N.Z. TOUR BY WALLABIES

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30390, 14 March 1964, Page 8

N.Z. TOUR BY WALLABIES

Aust Will Get Grant (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) SYDNEY. March 13. The New Zealand Rugby Union treasurer-secretary, Mr G. Geddes, predicted today that the Wallaby-All Black test series in New Zealand in August would be a “a smasher." Mr Geddes, who is paying a short visit to Sydney, said New Zealanders were keenly looking forward to the three test matches. Both sides would go in with superb records. He did not feel the Wallabies had an excessively hard programme because the mid-week games arranged were fairly easy ones. ■ At an informal function today, Mr Geddes met the Sydney Club delegate "from Gordon. Mr A. Frew, who caused a recent stir when he moved that Australia should demand a £lO.OOO grant from New Zealand before it agreed to send the Wallabies across the Tasman. Mr Frew claimed this amount would not be missed by the New Zealand Rugby Union which stood to make a huge profit from the short Australian tour. Mr Geddes declined to comment on Mr Frew’s statement, but l:e said: "We have given a grant fcr assembly costs and expenses to every Wallaby team since the war and it has increased each time. “There is no reason to doubt that the grant will be made to the Australian Rugby Union again this year.”