All Blacks Face “Fifth Test" Team

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32394, 5 September 1970, Page 10

All Blacks Face “Fifth Test" Team

(From T. P McLEAN) PRETORIA. Northern Transvaal, which the All Blacks will play today, is a team so good that it can afford to drop the Springbok hooker, P. van Wyk, and substitute for him another Springbok with a cracked vertebra and the fastest short right in Rugby, G. Pitzer.

This is the team which fields eight Springboks and thinks it should be fielding 15.

No fewer than six of the pack, R. Potgieter, Pitzer and J. Myburgh, F. du Preez and T. Lourens in the middle row, are present, or recent Springboks. The pack, with Potgieter and Myburgh each weighting about 18st, averages just on 16st.

Lourens is thought to be nearly as good a flanker as P. Greylying, the outstanding forward of this test series, and Grobler at No. 8 is not much worse.

A. Roux, the full-back, is so accomplished he can play centre quite as well as he can play full-back. The two centres, P. Brant and A. van Staden, are very nearly of Springbok ranking too.

BIG CHANGES Against this extremely tough team the All Blacks have chosen to cast a side which is somewhat experimental and the more interesting because it indicates that the tour committee is prepared to toss some of its ranking players aside to build the team for die final test Easily the most interesting selection is that of B. D. Furlong at first five-eighths. His last , match against North-East Cape en Wednesday wasexcellent because he

t was the perfect servant of the , three-quarters. The question is whether a good perform- ' ance against sucb indifferent opposition as North-East Cape should count in relation to * what seems likely to be the fifth test match of the tour. 1 It is a pity that the tour 1 committee has rejected the ' chance to consider the part- ’ nership of G. S. Thorne and W. L. Davis in midfield. Davis ' and H. P. Milner combined , well on Wednesday. Lurking in the background ; as test candidates are W. D. i Cottrell for first five-eighths and B. G. Williams for the wing. Both are injured at the , moment and may not recover r in time, but if they do they ! will have to be considered. MEADS TO GO? i The selection of the for- • wards shows pretty decisively that the tour committee is prepared to toss A. E. Hopkinson, B. E. McLeod and N. W. ? Thimbleby out of the front 5 row consideration. 8 But what of C. E. Meads if - A. R. Sutherland has a good ! game? - 8 Under no circumstances can > the committee consider sup- - planting S. C. Strachan, who r has been one of the most honest and reliable tight forwards ! of the tour. Sutherland’s - strength and mobility—and his good game in the second ■ test—argue that he could be ■ a suitable partner for Strac- > han. But will the selectors in-

eluding Meads himself, be willing to oust Meads? After the All Blacks’ indifferent display last Saturday the chances are strong that Northern Transvaal will be too strong today. It has kept its players together for a long time, built up a family atmosphere and because of its success has become without question the strongest team in the country. The New Zealand team is:— G. F. Kember, M. J. Dick, W. L. Davis, G. S. Thorne. H. P. Milner, B. D. Furlong, S. M. Going, B. J. Lochore, I. A. Kirkpatrick, C. E. Meads, A. R. Sutherland, T. N. Lister, K. Murdoch, R. A. urlich, B. L. Muller. Because of the iniury situation no reserves have been named. Northern Transvaal.—A. Boux, F. Alberts, A. van Staden, P. Brandt, B. Grobler, J. van Blommensteln, P. Uys (captain), K. Grobler, T. Lourens, F. E. du Preez, J. Spies, P. Fourie, J. Myburgh, G. Pitzer, R. Potgieter.