Canty rated highly by rugby rival

Press, 18 April 1986, Page 4

Canty rated highly by rugby rival

NZPA-AAP Sydney The New South Wales rugby captain. Sill Calcraft, believes Canterbury will prove a tougher opposes: man the first-round victor, Wellington, in a second-round South PsciSc championship match at Concord Oval tomorrow. Wellington hammered New South Wales. 33-13. in a championship march last Sryday but. though Canterbury has been depleted by rebel tour of South Africa. Calcraft rates it a better side. "They’ll be faster and a bit tougher than was last Sunday," he said yesterday. ‘1 believe that Auckland and Canterbury are the two best provincial sides in the world. "The feet that tbeir All Blacks are out will mean that the new players win be all the more keen to grab tbeir opportunity. “Certainly as far as the New South Wales team is concerned we are not tairing the game at all lightly. “It will be as tough in all respects as it was last week." Calcraft thinks his team is capable of meeting the Canterbury challenge. "This week there has been a marked improvement in our. training and in our genof the type of

play that Canterbury will sen’s up to us." he said. don't think they will depart muck from the traditional New Zealand partem and they w-r. run the ’ball at us. "Uss: week we didn't respond to this as welt as we could but since then we've been talking about R a lot. "There ware certain ssp&cs of out forward play lax week which, were quite strong and we scrummed well at times, bur there were also times when we relaxed when we shouldn't have. "Ve tad a very limited preparation (for bWngtoni but we should operate better together ass time" The selectors haw- made only two changes to the srare ream. Randwick's David Knox comes in st five-eighth with Bratt Pspwora going to fullback. and Dwayne Vignes moves from full-back to his mere accuscoraed place on the wing. "Fm glad the selectors made no wholesale changes; it shows a vote of confidence in their initial judgment and the players appreciated this," Caleraft said. In other matches this weekend Fiji will play Auckland in Suva and Queensland will take on Wellington at Bsliymore.' J.