Friendly exchanges

Press, 16 July 1979, Page 17

Friendly exchanges

The entente cordiale in rugby between France and New Zealand was flourishing at Eden Park on Saturday, chiefly due to the efforts of the rival captains, Jean-Pierre Rives and Graham Mourie. Rives paid tribute to the defeated All Blacks as “still the best side in the world,” and added that Mourie was the type of captain he would like to play under. The New Zealand captain said his side had played tolerably well, but

the French had lifted their game magnificently and were deserved winners. Both the president of the New Zealand Rugby Union, Mr Duncan Ross, and the manager of the French team, Mr Yves Noe, expressed the wish that reciprocal tours between the two countries could be increased. Mourie captured the spirit of the occasion by using Andy Haden, the New Zealand lock who has played in southern France for Tarbes, as his interpreter as he spoke

first in French and then in English. The reason, Mourie explained, was that his French accent resembled that of a Spanish cow. Eden Park was in festival mood for the match, with comely girl cheer leaders, banner waving supporters, grotesque dwarf footballers, a mock chanticleer — menaced by a subtle version of the guillotine — and even a live cockerel frolicking on the pitch before the kickoff.