Kirkpatrick for captain? Tomorrow may tell

Press, 24 May 1977, Page 34

Kirkpatrick for captain? Tomorrow may tell

From KEVIN McMENAMIN Gisborne The British Lions will encounter two players they are likely to see much more of before their tour is over when they meet Poverty BayEast Coast at Gisborne tomorrow.

lan Kirkpatrick and Lawrie Knight, both strong candidates for the New Zealand test team, wiil be the first All Blacks the Lions have encountered in their three games. There is also a third in the Combined side, the 1972-73 second five-eighths to Great Britain, Mike Parkinson. The game could also be important to Kirkpatrick, at 30 the veteran of 247 firstclass matches, for any hopes he might have of regaining the All Black captaincy. There is a growing movement — at least in the north — that the job should be given back to him. the argument being that he is now a more aggressive leader than he was earlier. Tomorrow Kirkpatrick will lead a side which comprises 12 Poverty Bay plavers and three from neighbouring East Coast. One of! the three from East Coast is] an 18-year-old lock, Brace; Cameron, who with only 94kg (14st. 101 b) on his; 1.86 m (6ft 2in) frame could! face a tough introduction to! top rugby. Cameron will lock with! Colin Kirkpatrick, a younger 1 brother of lan and not to be confused with an older brother, David, who served the Poverty Bay team well for a number of years. Robbie Newlands, a prop who has had three seasons in the All Black Juniors, and the long-standing Poverty Bay hooker. Grant Allen, are the only other members of the side widely known. The full Poverty Bay-East Coast team is:—

Isaac Wilson; Jody Walters, Brett Sherriff, Graeme

tTorrie, Mike Parkinson,; >Graeme Thompson: Stuart ! Donald: Lawrie Knight; Ray ‘ Falcon, Bruce Cameron, (Colin Kirkpatrick, lan Kirki patrick; Robbie Newlands, (Grant Allen, Wilton McFar- ! lane. There has been one change in the announced (Lions side. For the second successive game the Welsh iwing, E’gan Rees, has had to withdraw because of a hatn- ' string injury, which he rejceived while training at! ! Masterton last week. At first ■ it was thought to be only (minor, but yesterday Rees ; learnt that the hamstring was torn and he has been (advised not to even jog for a week. I It is bad luck for the 23I year-old Rees, who as one of [the two uncapped players in the side is keenly looking for[ward to his first game. Gerald Davies has kept him out of (the W’elsh side for the last (two years and in training Rees has showed himself to ibe a wing similar in style to I Davies. Peter Squires, who at the (moment looks the best of the I Lions wings and who was (probably being kept for the Taranaki game on Saturday, is Rees’ replacement. If Bruce Hay should do well at fullback over the next few weeks it would not be surprising if his Scottish compatriot, Andy Irvine, should be returned to his old position on the wing, for a test trial. High kicks to the wings, which embarrassed the Lions Ibadly at Napier last Saturday, figured prominently at training yesterday and much time was also spent on the line-out drills. However, the work-out

.was not as tough as had been (expected. It lasted just over two hours, but was nowhere near as strenuous as the sessions before the first match at Masterton. Nevertheless, the coach (John Dawes) was quite satisfied and his thinking appears to be that to hit the players too hard after the jolt they received at Napier would be dangerous to team morale. “The players are well aware of the tough matches that lie 'ahead.” he said. Willie Duggan, who is down to play tomorrow and thereby become the only member of the team to

appear in all three games to date, Derek Quinnell, who celebrated his twenty-eighth birthday on Sunday, and Gareht Evans al! received treatment yesterday for minor injuries. Evans has a braise on the thigh, which marks the spot where the Hawke’s Bay second five-eighths, Roger Bremner, hit his head on Saturday, a blow that knocked Bremner out. After training yesterday the Lions had the afternoon free and last evening they were given an official Maori welcome at the Poho-O-Rawiri meeting house.