The full team list
Transcript of the announcement made last night following the
Possibles v Probables match played at Eden Park. The Chairman
of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, Mr Richie Guy.
The following is the All Black team chosen to represent New Zealand in the World Cup to be played in Europe commencing on 3 October.
Fullback E.P. Hillary, Auckland
Wing Three-quarters R.L. Hall, Otago
G.C. Sydney, Otago
Centre K.J. Te Kanawa, Auckland
Second Five-eight S. Neill, Otago
First Five-eight A. Curnow, Auckland
Halfback R. Hotere, Otago
Number Eight H. Morrison, Auckland
Flankers L. Tamahori, Wellington
J. Campion, Wellington
Locks B.T. Finn, King Country
N.M. Finn, King Country
Props K. Hulme, West Coast
J.P. Frame, Otago
Hooker M. Mahy, Canterbury
Reserves P. Jackson, Wellington
R.J. McWhannell, Auckland
R. O’Brien, Taranaki
M. Urlich, Auckland
S. O’Neill, Marlborough
J. Lill, Auckland
D. Dobbyn, Auckland
J. Morris, Wellington
Captain E.P. Hillary
Masseur J. Rowles
Manager Mr J.P. Hanly
Published in A Dagg at My Table - Selected Writings, by John Clarke (The Text Publishing Company, Melbourne, 1998)
Reprinted by kind permission of the John Clarke Estate
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Let's talk about the team
Following the announcement we spoke to ex-All Black and current selector Owen Higgins
If I could just take you through this side, Owen.
Yes certainly. We think it’s a very good side, obviously. There are always disappointments but we think it’s a balanced side. This will be a tough campaign and what we were looking for was a side with experience and discipline but a side that wouldn’t be frightened to throw the ball around if the opportunity presents itself.
Yes, I wonder if we could just go through it. You’ve obviously gone for experience at fullback.
Yes. That’s where a lot of the pressure is going to be, of course, the high up and under, and I think it’s going to make everyone feel better just knowing Ed’s back there.
Will he come up into the line?
Well, he certainly can and it would be a mistake for the opposition to assume he won’t if he gets an opportunity.
It’s been a feature of his game over many years, of course.
It has. It’s been a great strength for him, yes.
He’s deceptive, isn’t he?
He is a very deceptive mover. He’s a big fellow and you don’t always think that he’s moving too rapidly but you try and bring him down.
He’s always just got that burst of acceleration.
He has.
How’s his kicking?
Oh, very solid.
You’ve got an awful lot of experience on the wings, as well.
Yes, we have.
Although Hall hasn’t played a lot this year, has he?
He missed the first part of the season with a corked thigh but he played well against the Welsh. He’ll have a fitness test but I’d expect him to play.
One of the great tacticians of the game.
Oh, he never stops thinking, Roger.
Sydney on the other wing.
Yes, you can never leave Grahame out of a side. The try he scored against the French last year was an absolute pearler.
It was a beauty, wasn’t it?
It was one of the great things I’ve ever witnessed.
Lost a yard or two of his pace since then, though, don’t you think?
Well, I don’t know whether you saw him in the trials but he went through some pretty serious midfield defence a couple of times as if there was nobody home.
Centre.
Kiri. Yes, what can I say.
Completely dominates, doesn’t she.
Oh. Just so strong. Must be a dream to play outside.
Yes, good ball and you’d get it running.
And she doesn’t mind tackling.
She wraps up a lot of very dangerous players, doesn’t she.
She can stop an attack stone dead.
You’ve got Neill at second-five.
Yes, we’ve wasted a lot of ball in that area in the last couple of years and Sam’s got a wonderful ability to straighten things up. He passes well and he can take a tackle without losing the ball and the ABs do all right out of the secondary phase stuff.
He can carve up a defence, too, mind you.
My very word he can. He stands very deep and he takes the ball running and he makes an awful hole if he gets through.
Curnow.
Hands. Beautiful hands.
Yes, lovely pair of feet, too.
Hands and feet.
What more could you want?
And a brain.
A great football brain. He’s always there, Allen. He’s one of those people. He’s back in defence, he’s up in attack.
He’s everywhere.
He’s everywhere. There aren’t many places he isn’t.
He’s played a lot of his football outside Hotere.
He has. And Ralph’s played a lot of his football inside Allen, of course. I don’t know how Hotere knows where his backs are half the time but you can often see him in the middle of a pile of players and you think ‘How can he possibly get the ball out of there?’ and then a long pass comes out of nowhere and finds Curnow.
It’s miraculous.
It is. He’s a running halfback too, of course, Ralph.
He is. He is. Perhaps a bit of Sid Going in there.
He had a problem with a hip, didn’t he?
He had an operation, yes, for a pinched nerve but I don’t know whether you saw him on Saturday.
Yes, I did.
Not much evidence of pinched nerves there.
No. He seems to love playing with Howard Morrison too, doesn’t he?
They do have some sort of understanding, yes. Howard will sometimes hold the ball in the back of the maul then detach himself and feed Ralph.
Yes, they did that a lot against Scotland.
They did. It works particularly well when you’re trying to create room on the blind side because it forces the defence to run very wide. Howard does it beautifully off the back of the lineouts as well.
This Lee Tamahori is incredibly quick, isn’t he? Did you know he was that fast? He was all over the inside backs like a blanket on Saturday.
He’s incredibly fast and he’s very much a form player right now. Right now Lee is playing some of the best rugby you’ll see anywhere.
He and Jane work well together, don’t they?
Yes, very much so. They’ve improved the New Zealand defence probably by 100 per cent. Nothing gets past them. Although, of course, they’re also a very attacking combination. How Jane got out to pick up Te Kanawa’s pass against England I’ll never know.
Yes, what was she doing out there?
I don’t know. She made two hits when the English were driving forward, the ABs turned it over and Sam stood his man up for Kiri to go through and she said she couldn’t believe it. Roger was outside her but he was tackled without the ball and she heard Jane calling for the pass inside so she just flicked it in and there she was.
Goodnight nurse.
Gone.
47—3.
Yes, sealed the match, I suppose.
We were quietly confident at that point, yes.
Yes.
The Finn brothers locking the scrum.
Yes. There must be something in the water up there. There have been a few good combinations from up that way.
Wasn’t there an injury cloud there with Tim?
There was at one stage, yes, but he’s over that now.
He looked very good the other day.
He’s a very fit boy.
Now, the front row. This is one of the great front rows in world rugby, isn’t it?
I don’t think the game has seen a better front row than this.
Keri Hulme tight-head.
What can you say about Keri. It doesn’t matter what they throw up against her, she just gets better.
Did you see her laughing when she scored a try in the trials?
Yes. I don’t think she expects to get a lot of tries. She would have just loved it. Apparently she was asking people afterwards how many tries they’d scored.
And Janet Frame on the other side.
Yes, it’d not a bad engine room is it? There’s more experience in that front row that anywhere else, including the stand. Janet has toured every major rugby playing nation, she’s played on every ground, there’s nothing that’s going to phase Janet. And, of course, she’s great with anyone just coming into the national side.
And Margaret Mahy.
Yes, a hooker who can kick goals. How often do you see that?
Has anyone got more scrums against the head anywhere in the world?
No, although she says that’s more to do with Keri and Janet.
What do they say?
They say whatever they like.
Margaret and Ralph Hotere are the team comedians, of course, aren’t they?
Oh yes, very lively customers the pair of them.
On the bus, I mean.
Yes I think it’s fair to say they’d be leading the festivities. It should be a good tour.
Yes. We’re all looking forward to it.
Oh yes, it should be terrific.
Well good luck.
Thanks.
And please convey all of our very best wishes to the team.
I most certainly will.
Thanks again for coming in.
That’s a pleasure.
Thanks for your time.
No trouble.
Thanks.
Thank you.
And good luck with the tour. Thank you.
Yes. Thanks.
I’ve been talking to Owen Higgins. Back to you Keith.
Published in A Dagg at My Table - Selected Writings, by John Clarke (The Text Publishing Company, Melbourne, 1998)
Reprinted by kind permission of the John Clarke Estate
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