Youth blended with experience

Press, 16 August 1985, Page 32

Youth blended with experience

Ten new internationals were yesterday included in the 24-man New Zealand rugby league team which will begin its tour of Britain and France against Wigan on October 6.

The availability of all six Sydney-domiciled Kiwis for the whole tour, and the knowledge that eight very experienced British-based players can be considered for the tests, enabled the selectors to provide for New Zealand’s future well-being at top level. Hornby provides three of the debutants, though that description hardly fits such formidable forwards as Wayne Wallace, Ross Taylor and Adrian Shelford.

The accent on youth is emphasised by the plucking of James Goulding (Auckland) and Vaun O’Callaghan (Waikato) from the Junior Kiwis squad which assembles tomorrow to prepare

for a tour to Australia. Sam Stewart, from Wellington, Glen Gibb (West Coast) and three Auckland backs, Darrell Williams, Mark Bournville and Shane Cooper, have also been chosen for the first time.

Also the three-quarters, Marty Crequer (Canterbury), Mark Elia and Joe Ropati (Auckland), and the Auckland prop, Ricky Cowan, have had only brief associations with Kiwi teams over the last season or two and extend the general appearance of freshness.

The comparative senior citizens of -first-class football, lan Bell, Nick Wright (Auckland), David Field, Barry Edkins and Paul Truscott (Canterbury), have been overlooked.

It is obviously intended that the apprenticeship process will continue when the Kiwis tour Australia next

year so that replacements are available as test regulars retire. Youth has been blended with experience in every position except full-back, where Williams and O’Callaghan have overtaken Wright and Robin Alfeld (Canterbury). The Kiwis, of course, have the option of calling upon Gary Kemble or James Leuluai to wear the No. 1 jersey in the tests.

Of the 18 New Zealanddomiciled choices, 10 are from Auckland. Apart from the Hornby quartet, the rest of the country had to settle for token representation — one each from Taranaki, Waikato, Wellington and West Coast.

That is likely to cause discontent in the pubs and clubs of Hamilton and Huntly. It had been a memorable season for Waikato, which beat the

famed British club, St Helens, and won the interprovincial tournament final against Canterbury before troubling Auckland earlier this week.

O’Callaghan, the 19-year-old son of the New Zealand selection convener, Mr Bill O’Callaghan, is Waikato’s only Kiwi. On recent form the versatile Neville Ramsay, and the outside backs, Pihama Green and Shane Horo, must be considered unlucky. The outsider was Gibb, the sturdy Runanga coalminer who has beaten Ramsay and Phil Bancroft (Canterbury) to become the scrum-half understudy to Clayton Friend (Auckland). Gibb was asleep, after working a night shift, when the team was named late yesterday morning — but was quite happy to be awoken by congratulatory calls.

The team is:—

Full-backs, Vaun O’Callaghan (Waikato), Darrell Williams (Auckland). Threequarters, Dean Bell (Sydney), Mark Bournville (Auckland), Marty Crequer (Canterbury), Mark Elia (Auckland), Ron O’Regan (Auckland), Joe Ropati (Auckland). Halves, Shane Cooper (Auckland), Olsen Filipaina (Sydney), Clayton Friend (Auckland), Glen Gibb (West Coast).

Props, Ricky Cowan (Auckland), James Goulding (Auckland), Dane Sorensen (Sydney), Ross Taylor (Canterbury). Hookers, Howie Tamati (Taranaki), Wayne Wallace (Canterbury). Second-row and loose forwards, Mark Graham (Sydney, captain), Adrian Shelford (Canterbury), Kurt Sorensen (Sydney), Sam Stewart (Wellington), Owen Wright (Auckland), Hugh McGahan (Sydney).