RUGBY LEAGUE

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27375, 14 June 1954, Page 5

RUGBY LEAGUE

SYDENHAM RETAINS LEAD FIRST ROUND CONCLUDED The first round of the Canterbury League’s championship was concluded on Saturday with Sydenham still unbeaten and with a four-point lead. In the main game Sydenham ran up a cricket score against Papanui. The early game resulted in a win for Hornby against Marist, and on the second ground Linwood defeated Woolston. Results:— Sydenham 54, Papanui 4. Linwood 14, Woolston 7. Hornby 15, Marist 7. Championship points are: Sydenham 12, Hornby 8, Papanui 8. Linwood 6, Marist 5, Christchurch 4, Woolston 1. LINWOOD v. WOOLSTON There was little between Linwood and Woolston in a game played at the Show Grounds, Linwood winning by 14 points to 7 after scoring two good tries in the second half. Both teams were below strength, particularly in the backs, and Woolston was further handicapped by playing one man short for well into the first spell. The Linwood forwards held an advantage in the early stages, with L. Blanchard, F. Thompson, and R. Keen making some good breaks in the open and working hard in the tight. The backs were giVen several scoring opportunities, but the inside backs were held in check by some hard Woolston tackling. However, R. Wilson, the centre three-quarters, showed plenty of pace in scoring two tries. Woolston came into the picture before the spell ended with some determined attacks, and shortly before half-time was rewarded with a try by H. Swann, the first five-eighths. Linwood received a fair share of the ball in the second half, and with R. Atkinson, the half-back, playing a sound game behind the scrum, the backs showed a definite improvement. Atkinson made several good breaks from the scrum and N. Clarke, the first five-eighths, beat the defence several times, but the most impressive back was B. Lisle, wing-three-quarters. who has recently returned from Wellington. Lisle made several very determined runs and was perhaps unlucky to score only one try. The Woolston forwards played strongly right through the spell and kept the side on attack for a long period. F. Hansem, J. Young, and R. Ditfort worked hard, but the side just lacked the finish to score after the forwards had repeatedly stormed the Linwood line. Although R. Crawfdrd shirked nothing behind the scrum, the ball came slowly to the wing three-quarters, and most ground was gained by individual efforts in which J. Sewell, the first fiveeighths and J. Hopping, the centre threequarters, were prominent. W. Bates, the full-back, showed a definite improvement in his kicking, and generally kicked for the line with good judgment. For Linwood, tries were scored by R. Wilson (2), N. Clarke, and B. Lisle. Two tries were converted by F. Hudson. H. Swann scored a try for Woolston and G. Pitcher and J. Sewell each kicked a penalty goal. The referee was Mr K. Cox. HORNBY v. MARIST Hornby’s faster and more versatile backs, with a feast of the ball from set scrums, proved too strong for Marist, winning by 15 points to 7. G. McSeveny was the most spectacular back on the field. Fast and elusive, he never hesitated to launch attacks even from his own goal-line. J. Stewart, until he was injured, gave a more polished display at full-back than his Marist opposite, C.

McNamara, who seemed to be feeling the pace. For Hornby, D. and G. Nieman often figured in spectacular attacks. M. Courtney’s handling, however, was not of the best. For most of the game he ran into his passes so fast that he generally knocked on. M. Cooke played his usual good attacking game. In the Marist backs, G. Shaw defended ably, excelling in cover defence. R. Ayson showed penetration but, as with most of the backs, received little of the ball. On the wings, K. Cunneen showed determination, but J. Thoms still needs more experience. There was not much' between the two packs. If anything, Marist had a slight edge, but their efforts were mainly directed towards defence. D. Moore and J. Curtain were outstanding in this respect. D. Ward’s hooking and R. Poriiare’s solid, play were features of the Hornby forward play, although C. Tilson’s handling was not up to his usual standard. After about 25 minutes of play, Tilson secured on the Marist twenty-five and handed on to R. Luke. McSeveny took Luke’s pass and swerved and side-stepped round several Marist men, going over in a tackle. Stewart narrowly missed the conversion. Marist came back on attack and Ayson cut through the Hornby defence, fending off several challengers to score in the corner. McNamara kicked a good conversion from the side-line. Pomare made a run up the side-line for Hornby, Cooke securing, and scoring when he was tackled. Pomare converted. McSeveny, D. Nieman, and Cooke fea-1 tured in a fast attack that swept from their own goal-line to over the Marist line, but Cooke was brought back for an infringement. Hornby scored first points in the second half with an easy penalty by Pomare. B. Newton, a Marist forward, was almost over the Hornby line, but hesitated, and was dragged down just short. Marist, which had little success with goal-kicking, deputed Thoms for the next attempt, and he kicked a neat penalty. D. Nieman scored the next try, cutting through the defence, and going over in a tackle. Pomare missed the kick. Final points came from a penalty kicked by Pomare. The referee was Mr W. Wilkinson.

SYDENHAM V. PAPANUI Taking complete charge of the game after 10 minutes of play, Sydenham overran Papanui in the main game at the Show Grounds. Scoring almost at will, Sydenham ran up a total of 54 points to 4. In the very early stages Papanui held Sydenham, and it appeared that the game might be even and interesting. However, as soon as Sydenham settled down its speed and good handling cut the Papanui defence to ribbons, and towards the end Sydenham was scoring tries almost every time it had possession. Papanui had plenty of opportunities, but failed to take . advantage of them, throwing away golden chances through faulty handling, and complete lack of understanding. Well supported by the forwards, the Sydenham backs took full advantage of a weak defence, and with snappy handling and plenty of speed, produced many fine attacking movements, which made the efforts of Papanui look very laboured. The only redeeming feature of Papanuf’s display was the efforts of their forwards to hold the side together. Although well beaten for speed in the loose, they held their own in the tight play, and did not stop trying till the end Broadhurst. Cook, and Pearce were great toilers in the Papanui pack. Butterfield and Kilkelly, ably backed up by a very promising young player in Turton, repeatedly burst through the opposing pack to start the Sydenham backline moving. The Sydenham inside backs. Clarke, Williams. Parkes, and Guy, had far too much oace for Papanui. Marsh, at second five-eighths, did three men’s ■ ork on defence for Papanui, and his tackling was cne of the features of the game. In the first spell, tries for Sydenham were scored by Butterfield, Yarley, Guy, Clarke, and Mclntyre, and Wakefield con-, verted three tries and kicked a penalty goal, Barr kicked a penalty goal for Papanui. In the second spell Clarke (2), Turton, Parkes, Mclntyre, Guy, and Williams added tries to Sydenham’s total, Butterfield converting five of them. Barr kicked another penalty for Papanui. Referee: Mr M. Noonan.