Another hard-fought encounter predicted

Press, 16 June 1979, Page 56

Another hard-fought encounter predicted

From

BOB SCHUMACHER

Matches between the Subunions rugby teams from Canterbury and Otago are by tradition, tough, hardfought encounters. There is no reason to suspect that today’s game between the two sides at Molyneux Park, Alexandra, will produce anything different. Both country teams have a liberal sprinkling of provincial representatives and with the ground in good order and a fine day predicted, the scene is readymade for another stirring battle.

The All Black lock, Frank Oliver, will not be playing for Otago. His brother-in-law, Allan Briggs, was the top-dressing pilot who was killed near Milton earlier this week.

However, the Otago team is not lacking in experienced players. Bevan Wilson will assume the Otago captaincy and he is reputedly in grgat form. Wilson, who is likely to regain his All Black fullback position, for the test matches against France this year, will be an obvious danger man for Canterbury. The Otago team has a

strong, seasoned three-quar-ter line. lan Palmer, a former South Canterbury and South Island representative, and Rob Richan, an Otago representative, are the wings, and the centre, Robert Gibson, has also played for Otago. Paul Macfie, the second five-eighths, will be well known by many of the Canterbury team. He was the province’s first fiveeighths several seasons ago. A South Otago player, Barry Duncan, has made the first five-eighths position ahead of the long-serving Bevan Guthrie. Canterbury’s forward pack went extremely well against the Southland Sub-unions, and it will need to repeat and possibly surpass that effort against Otago. There is a formidable look about the Otago forwards who will be led by their hooker, Ken Bloxham, an All Black trialist this year and a South Island representative. Wayne Graham, an Al! Black loose forward, will be another potent force for Canterbury to contend with, and several other members of the pack have represented Otago. Seven changes have been

made to the Canterbury team which beat Southland Sub-unions on Wednesday. It was the intention of the coach (Mr Alister Hopkinson) to give all the squad a game if possible and he has employed that policy. John Munro, Alan Booker, David Carter and Wayne Pearce — all reserves against Southland — have been included, as have the three players who joined the team yesterday, Barney Henderson, Rayman Hohaia, and Matt Wilson. Hohaia was in the Southern Maoris team that beat Northern Maoris in the annual match on Wednesday, and Wilson was a reserve. The teams are. — Canterbury: Alan Jenkins, Hohaia, Booker, Neil Burton, Andrew Munro, Carter, John Munro, Alex Wyllie, Don Hayes, Graeme Higginson, Pearce, Henderson, Barry Thompson, Wilson, John Burns. Otago: Wilson, Palmer, Gibson, Richam, Macfie, Duncan, Morgan, Donald Maguire, John Crawford, Dick Wardrop, Jeff McCall, Graham, Bill Forrest, Bloxham, Kevin Hill.