Coast match off

Press, 8 July 1976, Page 42

Coast match off

This season’s rugby match between Canterbury and West Coast has been cancelled. The match was to Ijave been played at Rugby Park, Greymouth. on June 20. but transport difficulties in snowy weather prevented the Canterbun- side from reaching the Coast. A new date, July 18, was set nine days ago, but the Coast selectors did not appear to be overjoyed with this arrangement — an important inter-club match was set down for the previous day, and West Coast’s national competition match against Mid-Canterbury was scheduled for July 24. Mindful of the plight of its snow-bound troops last month, the Canterbury union felt it would be safer to dispatch the team a day before the match, and seek billets for the Saturday night. But this, too, would have inconvenienced the West Coast union: and after further discussions between the two bodies vesterday, it was agreed to bow to fate and cancel the match The Canterbury side, which has been basking in sunshine in Queensland since losing to the state team at Brisbane last Saturday, will return to Christchurch this evening. Canterbury’s next match will be against MidCanterbury. at Ashburton, on July 28, although country members of the team will he pressed into service for Canterbury Sub-unions in the match against Nelson-Bays at Rangiora next Tuesday.