Oldies—still in touch

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 42

Oldies—still in touch

Many famous men of rugby will return to the scene of some of their former triumphs when two teams of “Golden Oldies” play the curtain-raiser to the Lions-All Blacks test at Lancaster Park on Saturday.

Games between teams of former champions are helping to boost interest in rugby in several parts of the country, and this will be the first major demonstration in Canterbury. Players will range from the recently retired lan Hurst to Tom Johnson, a member of the New Zealand union’s executive committee and a former Hawke’s Bay and North Island No 8. He has been an enthusiastic promoter of “Golden Oldies” rugby. The composition of the teams for the game has yet to be decided. But those taking part will be “Buddy” Henderson, Dick Hockley, lan Penrose, John Creighton, Laurie O’Reilly, Alastair Hopkinson. Wayne Cottrell, Derek Arnold, Bruce Watt, Hugh Burry, Frank Whitta, Brian Weenink, Colin Currie, Ken Orsboum, Jake Bums, Eamonn Noonan, Colin McDonald, Ruk Wainohu, Don Davison, Fergie McCormick, Brent Elder, John Major, Demi Sakata, Graham Loveridge, Neil Thimbleby, Waka Nathan, Robin Cocks and Robin Woolhouse.

It will be a game of touch rugby, 10 minutes each way, with scrums and line-outs included. Before it starts, there will be a presentation of balls and T-shirts by New Zealand Breweries and Lane, Walker, Rudkin, Ltd, respectively to all clubs in the Canterbury area that are setting up their own “Golden Oldies” groups.