Wallabies just too good, says John Black

Press, 17 July 1980, Page 26

Wallabies just too good, says John Black

By

JOHN BROOKS

Even if the New Zealanders had escaped the ravages of food poisoning in Sydney, they would not have beaten the Wallabies in the third rugby test last Saturday. That is the view of one of the All Blacks who was mixed up in the middle of it all, John Black. The Canterbury and New Zealand' hooker returned to Christchurch on Tuesday, after an injury had forced him to miss the Fijian section of the tour. Black spoke with authority, for he was one of five victims of the food poisoning. In fact, it was not a happy day for him, because he received a

back injury and a whack on the head at the same time in the second half. The stomach upset struck Black, Gary Knight, Murray Mexted, Bernie Fraser and Mark Shaw, all test players, at various stages of the Friday night and Saturday morning -r—--and Mexted was by far the worst affected. “I had diarrhoea on the Saturday, and thought it was caused by nerves,” Black said yesterday. “But then I started to vomit as well, and knew I was ill. But I took some condensed milk, and I wasn’t too bad by the time the game started.” The All Black hooker was uncertain about the cause of the food poison-

Ing, but he hazarded a guess that it was “pub food.” “Some of the prawns and oysters could have been off.” Although jocular suggestions were made about the illnesses being part of an Australian sabotage plan, Black has no doubt that the Wallabies won the test on their merits. “I have tried to fathom out why we Lost,” he said. “It was certainly not because of a lack of dedication; we trained well and the team spirit was good. “But I think it was partly because of a lack of experience in some players, a lack of confidence in the backs and indecision on defence. The defensive

pattern was not fully entrenched in all minds. “And, of course, the Australians are really a very good team. Most Kiwis don’t know how good they are. If they can

keep that back-line togeth-. er, and resist league offers, then the Wallabies should do very well .in Britain.” The New Zealand hooker said that refereeing interpretations on the rucks had : frustrated the All Blacks on tour. * ? “Generally, opposing players were permitted to fold over the ruck.and ’kiil the ball,” he said. “There was also more handling in the rucks than would be attempted here. And referees never seemed to. look over their shoulders; when it was our scrum ball Australia always seemed to have three backs standing off-side.” But Black was generous in his praise of the Aiis-

tralian- backs in their abilhold ’up the loose ball until their forwards arrived to drive over the top.■'. *,. ■ •. s . ' ' ‘ He also had plenty of praise for the young New Zealanders on the tour, and expressed the hope that they not get “ditched” because the series had been lost. . He mentioned Nicky Allen and Lachie Cameron as two young backs with considerable potential, but reserved the top tribute for his fellow hooker, Hika Reid. He described him as “a bloody good footballer.” Reid, he said, was a fast, explosive runner and had worked hard on hooking techniques on tour.

. “It-was not just his: try: which swung the second test our way. if he hadn’t started driving, and got the rest .of the forwards going, we would have lost that test, too.” ; Black predicts a. rosy future for Reid, but is uncertain of his own immediate prospects. Although anxious to get back into action , for his club, University A, and Canterbury,- he has been advised not to play until his back is “100 per cent.” And that, he said, could take a week or a lot longer. John Black also made these observations when discussing the performances of Canterbury members of the All Black team

in Australia — Wayne Smith: showed all the attributes of a top first five; his skills were outstanding. Graeme Higginson: had a really good tour and played some great rugby. John Ashworth: at the heart of most rucks/ and propping better than ever before. Richard Wilson: had some outstanding games mid-week, but his goalkicking went off in two vital games. Steve Scott: a strong, aggressive half who complemented ' the forwards well. On a hot day in Townsville he saved the forwards by driving round the fringes, and got four tries as a result.v