ALL BLACKS NOT TO BE LULLED AGAIN Another “Worst Team”; Another Battle?

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32352, 18 July 1970, Page 15

ALL BLACKS NOT TO BE LULLED AGAIN Another “Worst Team”; Another Battle?

(From T. F. McLEAN) BLOEMFONTEIN. Distant horizons rather than the immediate foreground will be in the minds of the All Blacks who play Orange Free State today. The first test—“ The one we have simply got to win,” says the manager (Mr R. L. Burk) —is paramount.

Meanwhile, Orange Free State falls into the category of yet another of the “worst teams” in South Africa—not perhaps without some cause.

“Vrystaat” (pronounced “Fraystart”) is the local version of the team’s name, called usually with an energy and volume rivalling the famous Murrayfield cry of “Feet, Scotland, feet.”

However, it has been dismembered since the great days when it defeated and drew with the 1949 All Blacks, defeated the 1953 Wallabies, and from 1960, beginning with the All Blacks, defeated all international sides until it met the British Lions two years ago. In those happy days the team represented the whole of the Free State province, which is very large and contained in excess of 8000 senior Rugby players. Quartered ! Since then, the province has been carved into four Rugby unions and Free State proper has been reduced to five senior clubs and the university, all of them in Bloemfontein. The effect has been catastrophic. Today’s Free State team contains only one international and this player, S. van Zyl, of the 1965 Springboks in New Zealand, is all of 38 years old—which is getting on even for props. The team has another excellent player in the centre, J.

Jansen, who will walk into the Springbok test team next week, if he survives today with distinction. The Strydom brothers, Piet, at full-back, and Willie, at scrum-half, are nephews of the fine Springbok half in New Zealand in 1956, and they have two more brothers, all four having appeared in the Free State team at the one time. Three Trialista J. Pienaar, J. Wagenaar and J. Kleingeld, wing, hooker and lock,' respectively, were all called to the recent national trials week but none shapes as a Springbok of the near future. It ought to follow, therefore, that Orange Free State will be just another goodish provincial team, and one the All Blacks ought to defeat comfortably. However, after last Monday’s hectic outing against Western Transvaal, the All

Blacks are not disposed to take any team lightly. More especially any bearing the name of “worst team ever.” But the anxieties of today are not quite as testing as those of Potchefstroom. There are two special points of interest in the New Zealand performance—the reaction of A. R. Sutherland to lock, and even more important, to No. 3 at the line-out, and the play of E. W. Kirton at five-eighths. If Kirton can play as well as against Transvaal, he will almost certainly be chosen for the first test, leaving W. D. Cottrell to battle with I. R. Macßae for second fiveeighths. Three other places command special interest R. A. Urlich is very nearly on the verge of beating B. E. McLeod for test hooker, and with good play today could consolidate his claims. G. S. Thorne and S. M. Going, returned from injuries, will be battling for test places. Thorne’s chances are the superior, for Going has not yet quite managed his best New Zealand form and C. R. Laidlaw is a certain player at the moment. The teams are: Hew Zealand.— W. F. McCormick; B. G. Williams, Thorne. M. J. Dick; Cottrell. Kirton; Going: B. J. Lochore; T. N. Lister. S. C. Strachan, Sutherland. I. A. Kirkpatrick; N. W. Thimbley, Urlich. B. L. Muller. Orange Free State.— P. Strydom: Pienaar. Jansen, J. Schlebusch; L. Vogel. D. van der Merwe; W. Strydom; B. Virster; B. Vanrensburg, D. Dewet, S. Van Zyl. Kleingeld; I. Van Zyl, Wagenaar. K. Steenkamp.