Rugby Youth

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32384, 25 August 1970, Page 13

Rugby Youth

WEEKLY COMMENT ON GAMES X AND PLAYERS

The Linwood Underweight Supporters’ Club, one of the best organised and most dedicated of the Christchurch

groups who support junior Rugby, is holding its second seven-a-side tournament at Queen Elizabeth Park on September 11. Last year’s tournament was

most successful, but the Linwood officials are confident that there are many improvements to be made. It is proposed to reduce to a minimum the time lapse between games and if this can be done, the tournament will be made more enjoyable for players.

Further streamlining has been achieved by splitting the large under sst contingent into two sections, in the hope that teams from the lower sections of the grade will enter. Seven-a-side Rugby is, in many ways, more suitable for underweight players than the full 15-a-side matches—there is more chance to show individual skills, more awareness of responsibility to the team, and the shorter time span is better suited to young players’ powers of concentration.

If the relaxed atmosphere of last year’s tournament can be recaptured, the fixture should provide a happy climax to the 1970 season. The tournament organisers look forward to the support of other Christchurch clubs in the venture.

On Saturday the final of the under Bst 71b A grade—the senior grade in underweight Rugby—was decided when the High School Old Boys’ A and Suburbs sides met again. Happily this was a much better game of Rugby than their last encounter. Suburbs, in winning 8-3 (two tries to none), displayed more speed to the loose ball than its opponents, who frequently lost hard-won territorial advantage when the Suburbs outside backs and loose forwards initiated kick and chase movements from breakdowns in mid-field. The Old Boys’ forwards lacked the drive that has characterised their play this season while on the day, the backs indulged in tactical kicking, which although fruitful in gaining ground when the side was defending, was often wasteful as an attacking ploy. Only Gary Lepine, at halfback, stood out for Old Boys. His passing of the wet ball was admirable and his tactical maturity was always evident For Suburbs, Dennis Smolen-

ski, at full-back, played extremely well both on attack and defence, and Kevin Tibbetts was an assured first fiveeighths, scoring a very good individual try, which put the result beyond doubt. The other final of the day was played between High School Old Boys and Burnside in the under 7st 71b grade. Old Boys won 9-6, to retain its unbeaten record for the season. Both sides played the running game as well as conditions permitted and the emphasis was more clearly on attack than it was in the under Bst 71b final. The Burnside team lacked cohesion in the forwards and consequently, a fast and talented backline lacked the opportunities to test a defence, which looked decidedly suspect in the second-half. Trevor Olley, at second fiveeighths for Bumside, is a gifted player and his try on Saturday, when he leapt high to take a cross-kick, then with a clever change of pace, outsprinted the defence to score in the comer, was the epitome of good Rugby. The Old Boys team won this match by its superior teamwork, especially when going forward. The backline, with Greg White and Alister Matheson complementing each other’s play splendidly, benefitted from the abundance of ball Murray Gain secured at number three in the line-outs. The Old Boys loose forwards hunted as a trio, but flanker Phillip Wilkinson also worked hard on cover-defence. Burnside did not deserve to win this match, although, through individual skill, it came very close to doing so. By the same token, Old Boys faded somewhat after halftime, only rallying late in the last quarter. This was a tense encounter in which the nervousness of the players may have affected the quality of the Rugby, but also in which the determination of both teams to scorn the conditions and play attacking football, was highly praiseworthy. Parents of under-weight Rugby players should have no problems entertaining their sons this first week of the holidays the Under 16 tournament which commences on Wednesday at Rugby Park will provide inspiration and entertainment for all the followers of Rugby youth.