Canty pack impressive as Marlb. overwhelmed

Press, 26 April 1978, Page 42

Canty pack impressive as Marlb. overwhelmed

By

JOHN BROOKS

The weather was warm and sunny, Blenheim style, and Alex Wyllie was out of action with a strained hamstring — yet Canterbury still beat Marlborough handsomely, 35-12, in an interprovincial rugby match yesterday.

In doing so it made cer-| tain of being a ready favour- i ite for the national first-di= vision championship, which it holds, because of the strength and purpose of its pack and the creative genius of the All Black first fiveeighths, Doug Bruce. Marlborough no longer commands a place in the august ranks of the first division, but it contributed fully to a match which thoroughly entertained a crowd of about 3500 at Rugby Park.

Among the spectators was a national selector, Mr P. S. Burke, and he must have been encouraged by the heartening early-season form displayed by Bruce and the Canterbury front-row men, Bill Bush, John Black, and lohn Ashworth.

The home side scored six tries to one, and Bruce, with his clever passes, smart kicks, and well developed skill in shaping the attack, played a prominent role in most of them. Ashworth and Black were in assertive tnoods, showing the benefit of their tour of France, and

I the sturdy Bush looked ! determined" to win back his national tight-head post. If the weather in Brisbane next month is as warm as it was yesterday, Canterbury should be able to foot it with the champion Queensland team. The red-and-black pack performed splendidly in spite of the sauna-like conditions in scrums and rucks, and the backs ran swiftly and moved on to the ball confidently. Linking the two units smoothly was Mark Romans, who won the Fletcher Humphreys “Player of the Day’’ award with his long, accurate clearances from half-back. The Romans-Bruce combination worked well, and gave the Canterbury back-line a look of ity. Marlborough started without its captain, Brian Dwyer, and lost the hefty prop, Brian Luke, in the second minute. It had to resign itself to feeding off the crumbs of possession left by a dominant Canterbury pack, which commanded almost three-quarters of the ball.

Canterbury won the lineouts, 22-12, and the scrums, 16-9, but the most significant figures were those of second phase possession. Canterbury had the ball 24 times from rucks and mauls to Marlborough’s four, and three of its tries were scored through intelligent use of quickly rucked ball.

Marlborough’s half-back, Richard May, who captained the team, tried hard to hit back strongly, but a diligent Canterbury cover formed by Dave Thompson and Alwyn Harvey snuffed out all but the last move, which yielded a try to the bright, enthusiastic wing, Kevin Price. The team’s All Black, Brian Ford, had few chances to show his worth, and his inward path usually brought him into range of Thompson’s tackles.

Considering that it their first match of the season, the Canterbury forwards displayed remarkable cohesiveness. John Phillips, who had an outstanding first half, Harvey and Black were quick to the break-downs, and Thompson, who was No 8, Graeme Higginson, Vance

Stewart and the props drove over the top of bodies and ball with a force which gave Marlborough little chance of being competitive. Stewart and Higginson were the most honest of toilers, and after Higginson had retired with a gashed cheek, Gary Brown made a significant contribution as Stewart’s partner for the last 35 min. Ashworth, a lively mauler and line-out leaper, made several strong bursts, one of which led to a try when he drove through a line-out and cracked Marlborough’s first line of defence.

Murray McEwan, captain for the day, and Andy Jefferd relished the good service inside them and attacked sharply. Both midfield men exploited gaps through nimble footwork, and their elusiveness was complemented by the dash displayed by Randall Scott and Donald Stewart on the wings. Scott finished off movements with aplomb, and Stewart made the most of Terry Mitchell’s absence by running with verve. The full-back, Richard Wilson, came to terms with his goal-kicking in the second half, striking the ball well and running up 11 points. But he missed finding touch a little too often for comfort.

The match was capably controlled by Mr S. C. Miller (North Canterbury) and was played in a good spirit, in spite of occasional niggling aggression by Bruce Kenny, Marlborough’s blond flanker. He would have been well advised to follow the industrious foraging of his colleagues, Ross Rendall and Lucky MacDonald. Canterbury led, 14-3, at half-time and its points came from tries by Scott (2), Jefferd (2), Don Stewart and Higginson, with four conversions and a penalty goal by Wilson. For Marlborough Price scored a try, May kicked a conversion and a penalty goal, and Brian Hunter kicked a dropped goal.