Kiwis, Australia to use new stadium

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33062, 1 November 1972, Page 28

Kiwis, Australia to use new stadium

(From

ALAN GRAHAM,

N.Z.P.A. staff correspondent)

PARIS. The New Zealand Rugby league team shared its World Cup venue in Marseilles with soccer, and in Paris tomorrow it is Rugby union’s turn.

The magnificent new Parc de Princes will be used during the afternoon for the annual All Saints Day holiday Rugby fixture between Paris and Welsh university teams.

Then the groundsmen will come out during dinner time tq put in the extra Rugby league markings in time for the World Cup game against Australia.

“I’m not very happy about the arrangement, especially if it is wet and we get a thoroughly messed-up ground, but there is not much we can do about it and the Rugby league people here say it is the best ground in France,” said the manager of the Kiwis (Mr I. J l . Wellsmore). The new stadium—finished in May for the French soccer cup final—is leased by the city to any sports group wishing to stage big games in

Paris, and Rugby union internationals in future are scheduled to be played there instead of at the Stade Colombes. The New Zealand coach (Mr D. A. Barchard) has been warned to equip his players with long sprigs because of the soft, springy surface at the Park de Princes, Other worries facing Mr Barchard are the injuries to three of the Kiwis who played against France on Saturday, and the fact that some of the players have never played football as late as 8 p.m. All the New Zealanders who have played under floodlights say that the different lighting is no problem, but that spacing out the day to accommodate such a late kick-off can play havoc with nerves until players become used to night games. The two prop forwards, R. H. Paul and M. H. Mohi are out, and so is centre, J. C O’Sullivan. An X-ray showed a hairline fracture of Sullivan’s ankle. He will have another examination in two weeks.

This will be Wilson’s first cap for New Zealand. The Kiwi team is: J. Wilson; P. C. Orchard, J. A Whittaker, F. R. Christian, M. P. Brereton; D. A. Williams; B. J. Tracey; A. P. Coll; W. P. Gumick, M. K. Eade; D. K. Mann, W. J. E. Burgoyne, D. J. Gailey. Reserves from W.

R. Collicoat, G. A. Cooks ley, R. S. Walker.

Australia has dropped its half-back, T. Raudonikis, and a prop, A. Beetson, from the team which lost 21-27 to Britain at Perpignan on Sunday, and the second-row forward, R. J. McCarthy, and the wing, M. Harris, are out with leg injuries. The replacements are: halfback, D. Ward; wing, J. Grant; prop, R. O’Reilly, and the loose-forward, P. Sait, with the previous loose-for-ward, G. Sullivan, moving forward to the second row. The Australian team is: G. Langlands, Grant, G. Starling, R. Branighan, S. O. Knight, R. Fulton, Ward, Sait, J. Elford, Sullivan, O’Reilly, E. A. Walters, J. O’Neill. Reserves: Raudonikis, and G. Stevens.