Mass N.I. rugby defections
PA Wellington Only five of the 18 All Blacks who have played in rugby tests this season will be playing in the interIsland match at Blenheim tomorrow.
They are Steven Pokere, Warwick Taylor, Andy Haden, Jock Hobbs and Arthur Stone.
And of these, Hobbs injured his leg playing for Canterbury against Counties on Wednesday and may yet pull out while Stone was an All Black reserve this
season and came into the North Island side only when Stu Wilson withdrew through business commitments.
Andy Dalton, Wayne Smith and Gary Whetton were not in the original teams.
the All Blacks to withdraw are Allan Hewson, Stu Wilson, Bernie Fraser, David Loveridge, Murray Mexted, Mark Shaw, Graeme Higginson, Gary Knight, lan Dunn and John Ashworth.
Apart from Wilson, yesterday’s withdrawals are seen Fraser pull out through hamstring trouble and lan Dunn rule himself out after having his foot trodden on while playing for North Auckland against Wellington yesterday. Fraser has been replaced by Waikato’s Bruce Smith, and Dunn by Joe Harvey (Counties). One of the most puzzling withdrawals has been that of the North Auckland lock, Alastair Robinson.
He rang the All Blacks selectors on Wednesday morning advising that injury would prevent him from taking his place in North’s reserves, and then turned out for North Auckland against Wellington in the afternoon and played very well.
With Higginson having already declared his unavailability for the All Blacks’ tour of Scotland and England later this year and Whetton and Haden very doubtful, Robinson could
have enhanced his All black prospects by travelling to Blenheim.
The North Island team — at this stage — is: Kieran Crowley; Bruce Smith, Arthur Stone, John Kirwan, Joe Stanley, Grant Fox; Andy Donald; Glenn Rich; Alwyn Harvey (captain), Alan Whetton, Andy Haden, Alan Dawson; Brian McGrattan, Hika Reid, Kevin Borevich.
Reserves: Neil Sorensen, Joe Harvey, Robert Kururangi, Gary Braid, Paul Koteka, Brett Wilson.
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Press, 2 September 1983, Page 28
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317Mass N.I. rugby defections Press, 2 September 1983, Page 28
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