England’s chance to redeem N.Z. flop

Press, 16 January 1986, Page 18

England’s chance to redeem N.Z. flop

NZPA staff correspondent Peter O’Hara London Rugby’s 1986 Five Nations championship opens on Saturday, with a chance for England to redeem its disastrous record in New Zealand last year. Steve Brain, aged 31, the hooker who will lead the England pack at Twickenham, provided he recovers from a twisted ankle, says: “If we don’t beat Wales this time, we ought to be taken out and shot.” The cause of the optimism is partly the hard lessons learned from two test losses to the All Blacks, but also the state of the opposition in a championship which will see fresh faces playing and coaching. Wales has made dramatic changes to its line-up — along with 1985 woodenspooner, Scotland, which uses six new caps against France at Murrayfield in the other game this Saturday. The defending champion, Ireland, has the bye at the week-end, but looks in good shape to repeat its success, a few injury problems apart. The coach, Mr Mick Doyle, takes Ireland to Paris for its first match on February 1 — a stem test, even though injuries have France reshuffling furiously. The new Welsh coach, Mr Tony Gray, replacing John Bevan, who retired because of cancer, has been hit with the double blow of losing the pivot, Terry Holmes, and the ball-winning lock, Bob Norster. Coming in at scrumhalf to succeed Holmes, a warhorse who captained Wales, then went “north” to league, will be Robert Jones, aged 20, one of three new caps. In the centres, John Devereux, aged 19, is preferred to the axed British Lion, Rob Ackerman. He follows the scrumhalf legend, Gareth Edwards, from the same Cardiff college straight into the international side. The uncapped veteran, David Waters, takes over from Norster, who is serving a penalty for being sent off. Gray, aged 43, who earned one of his two Welsh caps as a flanker against England in 1968, is in charge of a side which looks likely to attack wide out, rather than around the scrum, where Holmes used to serve as an extra loose forward. The youngster Jones is a first-time passer, and the selectors have opted for swift seryice rather than the greater experience of other candidates. England will have a more seasoned backline, with speedy wings Simon Smith and Rory Underwood, the ex-All Black centre, Jamie Salmon, and the promising half-back combination of the captain, Nigel Melville, and Andrew. At full-back is Huw Davies, aged 26, who had played in the position only six times in his life when he turned out there against New Zealand last year. Davies was just one of an England party who returned chastened by the All Black demolition job in the second test. “The second game was just like the film Zulu,” he said last week. “Wave after wave of black shirts coming at us. They stopped us completely with their forwards going right through our pack. I

remember four of them running right over me.” The England coach, Mr Martin Green, spent much of the plane ride home from New Zealand in a subdued discussion with players about the All Black lessons. Mr Green, in his first Five Nations championship, must have plans to overcome a tough Welsh pack if hooker Brain’s confidence is to be borne out. The former England No. 8, John Scott, said Wales’ front five were likely to prove stronger than the home team’s. “If I was a betting man I would have to put my money on Wales.” Scott’s unavailability made way for Coventry’s Graham Robbins — one of seven changes from the loss against Wales in Cardiff last year. He and the Bath centre, Simon Halliday, are the new England caps. the Welsh pack have another weapon in two speedy men on the sides of the scrum — new skipper David Pickering, aged 25, a Llanelli company director, and Mark Brown. Drastic changes have been made to the home side that goes on show before the Edinburgh crowd. Six new Scots caps include the brothers, Gavin and Scott Hastings. The others are the wing Matt Duncan, the prop, David Sole, the loose forward, Finlay Calder, and the lock Jeremy Campbell-Lamer-ton, son of Mike CampbellLamerton, the 1966 British Lions captain in New Zealand. Gavin Hastings, aged 24, who captains Cambridge University, deposes Peter Dods at full-back, while his brother, aged 21, comes in at centre. The French — who were odds-on to win last year’s championship, but finished second — have had their preparation disrupted this year, but have gone about remedying it in a typically innovative fashion. The prop, Daniel Dubroca, was made hooker and the captain when Phillipe Dintrans was injured, and the fly-half, Guy Laporte, was brought back at the age of 33, after Jean-Patrick Lescaboura broke his leg. The centre, Didier Codorniou, is another serious defection through injury. The teams are: —England v. Wales at Twickenham England: Huw Davies: Simon Smith, Simon Halliday, Jamie Salmon, Rory Underwood: Rob Andrew, Nigel Melville (captain): Graham Robbins, Peter Winterbottom, John Hall: Maurice Colclough, Wade Dooley: Gary Pearce, Steve Brain, Paul Rendall. Wales: Paul Thorbum: Phil Lewis, John Devereux, Bleddyn Bowen, Adrian Hadley: Jonathon Davies, Robert Jones: Phil Davies, David Pickering (captain), Mark Brown: David Waters, John Perkins, Jeff Whitefoot, Bill James, lan Eidman. Scotland v. France at Murrayfield Scotland: Gavin Hastings: Matt Duncan, David Johnston, Scott Hastings, Roger Baird: John Rutherford, Roy Laidlaw: John Beattie, Finlay Calder, John Jeffrey: Jeremy Camp-bell-Lamerton, Alister Campbell: lain Milne, Colin Deans (captain), David Sole. France: Serge Blanco: JeanBaptiste Lafond, Patrick Sella, Pierre Chadebach, Patrick Esteve: Guy Laporte, Pierre Berbizier Jacques Gratton, Dominique Erbani, Jean-Luc Joinel, Jean Condom, Francis Haget, Philippe Marocco, Daniel Dubroca (captain), Jean-Pierre Garuret.