Challenge Shield Match Today

Press, Volume C, Issue 29608, 2 September 1961, Page 9

Challenge Shield Match Today

rpHIS afternoon at Williamson Park Canterbury will meet Manawatu in the second New Zealand Challenge Shield match of the season. Canterbury has already defeated Otago, and although the margin and the run of the play were completely in Canterbury’s favour, the weakness of the Otago defence made the performance of the holders rather unconvincing.

However, Canterbury should not experience too much difficulty in disposing of Manawatu. The latter recently met defeat at the hands of a New Zealand University team which actually contained three players who do not merit inclusion in the senior club sides in their local competitions. Mana-

watu’s leading players are the New Zealand captain, Bruce Turner, who seems to alternate between the righthalf and centre-half positions —a curious situation for such an experienced player who by now should have established himself as one or the other—L. Henderson and C. Robertson. The latter two were members of the unsuccessful New Zealand team which toured Australia earlier in the season. Both played here last year in a Challenge Shield match, and were the pick of a weak team, without appearing to be anywhere near international class. Their performances will be watched with critical interest today.

Canterbury’s team appears reasonably solid on paper, but it is a pity that one or two positions are filled by players of lesser stickwork than that of the reserves. For this reason neither the halfline nor the forward line seems to be the best that the province can field, but even so the retention of the shield should not be too difficult. However, it is to be hoped that the team will follow a more logical product of selection for the more skilful challenges which Auckland and Wellington will produce.

The Canterbury team is as follows:

K. Mortimer; L. Lloyd, J. C. Abrams; R. Gillespie, K. Thomson. E. Barnes; B Judge, N. H. Hobson, I. D. Armstrong, W. Thomson, T. Thomas.