 Donaldson remained first choice for the home season of 1979, but Loveridge finally gained the edge and secured the test matches against England and Scotland at the end of the year.Loveridge went on to play 54 matches for the All Blacks, 24 of which were tests.In 1980 Graham Mourie and Andy Dalton were unavailable for the tour of Australia, and Loveridge was selected as captain.