Foot-And-Mouth Disease Cancels Irish Matches

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31539, 29 November 1967, Page 1

Foot-And-Mouth Disease Cancels Irish Matches

(From T. P. McLEAN) EDINBURGH, November 27. There will be at least one alternative fixture for the All Blacks to the cancelled fixtures in Ireland, because of the foot-and-mouth disease in Britain.

The chairman of the four Home unions tours committee (Mr J. A. Tallent) said this tonight when discussing the difficulties caused by the decision of the Irish Government nbt to proceed with the matches at Belfast and Dublin.

“We are definitely going to do something,” Mr Tallent said. “I have been on the telephone all day with my confreres of the four Home unions committee. There are many problems in holding matches which have not been included in the original programme. Everything should be settled within the next 48 hours. “As a committee we are most anxious that something should be done—and so are the New Zealanders.” Mr Tallent said that a match between the All Blacks and the Barbarians at Twickenham had been suggested. When told that the president of the Barbarians (Bri-

gadier H. L. G. Hughes) had indicated in an interview that the club, which would "hot in any circumstances contemplate taking the Initiative, would be prepared to act if invited, Mr Tallent said: “This is obviously a possibility.” MANAGER’S JOB The manager of the All Blacks (Mr C. K. Saxton) said he had been given power of attorney to accept any fixtures that might be arranged. “It would be an anticlimax to go home too soon. We most deeply regret the necessity, which we fully understand, of having to give up the Irish fixtures. A match with the Barbarians at Twickenham would be for all of the party a natural. “We have 12 farmers in the party, so they know just how essential it is to do everything to combat this disease,” he said. “We ourselves are going to have to take all sorts of precautions before we go

back to New Zealand,” he said. LEAVE BOOTS The All Blacks will have to leave their boots in England at the end of their tour to avoid any risk of carrying foot-and-mouth disease back to New Zealand. They have also been asked to ensure that the rest of their kit is properly laundered at the latest by the time they reach Hong Kong on the way home and that their footwear is free from infection. The Eire Ministry of Agriculture and the Agriculture Department of the Northern Irish Government advised Mr Saxton that the tour of Ire-

land had been cancelled because of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Britain. As the news became known among the All Blacks tonight there were many crestfallen faces. They regarded their test with Ireland as one which was likely to produce some of the best Rugby of the tour. A congratulatory telegram on their efforts in the French match had just been received from Mr Davy, the president of the Irish R"gby Union. The telegram congratulated the All Blacks from “all Irish Rugby men” and said they were all looking forward greatly to the visit of the All Blacks.