One New Kiwi In First Test Side

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32335, 29 June 1970, Page 22

One New Kiwi In First Test Side

B. Lowther, the only new Kiwi included in the New Zealand Rugby league team to play Great Britain in the first test at Auckland on July 11, has progressed from club to international status in less than two months.

Lowther did not emerge as a potential Kiwi centre until a number of outstanding attacking displays won him selection for Auckland’s matches against New South Wales Country and Wellington last month.

In the game against New South Wales Country, Lowther confirmed his already recognised ability as a thrustful and penetrative runner and also proved himself a most reliable tackler. Lowther was an obvious choice for the national coaching school at Rotorua last

week and impressed the New Zealand selectors (Messrs D. L. Blanchard, D. A. Barchard and M. W. Church) sufficiently to earn preference over the 1969 Kiwi centres, R. W. J. Wilson (Auckland) and B. R. Clark (Auckland). The features of the team are the recall of the former internationals, R. W. Bailey (Auckland), J. K. Dixon (West Coast) and R. I. Orchard (Auckland), and the placing of T. W. Patrick at scrum-half. Bailey and Orchard have not played for New Zealand since the 1967 tour of Australia. The ebullient Bailey, the holder of the record for the most tries by any New Zealander in international football, was not available for the world series in 1968 because of a dispute over the financial terms offered and missed the tests against Australia last season because of injury. Orchard was an outstanding success as a teen-aged forward during the 1965 tour of Britain and France but was somewhat inconsistent in Australia two years later. At his best he is a most powerful and attacking player and appears to have matured and improved his all-round play this season.

A serious shoulder injury prevented Dixon from playing any representative Rugby league last year but he gave notice of his intentions of regaining New Zealand selection with a fine come-back performance against Canterbury earlier this month. Patrick has played extensively at scrum-half for his club team, Otago University, and marked the 1969 Kiwi, G. R. Cooksley, in that position when his province played Canterbury last season. He became the coaching school’s scrum-half when Cooksley withdrew with a hamstring injury on Friday and performed extremely well in the trial against the 1968 international, E. M. Carson Auckland). Patrick was the New Zealand stand-off half in the first test against Australia 12 months ago. Although Cooksley had not officially withdrawn from contention because of the injury, a medical report said that he I

would not be fully fit until a few days before the test. The reserve back, F. Schuster (Auckland), will also make his first international appearance if he takes the field. A New Zealand Marist representative for the last two years, Schuster has appeared •at centre and standoff half in first-class matches.

The trial proved that New Zealand has two outstanding loose forwards available and the Canterbury representative, R. S. Walker, challenged most strongly for inclusion ahead of the experienced A. P. Kriletich (Auckland). M. P. Brereton, Canterbury’s only other player taking part in the trials, retained the wing position that he held in the two tests against the Kangaroos last year. The forwards, with the exception of D. J. Gailey (Auckland), have extensive experience and it appears, probable that C. E. O’Neill (Wellington), the captain, and W. G. Deacon (Waikato), will be assigned the duties of distributing possession to the strongrunning Orchard, Gailey, Dixon and Kriletich. There is an attractive blend of speed and strength in the back-line with the additional asset of the consistency of G. C. Ladner’s goalkicking. In the trial Ladner (West Coast) kicked six goals from as many attempts and added a well-judged field goal to score 14 of the coaching school’s 23 points. The New Zealand XIII won 27-23.

The team is: Ladner; P. C. Orchard (Bay of Plenty), Brereton; F. R. Christian (Auckland), Lowther; Bailey (vicecaptain). Patrick; R. I. Orchard, Gailey, O’Neil (captain); Deacon, Dixon; Kriletich. Reserves: Back, Schuster; forward. Walker. Northern XIII

The former Canterbury second-row forward, E. Kereopa (Midlands), has been included in the Northern XIII to play Great Britain in. the opening tour match at Tokoroa on July 8.

The team (from Auckland unless otherwise indicated) is:— J. Young; V. Snowball (Midlands), W. Redmond, P. Matete. R. McGuinn; G. J. Woollard (captain), E. M. Carson; H. Tatana (vice-captain), W. Burgoyne, G. Dick; Kereopa, E. D., IWiggs: R, Williams. Reserves: |W. Payne (Midlands), B. Rowe. I