First loss by Christchurch; underdogs triumph in senior rugby competition

Press, 28 May 1979, Page 17

First loss by Christchurch; underdogs triumph in senior rugby competition

It was the day of the underdog in the senior rugby competition for the C.S.B. Cup on Saturday, several of the less-fancied teams triumphing as the previously unbeaten leading side, Christchurch, went down.

The tenth-piaced Lincoln College produced one of its finest displays for a long time to lower Christchurch's colours and cut its competition lead from three points to one. Marist, which played superb rugby in beating one of its level-pegging rivals, Belfast, now lies second, with a further point to Linwood and University A.

As well as Lincoln College, three teams not usually overburdened with success, Meri-vale-Papanui, Hornby and Sydenham, all had victories, Merivale toppling the previously second-placed High School Old Boys. It was Merivale’s sixth win in its “revival” season, and it brought the team into fifthequal place. Hornby beat Albion and Sydenham beat Suburbs; neither game produced a try. University B tried hard to produce yet another upset, but New Brighton prevailed, although narrowly. Adrian Young, the Marist half-back, won the Fletcher Humphreys “Player of the Day” award; lan Kirkman, a Suburbs prop, had a spell in the sin bin; and Bernie Stewart (Marist), with 76, and Robert Johns (Linwood), 73, became the leading scorers. Further down the list, Doug Heffernan (University A), Gary Shearer (Shirley) and John Neilson (Suburbs) all passed the half-century mark. Results were: — Marist 29, Belfast 10. University A 26, Shirley 18. Lincoln College 22, Christchurch 10. Merivale-Papanui 15, High School Old Boys 12. Sydenham 9, Suburbs 6. Hornby 6, Albion 3. New Brighton 9, University B 3. Linwood 35, Burnside 6.

LINCOLN UPSETS Lincoln College gave its best display of the season—possibly ♦or a number of seasons—when it upset Christchurch at Rugby Park. A last-minute converted try to Lincoln made ♦he score about right. The Lincoln pack gave an inspired performance, rocking its opponents with a strong start and then, after a brief respite, coming back in the second spell with renewed spirit and determination. Not even the absence of its two top props, Mike Cron and Neil Porter, coaid excuse the rather tired look of the Christchurch forwards. The pack rarely functioned with its usual drive and missing, too, was the customary efficiency in broken play. Christchurch had other problems as well. Both its wings, Tim Murdoch and Don Humphreys. left the field with in-

juries, as also did one of the replacements. Scott Cartwright. Furthermore, Richard Wilson took a couple of knocks that temporarily slowed him. But all credit to Lincoln. It took its scoring chances brilliantly never more so than in in the first try scored by the right wing, Mark Mclntosh, who beat the last defender, Wilson, with a lovely outside swerve.

The tackling was another great source of comfort to Lincoln’s supporters Christchurch ran the ball extremely well at times, Wilson, Cartwright and Murray McEwan all making long sprints. But each time the Lincoln cover was able to halt the advance in time, sometimes by forcing an error. The entire Lincoln pack covered itself in glory, but Dave White, for his work in the lineouts. and Alan McLellan, for his efforts in both the tight and the loose, earned special praise. It was noteworthy that the spectator who described McLellan as “still the best prop in Canterbury” sparked no argument. Don Gillanders, too, played the tight-loose role with constructive vigour, and Rob Crawford put his talents to good use.

The Lincoln full-back, Brent Codlin, was the side’s most dangerous player on attack, his defensive kicking often sending Christchurch into long retreats. Grant Shaplin and Hamish Ryan were quick on their feet, each helping the other to a try in the second spell. Alistair Robinson won Christchurch its fair share of line-out ball, but apart from Jerry Rowberry, who toiled with his customary honesty, the Christchurch pack resembled a car with a flat battery. McEwan was the pick of the backs, but this was one day when speedy backs could not swing a game. MARIST SPARKLES A free-running back-line which played with flair and showed great speed was the deciding factor in Marist's decisive win over Belfast. It was a game to please even the most critical follower. Counter-attack followed attack in sometimes bewildering fashion and both teams contributed to the cracking pace. The forward play was also of a high standard, the ball being cleared quickly and '‘leanly from rucks and mauls. The xMarist back-line played brilliantly. Adrian Young was quick and incisive in all facets, the inside backs handled with confidence, and Gary Hooper took full advantage of the chances which came his way. The other wing, Michael O’Donovan, showed speed and determination. Hooper’s first try was a gem. He broke away at the half-way line, then put in a well placed kick to gather the ball and score. His other two tries came from hard, straight running. The full-back, Brian McLean, was also a force on attack and timed his passing and forays into the back-line well. Terry Petersen led the Marist forwards by example and although shaded by Belfast in the tight they were a more potent force in the loose, where Kevin Milne and Michael Hodgins were prominent. Andy Karatea was the pick of the Belfast pack, which had an edge in the line-outs, rucks and mauls. He was well supported by Dave Thompson and Steve Palmer. Although unable to match the speed and initiative of Marist, the Belfast backs had their moments. Teddy Davis was a steady half-back and Wayne Smith’s fine all-round play was rewarded w’hen he made the break which led to Dave Percasky’s try. WIN DESERVED Scoring three tries to one, and having a sizeable territorial advantage, MerivalePapanui was a deserving winner over High School Old Boys. But it was a near thing for

Merivale. The Old Boys first five-eighths, Simon Brown, lost the bail over the line as he was about to score a try that would have left Merivale only a few minutes in which to regain the lead.

/A. determined display from its forwards lay behind Merivale’s upset win. Denis Skipper charged about the field like a pocket battleship, solidly supported by John Harwood, Steve Barnden and lan Culpan. Towards the end when Old Boys found a new lease of life, Merivale was subjected to a lot of pressure, but it weathered the storm well to hold its lead, even if fortune was on its side in Brown’s amazing failure to get the ball down. Old Boys had the wind behind them in the first spell, but used it badly and even a 9-0 lead looked insufficient against a side which was playing as industriously as Merivale. So it turned out, with two excellent blind-side tries by Andrew Moon getting Merivale started. Merivale always looked vulnerable when the ball was with

the Old Boys backs and Brown, in particular, showed natural talent. But Merivale’s forwards succeeded admirably in keeping the ball away from this danger area. Old Boys was a very different team for the last 10 minutes and the forwards, led by Gwyn Williams and Mark Harding, got off their heels for the first time in the second spell. Alan Croad was, perhaps, the best over all. But Merivale survived, much to the joy of its growing numbers of supporters. Any other result would have been an injustice. HARD PRESSED A determined Shirley was beaten but not disgraced by the more fancied University A; had Shirley taken full advantage of chances offered it might well have won. The match was an interesting spectacle, both teams attempting to play open rugby, but mishandling at vital times cost scoring chances. However, the game really came to life immediately after half-time when 20 points were scored in 17 minutes. The half-back duel between Steve Scott, of Shirley, and Gary Barkle was of interest. Scott was better in broken play, but Barkle’s passing was superior. Only once did the University back-line function as a unit, when Brian Nabbs scored on half-time. Although given a fine service by Barkle, the line never ran with confidence, but Jeff

Rowlands showed opportunism in scoring twice. Doug Heffernan had a good match, kicking four goals out of six attempts, and his general play was of a good standard. The University forwards were matched by Shirley. Robert Yates and Gordon Burrow were the best of the hardworking Shirley pack, while Wayne Wooster and Mark Hammond showed up for University. The back play of Shirley showed promise. Roger Smith and Scott were an able inside back combination, while Gary Shearer played well at fulllback. TACKLING TELLS Insipiring defence and a willingness to counter-attack, even from the most unpromising positions, brought Hornby to a narrow but deserved win over Albion in a bruising match at Denton Oval. It was a hard match, earnestly contested by both sides, and the casualty rate was high. Five players were forced from' the field by injuries and several others required running repairs. But it was a rousing rather than

a rough match, and the constant closeness of the scores kept interest at a high pitch. Albion commanded 60 per cent of the ball. Although the backline was given a flying start by Ralph Robertson’s long, accurate passes, attempts at penetration were thwarted by Hornby’s strong tackling. In the last lOmin Albion seemed likelj- to snatch victory with the long-legged Phil Lloyd running round a tiring defence, but the cover rallied each time. Robbie Webster produced a splendid loose forward game for Hornby, and his speed to the break-down and able play at close quarters contributed to his side's win. He had willing support from Gary Cooke and Brent Campbell, in particular, and Neville Wilson was sharp and enterprising at half-back. Hornby’s backs tackled manfully and were quick to take advantage of split ball. On one occasion the Albion forwards won three successive rucks on Hornby’s 22m line, but the backs could not crack the defensive screen. When Murray Davie and his fellow forwards rose from the ground to inspect the result of their labours, they found the ball in touch 60m behind them. Allan Rushton played a serviceable game at full-back for Albion, and Nicky Dierck, with his lofty punts and jazzy sidesteps, was constantly Albion’s most dangerous attacker. LINWOOD, EASILY Linwood, adopting a freeflowing back game in contrast to its -usual 10-man game, had an easy victory over an injurystruck Burnside. The result was predictable The difference between the two sides thi s year is wide, and Burnside’s position was further weakened by injuries to eight players. Linwood seized control from the start and rarely gave Burnside any leeway. Yet Linwood’s game often verged on lethargy and the margin in the scores could have been a lot wider if the Linwood forwards had given the customary ruthless display. Nevertheless, it was an efficient, polished and extremely confident display from Linwood. The back-line, often in previous games starved of attacking opportunities, was given a wealth of ball. Neil Sloan was a speedy centre whose ability to break through gave his wing plenty of open ground, and Terry Mitchell was elusive on the wing when the mood took him. Although Burnside was never in the game, in some aspects of play it gave creditable performances. In the tight the pack was a hard working unit, always battling to contain its more powerful opponents. Alan Double gave a courageous display, and Paul McKay constantly threatened Linwood when the ball was loose. Among the backs the only Burnside

player to shine was John Lindsay at full-back. In his first game of the season he showed judgment and positioning, and his attacking qualities would have achieved much had his side been on top. In the forwards for Linwood, Robert Johns was a key line-out figure, and John Phillips and lan Mallard were prominent in the loose. Although Burnside lost heavily, it had the satisfaction of scoring the best try of th© day. It was a superb piece of teamwork, the ball travelling along the back-line for the wing to make the break, and finishing off next to the posts with attackers in abundance. KICKS COUNT Two enterprising sets of backs failed to penetrate each other's defences and the result was a tryless match between Sydenham and Suburbs at Hoon Hay Park. The outcome was decided by a kicking duel between Ken Taylor and John Neilson, with Taylor — who was exceptionally sound at full-back for Sydenham — taking the honours. , Both back-lines tried to run the ball, but poor handling — and a few crunching tackles — stifled many promising moves. Both packs gave undistinguished displays and tries never looked likely to come through the forwards. The tiny Sydenham half-back, Steven Papps, had a torrid time, especially in the first half. The possession offered him was most untidy and protection was almost non-existent. Although the Suburbs forwards were quick to burst through an incohesive Sydenham at the lineout, they failed to dominate, entering the rucks with poor body positioning and a consequent lack of drive. The brightest feature of the game was a will o’ the wisp display by the Sydenham fiveeighths, Terry Bastioh. He ducked far more tackles than he took, he ran into the halfgap incisively, and used the long cut-out pass to good effect. Outside him, Chris O’Brien looked sharp and Des Fay on the wing ran with determination. Peter Wenman at centre for Suburbs, was always willing to test his marker, and a former Canterbury wing Geoff Brain, provided a thrilling moment when he burst 40m up the middle of the field, only to be brought down just short of the posts. FLATTERING In a hard-fought encounter at Rawhiti Domain, New Brighton managed to hold off an eager University B side. The winning margin of six points was rather flattering to New Brighton, as the students played with more dash and skill. Any thoughts that the young University players — the oldest is 23 — were new recruits sent out to the front line for slaughter proved erroneous; this student platoon showed the resilience, doggedness and flair of battle-hardened veterans. Led ably by the No 8, John Matanga, the students challenged everything. A lock, Mike Burk, took some high, clean ball in the line-outs to set the University back-line on attack. The usually quick and resolute New Brighton half-back, Graeme Ellis, was put under a lot of pressure from Matanga and Adrian Muir. On many occasions Muir and Matanga poured through the Brighton ranks in the line-outs and the possession that the seasiders gained from the scrums was rarely won cleanly. On this performance, New Brighton showed few of the qualities that led to its winning the C.S.B. trophy last year. Passes were dropped, tackles were not taken, and often there were differences of thought as to the attacking strategy between Ellis and the first fiveeighths, Wayne Burleigh. The experience of the fullback, Dave Bowick, and a lock, Jim Findlater. proved to be stumbling blocks for University. Bowick was rarely caught out of position and his clearing kicks were always sure. Findlater was always up with the ball and his tackling was sure.

Points are: — F. A. Pts W. L. D Chch 7 1 1 163 71 15 Marist 7 2 0 187 86 14 Linwood 6 2 1 169 59 13 Univ. A 6 2 1 156 97 13 Mer.-Pap. 6 3 0 98 98 12 Qld Boys 6 3 0 155 69 12 Belfast 6 3 0 134 95 12 Shirley 5 3 1 135 102 11 N. Bri 5 4 0 109 83 10 Lin. Coll. 4 5 0 82 116 8 Hornby 3 5 1 86. 148 7 Suburbs 3 6 0 87 105 6 Albion 2 7 0 72 122 4 Syd. 2 7 0 66 180 4 Burns. 1 8 0 69 115 2 Univ. B 0 8 1 48 125 1