30 Min. Burst Gives Canterbury Win

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31716, 27 June 1968, Page 17

30 Min. Burst Gives Canterbury Win

The Canterbury Rugby team resembled the Hounds of the Baskervilles as they loomed ferociously out of a thick fog at Fraser Park, Timaru, yesterday to tear gaping holes in the South Canterbury defence and bound away to a convincing 30-3 victory.

Canterbury crossed the home team’s goalline seven times in a brilliant half - hour burst in the middle of the match.

The captain, I. H. Penrose, and the side’s new right wing, R. F. Cocks, each scored three tries.

For the first 20 minutes Canterbury won a gratifying amount of possession from the line-outs and exerted considerable pressure on the South Canterbury defence. The break-through came with unexpected suddenness. Cocks scored tries in the twenty-eighth and twentyninth minutes and for the next half-hour, Canterbury’s cup bubbled over w-ith Rugby goodness. Forwards and backs combined in a series of bewildering switches of play, and it appeared as if a score of 50 points was not beyond the bounds of possibility. Lost Its Pace Understandably, perhaps, Canterbury slackened its efforts in the game's final quarter and South Canterbury came back strongly in the forwards to restore the side’s reputation for honest application. But strong tackling and swift covering by Canterbury prevented any further score. Penrose (3), Cocks (3) and A. McLellan scored tries for Canterbury: S. M. C. Murray converted three, and D. A. Arnold kicked a dropped goal. D. Brown scored South Canterbury’s only points with a penalty goal in the eighth minute. The weather was beautifully fine in Timaru until five minutes after the kick-off. Then a thick fog swirled in from the sea and remained for the rest of the game. Neither side appeared disconcerted by this intrusion, but the spectators had to strain their eyes when play swung to the far side of the field. More Polish With the match against Wellington only a week and a half away, Canterbury must have been pleased with its effort The handling and backing-up was first-class and the manner in which Penrose and L. G. Davis skilfully directed the thrusts was a credit to both of them The line-out play, too, reached a good standard, but the scrummaging and rucking showed signs of needing a little more polish.

The chief requirements, however, appeared to be match fitness. The team’s efforts in the last 20 minutes suggested that the easing up was not only because the game was as good as won. South Canterbury fielded a robust pack and in spite of the harrassing time it had trying to plug holes in the defence in the middle stages of the game, it finished full of vigour. The backs, however, were not very impressive and the second-half replacement, P. Shearer, looked the most enterprising of them. Admittedly, trying to stop Arnold is not always the easiest of tasks., but the tackling of the South Canterbury backs looked suspect and generally they seemed a little un-

sure of themselves when they were given the ball. Cleanly - won possession, quick, precise passing and diligent backing-up were the planks on which Canterbury’s policy of success was laid. It was an excellent team effort, made all the more noteworthy for the fact that a number of

the players were new, or relatively new, to representative Rugby.

Wyllie Impresses

A. J. Wyllie, with his crunching runs and intelligent distribution of the ball was a towering figure for Canterbury. Earlier in the week he was in doubt for the match because of bruised ribs, but he gave no indication of the injury as he carved great holes in the defence of players who certainly did not want for courage. Two of the New Zealand selectors, Messrs V. L. George and I. M. H. Vodanovich, and the South Island selectors, Messrs R. H. Duff and N. P. McGregor, watched the game and must have been impressed with Wyllie’s fine display. Penrose’s three tries spoke volumes for his able backing up; he was a notable figure in the mauls and made some good takes at No. 7 in the line-out J. F. Burns and M. R. Perkins were chiefly responsible for Canterbury’s 33-14 advantage in the line-outs, while Burns and K. J. Tanner showed up creditably in the rucks and mauls. Creighton did good work in tying up South Canterbury’s blind side dabs. The back-line moves were splendidly directed by Watt and Davis and Arnold showed his appreciation of the situation by scampering through seemingly non-existent gaps. The wings, Cocks and Woolhouse, embellished the good work of their fellow backs with excellent displays. Cocks scored his tries with the aplomb of a- veteran, especially his second effort when he caught a beautifully-placed punt by B. A. Watt on the bounce and weaved his way past three defenders in a 40yd sprint for the goal-line. Woolhouse was just as good and played a leading role in many attacks. His bruising runs when he entered the line from the blind side gave Canterbury many chances to launch secondary attacks with the home defence scattered.

H. J. Joseph had a good debut at second five-eighths, and although he missed one tackle he showed a cool head on attack. Murray looked shaky at times against the up-and-under but his excursions from full-back into the line added to South Canterbury’s troubles.

Canterbury’s best movements came when the backs linked with the forwards in short-passing switches. On these occasions McLellan and Cochrane were usually in the right place at the right time and their work complemented the efforts of Penrose and Wyllie. The most spectacular tries were scored in the second half, with Canterbury already ahead 19-3. In the first, Woolhouse handled twice in a grand 75 yards burst with Murray and McLellan, and Cocks took the final pass to score. Four minutes later Arnold made a typically elusive run past 12 defenders and McLellan was put in the clear after good supporting work by Perkins and Tanner. South Canterbury’s contribution, by comparison, was drab stuff. A. D. Millar and P. Roddick were a neat pair behind the scrum but the back-line movements lacked conviction and perished at the hands of Canterbury’s sure tackling. The home forwards, however, made headway later in the game, with N. Moffat and R. Noble pursuing the ball tirelessly. K. Milne, a swift hooker, took the only tight head of the match while the big country locks, D. Lindsay and L. King, did as well as they were able in the lineouts.

The referee was Mr L. C. Walker.