Parents Kept Busy On Saturday Mornings

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32016, 17 June 1969, Page 6

Parents Kept Busy On Saturday Mornings

Although bitterly cold at Hagley Park on Saturday morning, the matches being played appeared to compensate for any discomfort, and spectators were in unusually large numbers grouped up and down the side-lines.

The support parents and club members give to junior i footballers is outstanding, i The coach, of course, is the I hardest worker, but the i average parent has a busy ' day on Saturday probably i he has to leave home soon i after 9 a.m„ rendezvous with i the others who are transport- i ing the boys, make sure he j has enough oranges for half- < time if it's his turn, guide i the players to their ground, 1 do up laces and tuck in jer- 1 seys, pack down and scrum against the team, yell himself i hoarse during the game and 1 then buy ice creams all i round on the way home. His i only consolation is the | faint hope that maybe his i boy may reach the Rugby 1 playing summit one day. I

A 10 o’clock match which attracted a large crowd was that between Shirley D and Burnside E in the under sst E grade which raged for an hour without either side scoring. Bumside spent much of the second half on attack, when loose forwards Mark Dunbar and Chris McKeliar were prominent for their vigorous attacking play. However, Shirley, as the score indicates, was far from outclassed, and full-back Brent Baldwin made several fine runs while showing reliability on defence. The game was exciting and hard fought, and fortunately well controlled by a sympathetic referee.

The under sst E grade by, definition is the lowest grade in the competition and therefore the grade where lack of experience and physical vulnerability are most likely to show 1 up. This was undoubtedly true at the start of the season, but Saturday's matches showed that improvement, individually and collectively, has been almost spectacular. No other grade has quite the same combination of humour and keenness. A team which is labouring under severe difficulties is the Belfast under sst 71b D grade side. Its players are very small which is not surprising when one learns that nine of them are eligible for! the under sst grade but have! been brought up to complete

a team. Furthermore they are rather short of players and because of distance have a struggle to organise practices. On Saturday the team was outclassed by the polished Marist - Papanui side but Grant Princept, a first-year player, showed determination and spirit in his tackling and covering from the side of the scrum. Another flanker who had a fine game on Saturday was the Linwood under sst D player, Murray Pritig, who ran hard and handled well in scoring two tries. A game which attracted many spectators was the match between two of the favoured sides in the under Bst 71b A grade, St Andrew's and. High School Old Boys’, both school sides. The H. 5.0.8. ■ forwards paved the way to the team's narrow 5-3 victory; their rucking was flercesome in its determination, they tied up the back of the line-out quite effectively, and managed to spoil most of the ball St Andrew’s won whether by bursting through the line-out or by competent screwing of the scrum. St Andrew’s had chances of winning but unfortunately both their kickers were off target and sometimes vital passes went astray. The standard of Rugby played is exceptionally high and as the spectators agreed, the game was a pleasure to watch. Too Serious? The most amazing feature of the forward play was the preponderance of ball won by H. 5.0.8. at the front of the line-out. The referee apparently was not amazed but may have been outwitted, for he failed to notice one H. 5.0.8. prop, who frequently hoisted the player jumping so successfully at No. 3 in the line-ouf. The referee, however, is hardly to be blamed for one would not expect this rather sophisticated offence to be practised in an underweight grade—an offence which suggests that possibly things are getting a little too serious at this level. The Sumner under sst B side has a number of young, small players and yet the team has had a fairly successful season. Part of the credit for this success must go to lock, Stephen Burgess, who is a great toiler in the tight, and first five-eighth, Brian Holt, who controlled play expertly and ran well. Two inside backs in the under Bst 71b A grade who stood out on Saturday for

[incisive running were Christchurch A’s Robin Herron and Linwood's Graham Davies. Both players have an eye for a gap and the acceleration necessary to carry them past tacklers. Both, however, could improve their play by concentrating on giving their outside backs better service for they tend to run away from their supports. The early match at Lancaster Park Oval on Saturday was an under 17 game between Christchurch and the Maori side Otautahi. This match was dominated by! Otautahi, which ran and; passed with great verve. The score, however, does not indicate the territorial equality of the game, and had Christchurch paid greater, attention to tackling, the result might have been much closer.