Kiwis look to forwards to beat confident Aust. in first league test

Press, 24 June 1978, Page 56

Kiwis look to forwards to beat confident Aust. in first league test

From

BRIAN DOHERTY

in Sydney for NZPA

Australia expects to sprint by New Zealand to an easy victory 7 in the first rugby league test at the Sydney Cricket Ground today. The coach, Mr Frank Stanton, believes his team, especially the backs, to be much faster than the Kiwis.

The stand-off, Bob Fulton, goes further. “This is the fastest Australian team in 15 years,’’ said Fulton, who played his first game for the Kangaroos in 1968. “Not since the days when we had Ken Irvine, Mike Cleary, Reg Gasnier and Graeme Langlands have we had such a fast back-line.”

The Kiwis accept that Jhey are slower than the 'Australians but do not believe the margin is as wide as the locals suggest. It is also worth remembering that the super-fast Australian team of 1963 was beaten by the Kiwis on the only firm ground a test was played on that year; Lang Park, Brisbane.

The Kiwis are cautiously skirting around suggestions that today’s test will be a

bloodbath. It has been suggested that the Kiwis are angered by the snub they have received by Australian officials and that they will take their feelings out on the players. However, the Kiwi coach, Mr Ron Ackland, said this was not so: “We are going to play football, not fight. It is natural that you have to get on top in the forwards if you are going to win. “Every test seems to start with some softening up. But we are talking about hard, tough football like a test match should be played and not vicious football.” New Zealand’s best chance of scoring its first win over the Kangaroos since 1971 seems to lie with the forwards. The Australian front row

of Graham Oiling, George Peponis, and lan Thomson will be playing in their first international. Thomson had to pass a fitness test yesterday’ to stay in the team.

The Kiwi forwards have all been around long enough to know what is required. If they faithfully follow Mr Ackland’s instructions of filling gaps and supporting one another the test can be won.

The New Zealand backs are good enough to match Australia’s, if not with speed then with strength and slick passing. The full-back Chris Jordan, will be singled out by the Australians for special treatment. Mr Stanton spent several hours on Thursday studying a videotape playback of Jordan handling high kicks.

“He appears to be able to handle a high ball but then so can everyone until they get hit with them,” he said. The Kiwis tested Jordan with some high kicks at training yesterday and he was not as sure as he had been in the actual games. Fulton will be doing the tactical kicking and although his pace has slowed down quite a bit he still makes an art out of kicking. He also has the highest respect for the New Zealand inside-back combination of Ken Stirling and John Smith. Mr Ackland said that if the Kiwis played as good as they could “then I think we have a show. But if anyone is a little below par then we have no show at all.” Mr Ackland will name his two reserves this morning.