AUSSIES CONFIDENT OF WIN TOMORROW

Chronicle (Levin), 20 June 1947, Page 7

AUSSIES CONFIDENT OF WIN TOMORROW

Press Assn.

By Telegraph

-Copyright

Reeeived Thursday, Midnight. SYDNEY, June 19. The New South Wales team to meet the All Blacks at tlie Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday is as follows: Fullbaek: B. Piper. Three-quarters: C. Eastes, T. Allan, M. Howell and T. MacBride. Halves: J. Cremin and C. Burke. Forwards: C. Windon, A. Buchan, R. Cornforth, P. Hardeastle (eaptain), JD. Kraefft, D. Keller, D. Furness and E. Tweedale. The New South Wales seleetors have again gone contrary to the Australian seleetors in preferring Furness to Kearney as liooker f ck the seeond match between the All Blacks and New South Wales on Saturday. Fumess outhooked Catley in the first raateh between tne State and New Zealand, but Catley outhooked Kearney in the first test. lt is quite possible that with the increasingexperience of the Australian hooking rule interpretations Catley will outhook Furness on Saturday. The alterations in the liome backline are somewhat speculative. Walker, although brilliant in attack if givdn room to move, is uneertain on defenee. Howevcr, by dropping hira the seleetors have broken up the Walker-Eastes combination which has been outstandingly suecessfnl all this season exeept in the inatches against the All Blacks. It is doubtful if the seleetors. have iraproved the defenee by putting MacBride at centre although hi$ eleverness in attack is considerabie. The seleetors evidently consider his great speed will be more valuable at the centre tlian on the wing. Allan, probably the soundest centre of thera all, has been plaeed on the wing because of lack of recent raateh play through an injury. Allan is playing to inake sure of a place in the team for Britain and ean be dependecl upon to try His hardest. The All Blacks' trouble will be not so much'the quality of the opposition as the amount of playing and travelling they have done in the last eight days eombined with the number of piayers injured. The All Blacks arrive back from Queensland tomorrow afternoon and will ha\"e only a light training run before the game on Saturday. Australians make no secret of their confidence that New South Wales will win again. Mueh will again depend on the hard-vvorking and battle-scarred Aii Blaek forwards. Considering all their dilficulties and troubles it will be a great performance for the A1L Blacks to win.