Seven new forwards in Kiwi Rugby league team

Press, Issue 33834, 5 May 1975, Page 26

Seven new forwards in Kiwi Rugby league team

(By

JOHN COFFEY)

At first glance it might appear as if the national Rugby league selectors have called in the Wright brothers to ensure that the Kiwis successfully get off the ground in their opening international championship match against Australia at Brisbane on June 1.

However, although there are a number of similarities in the career records of two of the new representatives — John and Murray Wright — they are not related, and it is a third debutant from Auckland, Barrie Dyer, who has a background in aviation.

John Wright, at prop, and Murray Wright, as booker, pack down together in the front row for the Otahuhu club, and have both earned quick promotion to the New Zealand squad after gaining experience with overseas clubs.

A frequent national selection during his progress through the junior and intermediate grades, John Wright spent last season in the Riverina division of New South W’ales. He was chosen for the district team and scored a try in Riverina’s loss to Great Britain at Wagga Wagga. His name-sake took a difference course altogether. Murray Wright travelled to England during the southern summer, and after initially being regarded as the fourthstring hooker forced his way into the Bramley first XIII. He returned somewhat unexpectedly to Auckland, and has now completed an even more notable rise to fame — one that began with the Otahuhu reserve grade team. It would not surprise if John and Murray Wright are team-mates in the one test on the short Australian tour. John Wright and Lindsay Proctor (Auckland) are the logical props, and Murray Wright is the only specialist hooker. Should they not hold their form in the preliminary fixtures, John Hibbs (West Coast) could be cast in either role in the front three of the scrum. Five other forwards — [Dyer, Graeme West (TaraInaki), Josh Liavaa (Auckland), Rav Baxendale (West ; Coast), and Tom Conroy I (Auckland) — have been in|chided in a New Zealand 'team for the first time. VERSATILE Dyer, a former corporal in rhe Royal New Zealand Air Force, is quite the most versatile of the Kiwis, being proficient at second-row, loose forward, wing, and fullback. He recently scored five tries from full-back in a club game, but was used as a loose forward by Auckland a season ago and in the trials on Thursday and Saturday. In the cases of Baxendale (aged 20), West (21), and Conroy (23), the selectors have made provision for the future. Baxendale is in his second first-class season and was in Australia with the 1970 schoolboy Kiwis; the 6ft 4in, lost West becomes Taranaki’s fourth international since the Second World War; and Conroy, a Kiwi Colt in Queensland in 1973, is back in the secondrow after being tried as a hooker by Auckland. The powerful Liavaa will,

with Tony Coll (West Coast) i and Murray Eade (Auckland), give New Zealand an extremely mobile trio of loose forwards. NEW-COMERS The new-comers among the backs are Don Munro (Wellington), the reserve wing in all three tests against the 1974 British tourists; Kevin Potter (Auckland). and Kevin Barry (Auckland). Potter, probably the fastest of the threequarters, ran in for three tries in his first match for

A strong nucleus of the great back-lines which made 1971 such a memorable year for New Zealand Rugby league has been kept by the retention of Whittaker, Orchard, Brereton, Dennis, Williams (Auckland), and Stirling, while John O’Sullivan (Auckland) was one of the non-test backs on that tour of Britain and France. The sole survivor among the forwards is Eade. who is vicecaptain to Stirling. Of the test line-ups against Britain last season, only the Auckland second-row forward, Wayne Robertsqn, has been dropped, and he was carrying an injury during the trials. Doug Gailey and Bill Burgoyne have since transferred to Australia, Bill Johnsen, Eddie Kerrigan and John Greengrass withdrew because of injury, and Don Mann has retired.

Auckland — against Canterbury at Christchurch last year — and now plays alongside Roger Bailey in the centres for the big-spending Maritime club. Barry came into prominence as the New Zealand Universities scrum-half in 1971 and was also in the Kiwi Colts in 1973. He was transferred to stand-off half for the trials, and will be the under-study to two other Auckland inside backs, Ken Stirling and Bob Jarvis. The Wellington pair, John Whittaker and Phil Orchard, have completed their comebacks after spending long periods on the side-lines because of injury. Orchard, with 32 tries in only 31 appearances for New Zealand, has the opportunity to challenge Bailey’s record of 37 tries (in 75 games) for this country. LIKELY RECORDS Another mark will be bettered if Mocky Brereton, the only Canterbury player in the squad, takes the field , in the test at Brisbane. He at present shares with Alister Atkinson, the Canterbury and New Zealand loose forward of the 19505, the record of 23 consecutive tests. Brereton is also likely to extend his number of matches for the Kiwis from 46 to more than 50.