Expatriate files shield secrets

Press, 24 September 1983, Page 1

Expatriate files shield secrets

Even in the Queen City it seems that the Canterbury rugby team has a lot of supporters for its Ranfurly Shield match against Auckland this afternoon. Albert Orme, the former Canterbury first fiveeighths, rang from Auckland to say that there were a “surprising amount of red-and-black supporters here.”

“We believe Canterbury will win,” said Mr Orme who has seen most of Auckland’s games this season.

Mr Orme, a former Christchurch City Councillor and a lawyer now working in Auckland, was reacting to the banner headlines saying, “Meads picks Auckland,” which, he said, were “plastered right up Queen Street.”

Colin Meads, Bryce Rope, and even the former Canter-, bury captain, John Graham, had all picked Auckland to win, he said.

Mr Orme said that as well as its tremendous scrum power and the presence of Andy Haden in the line-outs, Auckland had two key attacking moves.

One of them, Mr Orme revealed, had the half-back doing a dummy run to the right. “Wayne Shelford, the flanker, who is very good, goes left and thumps his way over.” The other move, to which Canterbury might be vulnerable, he thought, was the full-back, Lindsay Harris, coming into the back-line. “He’s every bit as good as Allan Hewson.” Christchurch was definitely not in the log exporting business, said the Mayor, Sir Hamish Hay, last evening.

If it were, it would possibly be exporting overseas, but certainly not to Auckland, he said.

The Mayor of Auckland, Mr Colin Kay, is reported to have sent a letter to Sir Hamish saying he understands that Christchurch is about to enter the log export business and offering assurances that Auckland will take good care of the “Log o’ Wood.”

Sir Hamish said last evening that he had not yet received the letter from Mr Kay, which was to have

been delivered by the Auckland rugby team. “We would be happy to send Mr Kay a little lamb but we are quite confident that we will be retaining all log supplies here,” Sir Hamish said.

Mr Kay’s brief letter is also reported to say: “And best wishes to your seven All Blacks for the tour of England and Scotland next month. Fortunately our entire team will be in Auckland during that time preparing for our shield defences next year.” “I think they will probably need to keep their team in Auckland to prepare for next year’s challenge,” Sir Hamish said. “I am fully confident that our team will be holding the shield and that we will continue to provide a lions share of future All Black sides. We are sympathetic to Auckland that they didn’t provide any contribution to the All Black team,” said Sir Hamish, adding that they probably needed more match practice. “We look forward to seeing them here again next year,” he said.