All Blacks to gain a day

Press, 15 July 1976, Page 34

All Blacks to gain a day

From T. P. McLean Wether they win or lose the first test at Durban on Saturday week the All Blacks have one comfort—the next day they have a holiday. What was initially a ludicrous decision by the New Zealand Rugby Union that the team must take off ifrom Durban the morning after the test to travel to Potchefstroom for the match with Western Transvaal has been cancelled. If Durbar, weather is normal, the players will have a chance to swim and sunbathe and generally relax. For better or for worse the All Blacks are on the pill. Orders have gone out from the management recommending that all players take four pills a day. The tablets are sodium chloride—in plain language salt. They were used extensively by the British Lions in South Africa two years ago, and before their substance was established were described in some less responsible journals as vitalising pills, LSD, or something similar on which the Lions took “trips” before each match. The All Blacks have not been under full strength from the dehydration point of view but because they have been training hard and from the end of next week will

ascend to low and high veldt swhere Rugby is

rugged and temperatures are high they are sensibly taking all precautions. Potchefstroom has never been a favourite stoppingplace for touring teams. It was there that in i 960 Tom Pearce responded to a Mayoral welcome delivered in Afrikaans with occasional pauses for translation into English by delivering in rolling periods the address allegedly in Maori but which was principally a recitation of stopping-places on the main trunk ralway. In later times one British Lions team refused to fulfil its intended period of residence in Potch and caused a tremendous stir by going elsewhere.

The one touch of humour about the place in old days was that it this heart of rockribbed Republicanism various hotels were named King’s, Queen’s, Royal and so on. For relaxation after the test match Durban is much better.