A much-travelled Bush

Press, 26 April 1979, Page 28

A much-travelled Bush

Play rugby and see the world. With the sport laced with so many tours these days this might not be a bad slogan for those wishing to promote the game.

A prime example of the “have boots, will travel” possibilities would be the Canterbury and All Black prop. Bill Bush. Since coming into top rugby in 1971, Bush has travelled extensively overseas, as well as making countless trips around New- Zealand.

A rundown of the countries in w'hich he has played rugby since his first tour with the New Zealand Maoris in 1973 is Samoa. Tonga, Fiji (twice), Australia (three times), Ireland (twice), Wales (three times), England (three times), Scotland. South Africa (twice) and Italy.

The only major tour he has missed was when he was a surprise omission from the All Black tour to France in 1977. If his tours of the last four years are lumped together, Bush has spent almost a year playing rugby .overseas, though he now has a brief enforced rest with his ordering off on Saturday. And that apart, there is no sign of any slackening of the pace.

Bush, who is 30, will be away all of next month with the New Zealand Maoris in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. His target then will be a return to Australia with the All Blacks in July and if he holds his form he must, have a good chance of revisiting England and Scotland with the All Blacks at the end of this year.

The season may not end for him then either. While in northern Italy with the Cantabrians last month. Bush was asked if he would be interested in playing for a club there during the next northern winter.

He is interested, but is not making any definite commitment until he sees how this New Zealand season works out for him. “I would like to have a season with a European club before I finish and northern Italy is a nice spot. But if I get the tour to Britain I may be too late arriving,” he said.

Bush, who is unmarried and who is a freezing worker between rugby tours, has no thoughts of

retirement. “I would like to continue for a year or two more,” he said. And for a man who likes to keep on the move there should be no shortage of incentives, with the New Zealand Maoris 1982 tour of Wales a particularly attractive carrot.

The growth of rugby tours in the last few years has been quite amazing, with colts, juniors. Maoris and university players being the main beneficaries. This has prompted a joke that the ideal for a talented rugby player is to be a 20-year-old Maori university student.

Bill Bush may never have got to university and he was a youngster in the days before colts and juniors tours became annual events. All the same, he has not done too bad