Wellington's Elect.

NZ Truth, Issue 114, 24 August 1907, Page 3

Wellington's Elect.

Nobody who follows form throughout the season is likely to so into rapture over the personnel of the team selected to meet Auckland this afternoon, and, on paper, the blue and whites should have the call at the conclusion of hostilities. Some extraordinary deduction** as to merit have been drawn by the selectors and their advisory board— consisting of Wallace and. Roberts— for that pair were assisting Lcn McKenzie and Cowith their counsels on the touchline on Saturday last. In this writer's opinion,., no harm would have been done had Mick Ryan been installed m George Spencer's place, whilst the placing of Wallace as inside five-eighths savors of a perfect farce. J. Ryan has been playing so well there this season, that he should have filled the role, leaving Wallace to take ur> his correct position on the wing m the threequarter line. Or why not fire Cleary out, and leave Ryan and Wallace mas five-eighths. If the Auckland forwards are at, all troublesome, Cleary is likely to be found wanting. Some argue .that Ryan is not nippy rrioujrh to get the back machinery going m big matches, but his' slickness and cleverness have been demonstrated on very many occasions m this season's championship matches. No exception can be taken to Anderson's inclusion. The greatest blunders have been perpetrated m the choice of the scrumming brigade. Warned by past experience, the selectors should have gathered together a solid, robust, and bustling set of scrummagcrs to deal with the Aucklanders, men of the stamp of Tannahill, Osborne, Mentiplay and Bell, who can give and take the hardest gruelling, and plug away with vim and devil from start to ho-side. There is too much flashness about the yellow and black packmen and not enough sound metal. The. front-rankers are -notfacile princeps m their department, though I admit that Wellington is badly off m that respect this season. Standen is the best hooker we have, hut the selectors don't appear to give him much of a hearing. He is troubled with a bad leg at present, so I understand, and that, of course, puts him out of count. Jack Spencer should be lockman, and either two of tbc quartette I 'mentioned above would be • preferable to Alexander and "Ranji" Wilson. Were Wilson of the Wellington team, m bette;: nick, I would, give him a place before some of the chosen men. Knight, of the Petone vanguard, is a robust player, but he is troubled a bit with the slows. Still, he would be an improvement on Alexander. "Ranji" Wilson has lost i much of the dash he gave m the earlier part of. the- season, and his methods are too lamblike to cope with the vanguard that Auckland sends along. Should ihe homers score a win, the selectors will have a laugh over their critics, but even if that much-desired event came about, I would still maintain that the team is not by any means the strongest that Wellington could put m the field.