‘Hare-raising’ kicking

Press, 17 June 1983, Page 15

‘Hare-raising’ kicking

Dusty Hare (above), the thinly-thatched English fullback, is kicking his way into the rugby record books on the Lions tour of New Zealand.

In just five appearances, one of them shortened by injury, he has kicked 15 conversions and 17 penalty goals, for a total of 81 points, which places him tenth among the leading scorers on tours from overseas.

Only five visiting footballers have reached a century of points on a New Zealand tour, with Barry John, of the victorious 1971 Lions, well out in front with 180 points. The other three-figures achievers were Naas Botha (1981 Springboks), 129, Phil Bennett (1977 Lions), 112, Bob Hiller (1971 Lions), 102, and Gerry Brand (1937 Springboks), 100. Between Hare and Brand are two Scottish Lions, Doug Morgan and Andy Irvine, Jeff McLean, of the “Awful Aussies” of 1972 — he was an exception — and the Argentinian maestro, Hugo Porta. From the way he is going, Dusty Hare might well set a new record for penalty goals on a New Zealand tour. His 17 so far is a total exceeded only by John (26), Bennett (26), and Morgan (18), and he has left behind the aggregates of such notable kickers as Botha, Hiller, and Australia’s Roger Gould. In the first tour match, at Wanganui, Hare kicked 21 points for the Lions. He then scored 14 points at both Rotorua and Ashburton, and in the greatest exhibition of his talents, he booted 24 points against the West Coast, at Greymouth.

In the course of this remarkable performance, he failed only once in 11 con-

secutive shots at goal — and that was a “poster.” His only clear miss was with his twelfth and last kick of the afternoon, and by then fatigue must have set in. Many of Hare’s kicks at Greymouth were from acute angles, but this proved no problem for the remarkable kicker with the well grooved swing of the right leg.

His last-minute conversion failure cost him a new points record for a Lion in a New Zealand match. Malcolm Thomas (1959) and Irvine (1977), both scored 25 points in a game, and the talented Irvine also scored 24 points on two occasions for the 1981 Scottish team.

The allcomers record of 31 points was established by Botha in Nelson in 1981. That was the day on which be kicked 12 conversions, another record. Even if he fails to force his way into the test team, Hare can look forward to a possible three further matches on the tour. If he maintains his present aver age, that could mean an other 48 points for him. JOHN BROOKS