Irish star student of N.Z. rugby

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 28

Irish star student of N.Z. rugby

NZPA staff correspondent' London

Ollie Campbell, the goalkicking maestro most people pick to be the brightest star of the 1983 British Lions, has had only a fleeting direct contact with New Zealand rugby.

But the deeds of the outstanding All Black touring sides of the 1960 s played a big part in the rugby education of the flame-haired first five-eighths in his native Ireland. “The first international I ever watched was in 1963 when Wilson Whineray’s All Blacks beat Ireland, 6-5,” said Campbell, newly kitted out in the dark blue Lions blazer, yesterday. “Then at school, my coach, Father Jim Moran, was a great advocate of All Black rugby and we saw the highlights of Brian Lochore’s 1967 team many times.”

The upshot, Campbell said, was an inspiration to delve deeply into books on New Zealand, rugby and coaching methods. “I’ve never played against the All Blacks but in many ways I feel that I know more about New Zealand rugby than Irish rugby,” he said.

In fact, Campbell’s only match against a New Zealand side was when he played for a winning Leinster team against Wellington early this season. But New Zealand rugby is certain to know much more about him and may well come to regard him as the key to the four-test series over the next 10 weeks.

His goalkicking, honed to perfection by hours of practice, brought Ireland 48 points in the Five Nations championship this season. And his first try for his country carried him ’to a record tally of 52 points.

But Campbell is far from just a goalkicker. He coolly directs Ireland’s backline

and almost invariably chooses the right option. And when the opportunity arises, he can split the tightest defence with electrifying acceleration and exquisite dummies.

His ability has won him plaudits from throughout the British Isles.

Barry John, the 1971 Lion in whose footsteps Campbell will tread, believes the Irishman handles the requirements of an international first five-eighths “nearly to perfection” while the Irish flanker, Fergus Slattery, likens him to “a noiseless machine just humming very gently in the background." Campbell, a modest 29-year-old, is approaching the New Zealand tour with his usual calmness.

He has practised kicking, a little with French balls, similar in style to those which he will use in New Zealand, and readily admits that the switch has not been without “But there’s a whole week between when we arrive in New Zealand on Saturday and when we play the first match. That should be plenty of time to get it right,” he said.

One part of Campbell’s approach to rugby which will be absent in New Zealand will be his regular contact with Father Moran, his mentor during his schoolboy days at Belvedere College, a private Jesuit school in Dublin.

Before Ireland’s internationals, Campbell has often phoned Father Morgan, who now lives in Chicago, for advice on what he terms “the psychological side of my. game.” The Lions daily allowance of $18.40 hardly extends to making telephone calls to the United States. “I talked to Father Moran on Sunday before joining the team and I’ll be writing to him from New Zealand; but I guess you could say I’ll be pretty much on my own out there,” Campbell said.