Elements could be decider of third test match

Press, 2 July 1983, Page 64

Elements could be decider of third test match

From

JOHN BROOKS

in Dunedin

The third rugby test at Carisbrook this afternoon is shaping up as a battle of survival against the elements as well as a contest of rugby skills.

More snow and rain fell on Dunedin yesterday and it will be an occasion for tweed coats and hip flasks for the spectators in an estimated crowd of 36,000 watching the Lions making their last brave attempt to halt the All Blacks: It was a terrible day in Dunedin yesterday, with biting cold, wet, plus sleet and more snow to low levels expected during the night. Most sports fixtures, apart from the test, have been cancelled or postponed. The wintry blast has come as a cruel blow to the tourists, who must now revert to their cautious play of previous big matches after choosing a dry ground side with the potential to play an attacking 15-man game. The All Blacks demonstrated in winning the second test in Wellington that they have the forwards who can control play in difficult weather. Their extraordinary exhibition into a strong wind at Athletic Park effectively shut the Lions out of the

match. Today the All Blacks will have to produce more of the same, with their champion half-back, Dave Loveridge, probing the blindside, chipping the ball over the top, or feeding it to his attentive loose forwards, Murray Mexted, Jock Hobbs, and Mark Shaw. The latter was last night cleared to play in the test after an exhaustive medical examination. Team-mates said it would take more than mere influenza to stop Shaw playing rugby. Carisbrook will be soft and slippery and the All Blacks will concentrate on setting up the drive from the lineout and wheeling the scrum in an effort to keep the Lions off balance and in retreat. Loveridge and the first five-eighths, Wayne Smith, will play the vital supporting roles, rejecting flamboyancy for solid territorial gains. The Lions are clearly at a disadvantage. They have named a running full-back, a side-stepping inside

centre, and two wide ranging flankers, both accustomed to the open side position. Now they will have to use the cunning kicker, Ollie Campbell, as their focal point and take their cue from what he is able to achieve. The word “character” has been used often by the Lions management in assessing the performance of the touring side. There will have to be oodles of this attribute evident if the Lions are to win this afternoon for the loss of Bob Norster and Jeff Squire will seriously weaken the British pack. The Lions are under considerable pressure, having lost to Canterbury earlier this week, and they are fully aware that the tour will go dead for them — and the hundreds of British supporters who flooded Dunedin yesterday — if today’s test is lost. So the tourists have desperation as their ally, and they will hope that an element of complacency will creep into the All Blacks’ attitude. But after

training in near blizzard conditions, the All Blacks seem more resolved than before.

The Lions, for their part, have yet to show the kind of form which wins test matches. Somehow the bleak, snow-covered Dunedin landscape does not seem to be the appropriate setting for a Lions revival. The teams are:— New Zealand: Allan Hewson, Stu Wilson, Steve Pokere, Bernie Fraser, Warwick Taylor, Wayne Smith, Dave Loveridge, Murray Mexted, Mark Shaw, Andy Haden, Gary Whetton, Jock Hobbs, John Ashworth, Andy Dalton (captain), Gary Knight. British Isles: Gwyn Evans, John Carleton, Mike Kiernan, Roger Baird, John Rutherford, Ollie Campbell, Roy Laidlaw, lain Paxton, Peter Winterbottom, Maurice Coclough, Steve Bainbridge, Jim Calder, Graham Price, Ciaran Fitzgerald (captain), Staff Jones. Referee: Dick Byres (Australia).