Mourie’s boots a good fit on Jock Hobbs

Press, 9 May 1983, Page 21

Mourie’s boots a good fit on Jock Hobbs

From JOHN BROOKS in Wellington

The national rugby selector’s search for an open side flanker to fill Graham Mourie’s boots in the All Black side might well be over, in the light of Jock Hobbs’s performance in the New Zealand trial at Athletic Park on Saturday.

Scorning the effects of a freak and potentially damaging collision early in the second half, Hobbs demonstrated his ability as a constructive ball player and achieved a tackle rate high enough to make Mourie envious.

the last quarter his experience shone through with some deft touches around the fringes.

tries for his wings. His 12 points included two conversions from the side-line, but in the second half he missed two conversions and a penalty kick, which were unusual and unfortunate lapses. Although Mr Rope said that Allan Hewson, who is still convalescing from glandular fever, had not been ruled out of contention for the test team, Deans definitely has the inside running over his shaky Saturday rival, Richard Fry. The positions left unresolved after Saturday’s confrontations were the fiveeighths, allowing for the loss of Wayne Smith through injury and the placing of Pokere at centre, where his talents are exploited infrequently. Murray Roulston slipped in the ratings with some awkward passing and crabwise running; Charlie Kaka had a rustic quality about his play; and Warwick Taylor’s efforts suffered through being in a losing and buffeted side. However, both he and Pokere made the most constructive use they could of the scraps which came their way. If there is a player the selectors will want to see again before announcing the team on May 22, it will be lan Dunn, the third of the footballing brothers from Dargaville. This former New Zealand colt replaced Smith, and quickly impressed with his litheness of foot, kicking and handling qualities, and cool temperament.

Dunn was content to act mainly as a link, but there was no doubting his ability to create time and space for himself through deft movements.

Davie, Kerry Mitchell, and Alan Whetton hit back with solid rucking, and Kevin Boroevich, who played on for 20 minutes after having his gashed head patched, bristled with endeavour.

Performances in the trial indicated that Mexted will be joined in the test side by Andy Haden at lock, Gary Knight at tight head prop, and Stu Wilson and Bernie Fraser on the wings.

After winds gusting to 122km/h on the Friday, there was only gentle northerly zephyrs in Wellington for the trial.

Whetton, a brother of the All Black of the last two years, also accomplished valuable work on defence.

The Christchurch captain was perhaps the best of the players new to national trial level in a match in which Andy Haden’s yellow-jer-seyed Possibles beat Andy Dalton’s Probables, 32-4. Hobbs had a lot to do with that handsome win, for his support play and fearless snaring of the loose ball to set up rucks came straight from the Jean-Pierre Rives handbook.

Andy Dalton and Hika Reid are still locked in close rivalry for the hooking position; Graeme Higginson or the injured Gary Whetton will partner Haden at lock; and Mark Shaw, a reserve on Saturday, seems certain to play at blind-side flanker. At loose-head prop, the hefty but reasonably mobile Paul Koteka has a head start.

Although weather and pitch conditions were good, a crowd of only about 4000 went to Athletic Park, and some spectators were openly critical of the frequent failure of the rival packs to engage properly in scrummaging, and of the fifteen or so injury stoppages.

Wilson, always an exciting mover, made the most of his chances, especially when he joined the attack in midfield, and Fraser scored yet another try in ‘Bernie’s Corner’ after Mexted had sent Kirk away sweetly on the blind-side from a scrum.

The latest product from the Ponsonby rugby nursery, Joe Stanley, looked a little overawed over his assignment at centre until he fended off Roulston to score with a powerful diagonal run. Scorers were:—

As compensation, there was some dominant line-out play by Haden, tigerish charges by Reid, and darting and elusive runs by Wilson, which indicated that he is back to his best form.

There was no doubting his courage when he played on after being sandwiched between two flying bodies at the end of a line-out. He could not breathe for several seconds. That was one of the two knocks he took during the game, but he finished the match better than most. However, there is another factor which the national selectors are attaching importance to in their deliberations over Mourie’s successor. The chairman of the panel, Mr Bryce Rope, indicated that an ability to work in well with the incumbent All Black number eight forward, Murray Mexted, was weighing heavily with him and his colleagues, Messrs Stan Hill and Brian Lochore.

In the backs, one of the midfield positions will probably go to Steven Pokere, and the selectors are in the happy position of having three excellent half-backs at their disposal. Andrew Donald and David Kirk, both products of Wanganui Collegiate School, had excellent games on Saturday, and either would make an able substitute for Dave Loveridge. Kirk, who plays for New Zealand Universities and Otago, made a splendid impression, Loveridge-like in style with his ability to break on the blind-side and clear the ball swiftly from line-out deflections. Robbie Deans made a strong bid to win selection at full-back with some tidy defensive play and a few dabs as an extra attacker, two of which brought

Koteka, Reid, and Higginson mauled well and created the impetus for peeling and bursting moves from which the ball was fed cleverly to the backs. For the red side, Dalton, Murray

Haden’s team: Fraser (2), Wilson, Stanley, and Mexted, tries; Deans three conversions, two penalty goals.

Dalton’s team: Donald a try.

Mexted, recently returned from overseas, was not the dynamic figure of old, but in