OUT OF A HAT?

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 671, 24 May 1929, Page 12

OUT OF A HAT?

PICKING ALL BLACKS PLAYERS FOR TRIAL MATCH NEPIA’S WELCOME RETURN Nothing out of the ordinary van : be expected from the selection of j -/0 players to parade before the ! New Zealand selectors in the Trial Match at Wellington next week. As far as their main respon- j sibility of looking for promising | material for next year is con- i cerned, the selectors might as well i have chosen the f/0 players from a hat. 'p.XCEPT for the purpose of giving I -*- i stiffening to a team that by the look of things will need stiffening very badly, there is no case for the inclusion of any of last year’s All Blacks in the team for Australia. Assuming that the eight nominated for the trials are all chosen for the tour, they still do not furnish more than a moderate basis. Grenside, McWilliams and Dailey are the only three of the eight who showed themselves to be in the first grade last year. With Mill’s name not included, the outlook for half-backs is as unpromising as ever, Leys, the only newcomer, who is the Victoria University half-back, being of only moderate quality according to his displays in several matches the writer saw him play last year. Perhaps the most gratifying feature is the return of Nepia. His inclusion may be taken to mean that he .is available for the tour, and also for big foot-

ball next year. On Nepia’s reappearance against the Cornstalks last year he showed, with his superlative linekicking and magnificent handling, that at top form he is still head and shouldders above any other fullback in the country. The other fullback, Hazlewood, is not as good as Butler or Bush. Some of the men chosen for the trial match are players who have had chance after chance to consolidate their local reputations, only to fail deplorably. Conspicuous among them is Davy Johnson, of Taranaki, who has been endeavouring to sustain a shaky reputation since 1923. Cundy, though a beautiful kick, is another man whose defence is altogether too shadowy to make him a legitimate possible for an international side. Since Porter could not get a place in the All Black team for South Africa, and is not getting any younger, it would have been thought much more advisable to search for a younger wingforward, as well as one who does not sail as close to the wind in his interpretation of the off-side rules. Porter has never been a favourite in New South Wales. He struck trouble with a visiting Cornstalk as far back as 1923, when playing for Wellington in a match marked by several purple patches. A forward who has well earned All Black colours is Sonntag (Otago), but he, too, is getting on in years, and the constant endeavour of the selectors this year should be to build up a young and lusty pack for next season. Reid and Reside, the two strapping Wairarapa forwards, are well worth a trial. Cathcart, too, may impress in big company. Palmer looks almost certain of a trip to Australia. Kivell, a Taranaki selection, was not chosen for the representative trial match in his own province. Turning a.gain to the backs, the son of a former’ selector in Geddes (Invercargill) is found getting a well-earned trial. Lew Hook has been dogged by bad luck in his appearences in Wellington. It is to be hoped that he can shake off the unpleasant “hoodoo” on June 3. A notable absentee from the backs is McClymont, the Otago winger, who being a student is perhaps unable to travel. His performances against the Waratahs last year were high-class. Oliver, Carson and Stringfellow ore centres who on past performances do not quite measure up. The tour to Australia will mean the addition of a few more to the growing list of All Blacks. Except for big tours, the honour is fast losing its significance, but with the modern craze for touring, that is unavoidable. In the course of the tour a particularly good New South Wales team will be encountered, and an unbeaten record will be a lot to expect. A match will be played against Queensland, for the first tjme since 1914, when Dick Roberts’s great side piled on 26 points to •* in one match against the Bananalanders.