RUGBY McMullen Injured: McPhail Chosen As Replacement

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29002, 17 September 1959, Page 6

RUGBY McMullen Injured: McPhail Chosen As Replacement

(New Zealand Preu

AUCKLAND, September 16. The All Black wing threequarter, F. McMullen, has withdrawn from the team for the fourth test at Auckland on Saturday because of a shoulder injury. He has been replaced by B. McPhail (Canterbury). The Wellington lock, I. N. Mac Ewen, has the measles and he too will not be able to play. C. E. Meads will be switched to lock, and E. A. R. Pickering (Waikato) will go into the team as a flanker. W. D. Gillespie (Otago) and T. P. O'Sullivan (Taranaki) have been added to the list of reserves. The changes were announced by the chairman of selectors (Mr J. L. Sullivan) this afternoon. McMullen hurt his shoulder in practice with the Auckland team last night. He is unlikely to play again this season. This is the second time this season that the New Zealand selectors have made a last minute call on McPhail for his services. Just before the first test they sent an urgent call for him to travel to Dunedin to replace the Otago winger, E. S. Diack, who had received a leg injury. This wgs his debut for New Zealand. Diack was brought back into the side for the next game. The test at Auckland will be McPhail’s third appearance against the British Lions. He also played for the winning Canterbury team against the visitors. So far this season, McPhail has scored 13 tries for Canterbury, including a New Zealand record of seven tries against Combined Services. Six tries in the South Island All Black trials have given him a .tally of 19 first-class tries for the season.

McPhail, aged 22, is a former Mid-Canterbury representative. He came to Christchurch in 1957, playing five matches for this province in that season. Last year he made 11 appearances for Canterbury and one in an All Black trial.

At present he is taking a short course in seeds and fertilisers at Massey College. At their first training run at Eden Park this afternoon the All Blacks ran impressively after a poor start in which just about every member of the backline fumbled his passes, but after that they smartened up considerably. The forwards and backs trained separately for a start, and then combined for the last part of the run which was watched by several hundred spectators in summer-like weather—so sum-mer-like, in fact, that the cricket pitch area of the park has broken

up considerably and is to be flooded tomorrow in an effort to make it consolidate. The whole area is parched and quite dangerous for Rugby. Neither team is to train there tomorrow. The AU Blacks will travel to Pukekohe and the Lions to one of the college grounds.

. The Lions filled in their day today as the guests of the Auckland Harbour Board on a tour of the harbour. Some found it warm enough for swimming and almost all returned to their hotel slightly sunburned.