LINWOOD WINS CONVINCINGLY

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31991, 19 May 1969, Page 16

LINWOOD WINS CONVINCINGLY

LINWOOD 17: J. Boot. J. Storey, and I. Mallard, tries: P. Jellyman. two penalty goals, and a conversion. BELFAST 0. Leading 9-0 at half-time, Linwood went on to score two fur-, ther tries in the second half' to complete a convincing if; somewhat scrappy win over; Belfast. The first half was notable) for many flat-footed back movements and inept tackling by 1 Belfast. Linwood was, however, un-! able to capitalise on this weakness. and apart from a try by Boot after a fine break by Jellyman. in midfield, neither line functioned with any fluidity. The even battle for possession in the forwards turned to Linwood's advantage in thei second half. They showed a greater ability for controlled driving upfield and gave B. Elder some much needed protection from the fast-breaking Belfast flankers, N. Turner and L. Cassidy. If somewhat lacking in cohesion and purpose, Belfast at no stage gave in under the constant pressure applied by its more experienced opponent. Its forwards gained ample possession for the backs, but the lack of polish and inventiveness prevented them from creating the necessary cracks in the Linwood defence. In the second spell a marked improvement in the Belfast tackling prevented Linwood scoring on several occasions. J. Tapuelue. the Belfast wing, in particular, demonstrated the effectiveness of do or die tackling as R. Cocks, his opposing winger, will well remember. The failure of the forward packs to heel the ball quickly from the loose rucks caused

nmany unnecessary stoppages. . On innumerable occasions there > were ample men from both packs to the breakdown, but only late in the second half was Linwood able to secure the -1 quick heel to set the backs in - motion. r B. Mawson lost nothing in L comparison to the Linwood • half-back, B. Elder, and gave I his backs a more accurate seri vice. As well as performing ■ ■ his routine duties, Mawson was 'very effective on cover defence, i N. Stokes played steadily : under adverse conditions, and Jellyman at second five-eighths was continually looking for the gap and, had Cocks not con- • sistently tried to go inside his marker, might have presented Linwood with two further tries. In the forwards. T. McAlis- • ter and M. McArtry gained > good ball in the line-outs for i Linwood. and Mallard and 1 Storey scavenged relentlessly in . the loose. The Linwood captain, T. Norton, was buried in ; the tight for most of the game I and in the scrums took four tight heads from the Belfast ■ hooker, D. Hammond. t Cassidy, the smallest forward • on the field, figured in several r rushes, and his covering abil- - ity halted several Linwood ‘ forwards. B. Kennett, propping t the Belfast scrum, was prom- - inent in both the tight and i loose play. > J. Tapuelue showed that he was a strong, determined runI ner who might have been bett ter employed at centre to I create the thrust which was . lacking in the Belfast line. t T. Gorman gained the bulk of Belfast’s line-out ball, but : as with Linwood, he resorted , to inaccurate tapping on too many occasions rather than taking the ball down to give his half-back some measure of protection. Referee: Mr J. R. Milnes.