Saturday will be chosen from the following 16 players: Dyson, Henderson, Barrow. Haywood, Sullivan, Wainwright, Ramsden, Banks, Slevin, Wood, Griffin, Bowden, Fairbank, Pawsey, Briggs, and Large.

A potential match-winner for Huddersfield could be the New Zealander, Peter Henderson. He has scored more than 50 tries for Huddersfield, but has not vet struck his best form this season. His partner, Roland Barrow, signed :‘rom Oldham for £2OOO, will be making only his third appearance.