SUNDAY FINAL PROBABLE Old Boys upset Lincoln College in Rugby

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32976, 24 July 1972, Page 15

SUNDAY FINAL PROBABLE Old Boys upset Lincoln College in Rugby

The possibility of a confrontation between the Canterbury Rugby Union and the Lincoln College club over the playing of the Harewood Trophy final on a Sunday was averted by High School Old Boys 9 upset win against Lincoln College at Lancaster Park on Saturday.

Old Boys’ 20-12 victory made them the only unbeaten side in section two of the competition. The team will play New Brighton in the final round of section play next Saturday, but, even if Old Boys are beaten, they should qualify for the final on a count-back of points for and against.

Lincoln College was without five of its regular players on Saturday, but it would have applauded the manner in which the enterprising Old Boys’ side gained its win. Linwood and Christchurch both won, for a second time, in section one, and the two sides which wrestled for D.C.L. Shield supremacy two weeks ago will meet again next Saturday to decide which one advances to the Harewood final. New Brighton had a satisfactory rehearsal for its game against Old Boys by downing Albion by 19 points. The Lincoln College fullback, S. M. C. Murray, became the third senior player to reach a century of points this season; two conversions against Old Boys brought his total to 101. There was some excitement in the Challenge Shield competition, for the bottom six sides. Maiist, after 14 successive defeats this season, beat University B, while Sydenham reversed a first round result in beating Meri-vale-Papanui. Sydenham leads Uie competition with University A. Results:—

Harewood Trophy.—Section I: Linwood 14, Suburbs 0; Christchurch 24, Shirley 7. Section 2: Old Boys 20, Lincoln College 12; New Brighton 19, Albion 0. Challenge Shield.—University A 16, Belfast 7; Sydenham 10, MerivalePapanui 6; Marist 10, University B 8. Points are:—Harewood ’Sttophy.—Section 1: Linwood 2, Christchurch 2, Shirley 0, Suburbs ©. Section 2: Old Boys 2. Lincoln College 1, New Brighton 1. Albion 0. Challenge Shield.—University A 2, Svdenham 2, Merivale-Papa-nui 1, Marist 1; University B 0, Belfast 0. SHORN OF STRENGTH Lincoln College's captain for the day, A. McLellan, shaved off his beard and moustache during the week, so his team should not have been surprised when it suffered the same fate as Samson. Admittedly, College was without five of its regular players, but it still faced Old Boys with a formidable XV. However, while Old Boys made the most of their chances, College, did not, and the wisdom of its

policy of keeping the ball close to the forwards was debatable, when it had clever attacking backs such as I. A. Hurst and M. Gaukrodger at its disposal. Nothing could detract from the merit of Old Boys’ win, and the manner in which it was achieved. It attacked with as much zest as it had against Albion the week before; the backs revealed imagination and determination, and the forwards were all heroes, because they gained the edge in possession from all sources against their heavier rivals. S. I. Purdon, always a constructive loose forward, launched the best move of the game from the back of a line-out, and R. Rennell scored a splendid try after hard running and quick passing by R. Wilkinson, G. R. W. Harrison, I. Taylor and B. McPhail. R. H. Doell was a notable figure in the tight for Old Boys, and the **tight head king,” R. Sheldon, continued his run of success by shading P. E. Wallace, 5-2, in the scrums. The backs ran with a will, but they owed much to the steady, thoughtful play of G. W. Henry at first five-eighths. McLellan and two able lieu-

tenants, J. C. Sisley and G. Sanderson, led the College pack in some good drives, but M. D. I Fluker and D. W. Priest kicked away too much possession. In other respects. Priest made 1 an excellent fist of his role as the caretaker first five-eighths, < but Hurst, who showed his paces by beating six men in a startling run early in the second ; half, should have been given his , head. S. M. C. Murray made some ; spectacular bursts from fullback, but, for once, support for < him was lacking at vital . moments. STOUT RESISTANCE Although conclusively beaten. Suburbs emerged from its match against Linwood with 1 a good deal of credit. Its attacking moments were few, but it defended so well that 1 Linwood had to call on all its resources. Linwood exerted plenty of I pressure, but it had a number of possible tries thwarted by solid tackling and an excellent cover defence. It was only in 1 the final seconds of the two 1 halves that Suburbs let Linwood : in for two of its three tries. The match was a hard, bruis- ; Ing one, and the regularity with 1 which the St John Ambulance 1 attendants were on the field in ’ the second spell must have left 1 them as puffed at the players. 1 Linwood used its backs exten- J sively, and. as a result, the game never lacked for movement. The I Linwood backs made a good deal 1 of headway, but only twice did ] they outpace the cover defence. ’ Notwithstanding the struggle I they had, the Linwood forwards < were most impressive. Their I support for the ball-carrier was < unrelenting and in one move- ’ ment they swept almost the I length of the field with hand-to-

hand passing. I. Mallard, j. Ashworth, and J. Phillips were three who shirked nothing. Behind the Linwood scrum, B F. Elder was not quite as shan as usual in his clearing of the ball, although D. Andrews handled so well that the line was not too adversely affected. The centre, P. R. Jellyman. made some dashing runs and the right wing, D. McQuigan, was just as happy to bowl over opponents as he was to run around them. The full-back, W. F McCormick, made some penetrating runs and, for his try, he crashed through a wall of defenders. The Suburbs backs were cast almost entirely in a defensive role, with only the inside pair, L. J. Davis and J. Fleming seeing anything of the ball. D. Mahony, W. Hay and P. Cron were the key members of a pack which never let up. Once Cron showed that, for the occasion, family feelings had to be set aside as he replied in kind to some vigorous attention from his younger brother, the Linwood lock, G. Cron. BRIGHTON ON TOP While New Brighton certainly had one of its better days and fully deserved its win, Albion contributed greatly to its defeat by making poor use of the many chances it had in the second spell. Largely through the agency of its bigger and more mobile forwards, New Brighton secured a firm grip on the game in the first half, during which it scored 15 of its points. After the interval, Albion lifted its play appreciably, but lack of finish kept it scoreless. Albion had one long period on attack and at times it appeared

only quick passing was needed to bring a try. However, the side persisted in trying to force a breach close to scrums and rucks and here the New Brighton defence was very tight. Also, the Albion backs handled and passed weakly. Even in the second half when Albion did pose a threat, New Brighton still had control in the forwards. With K. J. Tanner in superb form, and E. R. Leask lending good support. New Brighton dominated the line-outs and it was also better able to profit when the ball was on the ground The flanker. B. Gibson, was very quick about the field and in the bustling, driving play which was its forte the New Brighton eight was often led by Tanner, K. Duke and R. Davison. W. Dickson had one of his best games at half-back—his • passing was most assured—and . although the back-line wasted a lot of ball this was not a fault of which the left wing, R. D. Pierce, could be Every effort was made to use ms pace ! and determination, and he appeared to relish the heavy workload. Albion’s backs appear to have lost much of the fluency which marked their play earlier in the season. Only rarely were they moving into their passes and such was their hesitancy that they were hard-pressed at times to reach the advantage line. R. Currie made one attractive break and the wing, C. Hodgson, showed a useful turn of speed.

M. Eagle. I. Bull and T. Wenmoth appeared the main forces behind the improved showing of the Albion pack in the secondhalf.

KNIGHT SHOWS PACE R. J. Knight's 85yd run for a try between the posts was the highlight of the Christ-church-Shirley game, which promised much yet produced little. Christchurch won clearly enough, but Shirley was an enigmatic side and often had its rival guessing, particularly in the second half when the fog rolled over the ground. Knight showed Shirley’s defence in a bad light by evading two half-hearted tackles at the start of his long run. There was further despondency for Shirley supporters when J. Warren kicked away possession with an extra man in the back-line; when the forwards won three successive rucks only to see their backs lose the ball; and when the normally reliable S. J. Holden missed four consecutive penalty kicks at goal. o But there were times when the Shirley forwards excelled themselves; they won some rucks when Christchurch had taken the ball in, and M. J. Toner and M. Beveridge were quick to recover the loose ball. Christchurch - had plenty of attacking chances, for W. J. Risman held sway over the lineout and gave the industrious A. T. Penny a stream of possession. But although M. R. McEwan moved quickly off the mark, the Christchurch backs failed to develop all their attacks satisfactorily, chiefly because of uncertain handling. As a consequence. Knight and B. C. Cochrane had few chances to show ther paces, but Knight’s competence on defence emphasised the folly of his omission from the provincial squad.