Lions beaten at own game, but still win

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 42

Lions beaten at own game, but still win

From

KEVIN McMENAMIN

in Blenheim

The British Lions reached 40 points for the third successive time in mid-week matches when they beat Marlborough-Nelson Bays, 40-23, at Lansdowne Park yesterday, but it was hardly a performance to embellish their reputation.

Despite scoring five tries | to two. they made dis-j; appointing use of ample pos- ( j session and on a “top tries"! basis the two the combined ! ’earn scored clearly headed i the list. But if the Lions were aL kttle off colour, the com-! bined team gave the crowd; of about 14,000 plenty to en-i ihuse over as it took the I, visitors on at their running; »ame — and beat them at it. A huge weight dis-; •dvantage in the forwards i rventuallv put paid to the; possibility, which was still! alive well into the third: quarter, that combined could jcore an upset win, but it? ■nay have required only safer tackling and better goal-kicking early to make; the score a lot closer. Steve Marfell kept com-'; bined in the hunt for a long: time with four successive : penalty goals — he added a ; fifth later — and he was;: only given the ball after i Kevin Sutherland had missed; two penalties and a con-1 version, none any harder ’.han some Marfell kicked. i; The Lions had other prob- 1 1

llems besides keeping tabs on a backline which was brim-1 full of enterprise. They lost] itwo players, Graham Price! and Doug Morgan, through and two others, I Dave Burcher and Brynmor Williams (Morgan’s replacement) required attention. However, after the game the ; manager (Mr George Burrell) iwas hopeful of quick recoveries by all four. i Both Mr Burrell and the I coach (John Dawes) took the ; opportunity to make veiled 'criticisms of New Zealand ! refereeing and it could well 'have been that they felt: :there was no better time to! get something off their, chests than after a good; ,win. Mr Burrell pointed out, i quite fairly, that the International Rugby Board had : issued a directive in respect ;of non ball carriers being in front of the ball-carrier on dummy scissors moves. He said the Lions were observing the directive and added that it was worrying that their opponents were not. Mr Dawes spoke of the advantages backs can gain from good scrummaging and

he implied that so far as the Lions were concerned this advantage was being lost beacuse the off-side laws were not being properly applied. This, he seemed to say, was why the Lions wings had not had more to do yesterday.

Yet even if there is some truth in the charge, it does not altogether explain away the lack of set-play penetration by the Lions’ backs. They frittered away a lot of possession close to the scrum and there was not the ! speed further out to capitalise on quick ball. j And yesterday was a day on which the Lions should really have come alive. The ground was the firmest of the tour, it was bathed in sunlight and there was no wind to speak of. The combined team, for all its fine deeds on attack, was nothing wonderful on defence and should really have paid more dearly for not making more first tackles count. As well as being highscoring, the game was also packed full of penalties. The referee (Mr Nelson Whittaker, of Manawatu) awarded 32 in all — 17 to combined and 15 to the Lions. The Lions turned four, one less than combined, into goals.

It was remarkable that the combined side should come out of the game as well as it did. It was beaten 21-12, in the lineouts, two tightheads to none and was for ever being pushed back in scrums and mauls. Yet whenever it did win the ball the backs took off like true champions, doubly amazing for a line which had had only two practices together.

The half-back, Peter Baker, overcame all obstacles to fire his passes within catching distance to Jim Speedy, who was as competent as any five-eighths the Lions have met, and further out there was pace to complement movements that were superbly executed, notwithstanding the 1.R.8. directive.

Graham Rogers, the second five-eighths, scored both combined’s tries, the second after a most determined sprint, and at centre Marfell, except for a dangerous headhigh tackle on Mike Gibson, which allowed Gibson to kick a penalty goal, was very constructive. The left wing, Brian Ford, was as forceful as ever and he made one dashing run that with a little luck could have given combined the first points.

By comparison, the Lions’ backs were overshadowed. The full-back, Bruce Hay, accelerated sharply to take kicks that looked beyond his reach, while the centres, Dave Burcher and Gibson, had to make their own play. Jeff Squire, who is turning into one of the most con-

sistent of the Lions’ midweek players, was the pick of the forwards, another “spare-part,” Bill Beaumont, was very vigorous in the tight, more so even than the expected test selections, Derek Quinnell and Gordon Brown.

However, Brown seemed more mobile than he has been and this was never more evident than when he was on hand to take an inside pass from his left wing, Peter Squires, and score a try. The combined pack had enough honest toilers to start a club. Joe Baryluk and his lightweight propping partner, George Paki Paki, were shoved about unmercifully, but their spirit never waned. Behind them, Murray West and Bruce Kenny were just as eager. With the team for Saturday’s test likely to be so different, the Lions can easily dismiss yesterday’s performance as simply being the winning one they wanted. Harsher critics, however, may well wonder when, if ever, a side not including Andy Irvine is going to cut loose with a memorable display of running rugby. At half-time, the Lions led 18-10. The tourists’ points came from two penalties and two conversions — all fine kicks — by Morgan and two tries. Elgan Rees scored the first when Squires broke from the third of three five-metre scrums and Hay scored in the same spot after Rees had fumbled a pass which must have been very close to being a knock-on, the pass coming from Hay. Rogers scored his first try when he finished off a movement that began when Gordon entered the backline and which was carried on by Marfell, who made a lot of ground, Kenny and Neal. Marfell kicked two of his five penalties before the interval.

The next two came early in the second spell, but Gibson, who took over the goalkicking when Morgan left the field, kept the Lions well in front by kicking two also.

The new half-back, Williams, slipped around a ruck to score the Lions’ third try, which came after a long run by Squires, and the next was Brown’s, which Burcher started. Gibson converted this try, as he did again when Burcher swooped on a loose ball and dived over.

Rogers’ second try came near the end when the combined forwards carried on some aggressive attacking by quickly winning a ruck and Rogers ran with all the speed he could muster to score in a tackle. Martell's conversion was a “poster,” but he kicked his fifth penalty a few minutes later.