Close calls for leading teams in rugby

Press, 21 May 1979, Page 17

Close calls for leading teams in rugby

Close calls for the leading teams were a feature of the Canterbury Savings Bank Cup matches as the senior rugby competition passed the halfway stage on Saturday.

Christchurch maintained its three-point lead over its nearest rivals by coming from behind to beat New Brighton by two points after facing a six-point deficit with 13mjn remaining. Marist also came home with a rush, scoring three tries in the last 10 minutes to speed past Lincoln College. Old Boys had only a point to spare from Sydenham, the giant-killer of the previous week, and a late penalty goal enabled Shirley to beat Burnside. University B rose to the occasion when confronted by University A and by determination held the A team to a draw in a drab match, to gain its first competition point of the season. The draw also deprived University A of its equal second place, so that it now is a point behind Old Boys, Belfast, and Marist, and equal with Linwood and Shirley. There was a brawl at the end of the Merivale-Papanui and Hornby match, while at Sheldon Park Mr T. F. Doocey, the referee, sent John Gibson (Suburbs) to the “sin bin” for a high tackle. Results: Christchurch 11, New Brighton 9. Linwood 23, Albion 6.

High School Old Boys 10, Sydenham 9. University A 6, University B 6. Shirley 15, Burnside 14. Marist 25, Lincoln College 16. Merivale-Papanui 13, Hornby 10. Belfast 18, Suburbs 3. Points are:—

LATE RALLY New Brighton has suffered four losses already this season and on each occasion it has led into the last quarter, but faltered with victory in sight. On Saturday, the C.S.B. Cup competition leader, Christchurch, trailed New Brighton by six points at half-time at Lancaster Park. Thirteen minutes from the finish, the score still favoured New Brighton, 9-3, but in the space of four minutes. Christchurch scored twice and held its 11-9 lead to the end. Christchurch was a little fortunate to maintain its unbeaten record. In the first half it had an unusually high error rate as the hustle-bustle tactics of the New Brighton loose forwards proved effective.

Mid-way through the second half, New Brighton again laid siege to the Christchurch line, but often desperate defence kept the line unbreached. Christchurch weathered that

storm, took play to the other end with the help of four successive penalties in two minutes, and a quick tap-kick from the fourth penalty caught New Brighton in disarray and the powerful prop, John Mika, walked across an unprotected line. That try dampened New Brighspirit, but worked wonders for a Christchurch side that had appeared uncertain only minutes earlier. The winning try was a very worthy one. The ball was passed swiftly and fluently along the back-line with Robbie Deans, in from full-back, creating an overlap and Tony Murdoch finishing the 60m move off in style by using a deft body swerve to break through the tackle of the New Brighton full-back, Brian Lloyd. Even in the dying minutes, New Brighton had a royal opportunity to snatch a win. There was an overlap in the backs, but Wayne Burleigh, who had played so splendidly beforehand, delayed his pass too long. The fine line-out jumping of Alister Robinson gave Chrstchurch twice the possession from line-outs in the second half and that proved vital for his team. New Brighton did not help its cause by conceding nine penalties in the last 40 minutes. Peter McLaren played a sterling game in the New Brighton pack and John Te Amo and Paul Bell joined him in some spectacular bursts. Graeme Ellis, the Fletcher Humphreys “player of the day,” and Burleigh guided their side intelligently from their key positions. Although they made their share of mistakes, the Christchurch backs ran strongly on to their passes and showed their class at times. Murdoch proved a determined and strong runner on the wing. Jerry Rowberry made some telling tackles for Christchurch and Mika and Mick Powley sustained their efforts to the final whistle. Both teams had their chances to win the match through goalkicking, but Derek Davidson missed three penalty goals for New Brighton, and Deans, a replacement for Richard Wilson, was successful with only one of his six attempts. STRONG FINISH With just three minutes remaining on the Rugby Park clock, Lincoln College led Marist, 16-6, and seemed assured of victory. But the clock was wrong and there were still 10 minutes remaining, time lost for injuries giving a second half of almost 60 minutes. It was in this “fifth quarter” that Marist really got into stride. It had suffered earlier through a lack of good possession, but indecisive back play had contributed in large measure to the lack of penetration. Lincoln College, on the other hand, played the first 80 minutes very well. The locks, Dave White and Herb Stevenson, dominated the line-outs, and it was only a tight Marist defensive screen that prevented tries. A tenor of quiet efficiency was shared by backs and forwards and at full-back, Brent Codlin, was in superb form, especially when he ran with the ball or made an entry into the backline. Nothwithstanding the extended second spell, Marist’s chances looked hopeless. But suddenly the side threw off its lethargy and with the backs becoming much sharper the match underwent a dramatic transformation.

Lincoln College contributed to its undoing by making a number of mistakes and some of the defensive ones were costly. Three tries, all good ones, were scored in the last 10 minutes and with Bernie Stewart lifting his goalkick. 19 points wer e added in injury time. The last try, by Adrian Young, was a particularly fine solo effort. Young ran nearly 40m and his speed twice got him past defenders who had him in their sights. Hansen, too, showed a sharp turn of speed to score twice and this helped greatly to enhance his image. Stewart, until late. was strangely indecisive and his cutting back into the waiting arms of the Lincoln College flankers put Marist under a lot of pressure. The best over-all of the Marist backs w-as the full-back, Brian McLean, whose handling and kicking were exemplary. lan Sargent and Alan McClelland toiled diligently in the Lincoln College scrum and near the end Pat O’Byrne and Terry Peter, sen showed up in the Marist pack which until then had been devoid of much life. TACKLING TELLS

Sydenham once again came desperately close to toon ling a top side. Only unflinching defence by Old Boys kept their enthusiastic opponents at bay. For much of the match both sides provided little constructive rubv for the big contingent of spectators. The big Svd»nham forward pack upset Old Boys in the scrums and lineouts, while an Injury to Gary

Cookson, Old Boys’ talented first five-eighths, further unsettled the side.

Inspite of its hard work up front, Sydenham rarely reached its aggression of the previous week. Its standard of play was of constant variation, glimpses of brightness being overshadowed by periods of dullness and lethargy The last quarter produced the only sustained piece of flowing and exciting ruby. Sydenham came within a point of Old Boys and the standard of its play rose dramatically. Facing attack after attack, Old Boys’ defence was at times stretched but never broken.

Mike Toner and Gwyn Williams both excelled themselves in the loose for Old Boys. They were never far from the ball and their experience in setting up the maul gave their side a clear advantage. Allan Croad won some useful line-out ball but seems somewhat wasted at the back, while in the backs lan Mather made the most of his rare opportunities. For Sydenham, Brent Oetgen was the player to shine. He was full of purpose and aggression on attack, while his positional play on defence saved Sydenham often Another to plav well was the full-back. Ken Taylor, whose line and goal kicking were almost faultless. LUCKY WIN Shirley was extremely lucky to finish ahead of Burnside. Admittedly, Burnside, 14-6 up going into the last 15 minutes, faded badly towards the end, but it was Shirley's winning penalty goal three minutes from the finish that was open to question. The Burnside loose-forward, Ken Hughey, was covering his backs when he fumbled forward a high kick. There was no-one near him and the first to arrive was a member of his own team, who picked up the ball. The referee, Mr L. Boag, penalised the arriving player for being off-side, as he was. But to most observers, the first infringement, a knock-on, should have held sway. The penalty was a simple kick for Gary Shearer, who had landed two harder ones just beforehand. The match was not a particularly attractive one. Both sides made attempts to move the ball, but neither possessed the skills to overcome a tacky surface. The Burnside pack, boldly led by Graham Church and Alan Double, had the better of the tight exchanges and the backs, if not always finding the gaps, ran far and wide in. their search for an opening. Donal McKenzie moved aggressively in mid-field. Paul McKay, in the unaccustomed position of loose forward, got through a lot of work for Burnside and he was the equal of any back in his handling of the slippery ball. Shirley rarely threatened the Burnside line and it was only Shearer’s goal-kicking that carried the side to victory. The backs, with the possible exception of Tawhai Taite, showed little dash and the forwards were an anonymous lot until late in the match, when Stewart Mitchell and Graham Pulley led some rewarding drives. By this time, however, the steel had gone from Burnside’s play. DRAB DRAW University rugby has a reputation for being bright and adventurous, but these qualities were never in evidence when the club's A and B teams fought out a ragged draw at the Ham field. Ground and weather conditions were ideal, and talented players abounded. Alas, the proceedings did not do justice to the predictions, and the match stuttered on to its eventual deadlock, each side cancelling the other out. The A team deserved credit for making spme attempt at constructive rugby, but the efforts were mostly wasted because those who broke through showed a reluctance to pass, even though support was on hand. Doug Heffernan was clearly the best promoter of the A team’s fortunes, and the poor match was no reflection on his admirable and intelligent running with the ball. The B team, too, had much to be proud of, as its tackling was tenacious and its lighter forward pack played itself almost to a standstill in disputing the A forwards’ advances. The resolve of the side was constantly fanned by the exhortations of the coach, Mr L. R. O’Reilly; one spectator said he reminded him of the cox of a rowing eight. The B team proved a point by drawing with its "big brother,” but the match did nothing to entice soccer players on the adjacent field away from their winter code.

Playing the man was a frequent offence, infringements followed thick and fast, and although the A team had a three-to-one advantage in possession, little of note came from a backline containing four Canterbury A players. Most attempts’ at con-

structive rugby died an agonising death.

John and Les Black, with lan Stewart, were constantly involved in the tussles for the ball for the As, and Keiran Keane essayed a tew fancy cuts from broken play. John Matenga’s biggest achievement was to get his players to hang on grimly to the end, even though some of them are remarkably small for senior footballers. MERIVALE WINS NARROWLY Merivale-Papanui played a more coontrolted game and made positive use of opportunities to defeat a rather disorganised Hornby team which failed to take advantage of a greater share of possession. The match was not a great Spectacle. Too many fundamental errors were made by both sides to lift it above the mediocre, but Merivale won by making fewer mistakes. A brawl at the finish did little credit to either side. Solid work by Gordon Gossett and Sam Tanui gave Hornby a marked advantage in the lineouts, but hesitant passing and a tight defence spoilt most movements. Bill Anderson, a speedy wing, had few opportunities to show his ability. Steve Barnden was the driving force in the Merivale pack and played an outstanding game. His tackling on defence never- faltered and he was always on hand to support attacking moves. The other forwards, although beaten in the tight, were quick to breakdowns, and all played well in the loose. The Merivale backs were sound in defence and made most progress from individual efforts in broken play. Dave Ngatai was elusive in the centres and both Norm Chase and Lusi Tatola were enterprising wings. At fullback Paul Hamment was sound and kicked well on defence. PACK POWER Except for the first and last 10 minutes of the match, Linwood was in control of its. match against Albion. An extremely solid and efficient pack laid the foundation for Linwood’s win, and in the line-outs and scrums Linwood was in complete command. As in its match against Old Boys the previous week, the Linwood back-line made many mistakes, and it was not until late in the match that a reasonable combination was achieved. Albion tried desperately hard and matched Linwood in the loose, with lan Kennedy compensating for a lack of size with a dynamic display at flanker. However, the efficiency of the Linwood pack was a decisive factor, witli John Phillips tidying up the loose ball well, and Dave Rowe monopolising the lineouts. The Linwood backs wasted a great deal of good ball, but Murray Le Compte ran aggressively and intelligently when given the opportunity. Although under constant pressure, the Albion backs tried to move the ball as frequently as possible, with Phil Lloyd on the wing impressing with his speed and penetration. HOME WIN In a drab match at Sheldon Park, Belfast downed Suburbs on the strength of its more penetrative back-line and its more organised pack. In the early stages of the first half, Belfast achieved dominance in possession. In the line-outs, Dave Thompson and Tim Ashworth were prominent, and Teddy Davis set his backs on their way with some long, accurate passes. On the other hand, the Suburbs line-out play was shaky. Throw-ins were often astray. When the ball was passed along the Suburbs line, there was little penetration. Although there was a general lack of direction and cohesion in the Suburbs play there were some individual performances of note. The replacement half-back, lan White, who was under considerable pressure from the Belfast loose forwards, made intelligent use of the ball on most occasions. White’s kick ahead was accurate and his passing reliable. The most impressive of the Belfast players were the No. 8 and captain, Thompson, and the centre, Chris Morgan. Thompson proved to be an Inspiring leader with some fine solo bursts from the mauls and lineouts, one of which was rewarded by a try. Morgan made valuable ground for Belfast with hard running.

Lower grade results —Page 20

W L D F A pts Chch 7 0 1 153 49 15 Old Boys 6 2 0 143 54 12 Belfast 6 2 0 124 66 12 Marist 6 2 0 158 76 12 Univ. A 5 2 1 130 79 11 Linwood n -2 1 134 53 11 Shirley 5 2 1 117 76 11 Mer/Pap. 5 3 0 83 86 10 New Bri. 4 4 0 100 85 8 Lin. Coll. 3 5 0 60 106 6 Subs. 3 5 0 81 96 6 Hornby 2 5 1 80 145 5 Albion 2 6 0 69 116 4 Syd. 1 7 0 57 174 2 Burns. 1 7 0 63 180 2 Univ. B 0 7 1 45 116 1