Wallabies won’t go down, says captain

Press, 8 October 1987, Page 48

Wallabies won’t go down, says captain

NZPA-AAP Sydney The Wallaby captain, Simon Poidevin, was in an aggressive mood when the Australian Rugby Union squad flew out of Sydney yesterday for its tour of Argentina.

“We are going to try to demolish every side we play, we are going to get on top and go all the way through,” the fiery backrower said.

"There is no way we are ever going to go down again in the last five minutes,” he added, referring to Australia’s defeats by Wales and France in the recent World Cup. “It will be a tough tour there’s no doubt about that and they’ll be fired up under their new coach who is the Minister for Sport”

These sentiments were echoed by the coach, Alan Jones, who said: "The Argentinians have been preparing for this tour for the last two years. "They’ve had two trips here so they know how we play and no-one should get the idea that they’re any kind of a pushover.” The tour is the second by Australia to the South American Republic and while the current team has no survivors from the 1979 visit, it does include

the Argentinian born, Enrique (Topo) Rodriguez, who played against the Wallabies eight years ago. The tour opens in Buenos Aires on Saturday with a match against the 1 champion club team, San Isidro and the other eight games include a first ever trip to neighbouring Paraguay on October 27 and tests against the Pumas in the Argentine capital on October 31 and November 7.

It is also likely to be the last tour for several veteran players. The centre, Michael Hawker, who came out of self Imposed retirement earlier last season said: "I think this may be the last, but then I said that last time, didn’t I?” The prop, Andy Mclntyre, who has played 28 tests since his debut against the All Blacks in 1982, said: “It looks like this may be the end, it is getting harder all the time for me to get away from my work as a surveyor. "If I had to put a figure on my lost time it would

be at least $3000.” Poidevin, who has played a record 46 tests and is now 28, was also guarded about his future. “We’ll see how things develop,” he said. On the other hand, Brett Papworth and Matt Burke, both subjects of attention from league scouts, were non-commit-tal as to their future.

Papworth merely answered a query with raised eyebrows and a brief “what again” while Burke said ... "they’ll have to find me on the beach at Waikiki as I’m taking three weeks in Hawaii after the tour is over.”

The team was accompanied by a metre high Wallaby mascot which will be in the unceasing care of the youngest player in the side, the wing, Paul Carozza. “It’s got a name at the moment but that’s unprintable so we’ll have to think of another before we get over there," said his fellow Queenslander, Troy Coker.