They all voted to play

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33870, 16 June 1975, Page 1

They all voted to play

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 15. Scottish and New Zealand Rugby Union officials discussed the possibility of calling off Saturday’s test at Eden Park. Rain had» fallen for 12 hours before the start of the match and large areas of the ground were under water.

Scotland’s manager (Mr George Burrell) said that he had had about 15 minutes discussion with the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union (Mr J. L. Sullivan) before the match. “All x matters were considered,” Mr Burrell said. “When I was asked, I said that the game should go on.” Scotland’s captain, lan McLauchlan, agreed that the test should proceed. “We came here to play the game and we played it,” he said. “I thought the decision made was the correct one.” The New Zealand captain,

Andy Leslie, also agreed with the match being played. During the discussion between officials, both teams were changing into their playing gear, and were kept informed of the weather and of the nature of the talks. The Scottish team entertained the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby Union council members at a cocktail party in Auckland this afternoon, and left for home this evening. For most of the players, the conditions at Eden Park had been the worst in which they had played, except for the Scottish prop, Sandy Carmichael, who on Saturday played his fortieth test. “I once played in 4in of snow,” Carmichael said. "That was terrible. But I was worried about the test because I can’t swim very well.” For some of the backs, the problem was how to keep warm. “I was frozen,” said the Scottish wing, Billy Steele. “My hands were numb. I had to keep exercising to get warm.”

Even some of the forwards, who saw most of the action, had problems with the cold. The Scottish flanker, Wilson Lauder, kept continually on the move during stoppages of play in an effort to ward off the chill. Scotland’s coach, Mr W. Dickinson, said he had not expected the conditions to be so bad, although the Scots had planned for wet-weather Rugby. “But we didn't plan for water polo,” he said. The All Blacks were better equipped for the match, Mr Dickinson said, and had kept Scotland under pressure for most of the match.

The All Blacks* coach (Mr J. J. Stewart) said that it was a good win over what he thought was a very good side — “o» what must have been the worst ground in Auckland’s history,” he said.

The weather caused about 10,000 Rugby followers to sacrifice the cost of their tickets and watch the match live on television instead, says “The Press” Rugby writer, J. K. Brooks.

All 55,000 seats at the ground had been pre-sold, but the chairman of the Auckland Rugby Union (Mr R. M. Don) estimated the attendance as being only 45,000, he says. Heavy rain fell continuously in Auckland from early morning until half-way through the match, causing widespread flooding. Fire bridgadesmen pumped away some of the water which lay ankle-deep on two sides of Eden Park’s playing area, but many spectators were forced to “walk the plank” to gain access to the main grandstand. Oilskins and umbrellas were standard equipment for the thousands of people in the open stands. Some of those under cover did not escape a wetting, either. A number of spectators were showered when television crewmen on the roof of the main stand tipped water off the tarpaulin which sheltered them. Others had a similar experience during the match when the roof guttering overflowed.