Wales ‘lucky to come second’ at Wellington

Press, 24 May 1988, Page 33

Wales ‘lucky to come second’ at Wellington

By

PETER O’HARA

of NZPA London Wales’ latest loss on its rugby tour of New Zealand was to a team that could have won the Triple Crown on one leg, the “Sunday Times” said. In reports of the 38-22 victory by Wellington, the British press variously said the Welsh were “deep in crisis” and the tour was turning “horrific.” New Zealand’s superiority over the Northern Hemisphere game was noted by “Sunday Times” rugby writer Stephen Jones.

Jones said Wellington hooker Hika Reid gave the “greatest display of running from a forward I’ve ever seen. Terrifyingly, Hika the hooker is not even on the bench next Saturday for New Zealand (in the first Test).” The “Mail on Sunday’s” John Taylor, respected both for his insights into the game and his ability as a one-time Welsh flanker, said: “To be brutal Wales were lucky to come second. “The fragile hope that the defeat in Waikato was just a case of first-night jitters and that Wales could mount

some sort of challenge to New Zealand’s rugby supremacy was blown to pieces in Wellington.” Wales, Taylor said, had few forwards powerful enough to compete in New Zealand. “They are now a team under siege without the manpower or the expertise to withstand the onslaught when the enemy sends in the heavy brigade. There is no chance of victory.” The “Observer’s” Clem Thomas said Wales’ confidence was eroding “in what is turning out to be a pretty

horrific tour.” The only consolation for the 1988 Triple Crown champions was that any of the four Home Unions would probably have been in the same boat, Thomas said. He said provincial rugby in New Zealand had never been stronger. “The South Pacific tournament — involving Queensland, New South Wales, Fiji and the top three New Zealand provinces, Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington — is increasingly seen as a more important tournament than the Five Nations.”