FROM THE SIDE-LINES

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30125, 8 May 1963, Page 13

FROM THE SIDE-LINES

The University wing, CMaguire, has shown distinct promise in his first senior matches in Christchurch. Very fast, Maguire is an Otago sprint champion, but he is more than just a sprinter for his handling is good and he has a useful centring kick. Against Shirley one of these kicks led to University’s first try and later Maguire showed the, advantages of speed when he chased a Shirley player who had intercepted the ball and caught him.

On Saturday, A. Brown came on to play half-back for Merivale against Suburbs when the first fiveeights was injured. He played a resourceful game and with his nuggety build, proved a difficult man to stop , when running hard.. He scored a good try with a deceptively fast run.

G. Altandashllev, a former Shirley player, now plays for Suburbs. He should prove a strengthening influence in the Suburbs pack if his play remains as generally sound as it was against Merivale on Saturday.

The new form of the senior Rugby competition has not brought any significant increase in the number of tries scored by senior teams. In the three rounds now completed 65 tries have been scored —last year in the first three rounds 66 tries were scored. Christchurch with 12 is the leading try-scoring team, as it was last year at the same time. The bottom teams so far are Belfast with one try only from three matches and Marist with two tries. G. Wattereus (Christchurch» with 27 points and A. C. Harrison (Albion) 21 points, are the leading scorers. W. Birtwistle is the top try scorer, with five tries.

The burly Shirley No. 8, W. Flaven, did much to restrict the potentially dangerous University back line in the first half of the match. Very fast away from the end of the line-out, he bustled the University fiveeighths. and unsettled the back-line. In the second half he did not meet with so much success because the half-back, L. Taiaroa, varied his play.

The fine form shown by some of the local senior

women’s hockey players in the opening games this season makes it hard to understand the decision to select the New Zealand team on last year’s form. Players who come into this category include the Digby’s goalkeeper, B. Makinson, the University centre-half, S. M. Comer, and B. Murray, the Harewood right-back.

The young Suburbs halfback L. Davies, although

playing behind a losing pack on Saturday, lost none of his coolness and efficiency. It must have been sometimes despairing for him to see back movements which he had initiated break down in mid-field.

A prominent member of the New Brighton pack on Saturday was the lock, Epeli Kacimaiwai, a Fijian who has been in New Zealand for two years and who is playing for the first time in four. Known to his team mates as “Bula,” he made the thrusts which led to the scoring of two of New Brighton’s four tries against Marist.

.A feature of the main senior Rugby League match at the Show Ground last Saturday between Marist and Hornby was the amount of kicking by both •ides. On one occasion players 40 yards apart returned the ball to each other five times before an attempt was made to run. However, tactical kicking was used to good effect during the match by the Hornby first fiveeighths, 3. Bray, and the Hornby full-back, P. Tounge.

The experiment by the High School Old Boy*' team in playing N. B. Ullrich. a breakaway, on the wing against Sydenham did not meet with success. Ullrich is a good breakaway, but on the wing he did not have the speed or positional sense to keep with his inside backs. On two occasions. 8. K. Henderson made a good break, but his efforts were nullified when he did not have support when the vital pass had to be made.

Canterbury’s sole trialist for the New Zealand women’s hockey team to tour the United States later in the year, Annette Ruston (Aranui), has shown impressive form in the first two rounds of the senior competition. Now back in her correct position of righthalf, Mrs Ruston has shown she will be a strong contender for the team which is to be picked next month.

New Brighton’s former senior amateur soccer player from England, T. Stacey, was a man of many parts in the early match at English Park against Nomads. He began at centre-half, moved on to the wing mid-way through the first half, later switched to inside-forward, and finished at half-back. Whether this was to New Brighton’s benefit is doubtful.! Stacey has the experience and ability to play in most positions, but it is unlikely that the rest of the team can so quickly adapt thfcir play to these changes. <

The ability to gather in the loose ball and in doing so turn defence into attack resulted in B. Butte the Sydenham senior Rugby League centre, scoring two excel-

lent tries last Saturday. On both occasions he ran aboui 30 yards to score and did not look like being caught. A very determined player. Butts is by far the most likely scoring member of the Sydenham back-line.

Struggling to gain points in the premier soccer championship this season, Christchurch City has seldom shown the formidable combination of other years. No blame for this, however, can be laid at the feet of the rightback, A. Westwood, who lias shown increasingly good form in every match The manner in which he stifled the wily outaide-lef: W. Logan was a feature of last Saturday’s match against Technical.