St. Andrew’s Shock Christ’s College

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31399, 19 June 1967, Page 16

St. Andrew’s Shock Christ’s College

A fit and fiercely determined St. Andrew’s College team won a rather unexpected but thoroughly deserved victory over Christ’s College by 11 points to three on Saturday. It was the first defeat this season of the Christ's College team, but St. Andrew’s scored two tries to one and had a slight but decisive edge in the keen forward battle which gave the game its most lasting impression. There were few of the flowing passing movements expected of school teams, but the quality of the tackling and covering was extremely good. The spirit shown by both teams gave the game an edge it might otherwise have lacked. When the St. Andrew’s halfback, M. Fisher, was injured for the second time, there was some light-hearted. wishful thinking in the bugler—almost certainly not from St. Andrew’s —who played ‘‘Last Post;" but Fisher resumed, to considerable purpose. The teams were:—

St. Andrew's College.— D. W. Guthrie; M. S. Moore, A. E. Coombes, P. Saunders; M. R. McEwan, P. M. Smith; M. Fisher; M. J. M. Sidey; I. J. Lockie, P. J. Graham, R. J. McLay, J. P. Masson; A. L. Ferguson, R. J. Mabin, R. T. Murdoch.

Christ’s College.—M. H. L. Tapley; A. J. Cook, C. J. C. Wright, D. B M. Watson; A. C. Kerr, A. E. Morten; A. T. M. Penny; H. D. Black: P. S. Dalzell, S. A. L. Read, A. J. Murray, H. J. Anderson; R. B. Walton, R. J. Murray, J. R. Clouston.

St. Andrew’s, defeated three times in club matches, was not at full strength through injuries, but won the day primarily because it had a little more pace than the Christ’s

College team, and because its forwards were a little faster to the rucks. In a clean, hard contest which did credit to both teams, the referee had to award only 13 penalties, 10 of them to Christ’s College. The forward struggle was so even that the backs’ opportunities were limited Christ’s often used a big lock, Murray, who was number two in the line-out, and St. Andrew's had Sidey at five or six as its best jumper. Christ’s took the ball more often than not, but frequently lost it. Yet the St. Andrew’s backs, through handling errors and the industrious covering of the opposition, made only a few telling movements. St. Andrew's had to thank its forwards for victory. Although they conceded something in weight and strength, they were quick and purposeful. There was a strong front row in which Mabin, who enjoyed a superiority in hooking, played particularly well and Sidey also distinguished himself frequently. Fisher, a very alert half-back, tidied up on defence repeatedly. A thoughtful player, he showed a well developed instinct for getting to the right place at the right time. Frequently tested with high kicks, Guthrie was calm and reliable. Murray, Read and —until he was injured in the second spell —Black led a resolute Christ’s College pack. Penny, usually gave good service but possession was seldom won quickly enough to give the backs much chance. Mowever, Morten showed glimpses of quality and on the right wing Cook had considerable pace. Half-way thorugh the first spell Fisher kicked a penalty goal, and for a period the St. Andrew’s forwards, very effective when the ball was loose, held control. A sustained attack ended with Guthrie coming up and propping inside the defence to score a fine try which Fisher converted to give St. Andrew’s a lead of eight points at half-time Christ’s College took the initiative in the second spell, and excellent control in a scrum provided an opening which was well exploited, Watson scoring in the corner. Christ’s College continued to exert pressure for a considerable period, but St Andrew s, with victory in sight, fought back and 10 minutes from the end Masson, snapping up the ball from a ruck, beat the defence with an angled run to the line to score a splendid trv. Referee: Mr B. Powell.