English rugby hope told to quit

Press, 3 April 1989, Page 21

English rugby hope told to quit

NZPA-AFP Bath, England Audley Lumsden, tipped to be the next England rugby fullback, has been advised to quit the game. The England B international is to be detained in hospital for the next fortnight after breaking two vertebrae in his neck while making a tackle for the League champion side, Bath, in its 32-19 win over Plymouth on Wednesday. “The first thing the specialists told me is that he will never play again,” said the Bath secretary, Richard Seaman.

“They all said how

lucky he was. He could have been paralysed for life. “This is a terrible shock for everyone, although the doctors seem a little more optimistic now. If Audley is extremely lucky, he may play . again, but everything would have to go very well.”

• Bad weather forced the cancellation of yesterday’s rugby clash between New South Wales and New Zealand first division provincial side, Taranaki, in Sydney. The match promised to be a close tussle with Taranaki — which fin-

ished seventh in last year’s New Zealand championship — boasting two former All Blacks. The New Zealanders are in the middle of a three-match tour, with the final match to be played against the Australian Capital Territories on Wednesday. In its last game on Wednesday, the tourists convincingly beat Western Centre Combined at Bathurst, 38-6.

New South Wales will open its 1989 South Pacific Championship campaign against Fiji at Concord on Sunday.