Test could be bitter

Press, 5 December 1981, Page 64

Test could be bitter

NZPA-Reuter Porthcawl The Welsh say the hatchet has been buried, but Tony Shaw’s Australians must take care not to end up on a Cardiff Arms chopping block in tomorrow's test. There is more than a residue c-f resentment in Wales over what happened in the infamous second test at Sydney three years ago ... and the capacity for retribution. There are 11 survivors — five Australians and six Welshmen — from one of rugby’s blackest days, including the broken jaw victim, Graham Price, and one of rugby’s least mild-mannered men, Geoff Wheel. A back injury kept Wheel out of the Swansea team that clashed literally with the Wallabies last Saturday in the worst outbreak of violence on tour. However, two of his clubmates who became embroiled in the action — the second rower, Richard Moriarty, and the flanker, Mark Davies — will be making their test debuts tomorrow largely on the strength of their performances a week ago. Shaw and the new Welsh skipper, Gareth Davies, who both carry the mental scars of Sydney, July 17,1978, have insisted that the match will be played in the “true spirit.” An injury crisis has threatened to count out the Wallabies. The Australian camp looked more like an emergency casualty ward less than a few hours before the match. The star back, Michael O’Connor’s knee injury forced him. out of the test side; key prop, Tony d'Arcy, injured his neck at training and utility forward, Duncan Hall, withdrew from the reserves.