Clean rugby promised

Press, 7 August 1976, Page 52

Clean rugby promised

From

T. P. McLEAN

Springs Foul memories of the Pam Brink Stadium at Springs, where in 197(1 Colin Meads suffered a broken arm and Alan Sutherland a broken nose, both from deliberate kicks, hopefully will be expunged tomorrow morning ( X.Z. time) when the All Blacks play Eastern Transvaal.

Eastern Transvaal’s coach (Mr Ben Erwee), who is also secretary of the union, said this week: "We’re going to play rugby as it should be played.We won’t play the man. We’ll play the ball.” Utilising a lively team of forwards whose number 8, Michael Jennings, is the only Springbok in the sidehis father, “C. 8. will be remembered by oldtimers for the tremendous tackle he made of D. G. Cobden in the first test at Wellington of the 1937 Springboks’ tour of New Zealand — and some quick and talented backs, Eastern Transvaal has had four wins in its section of the Currie Cup competition and for the time being is ahead of the holders. Northern Transvaal.

The team’s best performance was against Transvaal in the first of two matches, when it was beaten just before full-time by one of Gerald Bosch’s sensational goalkicks.

However, apart from the prop Piet Bierman, who is a huge fellow, the forwards are not exceptionally big in the modern South African style and they place most reliance on getting fast to the breakdown and setting up play from second-phase situations.

Nevertheless, tomorrow’s All Black team looks likely to be one of the strongest of the tour. The choice of Knight at lock is unusual but it will be remembered that he played well while touring Australia two years ago, and last year he twice played for Poverty Bay in that position. In fact he likes the job. “All you do,” he says, “is dig your feet in and push.” There will be a bit more to it than that but with his unusual speed, Knight will valuably strengthen raiding by Eveleigh and Kirkpatrick. It is a strong back-line. Jaffray has come back from his rest jumping around looking for work and on the strength of one game in his right position — which he deserted incidentally to claim a fair catch of sensational quality against Universities in one of the finest moments of that game — Terry Mitchell already looks three times the player he had been.

It is a well-knit team of exceptional pace and if Eastern Transvaal sticks to its resolution to play rugby rather than the odious stuff which too often has been

played at this stadium, this should be a fast, entertaining match — with the All Blacks winning it pretty well.

Teams for the match which starts at 1.30 a.m (N.Z. time) which will be refereed by Mr J. Smith-Bel-ton, are.—

New Zealand: L. W Mains. G. B. Batty, B J Robertson, T. W. Mitchell. J, L. Jaffray, D. J. Robertson. L. J. Davis; A. R. Suther. land. K. A. Eveleigh, H. H Macdonald, L. G. Knight, 1 A. Kirkpatrick, B. R. Johnstone, R. W. Norton (cap tain), K. K. Lambert. Reserves: backs, S. M, Going W. M. Osborne, B. G. Wil liams. Forwards, H M. Crossman, W. K. Bush, G. A. Seear. Eastern Transvaal: W. de Bruin. H. van Coller, J. C W. Els, P. W. N. Viljoen (captain), H. J. J. Coetzer; D. van Rensburg, P. Grobler, M. W. Jennings, P. B Fourie, F. Meyer, V. 800 vens, W. H. Boschoff, P Bierman, T. Kloppers, G. de Beer.