Canterbury Scores Six Tries In Beating Wellington

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31725, 8 July 1968, Page 14

Canterbury Scores Six Tries In Beating Wellington

(By

J. K. BROOKS)

Had Confucius been at Lancaster Park on Saturday he might well have observed blandly that teams whose forwards are first to the loose ball and whose backs switch play effectively are bound to win matches.

The Canterbury Rugby team’s ability in these manoeuvres enabled it to score six tries in beating its traditional rival, Wellington, 25-9. It was Canterbury’s biggest win against Wellington for 13 years. Wellington, a young and relatively inexperienced side, made a brave showing and did not deserve to lose by as much as 16 points. It made a worth-while contribution to an interesting and often spectacular game.

The side’s constant appliestion to the difficult task of containing a polished, experienced Canterbury team, brought some rewards and helped Canterbury discover some of its own deficiencies. But in the last 15 minutes the home team’s well-tried combination assumed control and added 11 points to the 14 scored in the first half. The South Island flanker, Wyllie, became the third Canterbury player to score three tries in a match this season. Canterbury’s other tries were scored by the backs, Watt,' Cottrell and Hatchwell, while McCormick kicked two conversions and a penalty goal.

Williams and Abraham scored tries for Wellington, and Taylor kicked a dropped goal. The greatest strength of the Canterbury side was its team-

work, but even within this framework two players—Kirkpatrick and Cottrell—stood out

IMPRESSIVE PLAY Kirkpatrick was an impressive figure with his strong bursts from the line-outs and mauls and his swiftness round the field enabled him to make several vital tackles. In the line-outs he won a good deal of ball and launched a number of attacks from the No. 7 position. Cottrell handled splendidly, backed up diligently, and his weaving runs were so graceful that at times it seemed the Wellington backs were standing off in admiration. He scored an excellent try by catching a clearing kick by the right-hand

side-line and threading his way past Barlow with only 2ft of turf at his disposal. The game started far from promisingly, with 16 line-outs in the first nine minutes and some unhappy kicks by Watt. Then Canterbury gave a taste of its ability by scoring two tries in four minutes after the forwards had won a steady stream of possession from all sources.

Wellington surprised Canterbury by counter-attacking with vigour and enterprise, a try and a dropped goal reducing Canterbury’s lead to two points. Wellington might well have gained a handy advantage during the 15-minute period of sustained effort. Drop-kicks by Taylor and Sayers massed their mark; Seymour chose to go alone with Stephens unmarked outside him and was dumped by Wyllie; and Uttley was the victim of blatant obstruction by Arnold which went unnoticed. In the last five minutes of the half Canterbury recovered its composure to score two more tries as the culmination of several thrusts by the backs. HOPES RENEWED Wellington battled on bravely after half-time and its second try, scored In the tenth minute, kept its hopes alive until Canterbury assumed command in the last 15 minutes. There have been better Can-terbury-Wellington matches, but this one was well up to standard and provided entertaining fare for the crowd of about 14,000. There was admiration for the manner in which the Canterbury forwards won the lion’s share of possession and appreciation of the clever switches and combinations used on attack by the Canterbury backs.

The only sour notes occurred in the second half when Burns and Head rained blows at each other. Happily, the inflamed feelings were soothed by some stern words from the referee to both packs. The forwards laid the foundation for Canterbury’s win with the great amount of possession they won in the set play and the rucks. Burns, Kirkpatrick and Perkins jumped effectively in the line-out, and their work was coiqplemented by the unerring manner in which Hopkinson and Tanner caught the deflected ball and drove through or fed it cleanly back to Davis. Creighton had one of his best games for some time and he made the most of the well-knit scrum around him to take three tight heads to none. The play of the trio of loose forwards, Penrose, Wyllie and Kirkpatrick, evoked memories of another famous Canterbury combination—Burry, Graham and Tremain. Wyllie and Kirkpatrick were bold attackers and scavenged hungrily for the loose ball, while Penrose was an ideal link between backs and forwards and covered and backed up devotedly. SWIFT BACK PLAY The development of Canterbury’s supremacy in the backs depended heavily on the efficiency of Davis and Watt in clearing the ball, and they filled their rolee ably. Then Cottrell, Arnold and McCormick took over, and many swift and enterprising attacks were unleashed. Arnold ran impudently in the face of danger and was a vital figure in Canterbury’s switches of play.

Hatchwell saw more ball on the right wing than Steel on the left and generally put possession to good use. Steel did not run with his usual freedom and although he played a prominent part in two second-half movements, he spoilt his display by impeding Stephens in a chase for the ball.

It was not a day for the goalkickers. McCormick kicked three goals from eight attempts for Canterbury, while his massive rival, Seymour, had four attempts and missed them all. Williams was an excellent flanker for Wellington and the try he scored after Weinberg had beaten Hatchwell and been pulled down by McCormick was a reward for grand backing up and sure handling.

Nicholls and Leslie also made a valuable contribution to the stout resistance offered by the Wellington forwards. The backs looked a little uncertain of themselves, but Stephens, a wing of pace and ability, made the most of his brief chances.

Stephens proved his worth as a cover defender in the Barbarians-Cantabrians match last year, and he confirmed that impression on Saturday with a grand tackle of Hatchwell on the opposite wing after Cottrell and Steel had launched a brilliant mid-field move that seemed certain to end in a try. Referee: Mr L. S. Kirk.