David Kirk still in doubt for Sydney

Press, 16 July 1987, Page 40

David Kirk still in doubt for Sydney

PA Auckland The chances of the All Black captain, David Kirk, playing in the Bledisloe Cup rugby test against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday week still appear to be marginal. Kirk strained'a knee in Auckland club rugby last week-end and while the injury was much improved yesterday it was still far from a stage where he could be sure of playing. Kirk said yesterday he was still receiving specialist and physiotherapy treatment and hoped to be able to run on it by the week-end. “It is just a matter of waiting and seeing," he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it, other than to follow the right sort of treatment.” Kirk said his greatest disappointment was finding it difficult to concentrate on the match in Sydney as much as he would like. By coincidence Kirk suffered a similar

injury last year in the build-up to the second test against the Wallabies. He had missed a match for Auckland but had recovered in time for the test a fortnight later. However, he believed this year’s injury might be slightly worse as it was more swollen. Kirk’s other big disappointment is that he will now also miss University’s crucial club match against Ponsonby on Saturday. This was a particular regret as like most current All Blacks, Kirk would like to be more involved in club football than is now possible through their heavy schedule. While recovering from his injury is his main preoccupation at present and has not allowed him to focus on Australia as much as he would like, Kirk sees it as certain to be “an extremely difficult opponent.”