Lynch 1, Henderson 2 In Closest Rugby “Best” Poll

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31409, 30 June 1967, Page 13

Lynch 1, Henderson 2 In Closest Rugby “Best” Poll

Voting for the second five-eighths position in the “Canterbury’s Best” Rugby competition came very near to producing the first tie as the contest ended its fourth week.

T. W. Lynch and S. K. Henderson were clearly the popular choices, commanding 85 per cent of the total vote, and at the end of an absorbing battle of the ballot box, Lynch was seven votes ahead of his rival.

From the time that coupons started to arrive at “The Press,” Lynch and Henderson were receiving almost equal support. At each progress count, there was never more than 13 votes between them and the lead changed hands several times.

The contest attracted the biggest number of candidates so far, 12 five-eighths being named.

R. C. Moreton finished third, narrowly ahead of A. W. C. McPherson, while D. A.

Arnold and S. G. Bremner also had their share of support. J. Hotop was the best of the rest, being followed by D. D. Wilson, P. V. Kearney, W. D. Cottrell, E. J. Heenan and W. F. McCormick.

Lynch now joins K. C. Stuart, W. G. Argus, M. J. Dixon and A. E. G. Elsom, the players who received the greatest number of votes in their respective positions. The final choice, however, lies with the seven-man panel which will meet at the end of the contest.

Interest in the competition has been sustained, and the lengths to which one man went to keep his voting up to date is indicative of the fascination the contest holds for many Rugby followers. The man, who lives in the outer reaches of Riccarton, was lying in bed at 11 o’clock on Wednesday night when he remembered that he had not filled in his coupon for the second five-eighths. Met Deadline He dressed hurriedly and drove to the Chief Post Office in Cathedral square to post his coupon, and so met the date-stamp deadline. On returning home, however, he recalled with horror that although he had filled in his name and address he had, in his haste, forgotten to name his chosen player. He wrote a letter explaining his mistake, then followed it up with a telephone call to “The Press” yesterday morning. The matter was soon corrected.

The fifth stage of the competition starts tomorrow with the selection of a first fiver eighths. Leading candidates are discussed in an article on the sports feature page of to-