80 min of truth ahead of Kiwi front row

Press, 15 July 1978, Page 52

80 min of truth ahead of Kiwi front row

From

JOHN COFFEY

in Brisbane

It is unlikely that any New Zealand front row has ever faced as awesome responsibilities as those confronting Lyndsay Proctor, Alan Rushton and Rax Baxendale in the second test against Australia at Lang Park, Brisbane, this afternoon.

The Kiwis failed to wrest parity with the powerful Kangaroo pack in the opening international a’ Sydney three weeks ago, conceding scrum possession at an alarming rate and looking quite inferior in the exchanges around the play-the-balls. Mr Ron Ackland, the New Zealand coach, admitted yesterday that his team has still not come to terms with the hooking problems that have plagued it in the major matches in this country. The switching of Baxendale from his specialist second-row role appears to be more of a compromise than a solution. ‘‘Rule variations have contributed to our troubles.’ Mr Ackland said. “Bv moving Baxendale we have been able to bring in Gary Prohm, which effectively gives us four loose forwards who are prepared to work the full 80 minutes.” But i' is probably inevitable that the Kiwis will again spend most of their time trying to repulse Australian attacks on a firm plaving surface. The suspension of George Peponis — the kangaroo hooker in the first test who has the next few weeks to concentrate on his medical practice after incurring his only ordering-off in 305 junior and senior appearances for his club — has given the Queenslander. John Lang, a chance to reestablish himself. Lang is a swift striker for the ball and

, he will have uncompromising support from his props, i Graham Oiling and John I Donnelly. Donnelly is also making a (return to test football and is ■ regarded as a more rugged I enforcer than his predecessor, lan Thomson. ! Although no-one would I wish a repetition of the | brawling which marred the, i recent rugby union series jbetween the Welsh and the! 'Wallabies, New’Zealand must! ; be more positive in its I I methods. Proctor has a j physique to match some of i 'the mounds which Australians optimistically refer to is mountains, but he was! ‘oo passive at Sydney. The towering Proctor I !flanks the open side of a front row that will have dif-i ficulty balancing its scrummaging. Rushton has the daunting prospect of packing! down at hooker with five; istitches in his forehead ini ! his bid to regain the high j reputation he earned during! the 1977 World Cup, while] Baxendale — more than I • stone lighter than Proctor — will need the i j resilience and staying power; .cf a decathlon exponent at! I Hind-side prop. The experimental appearance of the Kiwis extends beyond the front line of i their forw’ards. Prohm, making his debut, joins Tony I Coll — New Zealand’s most ! effective representative at I Sydney — in the second row. with Mark Graham behind them. That triol should at least be the equal'

Australia’s backs will almost assuredly be brought I into the game more often i than at Sydney. There is no • centre pairing in the code to . compare with Mick Cronin ; and Steve Rogers, no wiser : head than that of Fulton, : and no goal-kicker to counter Cronin’s points-scor-ing potential. All New Zealand has is the knowledge of how vital the test is — to" the players, to Mr Ackland, and to the financial outcome of the tour. They have no chance of repeating the rugby league miracle of 1952, when the Kiwis put behind them a defeat in the first test to : win, 49-25, at Brisbane and ' go on to clinch the series, but they must take the game to the Australians if they are to walk from Lang Park with any pride. The teams. — Australia: John Dorahy, Nev Glc er, Kerry Boustead, Mick Cronin. Steve Roeers, Bob Fulton (captain), Greg Oliphant. Ray Price. Rod Reddy, Greg Platz, Graham Oiling, John Lang (vice-cap-tain), John Donnelly. Reserves: Steve Morris, Rod Morris. New Zealand: Chris Jordan, Shane Varley, Dane ' 'Hara, Olsen Filipaina, Dennis Williams (vice-cap-tain), John Smith, Ken Stirling (captain), Mark Graham, ny Coll, Gary Prohm, Lyndsay Proctor, Alan Rushton, Ray Baxendale. Reserves: Fred ah Koi, lan Dall.

lof its Kangaroo counter-part | in pace and resolve. But surely New Zealand has never before fielded a jtest XIII wifh three scrumi halves among the backs. Certainly, John Smith has the required experience at stand-off half to complement Ken Stirling, but Shane Varley is a tyro on the wing. Varley has admirable acceleration, an enthusiasm to tackle and safe hands. Whether he can cancel out Australia’s new outside back sensation, Kerry Boustead — who, according to one Brisbane official, is “worth more to Queensland than a dozen pineapple plantations” — is doubtful. The placing of Varley on the wing hints of a lack of confidence in the other three-quarters, just as the retention of Chris Jordan is a snub to the touring full-backs. Jordan displayed immaturity in his positioning at Sydney, but Mr Ackland was adamant yesterday that the first line of defenders were more at fault when the Kangaroo wings, Boustead and Terry Fahey, scored their tries in the 24-2 defeat of the Kiwis. The Kiwis are rank outsiders. Indeed, the Australian coach, Mr Frank Stanton, is more worried about complacency in his camp than his opposition. He has little cause for concern, with such a competitive captain as Bob Fulton and the incentive of a tour to Britain and France to urge his men on.