Ex-All Black set for Lions tour

By MIKE MATHER in Rotorua
Former All Blacks captain Stu Wilson remembers well some tough lessons learnt from tangling with Lions.

Wilson, who was in Rotorua yesterday for a special luncheon to promote the Bay of Plenty game against the touring Lions side, said the encounters between the All Blacks and the tourists when the team toured here in 1971 and 1977 were not easy.

"In 1971 they taught us how to kick a goal around a corner ... but when they came back here in '83 they didn't teach us anything. I was on the team that beat them in that series four-nil."

Hosted by Wasps Rugby Club and held at the Royal Lakeside Novotel, the luncheon was an important step in building the hype around the Bay-Lions match, to be held at the Rotorua International Stadium on June 4.

Wilson regaled the 120-strong crowd with anecdotes from his own playing days - particularly raucous All Blacks tours against Northern Hemisphere sides - and also revealed his picks for the All Blacks side to face the Lions in the three tests later in the tour.

"What about the prices on those Lions tickets that people are trying to sell over the internet. Why don't they just throw them away - into my pocket?"

He also presented a draw for four corporate seats at the game, which was won by local architect Barry Willison.

Wasps president Terry Fenwick revealed the club was soon to launch a major competition in conjunction with the Daily Post, in which local rugby fans would be able to select their choice of the best 15 players to represent the Bay side.

"We wanted to get people talking about rugby in this town. [The Lions match] is something we won't see again for a long time, so we need to make the most of it.

"The Wasps exist to foster Bay rugby.

"We pick up a lot of the boys who don't quite make it into the 1st XVs, those that might be in danger of drifting out of rugby altogether."

The Wasps club was established in 1962 and has an active membership of 280 former players and administrators who help Bay of Plenty rugby with fundraisers and provide playing opportunities for junior players.

In the build-up to the tour opener the club will hold two golf days.

The first, on June 2, will be a corporate day at Rotorua Golf Club in conjunction with the New Zealand Rugby Foundation, and the second, the following day, will be for club members and supporters at Springfield Golf Club. Both tournaments will be followed by auctions with the Gala Dinner on June 3 at the Grand Tiara Hotel promising rare Lions and All Blacks memorabilia.