University Certain Of Win In Harewood Trophy Contest

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29869, 9 July 1962, Page 14

University Certain Of Win In Harewood Trophy Contest

University made certain of winning the Harewood Trophy by beating Shirley, 16-0, in the twelfth round of the senior Rugby competition on Saturday. There are four rounds remaining and as Christchurch, the next team, is four points behind, University will win the championship honours for the sixth time in seven years. The D.C.L. Shield is in a more interesting position. Sydenham, with six points, is one ahead of Marist, Suburbs and Merivale.

Results: University 16, Shirley 0. New Brighton 12, Christchurch 11. Albion 9, Linwood 3. Marist 16, Suburbs 9. Merivale 5, Old Boys 3. Sydenham 18, Belfast 0. Championship points:—

University’s Position Unassailable UNIVERSITY 16: B M Weenink, B R Smither, P G. Bark and Q T Tapsell tries; D C Leary two conversions. SHIRLEY 0. With its forwards dominant in the line-outs and the loose, and A T Calder and Tapsell controlling play in the backs. University had surprisingly little difficulty in beating a Shirley team which did not show the vigour that characterised its first game against University The astute kicking of Calder and Tapsell imposed a strict pattern on the game and Shirley had no answer to these tactics as the University forwards, led by G G Loveridge. A Beattie. Smither and Bark, continually drove through from the line-outs to keep University on attack

Occasionally Shirley managed to break out of the tight grip of the University forwards, but found the cover defence too swift and sure

In the University forwards Loveridge played a magnificent game and received* full support from Bark. Smithe: and Beattie For Shirley. E Veal and M Dyer worked hard but there was little concerted effort from the Shirley pack Leary gave his usual accomplished display at fullback for University and Tapsell. T J Morris, and R J Vivian also played soundly B Richards and D Harvey were the best of the Shirley backs

Mr L S Kirk was the referee.

Christchurch Loses Chance New Brighton 12: D Collins a try; R. C. Motz three penalties. Christchurch 11: C. Devine. J Dawson tries: J. Waterreus a penalty and a conversion If there was one ingredient of New Brighton's approach to this game which contributed more than any other to the defeat ot Christchurch it was the inflexible and dogged way in which every player defended For the last 15 minutes Christchurch tried everything to score—from blind side manoeuvres to desperate. barging forward runsbut every time there was a solid wall of defenders New Brighton played to its forwards and it was fitting tha’ the hooker. D Cnllins. should score the only try for New Brighton after the ball had beer won from the line-out. a phase of play in which the New Brighton players. I. Penrose. K Wilson and B. Bowick shone. Christchurch tried to chan nel Its attack through the backline. but erratic handling frustrated the attempts. Devine, starved of chances, sought opportunities zealously

and was the best of the Christchurch three-quarters. J. Dawson. the left wing, had an unhappy game although his try was a determined effort.

For New Brighton, B. March, the first five-eighths, tackled tenaciously and R. C. Motz made some mighty gains with his line kicks. Mr A. W. Langford was the referee. First-Round Result Reversed Albion 9: J. R. Adams a try; W. R. James, two penalty goals Linwood 3: K. Gimblett a try If the sides’ merits were equal in most respects, Albion at least had more variation in its attacking play than Linwood in this Waltham Park game A smoother working back-line and a lively set of forwards probed the Linwood defence from several angles and the side was perhaps fortunate to restrict Albion to one try. At one stage, however, the Linwood forwards, who were well led by A. Holland in the absence of R. S. Abel, appeared to be gaining a firm grip on the game. The Albion forwards seemed to be losing their early dash and the stage was set for Linwood to consolidate its position. But several scoring chances went astray and Albion a little fortunate to be level at 3-all at half-time, slipped away from its opponents with two second-half penalty goals. Albion’s backline revolved around the ebullient Adams who, as in Albion’s first round match with Linwood, always looked dangerous when in possession. James, normally a

wing, made a distinct impression at five-eighths, while D. Warren busied himself to good effect in the loose forward play For all-round effectiveness, however, the veteran Linwood forward, R. Tabb, had no equal. His team was at a disadvantage in the last few minutes of the game after he had retired with an injury. Mr L. M. West was the referee. Marist Adapts To Conditions MARIST 16: R. Jefferson, E. Noonan. J. F. Bums tries; K. Doyle two conversions, a penalty goal. SUBURBS 9: V. C. Svkes. L Cotterill (2) tries. Marist adapted itself better to the sticky conditions, using kick-and-chase tactics. The forwards kicked the ball hard and streamed through the gaps which appeared in the defence The conditions favoured little else, and because Marist adopted the best methods it reaped its reward.

Jefferson, the Marist centre, showed great improvement at centre, as did the full-back, Doyle, who saved splendidly at times One of the best forwards was L. Price, at flanker. Price, who has played all of his football in the backs and who was a colt this season, was in grand form in the loose. Burns jumped as well as ever in the line-outs.

Sykes, at centre, was the pick of the Suburbs backs. But much of his success came from the long passing of the five-eighths, who stood so widely apart that thev often created the overlap Mr C. J Taylor was the referee. Good Display By Merivale MERIVALE 5: L. McCaughan a try; L. Williams a conversion. OLD BOYS 3: K. Victor a try Much of the pressure in this game was Old Boys, but Merivale weathered the many attacks until it was able to gain the lead in the second half. But Old Boys still persisted until the end. and were kept at bay only by solid tackling. tn the dying stages Old Boys tried to kick Merivale into trouble, but the catching b,v the defending players was generally first class In this period Williams, at full-back, did exceptionally well, and once reJeved the pressure with a nicely-iudged run. Mr D. Last was the referee Sydenham Wins Comfortably SYDENHAM 18: G. D. Wade (2) D. Gallop. T. Miller tries; A Howard, three conversions. BELFAST #. Spirited play by Belfast—particularly in the forwards—gave Sydenham little room for complacency in the first half, at the end of which it led by only five points. But the second half belonged almost entirely to Svdenham. It gradually gained the upper band, and then two sharp sprints to the line for tries by Wade put the issue bevond doubt. Mr F. B. Campbell was the referee. Bay Of Plenty Wins (N.Z. Press Association) GISBORNE. July 8. Trailing by four points with eight minutes to go. the Bay of Plenty Rugby representatives made a spectacular recovery to beat Poverty Bay. 19-13 in a fast game yesterday. Povertv Elay led 13-6 at halftime The Bay of Plenty players included two All Black forwards. R J. Conwav and M W. Irwin Tries for Bay of Plenty were scored by L. R. Macrae and J. W. Nuku. Both- tries were converted by M Doherty, who also kicked three penalty goals For Povertv Bay tries were scored bv A. McKenzie and P S. Ransley. Both tries were converted by A. M. Hollis, who also kicked a penalty goal.

HAREWOOD TROPHY P W L D F A Pts Univ. 12 12 a a 194 65 12 Chch. 12 7 3 2 189 100 8 N.B. 12 7 4 1 106 70 Lin. 12 6 4 2 124 1C5 7 Alb. 12 7 5 i. 117 98 7 Shirk 12 6 5 1 109 no 6.1 D.C.L SHIELD P W L D F A Pts Syd. 12 6 6 • 103 144 6 Mar. 12 5 7 - 148 144 5 Subs. 12 4 6 2 89 108 5 Mer. 12 5 7 • 126 144 5 O.B. 12 2 9 1 81 125 2‘. Bel. 12 - 11 1 76 249 ft