Christchurch confirmed as winner of rugby’s C.S.B. Cup

Press, 31 July 1978, Page 17

Christchurch confirmed as winner of rugby’s C.S.B. Cup

Christchurch is the C.S.B. Cup winner for 1978, and its rivals for the Canterbury inter-club rugby championship in the next three weeks will be New Brighton, Linwood and University A. This was the outcome of the final matches in the round-robin senior competition on Saturday, and the four top teams will go forward to contest the title for club supremacy, which carries with it the impressive C.S.B. trophy.

Christchurch clinched the cup victory when its close rival, University A, was well beaten by Old Boys at Rugby Park. Old Boys’ tally of 32 points was the highest score recorded against University A since the second game of the 1975 season — when the executioner w*as also Ola Boys. But on Saturday University was without most of its regular backs. University was already assured of a place in the playoffs after its courageous win against Christchurch a week earlier, but there was considerable interest in whether Marist could retrieve its position at the eleventh hour. The Marist side played an admirable attacking game, beating Suburbs in a highscoring match. But Linwood and New Brighton, the other two sides in contention, put the issue beyond doubt by winning their matches to maintain a two-point advantage over Marist. Dave Bowick, the New Brighton full-back, became the third player this season to reach a century of points when he kicked three penalty goals and a conversion against Albion. It is the fourth consecutive year he has achieved the feat. The lower 12 teams in the senior grade, from Marist to University B, will next week begin play for the D.C.L. Shield, in two sections of six teams. The winners of the two sections will play off for the shield. Saturday’s results were: Marist 23, Suburbs 21. Linwood 16, Belfast 8. Old Boys 32, University A 15. Christchurch 18, MerivalePapanui 3. New Brighton 21, Albion 6. Lincoln College 18, University B 10. Bumside 10, Sydenham 4. Shirley 16, Hornby 14. Final C.S.B. Cup points

STAUNCH DEFENCE New Brighton finished the C.S B. Cup competition with almost the best defensive record and that quality was evident, and very much needed, when it beat Albion at Lancaster Park Oval. The final score. 21-6. did not do justice to the earnest endeavour displayed by Albion for most of the match and it was on’.v in the last 15 minutes that New Brighton gained some dominance. In that time New Brighton added nine points and firmly cemented its place in the top four for the C.S.B. Trophy. Albion might have wondered shat was needed to cross New Brighton's line. It attacked inside the seasider's 22m area for several spells in the first half without scoring, mainly because of poor handling by the backs and the lack of originality in their scissors moves.

Albion was further frustrated in the second half. The first 20 minutes were spent camped inside New Brighton’s 22m and most of that time Albion launched attack after attack only 10m or less from the line. However, New Brighton’s defence, if strained and stretched many times, refused to yield and the team came back strongly to do its own share of offensive forays near the end.

Albion’s forward effort was admirable and seldom this season has the Brighton pack been buffeted in scrums and beaten in rucks. Mike Gee and Mike Eagle won line-out ball at will, Richard Hawkes was a terrier in the loose, and Paul Tew claimed a tight-head against the accomplished Bob Davison. However, the backs disappointed. Although they ran the ball keenly, the penetration and finesse needed to breach the solid Brighton defence was missing. John Te Amo led his team with spirit and he received good support from his fellow forwards, Neil Pyne, Kerry Tanner and Davison, fan Griffiths had a splendid match for Brighton on the left wing and there was good understanding between the halfback. Graeme Ellis, and his first five-eighths, Wayne Burleigh. BRIGHT GAME Mar Ist had to puli out all stops to overcome an eager Suburbs XV, and the result was an exciting game marked by solid defensive play and entertaining scoring movements. Although only two points separated the teams, Marist deserved to win because of the eagerness to attack and the consistent support play both back and forward. The Marist forwards played hard, uncompromising football in the tight and In this facet of play they were matched by Suburbs. However, in the loose Marist had a clear edge, running strongly with the ball in hand and covering well to stifle the Suburbs’ backs. Kerry Hood was prominent in defence for Marist and Pat O’Byrne, as well as working posttively in the tight, made several telling runs with the ball in

I hand. John Corby and Mike HodI gins were two others who contributed much to a solid performance. ■ The strength of the Marist (backs lay in their ability to [move the ball quickly, and the speed of the wings, Gary Hooper and Michael O’Donovan. Frequently the Suburbs defence was outflanked and only desperate measures kept the line attack. However, the momentum of attacks was often maintained by the close support. Brian McLean was also in fine attacking form and Hooper relished the good service from inside. Two of Marist's tries were fine efforts with both forwards and backs combining splendidly to carry the ball forward. Eddie Cutts and Warren Hay were the best of the Suburbs forwards in the tight play, but the pack's efforts were confined to this phase and little was seen of Suburbs in the loose. Lyn Davis was a competent half-back and Gary Shearer a courageous full-back. But the close Marist defence limited the attacking chances. COOKSON STRIKES Over-eagerness by the young University A backs cost their side several penalties for offside, and Gary Cookson hammered home the advantage for Old Boys with his accurate

i round-the-corner kicking for > goal. ! It was a cruel scoreline for the ! University forwards, who battled , splendidly in the second and third quarters, constantly in- . spired by the assertive leaderI ship of Ray Scott. His excepl tional speed off the mark and > his explosive running took his • team from the defensive to the offensive in a twinkling. The early dominance by Old 1 Boys was not apparent in the ■ middle stages, as the side 1 seemed to lapse into holding, • rather than developing, its ad--1 vantage. During this period Uni- ! versity closed to within four 1 points of its rival. But those dreadful off-sides loomed large again, and Cookson ' took Old Boys into the safety • zone with another goal, after

shaking University’s resolve by hitting the cross-bar from 60m. With their assurance restored, Old Boys ended the game with two splendidly executed moves which brought tries by Darryl Parke, after constructive play by Bruce McPhail, in particular. Jack Oldridge was an effective loose forward for Old Boys, and Alan Croad and Roger Dunstan were hard workers. Simon Bloomberg’s long passes gave Terry Mehrtens the opportunity to show his ability as a tactician, and the line moved very well at times. Hamish McPhail, who replaced

Clive Currie in the second half, ran aggressively from full-back.

Scott was solidly supported by Brian Hayes and lan Stewart among the University forwards, but Stewart Griffiths did not have a good game at half-back and David St George took time to settle in as first five-eighths. In a back line which was almost entirely changed through injuries and representative calls, Chris Stevens attacked boldly in midfield. UNINSPIRING Linwood cruised to an expected win over Belfast at Linfield Park, but the skills exhibited by both teams in a dull and rather shabby display did little for the spectators. After some initial resistance [from the lighter Belfast pack. 1 the Linwood forwards took control to tie up the rucks and mauls and enjoy a two to one line-out advantage. But time and again the backs, well fed by the nippy half-back, Garv Ove'rend. fritteded away the ball with silly, basic errors. Linwood might well have won by more than eight points if the backs had taken all their chances and the goal-kicking lock, Robert Johns, had been in better form. Belfast began strongly, but as the half progressed the pack began to run out of steam, and

Linwood’s domination of the game became more apparent. Belfast continued to try hard, but was simply shut out of the battle for possession. The little ball won was very untidy for Teddy Davis behind the scrum and he was under considerable pressure. But on the rare occasion that the ball reached the centres, Belfast looked dangerous. Belfast opened the second half strongly, but silly errors, and fraying tempers, alowed Linwood to clear from menacing situations. It was an uninspiring 40 minutes in which Linwood had several opportunities to add further points but threw them away by hanging on too long or passing just in front of the man. Murray Le Compte, the Linwood left wing, had a fine game,

and he showed more zip than many of his fellows. His chances, though few, were always taken with a maximum of effort, and he was rewarded with a good try late in the game. Johns stood out with his high jumping for the ball, and he was the best forward on display. But Hogg was always busy, and his tackling was hard and low. Le Compte and Dennis Andrews did well in the Linwood back line, and Chris Morgan and ’ Wayne Nutbrown impressed for Belfast. Kevin Taylor, the Belfast full-back, showed courage under pressure and his good linekicking often rescued his side from tricky situations. SOLID DEFENCE Merivale-Papanui played what now must be its characteristic game when it confined Christchurch to two tries on Nunweek park. It defended In its usual fashion, grimly and resolutely, but as usual on attack it was dour and totally unconvincing. Although Ray Waghorn won a good deal of clean ball in the line-outs, Christchurch struggled throughout to achieve any degree of domination up front. The Merivale-Papanui pack never tired of its task, with the captain, lan Culpen, and Kevin Podmore working diligently in the tight, while a flanker, Steve Rees, gave a fine bustling and spoiling game. In contrast to the battle in the forwards, the Christchurch backline was far superior to its lacklustre opposites. Barry Thomas, scoring points for his side, played an intelligent and thoughtful game, while on the rare occasions that Graham Sims received the ball he posed problems for Merivale. Underlining the quality of these two backs was a sense of urgency and purpose that was evident among the backline as a unit. The Christchurch men were ' faster around the field in backing up and covering, while attacking movements were carried out with a far higher degree of precision and concentration than those of Merivale-Papanui’s. Generally, however, it was not a game for the spectators. Meri-vale-Papanui rarely rose above the level of being competent and tenacious defenders, and on Saturday they carried out this task well enough to take the edge off Christchurch’s usual flair. FITTING FAREWELL The burly Burnside prop, Ron Grossi, played his last match on Saturday before going overseas, and he got a good sendoff by taking part in his side's win against an enterprising Sydenham team. Sydenham had a territorial advantage for the first quarter, but was unable to capitalise on it. Two penalty goals by John Lindsay. each from about 35m, gave Burnside a first half lead. However, Burnside began to settle down and dominated later play up front, although Sydenham should have scored just before half-time. But a replacement forward, Henry Couch, dropped the bail over the line. In the second half Burnside appeared more assured even though Sydenham’s No. 8, Trevor Luke, had crashed over in the corner early on to reduce the margin. Burnside’s better co-

ordinated pack gave better service to the half-back, but, ironically, it was the Sydenham backs who showed more initiative and enterprise, notably Chris O’Brien at centre and the half-back, Wayne Tinker. Murray Lloyd, the young Burnside full-back, scored a good try soon after Luke’s effort to make the score 10-4. For Burnside, John Lindsay at first-five-eighths, was impressive with hand and boot, often under pressure from the Sydenham forwards, and Lloyd was a freerunning player with much attacking potential to offer. In the forwards Grossi had a grand finale. He was tigerish and strong in the tight and fast for one so large, in the loose. The second-row forwards, Ken Hughy and Graham Hegan, gave solid displays. For Sydenham O’Brien was an enterprising centre, making several breaks, while Luke and Tony Lange were the pick of the pack. POSSESSION TELLS Although not seeing as much of the ball as it would have liked. University B played boldly against Lincoln College and was unlucky to have lost by as much as eight points. While both sides passed the ball along the backline when the occasion arose, possession from second-phase play was a rarity for both teams. The consequence of this was far too many scrums and interruptions. For the first 40min, University B had a narrow edge on Lincoln College, with Hugh Barnes doing well in the line-outs. However, University lost a lot of clean ball because of some fine driving by the Lincoln College forwards. The most impressive of the University backs was the halfback, Hiroshi Yamashita. He was under constant pressure, but when the scrappy ball came his

way he picked It up and threw accurate passes to Phillip Holstein. Yamashita also proved to be a thorn in the Lincoln College defence. He was very quick around the scrums and,to the loose ball. He also contributed some enterprising solo efforts. The most notable Lincoln College performances were given by hooker Brett Wilson, and the coach, Alan McLellan, at prop. Wilson was very sound in the tight; often wrenching possession from the opposition. Like McLellan, he was fast to the loose ball. He also won seven tightheads. The usually resolute and reliable full-back, Brent Codlin, had a disappointing day. He was often caught out of position and his passing was frequently astray. HORNBY UNLUCKY Hornby lived up to its reputation for moving the ball frequently, and was unlucky to lose to Shirley after scoring three tries to one. Although the game stuttered and started, Hornby produced several bright moments with passing rushes or in following high kicks. One of the highlights of the game was a startling dash by the lithe little wing, Willie Pirini, on the way to Hornby’s first try. Shirley profited, however, from Hornby’s infringements, and John Hiddlestone kept his side in the game with three penalty goals. But Hornby snatched the lead with only nine minutes remaining, and it took some desperate pressure play by Shirley to gain its only try, to win the match. Roger Smith and Graeme Pulley were prominent in a workmanlike Shirley pack, and Frank Jack presided over the backs with an air of authority. In the Hornby side, Robert Webster was on the ball in the loose, and Fred Hale, Pirini and Bill Anderson ran sharply with the ball.

were: W L D F a Pts Chch 13 2 0 225 88 26 New Bri. 12 3 0 245 89 24 Linwood 12 3 0 266 114 24 Univ. A 12 3 0 243 152 24 Mari st 10 3 2 239 104 22 Belfast 9 5 1 172 135 19 H.S.O B. 9 6 0 218 144 13 Albion 8 1 1 153 144 17 Burikside 7 6 2 131 142 16 Line. Col □ 9 1 116 163 11 Shirley 5 10 0 125 208 10 Subuibs 4 9 2 154 175 10 Syd. 3 11 1 132 225 7 Mer.-Pap. 2 11 2 64 213 6 Hornbv 1 11 3 85 271 5 Univ. B 0 14 1 nc 93 CE ki 294 re 1