Brereton moves to the centres

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33964, 3 October 1975, Page 20

Brereton moves to the centres

Mocky Brereton, the former Kiwi wing, has been switched to the centres in the Canterbury Rugby league team to play Auckland for the national Rothmans championship at Carlaw Park next Tuesday evening.

Brereton will be paired in mid-field with Leon Paskell, who will be having his first full representative match of the season. The decision to move Brereton and to promote Paskell was undoubtedly prompted by the loss of Bruce Dickison to the New Zealand squad and the unconvincing form shown by Dickison’s regular centre partner, Francis Lawrence, in recent games.

While there might be some element of risk in transferring Brereton for such a vital assignment, it could well prove an inspired decision. Brereton has given excellent service to his club as a centre, and scored two tries from that position in his first appearance for Canterbury against Auckland in 1970. SUBSTITUTE BACK The reshuffle in the threequarters also led to the return of Gary Taie to the first XIII. He was one of the province’s wings when Brereton toured Australia with the Kiwis in May, was a centre against West Coast and a reserve at Wellington last month. Lawrence will now be the substitute back. Mark Fuller will have the difficult task of filling the vacancy left by Canterbury’s other Kiwi, John Greengrass, in the front-row. His high tackling rate enabled him to take preference over the more rugged Alan Rushton.

Auckland’s team is not expected to be chosen until the week-end. Canterbury, meantime, trained last night, will have another run on fin Auckland on Tuesday

Sunday, and a final work-out morning. The team is:— Jack Clarke (Kaiapoi); Taie (Papanui), Brereton (MaristWestern Suburbs), Paskell (Christchurch-Eastern Suburbs), Lewis Hudson (Linwood); Graeme Cooksley (Eastern), Wally Wilson (Linwood, captain); Stewart Hogg (Sydenham). Dale Brown (Kaiapoi), Fuller (Kaiapoi); Mark Broadhurst (Papanui). Rex Dalzell (Linwood); Mutu Stone (Addington). Reserves: Lawrence (Kaiapoi), Rushton (Eastern).