CANTERBURY BEATS WEST COAST, 29-2

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30740, 3 May 1965, Page 15

CANTERBURY BEATS WEST COAST, 29-2

Canterbury, showing great improvement and with vastly superior backs, built a winning margin of 27 points when it played West Coast at the Addington Show Grounds on Saturday.

The run of play was a little more even than the final score of 29-2 would indicate, the principal difference being Canterbury’s ability to finish off its moves when in West Coast territory.

Four times West Coast players were pushed out within five yards of the Canterbury line.

The match was played at a fairly good pace and first one team and then the other dominated play. The West Coast had the expected slight advantage in the forwards but it could not match the Canterbury backs in speed and deception. Al-

though West Coast spent as much time on attack as it did on defence it could not penetrate the last five yards on each occasion.

Canterbury’s defence was the best for many seasons, although the forwards were inclined to tackle high in a manner that would have been useless had not two or three others been on hand to bring the West Coaster down by sheer weight. Handling was shaky. Several times scoring opportunities

were created by Canterbury’s inside backs only to be lost when one of the outside men fumbled the pass. The West Coast backs fumbled- too and the fault accounted for many of the 33 scrums. The teams were:—

WEST COAST: B. J. Mann; R. J. Rochford, C. A. Hibbs, E. C. Findlay, J. D. O’Connell; B. Foley (replaced by W. Johnsen), B. Sweetman: C. W. Clark (captain): J. K. Dixon, A. P. Dennehy; R. O. Schofield, F. Kennedy, J. Hibbs.

CANTERBURY: P. J. Tongue; R. O. Moffat. B. W. Langton, P. V. Smith, C. C. Preece; J. A. Bond (captain). R. S. J. Irvine; J. L. White; I. T. Drayton, J. A. Flanagan; M. H. Mohi, J. H. Fisher, E. J. Tavendale

Canterbury’s tries were scored by Moffat (two), Tavendale, Bond. Irvine. Langton and White. Drayton kicked four goals. Hibbs kicked a goal for West Coast. Solid Trio Canterbury forwards were crowding West Coast from the play the balls but they, in turn, could gain little breathing space from the solid trio of J. K. Dixon, A. P. Dennehy and C. W. Clark who got through a lot of defensive -work. Although Dixon, Dennehy and R. O. Schofield could not get on top as they did In the Southern XIII match all three, particularly Dixon and Dennehy, played well. They ran strongly in possession but did not find the gaps opening to the same extent. Irvine was the best of the Canterbury backs. His tussle with B. Sweetman was a fine study in defensive play and in the match Sweetman escaped Irvine’s clutches only once. On attack, Irvine was superior. His deception and speed made him a dangerous runner and for his try in the second spell—a brilliant solo effort—he escaped several tackles in a 40-yard run Bond linked well with Irvine and P. V. Smith and he gave encouragement to the others as he weaved in and out of tackles. The centres. Smith and Langton, provided a sharp contrast. Smith played very well, running strongly, tackling well and giving his outside men plenty of ball. Langton dropped more passes than he held and showed little regard for the scoring potential of his wings. Had Opportunities Moffat, who had most of the opportunities, and C. C. Preece ran strongly. P. J. Tongue positioned himself well at full-back and was capable on defence. Although Sweetman kept Irvine in check for longer than any other Canterbury scrumhalf could, he had to concede the honours in the finish. However. his all-round play was of a high standard and he was not afraid to pounce on the loose ball when challenged by players twice his size. C. A. Hibbs and B. J. Mann played soundly, alternating at full-back. R. J. Rochford covered well from the wing and the 18-year-old replacement, W. Johnsen, did nothing wrong during his 30 minutes on the field. However, the other backs were not impressive and the ball took too long to get to the wings to give them any real scoring opportunities. Pack Veteran The veteran, Clark, impressed most in the West Coast pack. He covered his backs well and showed out on attack but he was let down by his backs’ poor defence in the absence of G. M. Kennedy. The hooker, F. Kennedy, won the scrums, 17-16, and supported Clark well In the tight play. At one stage he was pulled down inches from the goalposts. Dixon and Dennehy did a ton of work but were unable to break through. J. Hibbs and Schofield handled the tight work capably. Mohi Dangerous With knees held high and full steam on, M. H. Mohi was the most dangerous Canterbury for ward. He bullocked his way through several times, giving his backs the opportunities to use their superiority. J. H. Fisher gave Mohi most support but usually the other forwards lagged on attack. The referee (Mr E. Pilcher, of Wellington) awarded West Coast seven penalties and Canterbury two. Most of Canterbury’s Infringements occurred from off-side play while executing difficult attacking moves.