OTAGO RUGBY TOURISTS

Evening Star, Issue 23352, 23 August 1939, Page 12

OTAGO RUGBY TOURISTS

TECI&IIS BUS JOURNEY TO WHANGAREI FIRST INVASION OF SOUTH ISLAND SIDE [From Oca Reporter.) WHANGAREI, August 23. The first South island provincial touring team to appear in North Auckland, the Otago team, arrived here last night after a tiresome bus journey of some 130 miles from Auckland, the players having had 29 hours of continuous travelling, brought about partly by the slip on the Main Trunk. On arrival here they were met by Mr L. J. Brake, president of the North Auckland Rugby Union, and the officials of the union, who include Mr J. P, Joyce, a former Pirates and Otago representative forward, who is also president of the Whangarei Sub-union. The union comprises a very scattered area, and one, of the emergencies for to-day’s game travels 290 miles by launch, service car, and train to _be present. He was a member of the New Zealand Maori team.

The North Auckland team includes several who played for the North Island in Saturday’s minor unions’ game, and of those who took part in the unsuccessful hid for the Ranfurly Shield against Otago in 1936, R. White, Morrissey, and Wordley are playing to-day, while Cooper has played for Auckland against Otago. Although feeling the effects a little of their Tong journey, the players are otherwise fit and well , and looking forward to a game which they realise will bo one of the toughest of the tour, North Auckland having defeated Auckland by 14 points to 9 in the only representative game of the season so far.

Silver lias made a good recovery from the injury met with in Wellington, but it is deemed wisest to' spell him to-day, though it is expected that' he will be fit to play against Auckland on Saturday. His place at full-back to-day will be taken by W. A. Black. A thick drizzle was falling this morning, and it seems likely that the game at Kensington Park will be played in wet conditions. The interest aroused in the game will probably be reflected by the attendance, 4,000 or 5,000 being expected. The Otago team leaves for Auckland to-morrow, and it will there he joined by Dave Trevathau, who is due in Auckland to-morrow.

The officials of the Auckland Rugby Onion met the team as it passed through yesterday, and among them was Mr Harry Frost, the old Canterbury representative player and a member of the Auckland Union for more than a quarter of a century. Mr Frost still speaks in reminiscent vein of some of the great games played for Otago by the famous Jimmv Duncan.

This morning the Otago team attended a mayoral reception by Mr Jones (Mayor of, Whangarei). • •• • The North Auckland team is; Fullback, R. Masters; three-quarters—E. Grant, R. White, G. Cunningham; fiveeighths, P. Lambly and C. Gibson; half, D. Codling; forwards—-front row, Neilj Bing. Morrissey: middle row, Callanar, BCooper, Williams, Flavell; hack row, Wordley. c-