BRITISH RUGBY TOURISTS CONCENTRATE ON ERRORS COMMITTED IN FIRST GAME

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27388, 13 May 1950, Page 8

BRITISH RUGBY TOURISTS CONCENTRATE ON ERRORS COMMITTED IN FIRST GAME

Staff Correspondent . WESTPORT, May 12. Within a few hours of its arrival at Westport from Nelson yesterday, the British Isles touring Rugby players had a team talk. This afternoon they had another one, and they then practised vigorously in preparation for the match with Buffer tomorrow. The team talks were unwontedly protracted, principally, it appears, because of keen discussion on t e many weaknesses revealed in the opening match of the tour at Nelson on Wednesday. The captain, Karl Mullen, is reported to have spoken in strong criticism of the large number of simple errors committed by players, particularly among the backs, and it was noticeable at the practice this afternoon that all were concentrating on good handling. One change has been made in the British Isles team for the match. R. Macdonald, the Scottish centre threequarter, who played in the opening, match, has been recalled to replace N. J. Henderson, the Irish player, who injured a knee tendon during a training run at Nelson. Macdonald will partner J. Matthews, the Welsh centre, with whom his combination on Wednesday was not especially happy. Minor injuries are handicapping the team. Both M. F. Lane, the threequarter, and J. E. Nelson, the lock forward, are standing down from practices because of leg injuries suffered on Wednesday, and Rees Stephens, the fine Welsh line-out forward, is resting a badly-bruised shoulder. This became very painful after the match, and Karl Mullen was giving medical advice on it about 3 o’clock on Thursday morning. Buffer’s pack for tomorrow’s match will be substantially lighter than that of the British Isles. It averages about 12st 121 b—a very light weight for a provincial pack. Nevertheless, there is great confidence in Westport that , the local boys will make good and defeat the British Isles team. The “Lions” have been told on all sides how good Buffer was last season, and how much better it is this year, and they will accordingly enter the match with a certain apprehensive respect for their opponents. Nevertheless, the British Isles team for tomorrow appeals as being a good deal stronger than that which played at Nelson, and j the pack is pretty well the likely pack

for the first test at Dunedin in a fortnight. If their training runs mean anything, J. W. McKay and R. T. Evans, the wing-forwards, are going to prove outstanding on the New Zealand tour, and Roy John and Peter Kininmonth are two of the best line-out players in the team. Tomorrow, moreover, J. W. Kyle will make his first appearance as outside-half. He comes to New Zealand with a great reputation and it is significant that all players in the team speak highly of him. They say that he is very seldom caught in possession and that his running and tactical kicking are of the first class. A good win for the tourists. tomorrow would put them in very good heart, especially with the Otago match coming up next Saturday. Half of the players today golfed and the other half were taken on a tour of the open-cast coal mines around Stockton mine. Two with special knowledge made a special trip. They were W. B. Cleaver, a colliery manager, and Cliff Davies, a miner, who were taken together to the Millerton mine and afterwards to the open-cast mines. Both were astonished at the fruitfulness of the fields. In Cleaver’s mine the seams are from 2ft to 6ft thick. At Millerton they are 40ft thick. “It was amazing,” Cleaver said. The British team is:—Full-back, G. W. Norton; wing three-quarters, M. C. Thomas, K. J. Jones; centres, J. Matthews, R. Macdonald; stand-off half, J. W. Kyle; scrum-half, A. W. Black; front-row —C. Davies, K. D. Mullen, J. D. Robins; side-row, D. J. Hayward, R. T. Evans; locks, P. W. Kininmonth, E. R. John; back-row, J W. McKay.