Brighter Prospects For S. African Tour

Northern Advocate, 11 March 1948, Page 3

Brighter Prospects For S. African Tour

: WELLINGTON, Thu. (P.A.).— The ; prospects of the All Blacks making a ; tour of South Africa next year were [ brighter, according to a statement made yesterday by the chairman (Mr S. S. . Dean) at a meeting of the executive of the New Zealand Rugby Union. Mr Dean said that the shipping position was now more hopeful. Recommendations on the playing of All Black trials and the invitation from the New South Wales union for a Maori Rugby team to visit Australia this year were referred to the meeting of the council next week. The Now South Wales union suggested a tour from early in July to j August embracing 12 matches with' two tests. PROPOSED ITINERARY The proposed itinerary provided for the first match on July 17 and the last I on August 28. Mr Dean said that the major problem would be shipping. There would be no regular ships to Australia be-[ tween May and the end of September, j A request from the Fijian Rugby Union for information concerning the I proposed tour by a Maori team was also referred to the council. The Fijian union said that the Apian ■ Rugby Council also sought a tour and it could not handle two tours in one I season. ALL BLACK TRIALS ! The following system of All Black trials was recommended: North Island. —Auckland v. North i Auckland, King Country-Bay of Plenty | v. Waikato-Thames Valley, East Coast- j Poverty Bay v. Hawke’s Bay, Tara- 1 naki-Horowhenua v. Wanganui-Mana-watu, Bush-Wairarapa v. Wellington, j A and B teams to be selected from the; first three matches except Hawke’s I Bay; A and B teams to be selected from the last two matches, including Hawke’s Bay. South Island. Buller-Nelson v.} Marlborough-Golden Bay, Canterbury j v. West Coast, South Canterbury v. j Ashburton-North Otago, Otago v. i Southland. A and B teams to be se-j lected from the first two matches; A ■ and B teams to be selected from the j last two matches. j The final trial match will be, New j Zealand Possibles v. Probables. It was also recommended that four | selectors from the North Island and, three from the South Island should' choose the players up to and including j the Possibles v. Probables for each j island. j

Further that three selectors should ! be appointed to choose the teams for { the final trial and make the final selee- j tion of the team for South Africa. THE FINAL SELECTION

The council will also consider 1 although it will probably be Jell lo| the annual meeTing to decide, Whether ! or not the All Black team should be; chosen at the end of this season or at j the beginning of the 1949 season.

The 1928 All Black team chosen at | the end of the 1927 season had less success in South Africa than the j Springbok team which toured Austra-1 lia and New Zealand in 1937 and which j was chosen after trial matches in j South African centres at the begin- 1 ning of the 1937 season.