Canterbury Rugby Team Experiments

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29916, 1 September 1962, Page 9

Canterbury Rugby Team Experiments

TT is a disquieting fact A that with only two weeks remaining before Canterbury's R a n f u r 1 y Shield challenge, the provincial selectors (Messrs P. K. Rhind and P. B. Vincent) are still experimenting with combinations of players. Today's game with Australia is Canterbury's twelfth representative match of the season, but the same fifteen has yet to be fielded twice: 12 different combinations have been tried. Test match duties and the inability of some players to tour have affected the position. But the fact remains that only one combination of forwards has been fielded twice —for the Manawatu and Wellington games, when the choice was limited to 10 men. Succeeding backlines have each differed a

little from the others until today's combination, which is identical with that which took the field against South Canterbury at Timaru In 12 games the selectors have called on 32 players. IS forwards, and 14 backs. Ten of them have played in two positions and one. D. A. Arnold, has played in three. The inside back positions appear to be those which have given the greatest trouble Mr Vincent has used six players at second five-eighths and five at centre three-quarters. Indeed. in the early part of the season the tenancy of these positions changed with each match, until after four games, Canterbury had been served by five different centres and six different second five-eighths.