UNAVAILABILITY OF M. P. COLUNS Rugby Union president hits at player

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32885, 7 April 1972, Page 22

UNAVAILABILITY OF M. P. COLUNS Rugby Union president hits at player

The decision by M. P. Collins, the outstanding Otago and New Zealand Universities wing, not to make himself available for competitive Rugby until the beginning of June, was criticised by the president of the Canterbury Rugby Football Union (Mr J. Storey) yesterday.

Collins, who is one of New Zealand’s finest wing three-quarters, considers that the late start will enable him to be fresher for the more important fixtures later in the season, including the All Black trials before the tour of Britain and France in October.

“I’m very disappointed that a player of Collins’s status should see fit to decide not to be available for the start of club football,” Mr Storey said yesterday. "It would appear that all he is looking for is the limelight of All Black selection,” he said. Mr Storey said he had been speaking to Mr IL J. Dixon, a Canterbury selector-coach, who had informed him that Collins’s transfer Otago had been received making him eligible to play for Canterbury aganist the Cantabrians at Lancaster Park on Sunday. "However, I visualise that Canterbury A will play several games up until the time Collins has said he will make himself available—probably against West Coast,

South Canterbury, Mid-Can-terbury and one other union,” Mr Storey said. "It is up to the players to prove themselves during this time. A thing like this can make it uncomfortable for the selectors and other players, and cannot be very good for the team morale,” he said. L. J. Davis, the probable Canterbury captain this season, is a player who, as a leading candidate to accompany S. M. Going as the All Black half-backs to tour Britain and France, faces a long season also. He was asked his opiniion about the problem of leading players “going stale” because of too much Rugby. Davis said that he probably did not find it so hard as most players to get fit and stay fit. It fact, he had only started training with the Suburbs club three weeks ago and

already felt "quite good." But big men like J. F. Bums and A. E. Hopkinson needed much more preparatory work, he said. Team spirit “A lot depends on whether there is good harmony in your team—whether it is the club side or Canterbury,” Davis said. “If a player is enjoying his football, he will do whatever is served up to him, no matter at what level. "The 1970 Shield team was a perfect example of an inferior team winning games, because everyone was happy and pitched in,” Davis said. A club ofiicial, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he was amazed that any club could be interested in a player who would be missing most of the D.C.L. Shield games and then be prepared to step in and take another player’s position. “What sort of a senior championship would we have if the 25 members of the Canterbury A squad said they all wanted to do that,” he said. Mr L. M. O’Reilly, a former Canterbury representative forward and the sole selectorcoach of Canterbury University A this season, said he had spoken to Collins since the appearance of the newspaper article about his unavailability for University until June. “I think Maurie realises the difficulties this would create for the club, with the question of team spirit and the availability of other players,” Mr O’Reilly said. Solution “When I raised the matter his response was good, and I’m quite sure we will be able to reach a solution which will fit in well with our plans for the season. “When the need arises, I think he’ll put the team first,” he said.