Prospective All Blacks’ Form lit Match At New Plymouth

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29165, 28 March 1960, Page 14

Prospective All Blacks’ Form lit Match At New Plymouth

tNew Zealand Press Association)

NEW PLYMOUTH. March 27. Two teams of prospective All Blacks battled out an interesting Rugby match before fewer than 6000 spectators at New Plymouth yesterday. I. N. Mac Ewan’s team beat K. C. Briscoe’s team by 24 points to 22. With Mac Ewan the leading player, the line-out work was not altogether good. Mac Ewan received a great deal of -he ball and it was not until P. S. Burke went on that Briscoe’s team began to see much ball. All seven front-row forwards impressed, with Otago’s M. W Irwin. Taranaki's I. C. A. Flavell and Canterbury’s P M. Le Lievre oarticularly noticeable. R. C. Hemi took a tight head off R. J Boon, but Boon was well up with all' the play until he was replaced. No loose forward was more impressive than Waikato’s A. Hayes, especially in the second half, B. L. Finlay and possibly to a lesser extent H. C. Burry and D. J. Graham, of Canterbury. '* Wellington’s half-back, B. Cull, must have enhanced his prospects with a workmanlike display in the first half. He passed well and found B. A. Watt, Canterbury, in a promising display Briscoe improved as ♦he game progressed and lost nothing in comparison with the other halfback tried. ,M. F. Whitta (Can*‘

terbury) replaced Cull at halftime. An aspect of the game was the excellent play of the fiveeighths. Watt and S. G. Bremner formed an excellent combination, with Bremner being a constant thorn in Briscoe’s side. However. R. H. Brown was very smart indeed at times, as also was J. F. McCullough, who formed an excellent combination with R. D. Hoskin. The latter was unobtrusive but showed he is going to go a long way in the trials. Neither J. R. Watt nor M. H Ball saw a great deal of the ball from set play at centre, yet both had their moments and Ball signalled his inclusion in the 75 trialists as a result of Brown’s withdrawal with a promising display.

R. W. Caulton will worry the South Africans. No winger has improved so much. He scored two very good tries as well as playing well his part on defence. R. J. Wells (Thames Valley) was a wing to take the eye. especially on defence. He lost nothing in cornparison with D H Cameron (Mid-Canterbury), and W. S. S. Freebairn (Manawatu). Neither full-back had a hapoy time and J. L. Bayly finished the game in a haze. He received a crack some time during the game and spent last night in hospital with concussion. M. D. Watson (South Canterbury) was probably the better kicker. L