Sports article was rubbish

Sirs,—The article by your Sports Editor Russell Fairbrother on the non-selecton of Williment for the All Black tour is just absolute rubbish. To maintain that Williment is the victim of circumstances is correct, but the plain fact is that he is an established match-winner, and the New Zealand public wants their team to win!

The All Blacks have reached the top by hard work and playing their own brand of rugby. The backs have always been efficient and capable of fine play when the opportunity has arisen, so to expect our boys to run the ball from anywhere on the field is asking for trouble for that's what will have to be done. there is no other method for getting points!

I'm not quibbling about McCormack's selection, he deserves to go for he is a very good player in his own right. However, at best he is only a fair goalkicker and to maintain that the All Blacks go away with five established goalkickers (as does R. Fairbrother) is just idiotic.

Who are they... I'd like to know? Kember and Herewini are capable 'club kickers' from 30 yards range... who could the other two be. maybe Meads and Gray? Good heavens, all the 'kickers' in the team couldn't kick the skin off a rice pudding compared with Williment! The plain fact remains that after always condemning other countries for their paucitv of goalkickers N.Z. for the first time in history goes away incapable of match-winning goalkicking.

Williment is a proven player in all departments of the game. Everybody knows his capabilities, so to omit him from the side on the basis of a couple of not-so-good trial games is not only grossly unfair, but sheer rugby suicide. As the English Press stated 'N.Z. has cut off its right arm', and that's it in a nutshell.

Make no mistake about it— the N.Z. public wants our boys to win—and there are going to be a lot of dismayed and angry people around when the 'truth' becomes known. I have no doubt that the games we will lose (and there will be enough of them) will be due entirely to the lack of a goalkicker of the Williment class.

John Mehl.