Tournament showcases potential

Press, 12 June 1987, Page 21

Tournament showcases potential

By

John Mehaffey

NZPA-Reuter Wellington The potential of rugby to be one of the world’s most thrilling football sports has been the outstanding lesson of the inaugural World Cup. Twelve of the original 16 teams have now returned home, while attention switches to this week-end’s semi-finals in Australia. The memories are bright in both New Zealand and Australia of some exhilarating play and some exciting players. Rugby fans in New Zealand still talk of the Italian wing, Marcello Cuttita, whose try against Argentina was one of the best of the tournament, and the Zimbabwean centre, Richard Tsimba. Tsimba had attracted a certain amount of interest as the first black to represent his country. From the moment he first touched the bail in Zimbabwe’s opening match against Rumania it was obvious that here also was a. player of genuine talent. • Tsimba set Auckland’s Eden Park alight with two superb tries as the spirited Zimbabweans held the victorious Rumania to a onepoint margin. The team which best epitomised the free spirit of the Cup was Fiji. It thrashed Argentina 28-9, a win which was sufficient to give it a quarter-final place in spite of later losses to New Zealand and Italy. Even more impressive than the victory margin was its manner of achieving it.The volatile Pacific Islanders ran the ball from all parts of the field, throwing audacious passes which somehow were always picked up. Argentina, by far the Fijians’ technical superiors in the forwards, had no answer and the old maxim that the ball can move {faster than the eten was lance again illustralyL

Fiji never had a real chance against France in the quarter-final but its losing performance will be long remembered by all who were at Eden Park last Sunday. The Fijians simply ran hard and often at the French and some of their catching and passing was breathtaking. The first five-eighths, Severn Koroduadua, moved from fullback for the day, showed both the vast potential and endearing eccentricities of Fijian rugby. Koroduadua created panic in the French ranks with his long overhead gridiron passes. His running was thrillingly direct and his kicking prodigious. In the second half, with the line open, Koroduadua showed why Fiji is not yet in the top rank of nations. With the ball seemingly held tightly in his right hand, he loped towards the French line with no-one in sight. Suddenly he lost his grip on the ball and a certain try was lost Koroduadua, who is also one of the longest place kickers in the world, was one of the personalities of the Cup. Most of all he emphasised that rugby is a game sufficiently subtle to reveal the individual personalities of the countries playing it The Fijians brought a dash of Pacific sunshine to the playing fields of New Zealand, the Americans showed Australia the benefits of their gridiron training andthe other minor nations all made distinctive and significant contributions. The week-end’s semifinals will bring further contrasts: the science of New Zealand versus the spirit of Wales and the flair of France- against the physical commitment of Australia. Above all, they will again confirm that rugby has the capacity to become jfttruly international sport, y.