League AUSTRALIA- N.Z. TEST

Press, Volume C, Issue 29554, 1 July 1961, Page 4

League AUSTRALIAN.Z. TEST

First Of Tour Today (N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND. June 30. The Australian Rugby League team wiU be trying to break a 26-year record in its match against New Zealand in Auckland tomorrow. The visitors will be attempting to win the first test series against New Zealand in this country since 1935. That year Australia won two of the three tests. During the two visits here since then, one series has been drawn and the other one was won by New Zealand 2-1.

Australia holds the IransTasman Cup. however, as a result of its win during the 1959 series when Now Zealand toured Australia. That year Australia narrowly won the first test 9-8. and the second 38-10. New Zealand reversed the result in the third to win 28-12. The match tomorrow will be the fii-st of the two tests to be played during this tour The second will be played the following Saturday. The ground at Carkiw Park was soft and well grassed, with one or two patches of shallow water lying on the field tonight. Mr J. Kessey. the manager of the Australian side, said that the wet ground would not worry the visitors. The New Zealand coach. Mr D H. White, considers that the teams are evenly matched but that New Zealand should win. The Australians have won all of their five matches in the country so far and have scored 161 pointe with only 27 registered against them.

The teena are:— New Zealand.—G. IL Phillips: B. Reidy. B. T. Hadfield; G. P Turner; R. S. Cooke, G. Menzies; G. Farrar; M. Cooke. R. C. Ack-

land (captain), D. Hammond. H. K. Emery, Patterson, R. J. Butterfield. Australia.—D Pariah; E. Lumsden, K. J. Irvine; R. W. Gaanier; B. P. Carlton (captain), A. Summons; B. A. Muir: J. Sinclair, R. Lunch, J. Patterson, R. Crowe. I, Welsh, E. Rasmussen.