S.I. Marist Rugby in Christchurch

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32879, 30 March 1972, Page 17

S.I. Marist Rugby in Christchurch

More than 30 provincial Rugby representatives will be in Christchurch at the weekend competing in the twenty-sixth annual South Island Marist Easter tournament.

Ten teams will take part in the tournament to be played at Rugby and Malvern parks. The early rounds will be played on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and the final at Rugby Park on Sunday afternoon at 3 pan. The participating teams will represent Nelson, Blenheim, Greymouth, Hokitika, Ashburton, Timaru, Dunedin. Gore, Invercargill and Christchurch. Ashburton Celtic, which includes eight Mid-Canterbury representatives—one of them is the 1970 junior All Black, G. Prendergast—is expected to be one of the stronger sides, although another team likely to be well-endowed with first-class players is St Mary’s, Hokitika. Nelson Celtic has two nationally-known figures in the South Island representatives and All Black trialists, T. J. Julian and T. W. Mitchell. SIX REPRESENTATIVES Blenheim Marist has six players who have represented Marlborough, one of them being the former Lincoln College and Canterbury B five-eighths, A. Goddard. Invercargill Marist, which won the tournament at home

last year, is believed to be bringing a young team, but even so should make its presence felt. Christchurch Marist, which won the tournament in 1969 and 1970, has lost three of its best backs of last winter, but with forwards of the calibre of J. F. Burns, K. Cowan and V. Stewart, it should at least be the equal of any opponent. At the end of the tournament a South Island Marist team will be chosen, but in a departure from the practice of the last few years, it will not play a game.