Season offers widespread interest

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34105, 18 March 1976, Page 14

Season offers widespread interest

The introduction of a two-tier interprovincial competition, a whirlwind visit by the Irish team, and the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa will invest the 1976 rugby season with considerable interest.

These will be the principal matters of moment in a winter chockful of activity. Tours by Western Samoa and the Cook Islands, as well as the national Juniors and Colts sides, the second inter-provincial “sevens” competition, age grade regional tournaments, and a welter of club and provincial fixtures will help swell the fixture list to gigantic proportions.

Ireland will be first on the scene. It will play seven matches between May 15 and June 5, and not one of the games will be easy. Canterbury, with four consecutive victories against overseas teams, appeals as the toughest of the provincial opponents, and Auckland, the Ranfurly Shield holder, will also offer spirited opposition.

There has been criticism ° f the itinerary, because of the amount of travelling b e t we en matches and be-

cause the international will be last on the list. But Ireland has not been asked to do anything more than the All Blacks on some of their overseas tours. The All Bia ck trials will be held in Wellington on May 8, a day .‘or two before the Irish reach these shores, and it is likely that

the New Zealand side for the great trek through South Africa will be announced after the test at Athletic Park on June 5.

There is widespread optimism that the All Blacks will at last win a test series in South Africa this year. The high hopes are based on New Zealand’s convincing displays in 1974 and 1975, and the Springboks’ apparent decline in standard in the same two seasons.

The All Blacks have the makings of a great side, with Andy Leslie, lan Kirkpatrick, Tane Norton, Hamish Macdonald and Ken Stewart in the forwards, Duncan Robertson at first five-eighths, and three outstanding three-quarters in Bryan Williams, Grant Batty and Bruce Robertson. Sid Going’s position is a little uncertain, but it is likely that he will find some patriotic Northlander to tend his cows for the four months the tour is in progress.

There are several good props available, with Kent Lambert, Kerry Tanner and Bill Bush the front runners, and the return of the 6ft 6in Auckland locks, Peter Whiting and Andy Haden, will increase competition for second row posts.

The only weakness

appears to be at full-back. The loss of Joe Karam to rugby league has come at a bad time; no strong successor is in sight. Greg Rowlands (Bay of Plenty) is the most talented candidate, but his lack of size might be a handicap on such a hard tour. A second All Black side will tour Argentina in October, and this trailblazing visit will offer opportunities to leading play-

ers who miss the trip to South Africa. The introduction of the national competition will stimulate spectator interest on the domestic scene. The 11 teams chosen to compete in the first division will have much greater incentives to succeed than before, and the Radio New Zealand sponsorship will ensure

that teams and individuals will be brought into sharper focus.

On last season’s results, Auckland and Otago will start as favourites for the first grade competition, as they enjoyed great success against other sides chosen for the top division. But the loss of key players to the All Blacks could alter the balance of power. Each team will play five home and five away games in an absorbing series which will produce New Zealand’s top union. Sides participating in the second division will be striving for promotion in 1977. The second division will be launched at Levin on May 8, with a game between East Coast and Horowhenua, and the first

division will burst into life four days later in Napier, where Auckland plays Hawke’s Bay. The bulk of the competition matches will take place in August and September. Marlborough will be out to retain its national "sevens” title, in spite of the loss of its accom-’ plished first five-eighthsj Tony Goddard, to South Canterbury. The finals will' be held in Christchurch on October 2.

The new competition has been designed so as to cause minimum inter-

ference to inter-club championships. It is sad, however. that national first division contests and Ranfurly Shield matches have been doubled up. This arrangement can serve only to dim the lustre of the “log o’ wood.”