Irish end tour with win

Press, 31 July 1978, Page 28

Irish end tour with win

PA’ Auckland With the New Zealand Juniors losing and drawing at Queensland earlier in the month and the New Zealand Colts beaten, 9-0, by the touring Irish Universities on Saturday at Eden Park it would seem that the budding players of New Zealand rugby are taking a long time to bloom. Yet the Colts deserve some credit and if they had started the game with the spirit and urgency they produced in the last 15min, they would have run the Irish very close. However, the pattern of the game was firmly set in the first half hour. The Irish had first use of a firm breeze and their forwards won control at scrum and line-out which the Colts only occasionally threatened in the second half. By the time the Colts had the use of the wind there had been two heavy showers and the ball was heavy and slippery, and putting together an attacking move slid

further and further from the Colts’ grasp. Wayne Shelford, the utility forward, was the best of the Colts pack and Neil Porter, a strong young man, was an interesting prop, even if he never had the finesse that Hugh McGuire and Job Langbrook brought to the Irish tight forward play. The Irish University second five-eighths, Alan Irwin, scored the game’s only try in the fourteenth minute when he followed a tactical kick ahead over the Colts line and won the race for the ball. Daragh Coakley, the Irish first five-eighths, converted, then was successful with a 30M penalty from in front of the post several minutes later. At Invercargill a last-min-ute try saw Otago scramble to a 7-6 win over Southland in its national championship game at Rugby Park. Southland’s No 8, Ashley McGregor, had a grand game, and was almost unstoppable with the ball. McGregor gave his all in

both set and loose play, and appropriately scored Southland’s sole try, which Brian McKechnie converted. On the side of the Otago scrum, Mervyn Jaffray performed best, and secured his team’s try. And the second five-eighths, Lyn Jaffray, gave the Southland back-line headaches with his ground and chip kicks through, setting up the ball for his outside backs. GHary Smith completed Otago’s points with a penalty. At Tauranga, Bay of Plenty did everything except win after dominating the second half of its representative match against Counties. Counties won, 12-10, after being down, 0-3, at halftime.

Scorers.— For Counties: G. Rogers try; P. Morris conversion, W. McLennan two penalties. For Bay of Plenty: I. Blakeman try; J. Brake two dropped goals. And Wanganui stayed at the top of the North Island second-division champions ship table by beating Thames Valley, 17-7, in a mediocre match at Spriggens

Park, Wanganui, on Saturs day. Despite dominating in the forwards, Wanganui squandered much of its possession through inefficient back play and had to battle all the way for its success. Scorers. — For Wanganui: David Kinnaird, Kerry O’Hara, Ray Stafford tries; Richard White a conversion and a penalty goal. For Thames Valley: Try by Chris Ellis; penalty goal by Graeme Bax, Horowhenua broke through for its first points in two years of national seco n d-division competition rugby when it beat Waira-rapa-Bush, 6-0, at Levin on Saturday.