First for Belfast

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33513, 19 April 1974, Page 20

First for Belfast

The three Canterbury players new to All Black status —W. K. Bush. K. J. Tanner and O. D. Bruce—come from clubs which have had hardly any New Zealand Rugby rep-, resentatives to boast: about in the past.

Bush, the 24-year-old Maori prop, is the first member of the Belfast club to become an All Black.

Originally from Hawke’s Bat’, he played senior Rugby as a teen-ager in North Auckland before moving to Christchurch and playing for Suburbs. He gave a convincing performance in the tight on Wednesday. 90 APPE ARANCES Tanner and Bruce are only the second All Blacks from the New Brighton and Oxford clubs, respectively. The Auck-land-born Tanner first played for Canterbury in I9*>6—the vear in which he was a Junior All Black—and has now made almost 90 appearances for the province. The quiet, unassuming Bruce comes from Ashburton and in his vounger days was the mainstay of the Mid-Canterbury back-

line. Twice a South Island player, he is noted for the excellence of his handling, passing and kicking—skills in which some New Zealand backs of recent vintage have been sadly lacking. HONEST DISPLAY Tanner, who has been playing squash regularly this year as an aid to fitness, gave a typically honest display in the main trial. Bruce was one of the stars of the first game. Unusually, he plavs his best Rugbv in August and September; on Wednesday he reversed the process. * The unluckiest Canterbury player, aoart from the discarded forwards, A. J. Wvllie and H. H. Macdonald, was the University hooker, J. E. Black. On his trial form, he appealed most among those striving to qualifv as R. W. Norton’s understudy in Australia.

Skydiving.—The veteran skydiver, W. Ashworth IWelllngtoni. won an international parachute; competition at Perle. Brisbane, at Easter. The prize of SISOO will help pav hl, expenses fori taking part in the world championships in Hungary in Julv and August