Bleak outlook for Lions in third test

Press, 1 July 1983, Page 26

Bleak outlook for Lions in third test

From

JOHN BROOKS,

in Dunedin

As he gazed at the snowy Otago landscape through puckered eyes yesterday, Mr Jim Telfer must have thought that the Gods were unanimously against him and the Lions team he coaches.

Having picked a team to run the ball at the All Blacks in the third rugby test at Carisbrook tomorrow, the Lions saw their plans sabotaged by the cruel southerly storm which swept across the south east corner of the South Island yesterday. It left Dunedin and surrounding areas blanketed with snow, and in the afternoon came the rain, to ensure that the test pitch will be soft for the big game — the one the Lions have to win if they are to retain a chance of squaring the series. The Lions braved the rain and the bitingly cold temperatures as the mercury hovered near zero to train at the suburban Kettle Park. They had, as the captain, Ciaran Fitzgerald, said after the Canterbury match this week, a good deal of work to get through in preparation for the test. Mr Telfer, being a hardy man from north of the border, certainly did not let rain and a snowfall put him off that objective. The All Blacks, thinking they would escape the worst of the storm, journeyed to Outram, about 20km from Dunedin for their training. But they finished up looking like a tribe of yetis for snow fell on them during the run. One of the toughest of the All Blacks, the raw-boned Manawatu flanker, Mark Shaw, was not among the participants. He is gripped by influenza — hopefully the domestic strain and not the Filipino variety which has been sweeping Dunedin — and as a precaution the New Zealand selectors have

invited Frank Shelford of Hawke’s Bay to join the side. Presumably Geoff Old, Shaw’s Manawatu colleague, will play as blind-side flanker in the test with Shelford as the reserve if Shaw fails to recover in time. The rival sides will round off their preparations today, but underfoot conditions will be difficult as slush replaces snow. Carisbrook has not been played on for more than six weeks so its sports a fine sole of grass, but the going will still be easy even if the weather takes a turn for the better by tomorrow. The dramatic change in the weather will not cause too many problems for the All Blacks. But for the Lions, who must attack more than 100 per cent than they have in any other big game on this tour, winter’s gloomy presence is beginning to sound like a death knell. Gareth Edwards’ thoughts will drift back to a winter’s day in 1971 when he watches the Lions challenge the All Blacks in the third rugby test at Carisbrook tomorrow. The sturdy Welshman was the initial Lions half-back in the first of the 1971 tests on the same ground. He limped off injured after 15 minutes and was replaced by another Welsh half-back, “Chico” Hopkins. “I think I took a bit of a gamble in playing that match,” he said yesterday.“I had to go off because of a slightly strained hamstring.” The Lions won the test, 93, and went on to take the series by two matches to one, with one drawn.

Edwards and his Welsh fly-half compatriot, Barry John, were the king pins for the Lions in the series, which also featured the manager of the present British team, Willie John Mcßride. “I remember the highlights vividly but the only thing is that time goes so quickly — you do not realise how long ago it was,” Edwards said. Now he is back at the head of 79 sturdy Welsh rugby supporters part of a greater group of around 250 led by the former English and Lions tight forwards, Billy Beaumont and Mike Burton, which will cheer lustily for the Lions at Carisbrook tomorrow. This bulky group of supporters come from all over the United Kingdom. Some of the members arrived in time to watch the Canterbury match this week and they will all stay until the end of the tour on July 16. “There has been a mixed reception in Britain to the test results and the boys are a bit disappointed that the Lions did not win the first international,” said Edwards. “One saw opportunities which were not taken in the first test. You can’t afford to let them go begging in test rugby. Winning the first test in Dunedin in 1971 was very important and a great morale-booster for us through the rest of the series.” These days Edwards is involved in a number of companies, chiefly engineering. His only links with rugby are through the electronic media — he will be summarising the third and fourth tests for 8.8. C. TV.