Canty players eye Europe

Press, 31 July 1986, Page 44

C anty players eye Europe

Three more Canterbury rugby players have given notice, by applying for N.Z.R.U. clearances, of their intention to spend the coming Northern Hemisphere winter playing in Europe.

They are the Shirley loose forward, Grant Mickell, who has had nine games for Canterbury this year, and the Marist inside backs, Steve Baker and Greg Coffey, who have both had the odd game for Canterbury in recent years.

Mickell is going to Italy and Baker and Coffey to France; Baker to the Tours club near Paris and Coffey to La Rochelle, about 200 km to the south-west.

Another Marist, and Canterbury player, Pat O’Gorman is returning to the Vienne club, near Lyons, which he played for last season, and will have a familiar teammate in Bernie Ryan, a former Marist and Canterbury loose forward. Ryan has been living in France for two years.

The High School Old Boys No. 8, Nigel Ward, is another senior player who intends spending the season with a French club, while Simon Tobias, a wing for University last winter, has already left with his rugby boots for Europe.

Also in his way to Italy is the All Black first five-eighths, Wayne Smith. He will spend a week with relatives in Waikato, where he was raised, before leaving to join the Casalie club near Venice.

However, one man who will unfortunately be staying at home is the Marist and Canterbury full-back, Richard Connell. A broken leg, suffered in a club match two weeks ago, put paid to his plans of joining O’Gorman and Ryan at Vienne.