Captain Kirk has surgery

Press, 4 August 1987, Page 56

Captain Kirk has surgery

PA Auckland The All Black captain, David Kirk, will almost certainly miss Auckland’s National Mutual first division championship rugby matches next week. Kirk confirmed he was having arthroscope surgery on his injured knee yesterday. This would put him out of rugby for at least a week, which would make it impossible to make the matches against Otago in Dunedin on August 12 and

Canterbury in Christchurch on August 15. Kirk said he was especially sorry he would miss the match against Otago, the union he represented up until his transfer to Auckland in 1985.

“I was very keen to beat Otago down there after losing there in 1985.” Kirk’s absence in the Auckland side would cause something of a minor crisis for the selec-tor-coaches, Maurice

Trapp and Bryan Williams. Kirk’s University clubmate, Mark Adams, is expected back from an overseas business trip this week and should be available at halfback for Saturday’s club final and for the representative side. But Auckland’s other standby halfback, Brett Iti, is involved in the Maori All Black games this week which will rule him out from practice sessions before the team goes south.

“We might have a slight problem there,” Williams said yesterday. “It will probably just be a matter of Brett joining us down there. We won’t be changing anyone’s plans now.”

Because of the clash with Auckland’s matches and Saturday’s club final, several other leading Auckland players, the Brooke brothers and All Black prop Steve McDowell, will miss the Maori games in Wanganui on Thursday and Saturday.