Southland beats Wellington

Press, 17 September 1976, Page 24

Southland beats Wellington

PA Invercargill A dramatic return to form, right against the run of play after the first 40 minutes, saw Southland storm back to beat Wellington, 16-13, to rid itself of immediate relegation fears from the Radio New Zealand first division rugby competition, at Rugby Park, Invercargill, yesterday.

Two tries — one a magnificent individual effort by the first five-eighths, John Ellis, who ghosted his way through the Wellington team — and the last by the captain and prop forward, Dave Saunders, put Southland ahead of Marlborough on the first division ladder. Now Southland has to wait for Marlborough to play its remaining three matches, against Manawatu, Otago and Wellington, to see which side plays South Canterbury in the promo-tion-relegation match at the end of the season.

At half-time yesterday, Southland was a beaten team, unable to win possession, lacking purpose in the forwards and pace in the backs. Yet, after the break, the side staged a tremendous recovery and the small crowd 'of supporters who have stuck with the home team through a most disappointing season, was rewarded with the dramatic win in the dying stages. For Southland, Roger Ramsay, Ellis and Saunders scored tries, with Geoff Valli converting twice. Geoff Skipper and Warwick Proctor scored for Wellington, while Clive Currie added a penalty goal and Richard Cleland a conversion. Taranaki scored its seventh consecutive win in the North Island section of the second division national competition, when at Waihi yesterday it defeated Thames Valley 20-9.