Linwood In Grand Final; Addington Eliminated

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32395, 7 September 1970, Page 11

Linwood In Grand Final; Addington Eliminated

Linwood reached the grand final of the Canterbury Rugby league major championship when it resisted a strong second-half challenge to beat Papanui, 22-18, on Saturday. In the other semi-final Marist-Western Suburbs eliminated Addington,

The preliminary final next Saturday will be played between MaristWestern Suburbs and Papanui, the winner becoming Linwood’s opponent in the grand final on Septmber 20.

The semi-finals included mjny spectacular moments, the tension rising as each of the four teams experienced their periods of dominance and depression and reaching a climax as Addington and thpn Papanui attempted to snatch victory with late rallies. However, the final results may be accepted as a fair indication of the relative merits of the contestants. Both Linwood and Marist-Western Suburbs finished their matches with a two-try advantage over their rivals.

In the Gore Cup (bottom four) semi-finals Hornfiy beat Sydenham to reach the grand fiqal and Kaiapoi relegated Christchurch-Eastern Suburbs to the bottom of the major championship rankings. B. Odgers (Linwood) won the “player of the week” award in the second semifinal. His strong running was responsible for two of his team’s tries and his thrust when joining the back-line complemented the soundness of his play in the more orthodox duties of a fullback.

The New Zealand threequarter, M. P. Brereton, was selected as the “player of the match” in the early fixture. Brereton scored two tries and was at his penetrative best id the Marist-Western Suburbs centres. 'Results:—

Major Championship Linwood 22, Papanui 18. Marist-Western Suburbs 19, Addington 15. Gore Cup Hornby 26, Sydenham 16. Kaiapoi 17, ChristchurchEastern Suburbs 12. Stifled UHWOdD » R. V. Flanagan, - ?• r' S bor V- *'• H Taylor. • 1 K Broughton, tries; G J. Rosanowski, five goals. PAPANUI it: J. G. Clarke, two - tries; R F Schwass, six goals.

Jun wood gained a winning lead when it scored the only three tries in the first halfdrawing away to 17-6 at the interval—and tenaciously (dung ta its advantage when Papanui displayed considerable improvement after the resumption.

The first two tries were scored by R. V. Flanagan and R- G. Thorpe and were typical forward tries—a short, powerful burst from a play-the-ball near Papanui’s line leading to

I the forced opening of the opposing defence. » However, the accurate goalkicking of R. F. Schwass en- • abled Papanui to keep in touch I with the lead until B. Odgers 1 made the first of his two vital - excursions into the back-line in the thirty-eighth minute. He * broke past two attempted I tackles to send W. H. Taylor across well clear of Papanui’s cover. J. G. Clarke sparked renewed I life into his team-mates when 1 he scored twice in the first 25 , minutes of the second half, ’ both being initiated by his fbrI wards from positions close to Linwood’s try-line. ! These efforts brought Papa- ; nui up to 18-19 but it was I Odgers who had the final say when he joined a movement 1 on the blind-side, ran clear of > the first line of defence and created the opportunity for J. R. Broughton to score. Linwood managed to keep Papanui contained over the remaining four minutes, its tackl-

ing maintaining the very efficient quality that had stifled Papanui’s numerous attempts to use its back-line throughout the match. The team-work shown by the Linwood players was a major factor in its second successive defeat of the minor premier. The defence was unrelenting and most accurate, stifling : Papanui’s intentions to move the ball to the three-quarters, ; Papanui had its opportunities. K. R. Blackler provided : the team with possession from more than half of the scrums I and R. S. Walker took the team 1 to favourable territorial posi- I tions with his outstanding line- i kicking. 1 But Papanui did not display i the confidence on attack that it , had done during the minor | championship rounds. It was ( bustled into errors by the »

forward-moving Linwood de fenders as passes were made with undue haste and little forethought. The style of play adopted bj Linwood ensured that even member of the team completed his share of work, both wher running the ball and wher smothering Papanui’s aspira tions. Odgers. however, did stand out as a very solid full back capable of creating chaos when making the extra man among the backs. Clarke and Walker were ir excellent form for Papanui. bul they were not able to inject a similar industrious attitude into their team-mates. Schwass was successful witli all six goal-kicks that he at tempted while Rosanowski kicked five out of 10 for Lin wood to take his points total for the season to 193.

Referee: Mr P. Yaxiey. Fluctuating MARIST-WESTERH SUBURBS 19: M. P. Brereton two. P. V. Costigan. B F. Dobbs. M. H. Mohi. tries; W. D. Beri two goals. ADDIMGTON 15: A. Bos, B. F. Gillman, M. Stone, tries; G. H. Teaho two, Bos, goals. The first semi-final probably provided more thrills than the game which succeeded it. However, this was generally the result of less consistent tackling and a greater number of basic mistakes, factors that kept play moving at a swift and fluctuating pace Marist-Western Suburbs relayed possession along its back-line intelligently during the first quarter and the wings, B. F. Dobbs and P. V. Costigan, accepted the opportunities to touch down near the corner flags. Then a long run by B. F. Gillman through the Marist-West-

ern Suburbs centres completely shattered the opposing coverdefence and finished when A. Bos ambled over the try-line with several players in support. It was only a magnificent individual try by M. P. Brereton that allowed Marist-Western Suburbs to lead, 9-5, at halftime.

Addington resumed In deteri mined fashion and within 12 minutes a try by Gillman and I two goals by G. H. Teaho had i taken it to a three-point lead. • This was to prove short-lived, however, as Brereton scored his second try soon afterwards i when E. Brown dropped a simple pass inside his own twenty-five-yard line. Each team scored another try before the finish and Marist-Western Suburbs was given many anxious moments as Addington strived to wipe out the four-point deficit. Several desperate attacks were mounted over the final stages as Addington's fine supporting play severely tested the defence. The most disappointing feature of the play was the inaccuracy of the tackling. On many occasions players were held by as many as three opponents but were still allowed sufficient freedom to release the ball. The notable exception whs the Marist-Western Suburbs captain, P. V. B. Smith, who set his team-mates and rivals an excellent example in the requirement of low tackling. J. H. Fisher, the Addington hooker, was forced to leave the field with a leg injury after having won eight of the first 15 scrums. Marist-Western Suburbs finally held a 20-18 advantage in set play. M. H. Mohi and R. J. A. MacKenzie alternating at hooker during the game. Addington also had to replace Teaho shortly before the end.

Brereton and L. P. J. Brown was the most effective of the Marist-Western Suburbs backs with A. P. Coll and M. H. Mohi invariably breaking past tackles when the team chose to progress by using its forwards. The most prominent Addington forwards were Gillman and the youthful Bos, while G. Tunui and M. Stone played capably in the halves. The referee (Mr T. C. Houston) awarded 12 penalties to MaristWestern Suburbs and 10 to Addington.

Ten Tries HORNBY 26: B. Jager two, A. Baxter, W. Woodgate, W. R. Robertson, B. Smith tries: T. Williams four goals. SYDENHAM 16: M. August two, B. S. Tatnall, R. Andrews tries; F. Day two goals. It was not until the last 10 minutes that Hornby was able to overcome the spirited play of Sydenham, earn promotion to the Gore Cup grand final and retain the Desmond-Rogers Memorial Challenge Trophy. Hornby had appeared set for an easy victory when it led by eight points soon after the start but two fine tries by the effervescent Sydenham wing, M. August, levelled the scores and Hornby was extended to hold a 14-10 advantage at the interval.

Neither team was able to wrest more than a temporary superiority. Sydenham prospered during the middle stages of the second half when B. S. Tatnall and R. Andrews touched down in quick succession to again tie the scores. Hornby regained the initiative when W. R. Robertson Crashed through the defence 11 minutes from the end. and extended its margin during the last few seconds with a try by B. Smith and two goals by T. Williams.

The match was played at a fast pace with the ball being relayed along the back-lines consistently. The opposing centres, R. J. Raistrlck, Andrews (Sydenham), T. Jones, and B. Jager, evaded their markers on two or three occasions to initiate try scoring movements. Robertson was the most effect<v®, Hornby forward while N. Radcliffe played well >tn the Sydenham pack. Referee: Mr G. Gibson.

Drab Game KAIAPOI IT: T. Aubrey, L. Rob leston, J. Fonotea tries; I, Stark four goals. EASTERN U: T. Williams, B, Ross tries; J. C. P, Hawthorne two goals, A. Rushton field goal. In a disappointing game characterised by numerous handling errors and lack of con? structive movements, Kaiapoi scored three tries to Eastern's two and thus indicated the slight difference between the two teams.

Neither side played with the urgency that should have been stimulated by the prospect of facing a promotion-relegation match. Lack of a positive tactical approach, too much individualism, and indiscriminate kicking and passing marred the performances of both sides.

Possession was evenly shared but Kaiapoi’s strong forward division quickly asserted a superiority that was rarely relinquished. J. Fonotea was an able leader and his energetic display was complemented by the diligent contributions of D. Brown. W. Morrison and B. J. Gardner.

The Kaiapoi back-line rarely functioned as a potent attacking force but was well served by the capable and enterprising T. Aubrey, at stand-off half. L. Rolleston. at centre, brought much needed stability with a sound display of tackling and running. However, his constructive endeavours too often lacked support.

Eastern’s display was very disappointing. Its abundance of individual talent has yet to be moulded into a consistently cohesive unit and this factor was highlighted to a considerable degree in this particular match. On occasions, Eastern has proved its ability to topple more highly rated opponents. However. its rehabilitation programme will now have to wait until next season.

Referee: Mr N. Taylor.