SCOTT Hastings, made captain of the Barbarians when brother Gavin
dropped out, yesterday put into context the near impossibility of
beating the All Blacks in their tour finale at Cardiff today.
''They have been together since June. We have been together since
Thursday,'' said Scott, who is looking forward finally to appearing in
the centre against New Zealand on an international occasion.
The facts are that the All Blacks have lost only once and drawn once
against the wandering club.
And those customers expecting a repeat of that Barbarian wonder-try by
Gareth Edwards in January 1973 are almost certain to be disappointed.
The 1973 win and 1974 draw depended on the Barbarians having the pick
of the most recent British Lions teams. This time, Hastings's side is
cobbled together from six nations with only two Test Lions -- and none
of the Englishmen who competed so successfully at Twickenham last week
when New Zealand were sensationally beaten 15-9.
''But preparations have come together well,'' said Hastings. ''What we
must not do is to fall behind early on, because playing 'catch-up' rugby
is disheartening against New Zealand.
''We have got a nice balance and it will be up to me, Scott Gibbs, and
Eric Elwood to give Tony Stanger and Nigel Walker a run on the wings,
even though it is hard to score tries against them. But we will give it
a go and have fun.''
Hastings -- ''the most committed player I have ever met,'' according
to coach Ian McGeechan -- owes the All Blacks a reminder of his
qualities.
''I was looking forward to the second half of 1993 and testing myself
against the best in the world, but it has not worked out,'' added Scott.
''I had that bad cheek-bone fracture before the Lions began their Test
series and a dreadfully disappointing game for Scotland two weeks ago.''
Hastings was required to play out of position on the wing and suffered
the worst possible result -- rival wing Jeff Wilson scoring a hat trick
of tries. ''I can't enthuse about the last few months and I'm looking
for my true form in attack and defence today,'' he said.
The Barbarians shrewdly asked McGeechan to prepare the side,
acknowledging he is the greatest European expert on the All Blacks
style.
McGeechan, however, knows that familiarity with that style will be
lacking in most of his players. ''The difficulty is that the majority of
this team have not come up against New Zealand rugby, 1993 version,'' he
said. ''It sometimes seems even more intense and ferocious than just a
couple of years ago. We have the task of absorbing that intensity and
gelling as a team unit in the first 20 minutes.''
All Blacks coach Laurie Mains is eager to end what has been a
disappointing tour on an upbeat note -- though nothing can reduce the
disappointment of losing to England. That defeat added to some bad
publicity for the All Blacks' attitude following episodes of foul play.
''We are keen to use the ball and we believe that we can thrive in the
Barbarians' environment of a positive game from both teams.''
Lee Stensness, New Zealand's free-thinking centre, has a belated
opportunity to impress a packed international stadium. Injured in his
first tour match, Stensness is now fit and determined to show that he
can add a bit of style to the All Blacks midfield in the next few years.
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