Risky All Black team

Press, 29 November 1978, Page 36

Risky All Black team

From

KEVIN McMENAMIN

It is not just the fact that lit is the thirteenth game — or from a less superstitious' ‘viewpoint the start of the last third of the tour — that ■ gives rise for concern about how the Al! Blacks will fare' against Monmouthshire at Newport tomorrow morning I (N.Z. time). I Monmouthshire, because of its strong rugby heritage,. i would be a formidable oppo-’ inent at any time but there) are added reasons for think-; I ing that it will be especially ■ ‘difficult this time. Not the' I least of these reasons is that: the All Blacks have taken a j decided risk by retaining only five of last week-end’s! ■ test players. ' Admittedly the selectors, j have another hard game, ■ jagainst North of England, on. | Saturday to consider but |they might come to regret! i releasing so many of thej I first fifteen for tomorrow’s) game. On the other hand it pro-] vides a great opportunity for| I some of the lesser lights to i I lift their standings. The gap! | between the Saturday and! |midweek sides has grown in! I recent weeks and for the! iteam as a whole a good win! iby the mid-weekers would! Ibe a great boost to morale. ! i The five who played I against England are Stuart! Wilson, Bruce Robertson, Graham Mourie, Andy jHaden and Brad Johnstone,! I who will resume his contin-l uing battle with the outstanding Welsh prop, Graham Price. i Monmouthshire will field! :a strong and experienced! j pack; Price will be partnered in the front row by his Pontypool and Wales teammates, Charlie Faulkner and Bobby Windsor, and there are two other Pontypool men, Steve Sutton and John Perkins, locking the scrum. This was no accident of selection, nor was the placing of two Ebbw Vale men, Paul Ringer and Clive Burgess, on the sides of the scrum. The whole team, in fact, has been picked with an eye to maintaining established partnerships. Six leading clubs are covered by the area but only four are represented and one of them —! Newbridge — contributes! only the wing, Tony Brown-1 ing. In all, the team contains! I eight Welsh internationals,! six of them in the pack and| six British Lions. Monmouthshire should also be the best prepared of!

the district sides the All Blacks have met. i Because of their geographical closeness the players have been together in training a number of times and they have had four warm-up games against reasonable ' opposition, winning all four Furthermore, the team is coached by the much-re-spected 1971 Lion. Arthur ! Lewis, who is tipped to succeed John Dawes as the Welsh coach. ; There is one other worry, (too. The full-back, Peter Lewis, is a goal-kicker of ; rare ability and with more j than 200 points to his credit jhe is the season's leading !scorer in British rugby. j There can be little doubt ! that the All Blacks are going !to be fully tested in the for!wards and with players like John Black. Bill Bush and ) John Fleming to support I Haden, Johnstone and ! Mourie the cause is far from ■ hopeless. Surprisingly, the All i Blacks have chosen to play i Eddie Dunn and not Doug ■ Bruce at first five-eighths. ! Dunn’s form has slipped since his fine first game against Cardiff and much will depend on him. The ! Monmouthshire backs are more sound than brilliant land a careful blend of kickI ing and running could find (them wanting. ! The teams for the match jat Newport are:— ! New Zealand: Richard ‘Wilson; Stu Wilson, Bruce i Robertson. Robert Kururangi: Mark Taylor, Eddie I Dunn: Dave Loverdige: John Fleming; Graham Mourie (captain), Andy Haden, John Loveday, Wayne Graham; Brad Johnstone, John Black, Bill Bush. Reserves: Mark Donaldson, Doug Bruce. Bill Osborne; Andy Dalton, John Ashworth, Leicester Rutledge. Monmouthshire: Peter Lewis; Tony Browning, David Burcher, Ivor Goslin, Gary Davies; David Barry. Brynmor Williams; Jeff Squire; Paul Ringer, Steve Sutton, John Perkins, Clive Burgess; Graham Price, Bobby Windsor, Charlid Faulkner (captain). Reserves: Elken Davies, Steve Lewis, Mike Watkins, Jeff Dixon, Ray Barrell. The match will start at 315 a.m. tomorrow (N.Z. time), and the referee is Mr Ijohn West, of Ireland.