RUGBY LEAGUE Marist Beat Papanui In Excellent Match

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30129, 13 May 1963, Page 18

RUGBY LEAGUE Marist Beat Papanui In Excellent Match

Television viewers in Canterbury should have been well satisfied if they watched the direct telecast of the senior championship Rugby League match between Marist and Papanui at the Show Grounds on Saturday. In over-cast and cold conditions and before a small crowd the two sides turned on the best match of the season so far.

The sides have met three times so far this season and Marist have been the victors each time, but whether it was the fact that the players are getting acquainted, or whether the presence of the television camera influenced them, they really turned on an excellent game. The curtain-raiser between Linwood and Sydenham was a rather disappointing game with Linwood having a comfortable win. In the other game, Hornby had little difficulty in beating Christchurch.

Results were:— Marist 23, Papanui 17. Linwood 23, Sydenham 2. Hornby 33, Christchurch 3. Championship points are as follows. Tavenctaie Cup points are in parenthesis:

MARIST v. PAPANUI

After a rather drab first 15 minutes, this match really gave the crowd—both present and absent its money’s worth. First Papanui gained the ascendency, and then it was Marist’s turn. The game continued in this manner until the final 10 minutes, when Marist took the lead and kept it. Play was fast, with some brilliant individual efforts by both sides. If any criticism could be found, ft would perhaps be the lack of fitness in many of the players. Near the end of the game, a number of players were virtually there as spectators. but the speed of the game could be some excuse for tills fault. The handling of both sides was sure, while the tack* ling, except for a few lapses, was sound.

Even though the result could have gone either way, Marist deserved to win. With a number of its leading players out. the side surprised by the smooth manner in which it combined. The ball was frequently handled by about 10 players before a breakdown would occur.

Once again the Papanui backs lacked penetration and it is a pity that with the ability the side has in the backline it does not make more use of that ability. The forwards were fairly evenly matched. Both packs contained big. men and of the 12 not one could be singled out as playing a bad game. With the fortunes of the sides fluctuating so regularly the play see-sawed from one end of the ground to the other, and even alter the final bell had gone play came from the Papa-

nui goal-line to deep into Marist territory in one movement. This sort of play was characteristic of the match. In the winning side, one person who did stand out was the half-back. R. Irvine. It was his first game tor the season, and he turned in an excellent performance. His try was the result of a brillliant piece of play. J. Walshe was quite sound at first five-eighths, while P. Smith had his best game of the seasin in the unaccustomed position of wing. He scored two delightful tries. The best of the Papanui backs were J. Bond and R Carey, while T. Miller impressed as a hard-running. determined winiger. Bond made a couple of dangerous runs. The best of the Marist forwards were B. Curtain and P L. Doig. Tile former was in excellent form and for a man of his build his speed is most surprising. He was a constant menace to the Papanui backs. Doig played, without doubt, his best game of Rugby League this year. He tackled hard and was never far from the ball. T. Bisman proved that he benefitted greatly by the refresher course at Rotorua. With. K. Pearce. E. Tavendale. G. Turner, and Bisman. the Papanui pack was a very formidable one. Pearce’s goal-kicking was outstanding. Tries for Marist were scored by Smith (2). P. McQuinn, Curtain, and Irvine. H. Nep la kicked three conversions and

ane penalty goal For Papanui N. Wakefield and Miller «2> scored tries. Pearce kicked two conversions and two penalty goals. The referee was Mr P. Yaxley. LINWOOD v. SYDENHAM In a match which never reached great heights, Linwood had a deserved victory over Sydenham. Although Linwood was the better side it could not be fully pleased with its performance. Bad handling was one fault which was especially notable. The unusually strong running Linwood backs seldom got under way although close marking and solid tackling did hinder the line. On attack. Sydenham did not look halt as dangerous as it did the previous Saturday. Possession was fairly evenly divided but both sides were guilty of unnecessarily giving away possession. Early in the first half it looked as if Linwood would prove too powerful and too fast tor its less experienced opponents. However. Sydenham never gave in ana Linwood were only able to score twice in the second half. The match produced very few exciting movements with players running with the ball. Although he never fully extended himself. Canterbury’s new Kiwi. J. Fisher, had a good game. He proved he is very fit. Of the other Linwood forwards, the best were probably T. Journee and M. Carlyle. The latter made two very strong runs. G. Clarke and R. Pounsford functioned quite smoothly while G. Abercrombie continued his run of good games on the wing. As usual. B. T. Barron and K. Harding were the most efficient of the Sydenham pack. R. Mcßeath. on occasions, produced some vigorous play. F. Clark was the most dangerous of the Sydenham backs. It is a pity he gained so little support from the rest of the line. B. Everest was quite sound at full-back. Tries for Linwood were scored by Pounsford (2), Abercrombie, P. White and K. Batten. J. White converted four tries. A. Tuuta kicked a penalty for Sydenham. The referee was Mr J Beats. HORNBY v. CHRISTCHURCH Although Hornby won by 30 points the game was much closer than the score would indicate. Many times Christchurch came to within a fewyards of Hornby’s line only to concede a penalty or to lose possession. The difference between the two teams was Hornby's ability to capitalise on its opponent's mistakes. Christchurch was reluctant to tackle when the Hornby forwards were in possession Because of this I. Drayton. R McKenzie, D. Moore and M. L. Cooke made many crashing runs. E. McNicholl and J. Bray were the best of the Hornby backs with McNicholl showing great determination whenever he got the ball. The Hornby forwards worked very efficiently with Cooke leading them. Drayton kicked six goals, from all positions on the field. The best of the Christchurch backs were S. Radford and J. Williams while R. Turton again played well in the forwards. For Hornby tries were scored by McNicholl (2). Moore. Drayton. A. Williams. B. Langton and Bray. Drayton kicked six conversions. Radford scored for Christchurch. The referee was Mr K Henry.

p W D. F PU. Horn. 2 2 0 0 78 6 4 <4> Mar. 2 2 0 0 71 3W 4 (2) Lin. 2 1 0 1 8b 18 3 (4» Pap. 2 0 1 1 38 68 1 (0) Syd. 2 0 2 0 23 81 0 (2) Chch. 2 0 2 0 26 114 0 (0)