Strong positional opponents for Canterbury league trio

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32661, 17 July 1971, Page 14

Strong positional opponents for Canterbury league trio

The three Canterbury members of the New Zealand Rugby league second XIII which was decisively beaten by Australia at Huntly last month—G, R. Cooksley, J. Greengrass and R. S. Walker—receive the first of two opportunities to regain international selection when the province meets Auckland at Carlaw Park this afternoon. Their only other chance to convince the New Zealand panel (Messrs D. L. Blanchard, D. A. Barchard, and T.H. Hardwick) of their worth before the announcement of the Kiwi team to tour Britain and France will be during the inter-zone fixture at Auckland on August 7. It appears certain that they will have the same positional opponents on each occasion: Cooksley against K. Stirling at scrum-half, Greengrass marking H. Tatana on the open side of the front row and Walker in opposition to the test loose forward, E. Heatley. Because of the exceptional depth of talen in the code in Auckland, there had been some conjecture that other players might be chosen to challenge the Canterbury trio for tour consideration. D. Mann a late replacement again for the injured R. I. Orchard—and R. Williams, who substituted for Heatley, performed most prominently when Auckland upset Australia recently. They will probably have to be content to stake their claims in the trial game which is to be held as a curtain-raiser to the inter-zone match. Similarly, there is high regard in the north for the ability of the second-string Auckland scrum-half, S. Dowsett, but the outstanding displays given by Stirling in his two appearances

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against the Kangaroos assure him of being behind the Northern Zone scrum. Auckland has registered overwhelming victories over Waikato, Wellington and West Coast this year and Canterbury has failed to provide any sound reason why it will not suffer a similar fate today. Had Williams and Dowsett been promoted to join the exceptionally powerful nucleus that has been present in the Auckland side throughout the season they could hardly have failed to impress. It is imperative that there be no “political” selections—made to satisfy administrators in other leagues and, sometimes, in misgui r ded attempts to raise the standard in these areas—when the Kiwis are named. If Auckland has 20 of the

J. O. COFFEY)

best 26 players, then all must be included. There are only a few serious candidates who an not members of Auckland dubs. The wings, M. P. Brereton (Canterbury), J. A. Whittaker (Wellington) and P. C. Orchard (Bay of Plenty) and the Wellington forwards, C. E. O’Neil and G. M. J. Smith, cannot logically be omitted after prov-

ing themselves superior to their Australian rivals. E. Kereopa (Midlands) and Greengrass were successful forwards at the World Cup tournament in England last October, Cooksley has invariably attained his peak form in test football, W. G. Deacon’s (Waikato) experience must be taken into consideration and Walker is sufficiently versatile to move from the pack to fill an inside back role.

The Northern Zone team seems likely to be composed of 12 Aucklanders and P. C. Orchard. The only debates may centre on the hooker—but even here W. J. E. Burgoyne is the most pressing challenger to the man who succeeded him in the Auckland line-up, G. Woolsey and second-row forward, where the 21-year-old M. Eade probably earned retention at the expense of Deacon or W. P. Southern (Taranaki), when he scored three tries in two games against Australia.

Cooksley, Greengrass and Walker ,am certain of being in the Southern Zone side. But they will encounter the utmost difficulty in making their mark on the match, for they cannot anticipate as much support as their opponents will receive.

A large proportion of Auckland representatives must be included in the early

trial, for it is doubtful whether any southerners who fail to win positions in the zone XIII would be of adequate standard to warrant possible New Zealand honours, while most other North Island provinces have only a few really proficient players.

To strengthen their contentions, Cooksley and Greengrass must eliminate disturbing tendencies that have become more common in their football make-up. Cooksley needs to retrieve the straight or slightlyangled direction of running, rather than scrambling across-field. Greengrass has frequently lost possession when tackled and has given too little thought to looking for support. Walker’s case is rather different. The long passing, accurate line-kicking and fine cover-defence that characterised his advance through the grades remain, but he does not have the aggressiveness that has become such a basic fundamental of Auckland premier club football.

Less than 12 months ago Cooksley, Greengrass and Walker reached the pinnacles of their brief firstclass careers by winning selection for the World Cup series. Now their places have been taken from them by others, and once again they are on trial as the challengers, not the champions.