Canterbury in rugby league grand final

Press, 9 August 1976, Page 15

Canterbury in rugby league grand final

By

JOHN COFFEY

It seemed that the Canterbury rugby league team had to be faced with a very’ real threat of defeat before it found the confidence to surge to a 32-11 victory over West Coast in the southern final of the national Rothmans tournament at the Show Grounds on Saturday.

Canterbury certainly improved upon its earlier displays this season, but the uneven nature of its effort was shown by the fact that its eight tries and four goals were accumulated in three scoring bursts which, in aggregate, occupied only 12 minutes.

A further advance, particularly among the forwards, must be sought and obtained if Canterbury is to retain its New Zealand title. At least, it is now certain that the grand final will be held at the Show Grounds—on the evening of September 22 — but consideration should be given to arranging a warm-up match or two in the meantime.

Only when Tony Coll, the West Coast second-row forward, surged on to a r verse pass from Bill Balderstone and skirted the Canterbury full-back, Michael O’Donnell, on his path to the goal-posts did the home side look a likely loser. Peter O’Neill’s conversion placed West Coan into a 9-6 lead. The few moments of meditation behind its own try-line might have provided the inspiration that Canterbury had been seeking. Only three minutes remained to the interval but Canterbury used them to gather 10 points, and Leon Paskell’s second try immediately after the resumption made certain of West Coast’s elimination. Eddie Kerrigan also touched down twice for Canterbury, and David Field, Mockv Brereton, Terry Gillman. and Mutu Stone scored the other tries. O’Donnell added four goals, taking his career points total for the province to 104.

O’Neill kept West Coast in contention for quite some time with three penalties, as well as his conversion of Coil’s try. Mr Jim Fisher, the Canterbury coach, viewed the result, and the margin, as a belated suggestion that the Rothmans championship is not a lost cause—“We are now getting somewhere; the enthusiasm shown at training began to come through, and there is every indication that we will trouble even Auckland,” he said.

He was somewhat perturbed, as were most of the spectators, at the rank untidiness of the team in the opening quarter. The players took too long to warm to their task and to realise that Canterbury’s best means of success lay through the threequarters. Kerrigan. Brereton, Gary Taie. and Paskell. West Coast, looking to its enthusiastic forwards to compensate for its comparative deficiencies among the backs, started with equal slowness. The visitors did. however, make the first positive contribution when O’Neill kicked a simple goal, be-

fore laxness from the kick-off allowed the alert Kerrigan to force a loose ball and retrieve the initiative for Canterbury. Field completed a passing move soon afterwards. O’Neill replied with a second penalty and the stalemate persisted until the courageous West Coast prop. Bill Hargreaves, hinted that he might inspire his team-mates to gain control. Severely stunned in an accidental clash of heads. Hargreaves rose from the stretcher and returned to the fray with Increased momentum.

At Hargreaves’s shoulder in the renewed West Coast thrusts were Coll, Balderstone. Kevin Franklin, and Tony Costello, but as soon as it appeared that a definite pattern had emerged the tables were turned, Wayne Bunn won the ball from the kick-off to Coll's try and Alan Rushton sent Gillman across to score; then it was Gilman, palming off defenders again, who linked with Wally Wilson, Field, and Taie to put Paskell in the clear. Medical advice overruled Hargreaves's diagnosis and the West Coast captain was replaced at the break. His absence was sorely felt by his side, and especially his hooker, John Griffin, who did not take a scrum from Murray Wright for the next 38 minutes. Wright wrested possession from 11 of the 12 set situations in this spell, having shared the honours, 8-8. with Griffin in the first half. The Canterbury backs benefited from the one-sided scrummaging. Brereton was an outstanding mid-field general. Paskell. a fine foil, and Kerrigan and Tale (who switched to Paskell’s wing at the interval) beat numerous attempted tackles with deft footwork and the knowledge of when to turn attacks infield. At scrum half. Wilson made long strides towards top form in his backing-up of the forwards. Field had a quiet but satisfactory introduction to firstclass football. O’Donnell was well beaten by Coll, making amends with one magnificent catch of an up-and-under in the shadow of his posts, and complementing his outside backs when joining the line.

The need for a distributor and leader was still very noticeable in the Canterbury pack. All of the forwards had their moments to remember, none more so than Gillman when he was taking the ball at full flight. Stone, as always, returned a remarkable tackling work-rate, Rushton must be given some credit for placing Gillman in positions where he would be most effective, and Barry Edkins and Bunn became increasingly prominent as the pack found its combination.

Coll was again the outstanding West Coast forward, in spite of close coverage from his opponents. and Franklin was another who worried Canterbury with his forceful running. The visiting backs were not a match for the Canterburv line, although Terry Burrows has undoubted nromise and Gerard Harcourt defended well until replaced early in the second spell. Mr Bill Mann, of Wellington, became the second consecutive representative referee to find fault with Canterbury. Fifteen of the 20 penalties were awarded to West Coast, seven of the infringements occurring around the scrums, but there were no after-match grumbles.