Shaky, but deserved win scored by Canty XV

Press, 22 June 1978, Page 24

Shaky, but deserved win scored by Canty XV

From KEVIN McMENAMIN, in Timaru

Canterbury once again scrambled to a narrow rugby win ever Soutl Canterbury in their annual match at Fraser Park yesterday; only this time (Canterbury—or more precisely a Canterbury XV, as the side was officially tagged — fully deserved its success.

Canterbury won, 16-15. However, it was very nearly a case of the result not being in accord with the flow of the game. Some sturdy goal-kicking by its fullback, Tony Kelly, brought South Canterbury from 3-12 down at half-time to 15-12 up with 15 minutes remaining and after Canterbury had regained the lead only an unlucky bounce denied the home side a winning try! in the final seconds. But for all these ups and, downs, the makeshift Canterbury side performed quite ably, certainly as well! as could be expected from a team hastily brought togeth-i er and containing eight play-j ers who had not previously’ played for the top side. the pack, in fact, was almost unrecognisable. Of last year's top eight only! John Phillips remained, and he was out of position at' the back of the scrum. This change was made to accommodate Andy Hollander on 1 the flank after Dave Thompson withdrew. Yet for most of the game Canterbury had a firm grip! on the forward exchanges.: In the early stages, especial-1 ly, it gave the opposing eight a fair buffeting, and it was only when South: Canterbury directed its. throw-ins to the back, where! Harvey King reigned, that: the home side was able to: nuster some line-out ball. With a little luck Canter-1 bury could have been 10 or s 15 points up in as many ' minutes. The forwards hammered hard and tries were just missed in the pack and ( on Randall Scott’s right wing, the latter after the J hacks had linked in most at-i tractive style. 1 Furthermore, Richard Wilson struck an upright with al penalty attempt and Doug| Bruce steered a drop-kick' tinder the bar. But the movement which most de-i served some reward was in 1 the sixteenth minute. From a scrum and a ruck; the ball was shot swiftly | through countless pairs of Canterbury hands, first to-1 wards one touchline and then towards the other. Ran-; tiall Scott again made the : most ground and if he could' have found someone to re-i< teive a final pass a try!

■ would surely have resulted. I But after 20 minutes t! Canterbury finally got points J on the board. Wilson landed • a 35-metre penalty and I seven minutes later he succeeded with a dropped goal • from even further afield and -at a sharper angle. South Canterbury missed ' touch with a defensive pen- ; alty and Murray McEwan, I 11 with the ball dropping! quickly, and, perhaps, unex-i pectedly, on him caught it ion his finger tips and tossed! | it to Wilson, who sized up I , the situation in a flash and 'kicked a fine goal. I Three minutes later Doug [Bruce grubber-kicked from! i set play and McEwan raced (through on to the bouncing! ball and sent his Christchurch club-mate, John Col- ' linson, on a clear run to the! [line. Wilson completed the: [Christchurch involvement by! ■ adding the conversion. South Canterbury worked ’its way into an attacking; position for the first time in the dying minutes of the ■first spell and Kelly kicked: a penalty that made the[

[half-time score 12-3, to [Canterbury. In the first spell the referee. I Mr Garry Coley, awarded i South Canterbury 10 penal-' [ties and Canterbury just! [three. The trend continued; [after half-time for a final; count of 17-5, and Kelly was; able to turn three of the i second batch into goals;! 'with half the second spell ‘completed the scores were; tied at 12-12. Mr Coley, who is to shift I shouly to Auckland, became! even more popular with the! crowd when he awarded the! home team _,et another pen-j alty within kicking distance.! This time Kelly hit the! posts, but he had barely got! ;back to his position before a; !clearing kick came his way] and with plenty of time to [sight the posts he made no; mistake with a dropped goal. | Canterbury, painfully j ■ aware by now that the game iwas slipping from its grasp,; ; re-established its earlier control and the winning try. [came in the twenty-sixth! minute when Randall Scott, [ after being halted on the; open side, was then given an! overlap by Steve Scott on! the blind side and was away,;

I labelled urgent, for the corner.

; If only for its high number of unforced errors, i South Canterbury deserved no better. In the backs, only the strapping centre, Robin i Heron, cut a menacing figjure, but so poorly co-ordi- • nated was the play inside I him that his talents were largely neglected. ' The Canterbury forwards, • despite a rather unevenlyi sized front row, were the •masters in both the tight • and the loose. They pushed South Canterbury back with! apparent ease and Pauli 'McKay took the game’s only 'three tight-heads. Phillips and Alwyn Har-i vey, who made some of the best tackles, served Canterbury well, while the wellproportioned prop, Murray Davie looked every inch a top forward in the making. Steve Scott had a difficult game, not always finding

Bruce with his passes. He took a fair bit Of punish ment too, although this was due, in part, to his unwillingness to release the ball once he started a run. Bruce, McEwan and Wilson all had excellent games and Garry Hooper, who had his own personal cheer group among the embankment crowd, was a willing wing, if not an ' especially dangerous one.

The game was really noth- ! ing more than a work-out I for two teams, which have I more important battles [ahead. Why, therefore, should the chief AU Black [selector, Mr Jack Gleeson, ' travel from Manawatu to see .it? Why indeed? I Tries for Canterbury by [John Collinson and Randall ! [ Scott; Richard Wilson a penalty goal, a dropped goal and a conversion. Tony! Kelly kicked four penalty goals and a dropped goal for South Canterbury.