Kiwi tour itinerary

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 37

Kiwi tour itinerary

By

JOHN COFFEY

The New Zealand rugby league team has been given an itinerary which should allow, it every chance of challenging the might of Australia during the tour of that country next winter. Although the Kiwis will meet formidable opposition in all seven of their matches, the fixtures have been spread over five week-ends,

a far cry from the congested tours of previous years. For example, the 1967 Kiwis were required to play seven games within one period of just 12 days after torrential rain in Queensland had caused one match to be rescheduled. In deciding the itinerary, the Australian Rugby League has agreed to a request from its New Zealand counterpart

to allocate the first two matches to Queensland country districts. The Kiwis then meet the Queensland state side before having a week to prepare for the first test in Brisbane on July 3. The tourists then travel south to oppose the winner and runner-up in the New South Wales country championship and again have a free week preceding the second test at Sydney on July 17. The Kiwis also have two matches in Papua New Guinea, one of them a test. If the two Australian tests are shared, the Kiwis will return to Sydney later in the year for a deciding match. There is still a possibility of one other game being added to the itinerary, presumably during one of the weeks leading up the tests. The itinerary is:— June 19. v. Toowoomba at Toowoomba; June 22. v. Central Queensland at Rockhampton (floodlit); June 26, v. Queensland at Brisbane; July 3, v. Australia at Brisbane (6.30 p.m. start); July 6, v. N.S.W. Country championship runner-up, venue to be decided; July 10. v. N.S.W. Country champion, venue to be decided; July 17, v. Australia at Sydney.