Haden’s appearance an apparent bow to French strength

Press, 17 November 1981, Page 40

Haden’s appearance an apparent bow to French strength

NZPA staff correspondent

La Rochelle

Andy Haden, whose game tally includes 28 tests, will captain the All Blacks at La Rochelle tomorrow, when they play their final French selection _ .... ~, _„ lrt

Haden’s appearance is an apparent bow to the strength of the various French selections put up against the All Blacks so far.

It may have been more fitting for him to have played his one hundredth game at Paris on Saturday in the second test, but La Rochelle, where the All Blacks arrived yesterday after a seven-hour train journey from Toulouse, is the home of the boom team of French rugby this year and the strength of the French Selection deserves attention. Haden’s inclusion, which also stems partly from the continuing decision not to unnecessarily risk the tour captain, ■ Graham Mourie, means there will be a voice of experience on the field for New Zealand. The rest of the All Black team virtually selected itself because it is likely that the coach, Peter Burke, will stick very closely to his triumphant first test 15 for the Paris encounter.

One of the positions open to possible contention is the left wing, where Fred Woodman gets a final chance to press his claim to replace

Bernie Fraser. Fraser’s form, which had shown some sign of recovery, slipped back a notch at Toulouse where he mishandled too often and on one particular occasion put the All Blacks under great pressure.

With the exception of the back-line leader, Stu Wilson, on the other wing, the set of backs are the same as that which played poorly in the 66 draw at Perpignon last Wednesday. The Waikato replacement first five-eighth, John Boe, having his second game, should have the jet lag out of his system by now and can be expected to be quicker on the pass and surer on the kick than at Perpignon.

A sharper display by Boe would allow Steve Pokere and Lachlan Cameron outside him to move the ball more effectively when the opportunity presents itself. The All Black forward pack is that which played well last Wednesday and includes the No. 8„ Geoff Old, the hooker, Hika Reid and the prop, Paul Koteka, all of whom had pressed for a test place, but after the Toulouse

win will probably remain disappointed.

The French selection includes four of the La Rochelle side that playing a brand of open rugby has lost only one match in the French club competition this year. It is captained by one of that number and the selection’s only international, the half-back, Jean-Pierre Elissalde, who has five caps for France, including two this year in Australia and was a reserve for the first test.

La Rochelle, an old port city on France’s north-west Atlantic coast, has developed only recently as a rugby area and the rest of the selection team is drawn, with two exceptions, from France’s traditional southern strongholds. The exceptions hail from the second division P.U.C. — the Paris University Club — for whom Mourie played three seasons ago.

The full-back, Claude Haget, who played at first five-eighths, against the All Blacks in 1977, was with P.U.C. on their most recent tour of New Zealand, and Pierre Faget — a big centre in the preferred All Black

mould — are included in this selection backline.

The French team is yet another which the All Blacks should not take lightly and a win will depend on an improved showing by the “midweek” 15. A handsome win for the first time over a French selection will need to be built around the forward pack and a sharper and more technically mature backline ready to profit from, rather than squander, possession.

The referee is scheduled to be a Frenchman, Claude Iche, who upset the All Blacks with his interpretations on rucking in the game against the French Barbarians at Bayonne.

French Selection: Claude Haget; Patrick Lagisquet, Pierre Faget, Pierre Barboteau, Didier Morin, Jean-Patrick Lescarboura; Jean-Pierre Elissalde; Jacques Renaud; Albert Cigagna, Thierry Janeczeck, Jean Condom, Michel Sanz; Jean Michel Yanci, Pascal Piatid, Bruno Toloc.

New Zealand: Doug Rollerson; Stu Wilson, Lachlan Cameron, Fr.ed Woodman, Steven Pokere, John Boe; Andrew Donald; Geoff Old; Brian Morrissey, Andy Haden (captain). Jock Ross, Frank Shelford; Wayne Neville, Hika Reid. Paul Koteka.