Canterbury Beats Taranaki In Entertaining Game

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31168, 19 September 1966, Page 19

Canterbury Beats Taranaki In Entertaining Game

(By

I. J. D. HALL)

Canterbury finished its home representative Rugby programme when it beat Taranaki by 22 points to six in an enter taining game at Lancaster Park on Saturday.

Basking in the sunshine, the crowd of 6000 had much to enjoy and admire from the play of the two teams. There was some vigorous and aggressive play by the Taranaki pack; two brilliant tries by Canterbury which swept 60 yards with nearly half the team handling ; and generally purposeful attempts for the backs to be brought into nlay as much as possible.

There were, however, some blotches on the game. In the second half Canterbury became rather negative in its approach and little was seen of the attacking abilities of the backs as the ball was regularly kicked to touch. But in partial atonement there were two thrilling tries which allowed the spectators to forget some of the duller parts of the game.

Generally the match was played in a fine spirit but Hopkinson replaced Tanner in the front row in the second half there was an immediate fracas between him and the veteran Taranaki player, McDonald. The referee (Mr H. P. Kearney) settled that matter quickly and a few sharp words to McDonald and Wyllie a few minutes later put a stop to any further nonsense. Birtwhistle (2), Wyllie and Cornelius scored tries for Canterbury and McCormick kicked two penalties and two conversions.

Hurley scored a try and kicked a penalty for Taranaki. The margin of 16 points did not really do justice to Taranaki. For much of the second half it had Canterbury penned in its own half as the forwards drove through in fine fashion and backs spun the ball quickly. In the face of considerable pressure from the Taranaki pack, Canterbury had to resort to defensive kicking but any chances were taken eagerly and expertly.

The main factor in Canterbury’s win was the close liaison between the backs and the forwards. Cornelius’s try in the first half came after a dab by Watt on the blindside. Then when Birtwhistle was given a gap he ducked in-field and strung out with him was almost the whole of the Canterbury pack. Five players handled before Cornelius finished off the 75-yard movement.

The last try came in a similar fashion but this time it was the ebullient Wyllie who was on hand to cap some magnificent passing.

Unfortunately the Canterbury back-line did not func(tion quite as smoothly as it I did against Waikato. Arnold. 1 who had been in brilliant ! form in the last two matches ; still did many things well, but i his stopping and starting and i undisciplined darts both in set and loose play confounded his own team as much as the [ opposition. Backs Dangerous 1 Although Canterbury never achieved the steady chainpassing of the Taranaki backs. ■ its backs always looked more I dangerous. Hatchwell, improv- : ing with every game, was an agile attacking centre. Arnold , made some bewildering runs and Birtwistle, although not getting many chances took j those that came his way with alacrity. It was the crashing rushes of the Taranaki pack that provided the greatest excitement in the second half, but conversely, the Canterbury loose forwards, Wyllie, Penrose and Cornelius, were the most potent attacking players in the match.

Their speed and anticipation made them formidable and their combination with the inside backs often stretched tightly the Taranaki defence.

Although the Canterbury loose forwards played extrem-

ely well they did not meet the standard set by the Taranaki fianker, Wills. His toughness, speed in the loose and quick thinking set him above every other player and some of the effectiveness went from the Taranki team when he was injured in the second half. McCormick gained 10 points from his goal-kicking but he also missed some reasonable opportunities. His full-back play was sound but he was not the usual threat when he tried to enter the back-line.

Birtwistle scored two tries, one after toeing the ball ahead for 60 yards but still lacked the sharpness he had before his hamstring injury.

quick Thinking Hatchwell and Arnold were penetrative mid-field backs and Hatchwell’s quick thinking led to two of Canterbury’s tries. Watt had a testing time at first five-eighths. He had to take some difficult passes from Davis but never lost his aplomb and his sound kicking. Although a little unpopular with the spectators, he did much to help Canterbury withstand some dangerous attacks in the second half.

The Canterbury line-out forwards, Francis and Banks, had the better of Eliason and Jenkins. Francis was an eager worker in the loose.

Tanner, and later Hopkinson, worked strongly in the line-outs. Meech, as well as propping well, was agile in the loose play. Pirie took three tight heads to one.

Converted from wing to fullback, Hurley gave a dashing display in his new position. He handled and kicked well and was dangerous when he joined the back-line. It was ironic that from one of these incursions Canterbury should score when he dropped a pass, for throughout the match he was the most effective of the Taranaki backs.

Clarke showed speed on the wing and once beat McCormick with a lovely swerve. McCutcheon was quite useful at centre; O’Sullivan very sound at second five-eighths and Brown, until he was injured just before halftime, was steady, and combined well with Wards.

The Taranaki forwards played, as they always do, full of fire and purpose for 80 minutes, and were particularly impressive when they drove in the loose.

On two or three occasions Canterbury backs and forwards were churned out of the way as the whole pack hurtled upfield and it required a resolute defence from Canterbury to contain the rampaging Taranaki forwards.

Muller, a young but very large prop, strove strenuously in the tight; McDonald, although a little slower, was just as rugged as ever, and also just as aggressive when he felt something had happened which should not have occurred. Eliason, a young but promising prop, was not as good a jumper as Francis, but towards the end

of the match gained a lot of possession.

Scherp and Coles played the tight-loose game well and harried the Canterbury inside backs throughout the match. Kicking Astray Canterbury had a chance to take an early lead when it was awarded a spate of penalties but first McCormick and then Wyllie were woefully astray with their attempts.

Using line-out possession. Canterbury was on attack for the early stages of the game as Watt’s shrewd kicking and Arnold’s darting, diving runs unsettled Taranaki.

A simple penalty by Hurley gave Taranaki a three-point lead and this heartened the side. McCutcheon made two quick breaks, the Taranaki forw'ards took control for a short spell but long kicks by Arnold returned play to half way and soon after McCormick evened the scores with a penalty. A superb try to Cornelius after many of the Canterbury team had handled gave Canterbury an 8-3 lead, and then Birtwistle scored after 38 minutes when Hatchwell seized on a mis-directed attempt at a dropped goal by Watt and passed to Birtwistle who scored near the corner.

The lead was narrowed when Hurley scored five minutes after half-time. Wills burst away from his own twenty-five. He crashed through Arnold’s attempted tackle, passed to O’Sullivan who, when challenged, passed to McCutcheon, who kicked ahead. Hurley chased after the ball and favoured by a good bounce scored near the corner to make the score 11-6.

Taranaki kept on the attack for the next 15 minutes, but it received no reward for some good play. A penalty to McCormick gave Canterbury a 14-6 lead, and then came Birtwistle's try after he had capitalised on a dropped pass. McCormick s conversion made the score 19-6, and just before fulltime Davis. Arnold, Meech, and Wyllie combined for Wyllie to score near the posts. The conversion missed to leave the score at 22-6. The teams were:—

Taranaki.—K. P. Hurley; K. O'Leary, G McCutcheon, L, Clarke, T. P. O'Sullivan, R. H. Brown (captain); D. Wards: L. A. Scherp, M. Wills, T. Jenkins, I. Eliason. R. Coles; I. McDonald, F. Harris, B. Muller. Canterbury.—W. F. McCqrmick; R. J. Phelan. P. Hatchwell, W. M. Birtwistle; D. A. Arnold. B. A. Watt; L. J. Davis; I. H. Penrose; N. G. Cornelius icaptain); J. H. Francis, A. Banks. A. J. Wylie: H. Meech, D. Pirie. K. Tanner.

A. Hopkinson replaced Tanner in the second half and M. Crosky and J. Irving replaced Wills and Brown, who were injured.