TV1 rugby films found in Germany

Press, 8 July 1976, Page 1

TV1 rugby films found in Germany

PA Wellington Television film of the All Blacks’ first two matches in South Africa has been found at a place it was never destined for: Frankfurt Airport, in West Germany. Television executives in Wellington found yesterday that film of both games had been unloaded at Frankfurt when it should have been unloaded at London and flown direct to New Zealand. This means it should’beat what might yet prove to be a new obstacle to television broadcasts of the All Blacks’ games: a Federation of Labour ban from Monday on all cargo to and from South Africa. The executives had only sketchy information, but the implication was that the film had been in some way sabotaged. However, a spokesman for South African Airways said from Auckland that this was not possible on a flight that had continued to Frankfurt. Film of the first match, against Border, was supposed to have been consigned on June 30 and to have arrived in New Zealand on Sunday for screening last night. The film of the second match was to have been dispatched last Saturday. The film has gone from Frankfurt to Los Angeles and one or both films are expected to arrive in Auckland today. Television executives see as a “disturbing develop-

ment” the fact that films of both the All Blacks’ matches were consigned separately yet both ended up in the same place. West German authorities took it upon themselves to forward both to the scheduled stop-over at Los Angeles. The producer of sports for TVI (Mr Harold Anderson) said last night: “We want to know whether there’s a fault in the system, or whether it’s something else.” It is not yet clear how the F.O.L.’s ban on South African cargo, which will last five weeks, will affect television coverage of the tour. The ban. which covers all unions affiliated to the federation, comes after requests for action by the F.O.L. from the International Labour Organisation and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Mr Knox said the ban was in protest at the "murderous attacks on women and children at Soweto,” and the apartheid policies of the South African Government. Mr W. J. Knox, the secretary of the F.0.L., has indicated that air cargo is not involved in the ban at present. But he said that if the F.O.L. discovered goods being diverted by air, “we’ll look at that also.” Wellington watersiders had already implemented a ban on cargo to and from South Africa.