Top League In Sept?

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31187, 11 October 1966, Page 19

Top League In Sept?

With the exception of Queen’s Birthday weekend, and a possible match against the touring Queensland team, the Canterbury Rugby League will attempt to play all its representative matches in the last six weeks of the 1967 season. The province’s delegate to the national conference at Auckland on October 28 and 29 (Mr D. C. Wilson) will advocate the abolition of playing representative matches as trials for national and zone teams. The board decided that trial matches would be preferred to games against other pro-

I vinces before the selection of the New Zealand team to tour Australia. The team will be named in mid-May. It is also probable that the club championship will be played in similar fashion to those in Australia, with finals and grand finals to find the title-winner. Mr J. Anderson said that oply one club match had been played in September this season. Canterbury could only negotiate to play its representative matches in September if other leagues were also prepared to, said Mr L. R. Huston. The club championship was disrupted by the playing of Tavendale Cup and representative matches,, said Mr P. Yaxley. This led to a loss of interest by the players. Mr Anderson said that the New Zealand council should ask all provinces to submit a suggested itinerary giving details of dates that were not available because of trials and tours. Unless trial matches were held, Canterbury would need two or three representative matches before mid-May to help the national selectors name the New Zealand team next season, said Mr Wilson. An itinerary for the 1967 season will be drawn up and discussed by the board before the conference.