All Black Iron man’ out for Aust. test

Press, 16 July 1979, Page 28

All Black Iron man’ out for Aust. test

The “iron man” of the All Black scrum, Frank Oliver, will miss the New Zealand rugby team’s trip to Australia at the end of the month because of injury. The strapping lock played through Saturday’s test against France with a badly bruised back, and afterwards was whisked away for attention He was given a painkiller before the game, hut the effect wore off before the end. As well as Oliver, the original choice at second five-eighths for the first test, Bill Osborne, was not considered for the trip as his ankle is still troubling him.

Wayne Graham, a replace-

ment forward in the first test and a reserve in the second, was omitted, and the new forwards in the 21strong party are John Fleming, a lock or No. 8 who was with the All Blacks in Britain last year, and Mike McCool, a husky lock from Wairarapa-Bosh.

McCool was a New Zealand Juniors forward from Hawke’s Bay a few seasons ago, but faded from the limelight until he reappeared in the national trials marking Oliver this year. Otherwise the team contains the men from the squad for the French test series. The selectors obviously decided against making changes to the line-up. in spite of the Eden Park

: defeat, because of the imminence of the test in Sydney against the Wallabies. The side will leave New Zealand next Saturday and will play Queensland B before taking on Australia on July 28. The players chosen are:— Forwards. — Graham

Mourie (captain), Gary Seear, Leicester Rutledge, Fleming, McCool, Andv Haden, Bill Bush, Gary Knight, Brad Johnstone, Andy Dalton, John Black. Backs. — Bevan Wilson, Murray Watts, Stuart Wilson, Bruce Robertson, Cary Cunningham, Lyn Jaffray, Murray Taylor, Brian McKechnie, Mark Donaldson, Dave Loveridge.