Papanui humbles Hornby

Press, 9 August 1976, Page 3

Papanui humbles Hornby

No-one who watched Papanui humble Hornby, 66-16, at the Show Grounds yesterday would argue with the after-match comment of the Papanui captain-coach, Rod Walker, that his team had given the most imposing display of strength by any premier rugby league club for quite a few years. Walker himself capped Papanui’s triumph when he ambled away from a shattered Hornby defence to claim the fourteenth try. Accurate goal-kicking by Kevin Williams took the winning margin well past Papanui’s previous best at Hornby’s expense, 45-10 in 1973. Papanui can no longer be headed in the Massetti Cup premiership competition, and unless there is a vast improvement shown by one of ■ its closer rivals the major championship grand final on September 12 has all the makings of a mismatch.

It is certain that Walker will keep a wary eye out for any complacency in the Papanui camp. In extending its unbeaten premiership run to 13 games, Papanui has found a peak that will be difficult to maintain, but Walker is determined that this high level will be retained for the next month or so.

There were many anxious second-half moments for Kaiapoi before it achieved

its 21-15 win over Addington in the curtain-raiser, and Ka.apoi remains well in the running for inclusion in the championship semi-finals. TEAM EFFORT As a tribute to Papanui’s combined assault on the Hornby try-line, the selectors of the McWilliam’s Wines “player of the week” award took the unprecedented step in choosing the captain-coach, Rod Walker, to receive the prize on behalf of his whole squad.

And while it was Walker who was the most prominent individual in Papanui’s success, his magnificent ball distribution would not have been so devastatingly effective had it not been for the whole-hearted contribution of his supports. Walker arrived at the Show Grounds expecting to fill his best-known role of loose forward, but when Graham Waites was ruled unfit on medical advice, Walker shifted himself to stand-off half and revised his pack. When Papanui was in front, 29-8, at the interval, the Hornby leader, (Wayne Robertson, also transferred from the back of | the scrum to the inside

backs, but as valiantly as Robertson tried to rally his men the onslaught was accelerated. There were early thoughts that Hornby, weakened by injuries, might worry the competition leader. Wayne Bunn opened the scoring with a try before all of the Papanui parts fell into place. There were obvious defensive deficiencies in Hornby’s make-up — it will need a fully fit Bob Jarvis to provide an example in the semifinals —- but few club teams

in the country could have contained Papanui yesterday. The emphasis was placed on keeping the ball on the move, switching direction, and backing up — once this was accomplished cracks in the Hornby armour were inevitable. Four Hornby players were clinging to Grant Findlay when he put Papanui ahead after 12 minutes, and three others failed to turn Mark Broadhurst back later in the half. Angus McGregor, Mike Godinet — who also won the scrums, 13-8 — Kevin Walker and Athol Clarke were moving just as strongly on to Rod Walker’s passes. Ken Tait scuttled away from the Hornby cover from a number of scrums, David Field linked will with Walker at inside centre, and the other three-quarters, Russell Set ward, Eddie Kerrigan, and Gary Taie, weaved and stepped their way upfield at commendable speed. Behind them all, Kevin Williams was unflappable and alert for chances to join the attacks. It was a disheartening experience for Robertson, who earned the attention given to him by the Papanui tacklers. He now has an even harder task to get his players back into a frame of mind that would keep them in the running for a grand final spot. Papanui’s only blemish was its concession of 15 of the 22 penalties, Mr Bill Menzies being especially severe on off-side infringements around the play-the-balls. This should be easily rectified by Walker; even if Papanui had been a little less enthusiastic it would have still won decidedly. “TRIES” INVALID Kaiapoi’s win over Addington in the early fixture will probably be remembered not for the tries that were scored, but those that were not. In just eight minutes of the second half, the referee (Mr Don Wilson) had occasion to rule that nlavprs

had failed to force the ball correctly, and his alert positioning enabled him to make swift and correct judgments. The comedy of costly errors occurred when Kaiapoi was clinging to a 13-10 advantage, with Addington pressing strongly. Kapai Stirling, on the Addington left wing, was the first to lose control over the opposing try-line, and his marker, Kelvin Kennett, was twice guilty of similar misdemeanours. Francis Lawrence, who does

not waste such opportunities and who had earlier touched down after an interception 90 metres upfield, returned a semblance of sanity to the game by beating two defenders and placing Kaiapoi another three points clear. Moments later, Tony Ratu, the Addington prop, fumbled i when in the act of crossing beneath Kaiapoi’s cross-bar. In many respects, Addington was unfortunate not to take two premiership points. That it did not do so was a result of Kaiapoi’s more confident start and Addington’s initial shortcomings on defence. The second-half scrums were dominated, 10-4, by Dale Brown, of Kaiapoi, and it was to Addington’s considerable credit that it eagerly sought the loose ball and did most of the attacking. George Te Aho, at centre and then scrum-half, captained Addington with determination and won the Jim Beam Award, while Steve Wilks’s magnificent break set Wayne Green up for the best try of the match. Mutu Stone and Paul Atkinson were the most effective Addington forwards, with Wayne Stanley, Brown, and Dick Ngataki playing prominently in the other

pack. Lawrence and Jack Clarke troubled the Addington cover-defence. Results:— PAPANUI 66 (E. S. Kerrigan three, R. A. Seaward two, M. E. Broadhurst two, G. D. Taie two, G. R. Findlay two, A. F. McGregor, M. 11. F. Godinet, R. S. Walker tries; K. P. J. Williams 12 goals) beat HORNBY 14 (W. A. S. Bunn, R. Alfleld, K. Alfield, G. V. Moore tries; B. W. Langton two goals). Half-time: Papanui, 29-8. KAIAPOI 21 (F. A. Lawrence three, K. Steel, J. Carroll tries; Lawrence three goals) beat ADDINGTON 15 (M. D. Stone, W. R. Green, P. G. Atkinson tries; G. Te Aho two, Green goals). Half-time, Kaiapoi, 13-7. PREMIERSHIP POINTS

Grand final series: Papanui 8, Eastern 4, Linwood 4, Hornby 4, Kaiapoi 4, Sydenham 2, Addington 2, Marist 0. (Eastern meets Marist and Linwood plays Sydenham on Wednesday evening.)

P W L F A pts Pap. 13 13 0 579 158 26 East. 12 9 3 409 152 18 Hornby .. 13 8 5 313 222 16 Kaia. 13 8 5 239 163 16 Linw. 12 5 7 222 259 10 Add. 13 5 8 216 383 10 Marist .. 12 4 8 183 305 8 Syd. 12 4 8 177 299 8