RUGBY Linwood Beats Merivale To Retain Lead

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29235, 20 June 1960, Page 14

RUGBY Linwood Beats Merivale To Retain Lead

In beating Merivale in the main match in the Canterbury Rugby Union’s senior championship on Saturday, Linwood disposed of the only strong challenger remaining before the close of the first round of 11 games.

Albion and Belfast are the only teams to meet Linwood before the close of the round, and it is not expected that either of these teams will be strong enough to shift Linwood from its place at the top of the ladder.

In this, the ninth round, there were again no reversals of form. University, however, now back to full strength, for the second time this season exceeded 30 points, beating Belfast, 36-3. Results:—

Linwood 12, Merivale 6. Technical-Shirley 8, Marist 5. Albion 17, New Brighton IL University 36, Belfast 3. Sydenham 9, SunnysideSpreydon 5. Christchurch 9, Old Boys 5. The position of teams at the end of the ninth round is as folows:— Ch.

Glorious In Defeat Linwood 12: G. McConchie, A. Holland tries; B. Dailey a field goal; W. F. McCormick, a penalty goal Merivale 6: B. Robertson, a try; C. Henderson, a penalty goal Merivale, this season as in last season, has scorned to play the tight, dour and unenjoy able Rugby that is too often seen today, and in this very decisive match against Linwood, the competition leader, it continued with this policy. The result was a very entertaining game, with some spectacular movements by Merivale’s back and forwards, and some magnificent cover defence and tackling by Linwood. Linwood’s six-point margin, however, was no fair indication of the strength of Merivale’s challenge. Of the forward play, particularly in the loose and the rucks, Linwood enjoyed a marked success. The Linwood forwards hunted much better as a pack, were quicker to the rucks and their rucks were tighter. Merivale also won many line-outs and rucks, hut their play, especially in moving to break-downs, did not have the bustle of that of the n»%dt> dUftrent Un. wood retained its policy—commendable as a winning one, perhaps—of keeping the pall fairly close to the tafcatds and seldom did the ball travel along the Linwood line from set movements. The Merivale Une, however, at no stage of the game adopted playsafe tactics, and the constant threat kept the redoubtable Linwood defence fully taxed. Handling errors and, at times, mistakes in running just a yard too far, cost Merivale many excellent scoring opportunities. Linwood scored one excellent try from a back movement, and an opportunist try. Merivale’s try was also a glorious piece bf play and as well, two other scoring attempts from fine movements, failed by inches. ? Features of the game were the displays by both full-backs., W. F. McCormick and C. Henderson —undoubtedly the best two fullbacks in the senior competition. Both showed up as much on attack as defence. Of the Linwood backs, R. HaviU showed great determination in his running and G. McConchie scored a good try but received few other chances. At second five-eighths, K. Armstrong impressed as a correct and resolute tackler and B. Dailey, for most of the time a link, again used his left foot to goo<i effect in kicking a snap field goal The half-back. R. Stubberfield. was not as sure as usual, but bis cover-defence remained at a high standard.

Both Merivale half-backs, R. Watson (who retired injured) and M. Heinman, gave H. Edwards a good service, but Heinman’s appeared a little sharper. Edwards handled and moved well and T. Toomey tackled as positively as his opposite, Armstrong. Merivale’s attack emanated mainly from centre where J. Patrick burst through several times but was smothered by the cover-de-fence. He made one extraordinary run—a run which typifies Merivale’s attitude towards

Rugby, It began from a kickoff taken by Patrick under his posts. He began to run to the right then propped back sharply in-field through his own and the opposition forwards before linking up in a passing movement which was halted only at the Linwood goal-line. The wings. B. Young and B. Robertson, were well-marked, but both looked for plav constantly. The Linwood forwards were again magnificently led by R. Tabb, and A. Mansfield and J. Havill also kept close to the ball. The outstanding Linwood forward, however, was R. Abel His lineout and driving play were firstclass. A. Holland capped another good display with a well-deserved opportunist try. Merivale’s outstanding forward was B. Loveridge. His tackling and loose play were of the highest standard. E. West, a fine leader, bore the brunt of the lineout play and his high jumping brought its rewards. C. Reid also stood out in the loose and M. Drury, at times acting as dummyhalf, added power to the tight play.

Mr K. Noonan was referee. Lpst-Minute Win Tecimieal-Shiriey I: L. Gordon a try; A. McNabb a field goal; B. Richards a conversion. Marist •: M. Ogiers a try; J. Collier a penalty goal. Marist was the better team for meat of the game and only a lastminute field goal by McNabb en-Technieal-Shirley to snatch a victory against the run of play.

A feature of the match was the brilliance of the Marist hookers, K. O’Shannessy and T. O’Shannessy. In the first half, K. O’Shannessy secured nine tight heads and in his only scrum in the second spell he quickly raked another. When the No. 8, T. Greenlees, left the field injured, K. O’Shannessy moved to breakaway and his brother T. O’Shannessy replaced him as hooker. Although not quite as successful he still got seven light heads.

With so much of the ball Marist provided most of the back play, but a determined TechnicalShirley defence, especially in the three-quarters, just stopped Marist from scoring several times. Tech-nical-Shirley tried to swing the ball along its backs but the movements generally ended at the centre, D. Taylor, through the sound tackling of his opponents, L. Geange. The match was not bright, but it was close and hard enough to maintain interest. The forwards produced some sound scrummaging but at times there was a lack of positive urgency in their methods. After an early superiority in the loose the TechnicalShirley forwards lost the initiative to a more lively pack and, with the exception of a rallying effort in the last five minutes, showed too much indecision.

The best of the Technical-Shir-ley backs was B. Richards, at full back. He made one or two incursions to make the extra man, but his role was mainly a defensive one, A. McNabb, at second five eighths, found his opposite, J. Collier, a handful, but his only attempt to cut through was successful and led to his side’s try. His dropped goal of 40 yards was an excellent effort and clinched the game for Technical-Shirley. The Marist half back, B. Coulter, burst round the scrum in several determined runs, two of which nearly brought tries. Collier was against aggressive on attack and provided most erf the midfield thrust. ,

G Gordon performed well for Marist in the lineouts and T. Greenlees was a wonderful defender at No. 8. J. Taurua was an aggressive forward for Technical-Shirley and B. Arthur ran briskly in the open and .did much to keep Coulter in Mr L. M. West was the referee.

Christchurch Wins Christchurch S: D. Arnold,’ D. Ellison, tries; G. Waterreus, a penalty goal. H

Old Boys 5: I. H. Plummer, try; S. K. Henderson, conversion.

u 8 ’ although leading at half-time, could not cope with the sustained attacks launched by Christchurch in the second half. The Christchurch forwards, with 8. F Hill outstanding ih the line-outs, won possession seemingly at will, but the backs were unable to capitalise on any breaks and rhost movements !2 un ££. e SL on sfong tackling of the Old 4 Boys Une and cover defence.

. WM by no means the best of Christchurch's wins. In the first half Old Boys took the initiative for a time and while they held it, secured their only points. Christchurch recovered, but indecision in “to (nside backs and poorly-judged tactical kicking, halted many movements. Early in, the second half Old , ae . aiß enjoyed superiority, particularly in the loose forward play, o»Jt when Christchurch settled down Old Boys were faced with a seemingly endless series of attacking movements. In this half B. A. Watt moved into first five-eighths from second five-eighths, and the Une looked more formidable. D. Arnold, a promoted junior, played better at second five-eighths, but there was little thrust in the three-quarters until R. M. Smith joined to a back movement which gave Arnold his try. c. Devine also showed a lot of dash.

Of the Old Boys’ backs, P. E. Gregg and P. J. Morrissey showed the best form. R. L. Young again gave a long and correct service from the scrums, but he, and the Une as a whole, saw little ball in the second half. A. D. Aldersley was a very sound last Une of defence. In the Christchurch forwards, Hill, D: Ellison and K. O. Orsboum, were the best, and for Old Boys, none played harder than E. Hern, D. HUI, and L H. Plummer. Mr J. H. Stone was referee.

Good Rugby 3*: J. Creighton. J. Pask, Q. Tapsell, D. Leary (2), B. Smither, W. Strang tries; B. Dineen a field goal, a penalty goal, a conversion; J. Dalmer, a penalty goal, two conversions.

Belfast 3: E. .Williams a penalty goal. The emphasis was on attack from the start and University used its ® a P ab l e backs with success. The haU-back, M. Taiaroa, passed swiftly and tiie five-eighths, R. D. Hoskin “ nd J Q . Ta l”ell. running strongly, made the gaps for the three-quar-ters. The University forwards, too. were sprightly and tried as hard as their backs to keep the game open. Belfast did not settle dawn and although the inside backs made one or two promising thrusts, its play was ragged and uninspiring. J. Creighton was very conspicuous in the loose for University and showed remarkable speed chasing ba M. He appeared to ease in the last quarter when the result was beyond doubt, but his performance « as « one be ®t thta season. B. R. Smither was another ■ who distinguished himself on defence as wen a* ®« ac k- When the Belfast fiveeighths broke through occasionally Smiths- was always there to halt the attack.

Much of the success of the UniveT backs was due to the speed and handling of the first five-eighths, Hoskin. He moved quickly into the bau and passed immediately to give his outside backs every chance. .. The best of the Belfast backs were the five-eighths. R. Holt and L. Odgars - G. • Woodsford was prominent in the forwards. Mr F. Goodman was file referee. Comfortable Win

Albion 17: A. Harrison three penalty goals, a try. and a conversion, b. E. Bam a try. Near Brighton 11: f. Bishop two tries, R. Motz a field goal and a conversion. Albion had little trouble in defeating an indecisive-looking New Brighton team which left its scoring burst too late in the game. If R. Motz had shown better goal kicking form, the result would have been much closer, but his attempts at penalty goals were often hopelessly astray. Only in the scrums did New

Brighton have the ascendancy over the light Albion pack and H. Leith gave his backs a feast of ball until he left the field injured in the second spell. The New Brighton first five-eighths, R. Bowick, almost invariably kicked. This resulted in his outside backs being starved of chances.

With few opportunities. the centre, W. Harris, impressed with hard, determined running and the speedy second five-eighths. F. Bishop, outstripped the Albion team with a splendid 70-yard run to score one of his two tries.

Secondary Schools. —Papanui High School 8, Technical 0. Under 18.—Linwood 9, Sydenham 9; Sunnyside-Spreydon 8, Merivale 5. Under 17.—Linwood A 14, High School Old Boys 9; Merivale 6, Linwood B 0; Sydenham 30, Shirley Boys' High School 9. Under 16.—High School Old Boys A 25, Shirley Boys’ High School 3; Sunnyside-Spreydon 8, Christchurch 6.

Under Bst 71b.—Sydenham 6, Merivale 3; Kaiapoi 25, Sunnyside-Sprey-don 0; Shirley Boys’ High School 29, High School Old Boys A 6; Papanui 9, Linwood 8; High School Old Boys B 25, Christchurch 3. Under 7st 71b A.—Belfast 25. High School. Old Boys 0; Albion 22, Linwood A 0; Linwood B 9, Shirley Boys’ High School A 6; Christchurch A 8, Merivale A 3; Marist A 25. New Brighton 0. Under 7st 71b B.—Sydenham 6, Bumside High School 0; Kaiapoi 9, Lyttelton 5; Sunnyslde-Spreydon 17, Merivale B 0; Marist C 23, Linwood C 0; Shirley Boys’ High School 15. Christchurch B 0.

Under 6st 71b A.—Christchurch 3, Belfast 0; Sydenham 12, Linwood 3; Shirley Boys’ High School 3, Marist 0; Merivale 9, Sunnyside-Spreydon 0. Under 6st 71b B.—New Brighton 22, Bumham 3; Technical-Shirley 25, Merivale B 0; Sydenham B 6, Dallington Marist 5; Homby 25, Sunny-side-Spreydon B 0. i Under 6st A.—Linwood A 6, Albion A 0; Marist A 3, Sydenham A 3; Merivale A 3, Christchurch A 0. Under 6st B.—Albion B 9, Bumside A 0; New Brighton 6, Merivale B 6; St. Anne's 18. Shirley Boys’ High School 3; Homby 3, Bryndwr Marist 3. Under 6st C.—Bumside B 26, Cathedral Grammar 3; Papanui 0. Linwood B 0; Christchurch B 8, Sydenham B 6. Under sst 71b A.—Marist 14, Albion 3; Merivale A 14, Sunnyside-Sprey-don 0: Linwood A 5. Belfast 0; Bumside A 25, Sydenham 0; Kaiapoi 16, New Brighton A 0. Under sst 71b B.—Rlccarton Marist 22, Merivale B 5; Christchurch A 21. Addington Marist 0; Technical-Shir-ley 10, Hornby 10. Under sst 71b C.—Christchurch B 14. Bumside C 0; Linwood B 3, Sydenham B 0; Dallington Marist 20. New Brighton B 0. Under sst A.—Albion A 9, Sumner A 0; Christchurch A 5, New Brighton A 3; Merivale A 0, TechnicalShirley A 0; Linwood A 6, Homby A 3; Burnside A 10, Bryndwr Marist 0.

Under Sst B,—Rlccarton Marist 3, Cathedral Grammar 3; Sydenham B 3, Burnside B 0; Mairehau Marist 21, Linwood B 0; New Brighton B 3, Hornby B 3; Christchurch B 12, Dallington Marist 5; Merivale B 8, Technieal-Shirley B 5. Under Sst C.—Sydenham C 21, Lyt-

The young Albion backs combined better than their opposites and passed the ball. The outstanding player of both backlines was the Albion full-back, A. Harrison, who scored 14 points, including a delightful try, and gave a flawless exhibition of positional play and line kicking. The lineout play was poor and there were few clean takes. In the loose, P. R. Kininmpnth and B. E. Bain gave good service to Albion, as did T. Milesi and M. Le Beau for New Brighton. K. C. Kidd led the winner's pack very efficiently. The referee was Mr R. E. G. Cameron. Poor Tackling Sydenham 9: M. Bennett a try; R. Cotton a try and a penalty goal. Sunnyside-Spreydon S: E. Clark a try; P. Jones a conversion. Sydenham achieved a comfortable though not very convincing win. largely through exploitation of the surprise factor and some indecisive tackling by Sunnyslde-Spreydon. The Sydenham five-eighths, D. Gallop and G. Wade, attempted one reverse pass, but the disposition of the players at the time precluded any possibility of its succeeding. The appearance of the speedy wing, J. Whitehead, in midfield was more successful, almost resulting in a try. R. Cotton, at second five-eighths, scored a determined try from an orthodox passing movement and made a good break from broken P1 The Sydenham forwards often adopted a three-deep formation in the line-outs, with G. 'Rlach usually gaining possession. In the scrums, also Sydenham held a definite advantage in spite of its make-shift Sont row, employing D. Brime, usuly a prop, .as hooker. The back row, T. Bisman, was disappointing, as were the flankers, who were often beaten to the ball by the lock, M. Lqsne. sunnyside-Spreydon’s best move, none the less effective for being unintentional, was a knock-on and follow-up technique from the lineouts. A positive virtue of this team was the excellent forwards rushes initiated by the hooker. A. Heatly. one of which culminated in Clark scoring. In the Sunnyslde-Spreydon backs E. Tiplady played well both on attack and defence. P. Jones, at full-back, produced much improved football compared with his earlyseason form. Mr H. P. Kearney was the referee. LOWER GRADES Senior Reserve.—Christchurch 30. Linwood 0; Sunnyside-Spreydon 8, University B 0; University A 18, Marist 6: Technical-Shirley beat Belfast by default. Junior A.—New Brighton 9, Albion 5; Merivale 19. High School Old Boys 3; University A 16, University B 16; Christchurch 12, Marist 3. Junior B.—Bumside 19, Linwood 9; Lyttelton 17, Merivale 9: Tech-nical-Shirley 9, University C 3. Under 20.—Christ’s College 13. St. Andrew’s 9; Boys* High School 14, Xavier College 3; Albion 8, University B 3; Christchurch 15, Sydenham 0; Linwood 24, New Brighton 6; Sunnyslde-Spreydon 14, High School Old Boys 12; Marist 14, Merivale 3. Third- Grade.—Christchurch A 47, Marist 0; Sydenham 27, University B 5; R.N.Z.A.F. 8, University D 6; University C beat High School Old Boys by default. Fourth Grade.—Albion 11, Teachers’ College 8; Hornby 19, Burnside 3; New Brighton 17, TechnicalShirley 3; Christchurch Maoris 11, Linwood 8.

telton B 0; Technical-Shirley C' 8, Belfast B 3; Merivale C 3, New Brighton C 0; Addington Marist 18, Sunnyside-Spreydon C 0; Burnside C 14, Albion B 0; St. Mary’s 24, Christchurch C 3.

Under sst D.—Burnside D 21, Linwood C 0; Sumner B 3, New Brighton D 0; Papanui B 3, Merivale D

Lin. P. 9 W. 8 1 D. F. 91 34 Pts. 8 Chch. 9 7 2 —- 132 88 7 Univ. 9 6 2 1 156 56 6} Syd. 9 6 3 78 72 6 Meri. 9 5 3 1 116 84 55 T-S. 9 5 3 1 87 71 5J Mar. 9 .4 4 1 91 83 4j Bel. 9 2 5 2 97 142 3 Alb. 9 2 5 2 86 111 3 S-Sp. 9 2 7 *— 76 110 2 O.B. 9 2 7 66 104 2 NB. 9 1 8 — 43 164 1