All Black jersey for Barry Thompson?

Press, 22 August 1979, Page 22

All Black jersey for Barry Thompson?

By

KEVIN McMENAMIN

There are unlikelv to be many new All 'Blacks named when the New Zealand XV to meet the end.

the New Zealand Rugoy Union has decreed that the chosen XV will be full the restricted nature of the selection (the exclusion of the All Blacks who contested the French series) does, to some extent, lessen the honour.

But be this as it may, it should not curb the rejoicing in the North Canterbury township of Oxford if one of its favourite sons, Barry Thompson, should figure among the chosen XV. And Thompson must have an excellent chance of selection. If so, then another of those strange, but wonderful, chapters of rugby history will have been written. It is 10 seasons since Thompson first came into the Canterbury side. Since then he has been in and out of it more times than Alex Wyllie has been rumoured to be retiring and last year Thompson came closer to retirement than Wyllie ever has.

Following the death of his father, Thompson withdrew from the Canterbury squad to give his full attention to the family’s

Oxford farm. Even he doubted he would be back this year. A trip to Britain last autumn with the Cantabrians got Thompson interested again in rugby and he dec ied, in his own words, on one last fling.” There was never any doubt that Thompson’s return would be welcomed by the Canterbury selectors. but it seemed almost certain that he would continue as second string to Bill Bush as the side’s tighthead prop. However, things have not gone so well for Bush in the last month and Thompson’s star has risen as Bush’s has fallen. A good display in the All Black trials at Pukekohe in May brought Thompson national attention for the first time, obviously so by the comment of one national rugby weekly that Thompson "looked a promising prospect.”

With his thirty-second year looming, Thompson could hardly be rated as promising. He fits more into the grizzled veteran category-, but those who watched him closely over the last three seasons are convinced of his ability.

The Australian test last month was a vital one for Thompson — and he never played in it. Bush, perhaps to his sorrow, did and he came out of it

with his reputation badly tarnished. This paved the way for Thompson to supplant Bush in the South Island side, as he has also done in the Canterbury team. His performances for both teams in the last few weeks have served only to

enhance his claims for selection against the Argentinians.

If Bush is out in the cold then Thompson does not have a lot to beat. Gary Knight has been the country's top tighthead prop for the last two seasons and if the selectors are of a mind to play the

best available team, as they should be, against the Pumas, and not try to use the series as a testing ground for youngsters, then Thompson may be unchallenged. One of the selectors, Eric Watson, is known to be firmly in Thompson’s comer. It is believed that he wanted him chosen for the All Black tour of France in 1977, a season Thompson finished with a string of outstanding displays for Canterbury. It is, perhaps, noteworthy that the convener of the panel, Jack Gleeson, is expected to join Mr Watson in Christchurch on Saturday, to watch Canterbury play Manawatu, before they announce their team. The third selector, Peter Burke, ill probably watch a North Island game, before conferring by telephone. If Thompson is chosen it will add to Canterbury’s proud record of contributing to AH Black frontrows. It should also mean another all-Canterbury front-row, which has been a regular occurrence in recent years through the partnerships of Kerry Tanner, Tane Norton and Bush, and, more recently, John Ashworth, John Black and Bush.

Black is expected to recover from his broken nose in time for the series and. if so, he will undoubtedly be the hooker and Ashworth seems equally assured of the other propping place.