Forwards ferocious

Press, 23 May 1977, Page 30

Forwards ferocious

There was some great rugby in the closing stages it as 'Hawke’s Bay threw ( everything it had into a I tinal bid for victory. t It is doubtful if even in c the South Island the Lions < forwards will encounter such t ferocity that the Hawke s f Bay pack injected into its it play. One local official was it left speechless, managing ( only to quiz visiting report-If ers’ about the adding! machines they would have ; needed to keep the score —| had their predictions Cornell The local newspaper alone 1 had prophesied a close j’ struggle. 1 The Hawke’s Bay captain,: Robbie Stuart, received a sympathetic response when he asked what a team had to do to win. He certainly led a team which bore no shirkers and those allocated the task of deciding players of the day were left with a major problem.

Just about every member of the Hawke’s Bay side excelled. The 20-year-old wing, Ken Taylor, in his first big game, capped an outstanding debut with a lovely try. Tocker was a potent attacker, the half-back turned first five-eighths, Hepa Paewai, handled superbly and kicked to perfection; and the former Canterbury mid-field player, Ricky Allen, revealed the promise of his formative years. But if there is one thing that Hawke’s Bay did better than anything else it would have to be the tackling. The wings, Taylor and Peter Durham, along with Allen and the replacement second five-eighths, Wayne Nixon, made some crunching tackles and so prompt were they in making them that the Lions backs were flattened before thay could even get started. There were some mighty performances from the for-

wards, too. Stuart and Mike McCool were the masters of the line-outs and for output there was no forward to match John O’Connor, the nearest being the flanker, Tim Carter, who added to the fine impression he made at the All Black trials. The local forwards provided an object lesson in Lion-taming: denying them ball and hitting them hard and often. Countless drives shattered the Lions’ defences and invariably Hawke’s Bay enjoyed a two-to-one advantage as the movement developed. An ounce of luck was ail the Bay neded to have scored at least two more tries. Of the Lions’ forwards only Derek Quinnell, for making some good saves when just one more pass was needed for a try, gained much stature. Willie Duggan tried hard and along with Tony Neary helped the side survive the second half onslaught. The tight forwards were going backwards so often that their numbers became more familiar than their faces. The question now is whether the Lions were simply on the receiving end of an inspired performance or whether they are as vulnerable as they looked. The coach, John Dawes, has promised some hard work in the days ahead and if the unbeaten record is to be maintained he will need to be true to his word. Happily for the Lions, a win is a win even when it is undeserved.

Scorers.— For the Lions: a try by Andy Irvine and three penalty goals by Steven Fenwick. For Hawke’s Bay: tries by Ken Taylor and Robbie Stuart and a penalty goal by Murray Tocker.