South and Central in league ‘final’

Press, 22 June 1979, Page 20

South and Central in league ‘final’

By

JOHN COFFEY

It is indicative of the changed face of rugby league in New Zealand that Central Districts and South Island will be contesting what is virtually the final of the national inter-district championship at the Show Grounds tomorrow. The sudden demise of Auckland was obviously not expected by the administrators who made out the tournament draw with next week-end’s game between Auckland and South Island as the final attraction.

But Central toppled Auckland. 26-18, at Wellington in the first round and will be well aware that success to-

morrow would ensure it of over-all victory: Its last opponent, Northern Districts, crumbled in the second half against South last Saturday. The manner in which Wellington — which provides the nucleus of the Central side — improved in its second fixture with Canterbury earlier this season hinted that Central would be no easy hurdle for the more favoured teams to clear.

Taranaki, too, is no tyro in inter-provincial rankings, and the infusion of the best players from Manawatu and Gisborne-East Coast has made Central a most formidable challenger. South cannot afford to repeat the long settling-down period which

made it such- a slow starter against Northern. Players from the central and southern leagues have so often in the past had their arguments for national recognition answered in the negative by Auckland’s domination. With Auckland desperate to the extent that its selector-coach (Mr Don Hammond) has dropped the powerful Kiwi centre, Olsen Filipaina. the “outsiders” are very much in the limelight.

Two New Zealand selectors, Messrs Bill O’Cailaghan and Bill Sorensen, will view the match tomiSrow, and the Kiwi coach, Mr Ces Mountford, is making his third visit to Christchurch this month. Mr O’Callaghan

will also stay, over for the premier club fixtures on Sunday. South might be a slender j pre-game favourite, if only because of home ground advantage. It would be surprising if more than a few points separated the sides after what promises to be 80 minutes of hard-fought football.

The respective back-lines have many similarities. Both full-backs, Warren Collicoat (Central) and Michael O’Donnell, have international experience,' the opposing centres are of strong physique, the wings noted for pace and finishing skills, and there are few scrumhalves with higher work-

rates than Jack Knuckey (Central) and Gordon Smith. Chris Menzies, the South stand-off, has the difficult task of keeping tabs on Nolan Tupaea, who scored three times in Wellington’s narrow loss to Canterbury. But, on the other hand. Central might be more susceptible to .Lewis Hudson’s sidestepping than it was to the surging bursts of Filipaina. The new addition to the South side, John Griffin, can be counted upon, to provide an equal share of scrum possession, particularly as his marker, Howard Tamati, was well beaten by the Auckland hooker, Stan Martin, last week. x

Much interest will be taken in the performances: of

the Central forwards, and especially Graeme West, Mike Butler, Kevin Tamati and Bruce Gall) who have already emerged as candidates f6r the .Kiwi test teams. . • The South pack proved last week that it-is more effective when attacking wide of the play-the-balls and linking up with the threequarters, No doubt the coach, Mr Gary Clarke, will urge his players to adopt similar tactics tomorrow. There is much at stake for the participants, and for the code on a-, national basis. The match will be used as a gauge to -New Zealand's prospects of testing - Britain in the interfiationals later this year, t ;