Hornby Has Vital League Match

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32381, 21 August 1970, Page 9

Hornby Has Vital League Match

<By Out Rugby League Reporter) Unless Hornby can beat Linwood at the Show Grounds tomorrow, it will lose any chance of qualifying for the major championship semi-finals and extending its impressive record of six Canterbury Rugby' league cup titles in the last eight years. 1

Hornby trails Marist-West-em Suburbs, its grand final opponent last season, by one competition point with only two matches remaining to decide which club will join Papanui, Linwood and Adding-

ton in the quest for the Pat Smith Challenge Trophy.

With Marist-Western Suburbs expected to beat Kaiapoi comfortably, Hornby faces the alternatives of upsetting Lin-

wood or being relegated to the Gore Cup (bottom four) section. Although Linwood leads Hornby by nine points on the minor championship table, it cannot afford to regard the country club’s challenge lightly. Hornby won the corresponding match in the first round and has earned a repu-

tation of succeeding with ele-venth-hour tilts at top honours over the last few seasons. Indeed, Linwood will need to display vast improvement to restore the confidence of its own supporters. It did not even promise to approach the form expected of a title con-

tender in losing tip Christ-church-Eastern Suburbs last Saturday. The inducement for Hornby to win will be a strong one. If it can remain within one point of fourth place it. would be favoured to gain admittance to the semi-finals when it plays Christchurch-Eastern Suburbs in the final round and Marist-Western- Suburbs faces the much sterner task of beating Papanui. The Canterbury board of control’s decision to banash the Kaiapoi-Marist-Western Suburbs fixture to the subsidiary No. 2 ground was unfortunate for only this match and Homby’s meeting with Linwood will have any influence on the outcome of thei '■ major championship. Each team has had a con- - vincing win over the other

this season but Kaiapoi has been beaten in its last 10 games and has drifted to equal last position with Ghristchurch-Eastern Suburbs. This, however, should act as an incentive to the players for one of these clubs may be required to play a promotionrelegation match against University early next season. Papanui should clinch the minor championship by beating Sydenham tomorrow. Only losses to Sydenham and MaristWestern Suburbs and victories by Linwood over Hornby and Kaiapoi would force Papanui to share the Massetti Cup. In the other match, Addington has the opportunity to take possession of the Des-mond-Rogers Memorial Challenge Trophy from Christ-church-Eastern Suburbs.