Seventeen All Blacks to appear in invitation Rugby tomorrow

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32275, 18 April 1970, Page 9

Seventeen All Blacks to appear in invitation Rugby tomorrow

(By

J. K. BROOKS)

VEW ZEALAND’S longest serving Rugby international, C. E. Meads, heads a host of distinguished players who have accepted invitations to appear in the game between the Cantabrians and the Barbarians at Lancaster Park tomorrow afternoon. Seventeen All Blacks will take part in the game, which is being held to raise money for the Injured Players’ Fund.

The two clubs engendered a lot of good will among the Christchurch Rugby public by their spectacular game on the same ground three years ago. The Barbarians won a rollicking, robust match, 22-19, and their sparkle attracted a crowd of 16,000 to the oval.

On that occasion the players included the Australian representatives, J. E. Thornett and .1. Brass, and such New Zealand heroes as W. J. Whineray, W F. McCormick, K F. Gray, B. J. Lochore, M. A. Herewini, M. J. Dick and I. N. Mac Ewan.

But the man who provided spectators with the greatest excitement was the blonde left wing, O. G. Stephens, who, at that stage, was relatively unknown. Before knocking himself out in a vain effort to stop A. G. Steel scoring. Stephens had delighted the crowd by scoring two tries and had excelled on cover defence.

His first try is still remembered well by many Lancaster Park patrons. He

swooped on a grubber kick and, without losing speed, stepped inside R. J. Patterson, swerved round Herewini, and sprinted to the goal-line, which he crossed with an enormous dive. It is a happy thought by the Barbarians to bring Stephens back to the scene of his triumph tomorrow. He is now an All Black, having played in the third test

against France in 1968, and he was distinctly unlucky to be left out of the second test team against Wales last year.

Meads, who will captain the Barbarians, has broken many appearance records during his long and successful career. He has played most tests for New Zealand, as well as most consecutive tests, and, two years ago, became the first man to play 100 matches for his country. He has made more appearances than any other player in the inter-island matches, and has become a seasoned traveller in the name of Rugby. He has toured Australia three times, Britain and France twice, South Africa once, and has also toured Ceylon and Japan with New Zealand junior teams. With him in the Barbarians pack will be his great friend and fellow All Black of many winters, K. R. Tremain. After a celebrated career as on international loose forward from 1959 to 1968—during which he equalled C. G. Porter’s record of most tries by a forward in tests for New Zealand—Tremain withdrew

from top Rugby. But he is still available for Hawke’s Bay and, at 32, is far from a spent force.

Meads and Tremain will be supported by B. E. McLeod, New' Zealand’s test hooker since 1964 and probably the best man at his craft in international Rugby, the All Blacks A. R. Sutherland, T. N. Lister and A. J. Kreft, the New Zealand Juniors captain, B. Holmes, and the Auckland prop, R. A. Webb, who toured Australia with the 1964 New Zealand Colts. With Stephens and Dick on the wings and the brilliant G. S. Thorne in midfield, the Barbarians will have plenty of scoring potential. A. M. Watkins, the New Zealand Juniors and North Island first fiveeighths, will put his best foot forward, as he is pressing for a place in the All Black touring side this year. The other backs in the Barbarians side are M. A. Thomas, who has played for Hawke’s Bay against Canterbury on the oval, B. L. Williams, the strongrunning Auckland centre, and L. W. Mains, who scored a century of points for Otago la.st year.

The Cantabrians have chosen as their captain I. A. Kirkpatrick, the outstanding Canterbury flanker of the last three years. Now residing in Poverty Bay, Kirkpatrick seems assured of a long and notable career in the All Blacks, and he is widely regarded as a future captain of New Zealand. A. E. Hopkinson and S. C. Strahan are two seasoned All Blacks in the Cantabrians’ pack, and the type of game should suit A. J. Wyllie, who became a strong candidate for the South African tour after a splendid performance for South Island last season.

An interesting sidelight on the game will be the hooking duel between McLeod and G. J. Bacon, formerly of Canterbury and now in North Auckland. Bacon has had the edge over his rival in their last two encounters, and a similar performance tomorrow will increase his chance of All Black honours:

J. W. Joseph, the Marlborough prop, F. J. Oliver, a young 16st Southland lock who played for New Zealand Juniors against Tonga, and B. Kelly, the promising Christchurch Marist No. 8, are also included in the Cantabrians’ pack. An impressive backline has been assembled by the Cantabrians. L. J. Davis, eager to re-assert himself on the national front, McCormick, the nimble second five-eighths, W. D. Cottrell and-the speedy W. L. Davis are four men who have served the All Blacks well. Davis, normally a centre, will play on the right wing, while Cottrell will have his hands full marking Thorne.

The Canterbury-born left wing, M. W. O’Callaghan, who played in all the tests against France in 1968, has a reputation as a heavy tryscorer, and with backs of the calibre of Cottrell, 0. D. Bruce and H. T. Joseph inside him he should have a good chance to display his wares.

Joseph, who will play at centre for the Cantabrians, will renew his rivalry with Williams, while Bruce will benefit from Laidlaw’s flowing service.

Invitation matches of this nature are increasing in number, and half the players in tomorrow’s teams have already appeared in games at Masterton and Blenheim this year. McCor-

mick scored 26 points in these two matches and, judging by his goal-kicking for Linwood last Saturday, he should add to this tally substantially tomorrow. Like their famous namesakes in Britain, the Barbarians have a tradition of playing an exhilarating type of Rugby. The Cantabrians follow the same pattern, and the two strong sides the clubs have chosen should provide spectators with excellent fare. The game, however, will not be all froth and bubble. With the tour of South Africa just round the corner, the players will introduce a strong competitive element to the game, and Rugby of undoubted quality should be produced.