Three newcomers join old guard

Press, 5 April 1989, Page 68

Three newcomers join old guard

By

808 SCHUMACHER

The old guard and the new have joined ranks to fire Canterbury’s first salvo in the South Pacific rugby championship, against Queensland in Brisbane on Sunday afternoon.

Robbie Deans and Wayne Smith between them have worn the Canterbury jersey on 176 occasions, but Smith has been away from the provincial scene for three years and Deans played at a level below Canterbury A last season. However, the Canterbury selector-coach, Frank Jack, chooses his teams on merit, not by youth or by reputation, and the two former All Blacks have, in his opinion, earned their positions by meeting high standards in four preliminary matches played by Canterbury XVs in recent weeks. Smith, who will celebrate his thirty-second birthday in a fortnight, has slotted back into his first five-eighths position with ease and Deans, aged 29, retains his positional awareness and goalkicking skills if not the

same sprightly step of his prime days.

Three of the Canterbury team — the right wing, Wiremu Maunsell, and the two flankers, Murray Henderson and Gavin Hill — will make their debuts against Queensland. They, too, have validated their claims with a string of robust displays in the buildup fixtures. The Canterbury team is:— Robbie Deans; Wiremu Maunsell, Andrew McCormick, Andrew Simcock; Warwick Taylor, Wayne Smith (vice-captain), Graeme Bachop; Chris England or Robin Penney; Murray Henderson, Albert Anderson (captain), Andy Earl, Gavin Hill; Chris Earl, John Buchan, Tala Kele or Tavito Sio. Reserves. — Backs: Richard Connell, Stephen Bachop, Allan Lindsay. Forwards: England or Penney, Sio or Kele, Phil Cropper. Maunsell, while essentially a midfield back for his club, Sydenham, and

chosen at second fiveeighths for the New Zealand Maoris team which toured Europe and Argentina at the end of last season, is a gifted footballer, with strength and speed, and he should capably handle the right wing duties. His shift to the wing was necessitated by the hand injury to the specialist right wing, Mark Vincent. Henderson, a former Manawatu A representative, played for Canterbury B last season as did Hill. Both have gained promotion at the expense of Stephen Dods, a disruptive force in enemy ranks last year, and Penney. Penney has been bracketed at No. 8, with England, who made a lasting impression for Cantabrians against Centurions, of Wellington, last month. The return of Chris Earl to the front row will

also bolster the Canterbury scrum. Earl, with 56 matches for the A team, missed last season’s national championship campaign through business commitments. Mr Jack last evening also announced his nominations for the All Black trial in Hamilton on May 31. Of the Canterbury XV to play Queensland all except Maunsell, Simcock, Penney, Henderson and Hill have been nominated. The Canterbury selector has submitted 15 names, the additions being the incumbent All Black halfback, Bruce Deans, yet to return from the United States, the injured Vincent and one of the reserves, Stephen Bachop. The nominations are:— Backs: Robbie Deans, Vincent, McCormick, Taylor, Stephen Bachop, Smith, Graeme Bachop, Bruce Deans. Forwards: England, Andy Earl, Anderson, Chris Earl, Buchan, Sio and Kele.