Enterprising Play In Drawn Match

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30420, 20 April 1964, Page 14

Enterprising Play In Drawn Match

OLD BOYS 3: R. Taylor a try. CHRISTCHURCH 3: G. Waterreus a dropped goal. In a delightful game, full of vigorous forward play, swift running and handling, and grand tackling. Old Boys and Christchurch drew, but victory went to both sides for their cheerful enterprise. If there are to be more games played with this skill and spirit, an attendance boom will follow. It was not frothy football but it was vastly entertaining. Ten minutes from the end, spectators were telling each other that a draw would be a good result. But Old Boys were perhaps a little unlucky not to snatch victory, for there were some tremendous assaults which missed by millimetres in that final stage, and in the last seconds a try to Old Boys seemed certain until D. John son went a yard or two too far on his own. Yet Christchurch was unlucky, too, for Waterreus missed all 'five of his attempts to kick penalties —and that is rathet like Arnold Palmer going round in 90.

Although neither half-back achieved a spectacularly swift service, the bactes of both sides had many opportunities to run But time and again a clever attacking thrust was met and checked by desperate cover defence and magnificent tackling. Rugby’s new look makes especial demands on the loose forwards, but in this match there were two who were quite dominant figures—R. Wainohu, at the back of the Christchurch scrum, and D. J. Graham, the Old Boys flanker. Heavy But Swift

Wainohu was in tremendous form all pace and power and purpose. He is no light-weight, and it was astonishing how swiftly he went from vital point to vital point. Once a sustained Old Boys thrust in which a promising young five-eighths, T Mehrtens, handled three times, seemed certain to bring success, but it was Wainohu, yards away from any other defender, who made the final tackle. Graham, like Wainohu, was everywhere, in attack and defence. And the swiftly-moving game served as a vehicle to demonstrate the very high plane of his Rugby sxill

In a match notable for the quality of the defence, there was some especially fine tackling by the two centres, P O Malley <Old Boys) and K Doble. O’Malley also showed speed and penetration on attack. Mehrtens ran into trouble occasionally, but did many things beautifully.

In the Old Boys forwards, L. I Mclntosh showed particular promise, and the hooker, D. Hill, played one of the finest games of his life. In all phases of the play he was first-class. R. Dailey, a talented flanker, was often prominent, and he started a fine move in which Mehrtens made a break and [Taylor scored. | Waterreus, cool and competent at full-back, gave thrust to the Christchurch line and B Watt, showing some of the sparkle of ‘his early Christchurch days, was in encouri agingly good form. W. Birtwistle had only one real chance to exI ploit his particular talents. In the forwards, J. Baird was ex- [ cellent, and the return of W. i McCallum has strengthened the , line-out play considerably. » I There was one -other con- [ tribution to a particularly enjoyable game. The ground at [ Rugby Park was in perfect [order, and fairly Invited the [sort of football provided. The referee was Mr D. Last.