I'm a Hawkeye Guy

French Interlude, July 20th, 1968

 

 

HAWKES BAY 12, FRANCE 16 (Half-time: 6 - 13)

 

For Hawkes Bay: Doug Curtis, Ian MacRae and Gary Condon tries. Ian Bishop penalty goal.

 

For France: Jean Trillo and Bernard Dutin tries. Pierre Villepreux two conversions and a dropped goal. Claude Lacaze dropped goal.

 

Hawkes Bay: Ian Bishop, Mick Duncan, Bill Davis, Doug Curtis, Ian MacRae, Blair Furlong, Hepa Paewai, Dave Bone, Gary Condon, Rod Abel, Kaaran Crawford, Kel Tremain, Neil Thimbleby, Gus Meech, Hilton Meech.

 

France: Pierre Villepreux (Pyrenees), Jean-Marie Bonal (Pyrenees), Jean Trillo (Cote D’Argent), Joseph Maso (Roussillon), Andre Campaes (Armagnac-Bigorre), Claude Lacase (Charentes-Poitou/captain), Marcel Puget (Limousin), Walter Spanghero (Languedoc), Claude Chenevay (Alpes), Benoit Dauga (Cote- Basque), Elie Cester (Pyrenees) replaced by Bernard Dutin (Cote-Basque), Michel Greffe (Alpes), Michel Lasserre (Perigord-Agenais), Jean-Paul Baux (Armagnac-Bigorre), Jean Iracabal (Cote-Basque)

 

Referee: P (Peter) McDavitt (Wellington) Crowd: 24,959

 

 

“It was a beautiful game of rugby. It could have gone either way and there was no disgrace in losing to that French side.”           Colin Le Quesne (Shield ’68)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The French had stumbled against Marlborough and had lost the first test to the All Blacks, but had recorded wins against three teams who had challenged for the shield in 1967; Otago, Southland and Taranaki. Hawkes Bay most certainly would not be underestimating the strength of the French, yet similarly, the French were not going to take Hawkes Bay lightly either.

 

Manager, Jean-Claude Bourrier and his assistant, Andre Garrigue were fully aware of the potential of the local establishment, cunningly given the Saturday fixture between the first and second test matches. Not only were they the holders of the prestigious Ranfurly Shield, New Zealand’s most treasured rugby union trophy, they had within their ranks three of the most dynamic All Blacks of the 1960’s, the captain in fact being one of the greatest All Black forwards of any generation.

 

They’d fashioned for themselves an outstanding record against overseas tourists in the past decade, which included a 20-5 victory over a hapless England in 1963 and an 11-11 draw with the 1966 British Lions. The nucleus of the side had been together for a number of seasons, their play was intuitive and their game plans always sound. They were superbly fit, mentally disciplined, very well managed and coached.

 

The French were fully aware that Hawkes Bay would likely be the most formidable opponent they’d face outside of the three test matches and therefore named a near test line up to battle the Magpies. The only back line change from the first test was the inclusion on the wing of Pierre Villepreux’s club teammate from the Pyrenees, Jean-Marie Bonal, at the expense of Andre Piazza. Bonal had made his test debut in the 14 – 9 win against England in Colombes during the recent five nations tournament.

 

In the forwards, Claude Chenevay came in to replace Jean-Pierre Salut and in the front row, Michel Lasserre started ahead of Jean-Michel Esponda. Lasserre, whom many considered to be the best prop on tour, had made his debut for France during the second test against South Africa in Bloemfontein the previous season. On this day he faced a formidable opponent in one Neil Thimbleby, who had made over 100 appearances for Hawkes Bay.

 

Excitement mounted at the mouth watering prospect of two fairly evenly matched sides going hammer and tongs at one another in the cauldron of McLean Park. Both teams shared an attacking philosophy and were known to like to throw the ball around but also respected for their uncompromising approach to the game up front. Tickets were snapped up as soon as they were available, the match was a near sellout, with close to 25,000 packing into the park.

 

On the Friday, pre-match speculation was thrown a curve ball when it was learned that Tom Johnson would have to withdraw from the named fifteen, having failed to recover sufficiently from an injury sustained the week prior in the match against the Wairarapa. Under normal circumstances, Le Quesne may have been tempted to switch big Kel from the blindside to No 8 and bring in young Jeff Brownlie on the side of the scrum.

 

But the Fuhrer decided the least disruption to normality would be to bring Dave Bone out of representative retirement to directly replace Tom Johnson for the one off international match. Brownlie would take his place on the bench – with international rules allowing the naming of only four substitutes – and take his chance from there. Dennis Smith was still unfit following his replacement during the shield match against East Coast, otherwise the Bay were at full strength.

 

The winter sunshine poured down on Napier and as the match commenced the excitement of the occasion was near fever pitch. The pressure was absent as the shield was obviously not at stake, but the opportunity of ‘pitting it’ against the five nations champions was going to ensure that this was a special occasion. The game had hardly begun however, when tragedy struck. Ten test veteran, Elie Cester, stayed down following a French roll from a line-out and was so severely injured (ribs) that he had to leave the field on a stretcher. He would not play again for a fortnight. His replacement at lock, Bernard Dutin, usually a loose forward, was to make an impressive contribution to the game.

 

The French began the match in breathtaking fashion and at breakneck speed, with deep set back backs that were cracked into action like the stroke of a stock whip. On the six minute mark, under pressure beneath their own goal posts, the Bay won an early scrum and Blair Furlong punched the ball up the line looking for touch. Had the ball gone out it would have been a glorious kick, but it bounced infield and into the hands of full back, Pierre Villepreux, who adjusted his angle and sent a truly magnificent dropped goal (from out near the half way line) soaring high, dry and handsome between the uprights. Crowd noise rose to an approving crescendo. France 3-0.

 

Moments later, in a planned move, the French raced off the end of a line with Chenevay joining the backs as an extra man. The ball made its way, through Joseph Maso to wing three quarter Jean Trillo, who ran with brilliance, then ducked inside Ian Bishop to score a fine try. Pierre Villepreux converted and France were already out to a very handy 8 – 0 lead. The game was as good as over with only eleven minutes gone on the clock.

 

Local hopes were rekindled somewhat half way through the first spell when, following a solid line-out win, Bill Davis put through a perfect grubber kick for Doug Curtis (who was to play one of his finest games for the Magpies) to outflank his marker, Jean-Marie Bonal, gather in and score. Bishop missed the conversion, France 8-3.

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On thirty three minutes, Benoit Dauga came away from a ruck inside the Hawkes Bay 25 yard line, upset the inside backs before handing on to Michel Greffe and then Bernard Dutin, who scored the try. Pierre Villepreux added the conversion and France were out to a 13-3 lead.

 

The French, at this stage, possibly felt a sense of over confidence that the scoreline had blown out so dramatically, but that coupled by some stern words from Kel Tremain, led to a Hawkes Bay revival of gigantean status. They returned to the formulas that brought the necessary resolve required to come back from the brink, as they had done so well, when called upon to do, in 1967.

 

With half-time almost on the clock, Hawkes Bay affected a dramatic score that kept them in touch with the tourists, had they not, the game may have been gone completely before the break. Like most sides they had opposed on tour, the up-and-under had no only been an employed strategic weapon, but also somewhat of an Achilles heal for the French.

 

Blair Furlong hoisted one of his notoriously snow-capped up-and-under’s of his own, toward the French posts. Pierre Villepreux – not for the first time on tour – failed to deal with the towering ‘Garry Owen’ – and it bounced off his chest and into the arms of Ian MacRae who scored the try for the Bay. Bishop again failed to convert and Hawkes Bay went to the break trailing by 6-13.

 

Just as he had done a week earlier for the All Blacks in the first test match, Kel Tremain continued to show his true qualities as a leader and had his forwards again rally around him. The Bay increased their effort and really took the game to the French in the second forty minutes.

 

Karaan Crawford was simply inspired, ripping the ball off Dauga and Dutin in the line-outs and terrorizing the opposition captain, Claude Lacaze and the other midfield backs with his seventeen stone steamroller runs off the back. Rod Abel played with strength and spirit, while Neil Thimbleby scrummaged and rucked with iron will. It was no game for forwards who were not prepared to give heart and soul to it and this is what they did.

 

Equally, the French scrummaging – when in dire defensive situations – saved the game for them. They twice got the hit on at scrum time and – reminiscent of Bob Semple’s bulldozers - marched the Bay pack backward, when points were on offer to the home team, had they won clean ball from their own loose head.

 

For all that, the French were under some intense scrutiny, the ascendency having certainly switched and Hawkes Bay closed the gap further. Ian Bishop added a penalty at fifty-eight minutes, following a raking touch finder from Hepa Paewai, forcing the French into another skittery error. But the seven point lead was restored ten minutes later when Claude Lacaze put over a neat dropped goal from just inside the Hawkes Bay 25 yard line. France 16-9.

 

The Bay continued to attack and surge at the French, but the full might of the near test pack was an equal match for the gallant Magpies. Had the tourists stuck to their original game plan and made better use of the breathtaking brilliance of Maso and Trillo, the game may have been out of sight. But often Lacaze set off on a dazzling run, only to hold onto the ball for too long and fail to feed his outsides.

 

Ten minutes to go. As if they were aiming to win the Ranfurly Shield, Hawkes Bay had little option but to continue to attack with zest in order to close the gap on the score board and their approach was certainly as such. To counter this, flanker Claude Chenevay was employed as a second full back, which proved to be a brilliant tactical move on behalf of the visitors. If the Bay backs did breach the defence, he was there as an extra tackler and if they tried to pop kicks ‘into the box’, he was there as cover to thwart any particular move that had worked so well against other opposition.

 

Still the Bay came at the French. Rod Abel led a powerful drive inside the 25 and this time the rewards came, with Condon up in support to take the final pass and crash over. Bishop failed with the conversion attempt. France were hanging on at 16-12.

 

But the final twist in this match was to be a cruel one for the home side. With time virtually up on the clock, the French had possession just inside their own half and tentatively decided to fire the ball through the backline, ironically at a time when they should have chosen to kick the line and play the percentages. Bill Davis – in a ‘do or die’ situation – intercepted a pass and was heading straight for the French posts for the winning score, only to be called back for having been in an offside position.

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 TARANAKI 8  HAWKES BAY 3 

 

 

Such were the demands of the elongated 1968 season, there was no ‘rest for the wicked’ as the expression goes. On the Tuesday following the French game, battered and bruised having given all in the international encounter, the Bay team traveled to New Plymouth to take on the might of Ferdinand and Taranaki, still regarded as one of the top half dozen provincial sides in the land.

 

Their season thus far however, had shown a side in a state of rebuilding, a usual occurrence following a successful dynasty as with which they had themselves enjoyed earlier in the 60’s (and late 50’s), having reveled in a lengthy spell with the shield of their own.

 

Ross ‘Pascoe’ Brown – for so long the architect and kingpin of the Taranaki backline – had trotted out in the first match on April 25th against Wanganui in New Plymouth and promptly retired from all first class representative rugby. His generalship was missing from then on (although in Neil Wolfe they had a fine replacement), with losses to Wellington (6 – 17 in Hawera) and to the French in New Plymouth (6 – 21) preceding their match with Hawkes Bay. Brown was replaced as captain by the promising up and comer, lock Alan Smith.

 

Following the match against Taranaki, albeit that game coming so soon after the French encounter, the Magpies would have a clear ten days before their next shield defence against northern neighbours, Poverty Bay. Looking to keep his squad fresh for the shield matches, Le Quesne made a few personnel changes to the team line up of his own accord and had another foisted on him.

 

 

“I recall being pulled into the Bay squad. Neil Thimbleby received an injury in the French match, his 101st consecutive appearance for the Bay at that point. I was approached by Colin Le Quesne after my first senior outing for Napier Old Boys, at lock as a 19 year old. That day I had a blinder and everyone was keen to find out what Colin had spoken to me about.

 

He said they had an injury in the team and would I be available as backup to go to Taranaki on Tuesday, should I be required. My reply was obviously ‘yes’ and he said he would let me know Monday night. The call came confirming the trip and I would be taking my position in the front row against the incumbent All Black prop, Jazz Muller.

 

At the team run, I received some pretty quick fire coaching on the skills of scrummaging and it was basically into the Lion’s den. I was told by the experts after the game that I had done well and it was certainly a pleasure to play against Jazz. He was a real character of a man and lots of fun at the after- match. On reflection my feelings were a mixture of excitement and disbelief that I was part of this occasion and maybe a touch of anxiety that I might not handle my end of the deal.”
Graham Wiig, 2012

 

 

Courtesy of a try to ‘Jazz’ Muller (and another winger, to WL Hopson), Taranaki were victorious on the day, defeating Hawkes Bay by 6 – 3. For the Magpies, Doug Curtis crossed the try line for the fourth match in a row, again illustrating the depth the province had in the three quarters department. It was the first time that the Bay had been beaten in consecutive matches for a couple of seasons and took some serious getting used to.

 

But the match provided Le Quesne a grand opportunity to make pivotal changes with the shield not at stake. John Dougan was given a start at first five eighth and partnered with Aidan Thomas. Le Quesne was also keen on the idea of experimenting further with Mick Duncan as a centre and now had the game with which to do it. In the forwards, Jeff Brownlie and Robbie Stuart were given run on starts and – for the first time in 1968 – Myles Reddy started at hooker.

 

 

 

The French tour continues...

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