Ironic twists of fate for Marist in senior rugby

Press, 28 April 1980, Page 17

Ironic twists of fate for Marist in senior rugby

The ugly conundrum which the Maris; seniors yere asking each ether on Saturday evening was; “When is a dropped goal not a dropped goal?”

The answer, of course, is when the referee is unsighted — which is what happened to Marist on the way to its 18-all draw with High School Old Boys in the main C.S.B. Cup match at Lancaster Park oval.

It was a dreadful mix-up i for Marist as its sharpshooter. Bernie Stewart, drop-kicked the ball between the goal posts early in the 'second half. But his partner si in the five-eighths, Mike ; More, inadvertantly clipped the heels of the referee, Mr Tom Doocey, as he ran past, and Mr Doocey was having ,la worm’s-eye view of the u Lancaster Park turf as the 'ball went on its merry way. :! Stewart, who kicked four :• penalty goals and a con-; version in the match, had aj J chance to bring success to I 'Marist 2min from the end' i I when Old Boys conceded a' ] penalty for off-side play in ] the line-out. But. for once, his normally trusty boot let him down. The drawn match meant that Marist is still unbeaten, but with two draws and one win it is two points behind the joint leaders, Linwood, New Brighton and Shirley. Of these three teams, only Shirley was in action on Saturday, and it had a long climb to the top after being . down, 3-15, early in the sec- ’ ond half to Suburbs. ; Results were:— 1 Marist 18, Old Boys 18. Belfast 25, Merivale-Pa--3 panui 10. * Shirley 20, Suburbs 15, J Lincoln College 22, Syden5 ham 15. ‘ University A 31, University 810. Albion 13, Burnside 6. University A scored six ’I tries in a bright game) ]]against the club's B side, ■land Wayne Smith (Belfast) 'land Steve Scott (Shirley) '[had good games at Rugby [[Park. On Lancaster Park, Mr Dale Priest, handed out 36 [penalties in a scrappy Lin- | c o 1 n College-Sydenham | match, and this number is thought to equal the unofficial record for post-war cnmnp.tition games.

competition games. The Fletcher Humphries “Player of the Day” award went to Peter Robertson, the 21-year-old No. 8 from Dunedin who joined Old Boys this season. To Marist went the distinction of scoring the best try of the day. Pat O’Byrne won the ball from a line-out and as the backs swung into • action, Brian McLean flashed up from full-back and : pierced the defence to its heart. Steve Hansen then i drew the full-back before sending Gary Hooper rushing for the open goal-line. ; It was a classical move. 1 worthy of being videotaped , and sent to the national • director of coaching. Bill Freeman, for his archives. Points in the competition are:—

CHANCE LOST Marist players stared in disbelief as Bernie Stewart of the golden boot made a desultory stab at the ball with his right foot and duffed a matchwinning penalty kick 2min. from the end of the game against Old Boys. In all fairness, however .they

could not reproach Stewart, for he had given them a winning chance with five earlier goals, as v.-ell as keeping his side on the boil with probing punts and astute generalship. Old Boys’ made spasmodic efforts for success, but only at the start of the final quarter, when trailing 6-18, did they look like the championship winning side of last season. In "min. of that period they scored 12 of their points, the highlight being a soaring catch by Alex McPhail and a plunge between the posts for a spectacular try. Simon Brown hoisted the ball in the air for this effort, and he was consistently the most positive of the Old Boys’ backs with his strong and intelligent running. The Old Boys’ forwards, a much improved lot, won exactly twice as much possession as Marist, including a four to ■ one margin in .nicked ball, but this superiority was not reflected in the seore. Marist’s defence was extremely sound, and the extra man was usually wrapped up with the ball.

Already hit by injuries, Marist suffered further tribulations when two of its forwards were hurt in the same movement, and

the pack played out the remaining 27min. with two senior reserve forwards — who had already had a game — on the field and with Michael Hodgins, a flanker, at hooker. Some of the Old Boys’ players appeared to have rather too much to say, but one who reserved all his breath for the pursuit of the ball was Peter Rowlands. who cut a fine figure with his driving play around the fringes. BELFAST PREVAILS A disciplined, cohesive forward display and sharp ■ running by the backs led Belfast to a convincing victory over Merivale-Papanui in the main game at Rugby Park. But Merivale-Papanu! played with spirit and was unlucky’ to be down 15 points at the final whistle. A reliable goal-kicker would have brought the side much closer to Belfast. With an occasional exception, the Belfast forwards hunted the ball as one. But while Bill Bush was not always in the thick of things, he frequently demonstrated his skill at setting up mauls and providing quality possession for his backs.

Wayne Smith, the Belfast captain, showed his class at first five-eighths. He scored a fine try himself and set Wally Hemapo up for another when he carved through the Merivale-Pa-panui defence from a scrum close to the line. The Belfast three-quarters excelled, too, with straight, aggressive running and a willingness to seize half chances.

Merivale came out of the game with credit and several of its players stood out for the quality of their play. John Harwood was

a dominant figure in the llne-i outs and showed up also in general play; Steve Barnden was a most constructive No. 8, showing i line anticipation in cover defence; and Paul Karina, who I two years ago was an under-16 I South Island representative, ran I sharply and tackled strongly at second five-eighths. The game was thoroughly entertaining, especially in the second half when both sides scored two tries. lan Culpan, the Merivale flanker, capped it off in the final minute when he scorched away from the remnants of the Belfast defence to touch down. NUMEROUS PENALTIES Frequent whistle blasts by the referee , Mr Dale Priest, and a regular series of handling mistakes ensured that play seldom flowed in the curtainraiser at Lancaster Park between Lincoln College and Sydenham. Mr Priest found cause to award 36 penalties, 20 of them in the second spell, Sydenham benefitting by 14 of the decisions. A lack of finish cost Sydenham dearly. After being on the defensive for most of the first half, Sydenham, trailing 6-12 at the

interval, looked a different side in the second spell and camped inside Lincoln College’s half for the first 30 minutes. But in that time it could add only a dropped goal. It was almost predictable that on one of its rare excursions inside Sydenham territory, College should score a try and the match was in safekeeping 2min from the finish when Paul Cuneen intercepted and ran 55m for Ills try.

Lincoln College started brightly, running the ball at will and Mark Mclntosh was across for a neat blind-side try in the eighth minute. But for some reason that policy was abandoned after a handling mistake enabled Sydenham to break free from its own half and equalise. A strong display by the Sydenham pack — its scrummaging was especially impressive, Bernie Ryan capturing three tight-heads — kept Sydenham in the match, but the passing and handling by the backs was of a low standard. Dave White was a dominant figure for Lincoln College in the line-outs, but the over-all performance by the forwards was disappointing. Lance Rickard, with several sharp breaks, Ross Polson and John Holmes were competent backs. Lyn Chandler and Tom Chandler achieved a high work-rate in Sydenham’s strong forward showing, but there w r as a distinct lack of confidence and flair along the backline. BRIGHT DISPLAY Superior weight and experience In the forwards plus backs who ran with purpose and power gave University A a convincing win over the B side at Ham

Although the A side was clear-

ly the better, the B team gave a| plucky display and its try scored at the end was a fitting reward for consistent effort.

The strength and experience of the A forwards was shown particularly in line-outs and rucks and both on attack and defence the rucks were won almost at will. The breaking of Dale Atkins, an impressive loose forward, from set play also put pressure on the defence and his was a fine all-round display. The A backs were well served at half by Gary Barkle and sure handling by the insides g-ave the speedy three-quarter line room to run. Vic Simpson, the centre, made full use of opportunities which came his way. SHIRLEY SHAKEN A highly-motivated, lively Suburbs team threw Shirley off its stride in the early game at Rugby Park and almost scored an upset win. Shirley took up where it left off last week, its forwards scrummaging powerfully, and driving and mauling with skill, But when the ball came clear, a bustling Suburbs team forced Shirley into errors and eagerly snapped up the chances; Suburbs was clearly deter-

[mined to keep the game going at ! a furious pace, unsuited to Shir[ley’s style* of play. The Suburbs i tight forwards rucked ferociously and the loose forwards — Barry Wliite and Jim Bennie in particular — irere fast and wide-ranging in their efforts to keep the ball away from Shirley’s strength. Behind the spirited pack, the first five-eighths, John Neilson, had a fine game until he was forced to leave the field in the second half. His kicking, W’ith both feet, was well judged and ■penetrating; he made several incisive runs, one of which led directly to a try by the wing, Vern Marsh; and he scored himself after intercepting a stray pass on half-way. Shirley's outstanding player was the half-back and captain, Steve Scott. He made a number of dashing breaks from the base of the scrum but only one of these resulted in a try. . Not until the last five minutes did Shirley clear out, with a dropped goal to. Anton Wils and a penalty to Gary Shearer. Suburbs, having scored three tries to two, could only reflect ruefully on what might have been. ALBION HAS EDGE Neither side could take much

credit for Its display on the South ground at Lancaster Park, but Albion showed more flair on attack.

Burnside looked the better side in the early exchanges, and by making good use of a brisk foilowing wind was able to put considerable pressure on the Albion line.

However the Burnside backs lacked both the ability and the initiative to capitalise, and once Albion had overcome Initial problems it was seldom in trouble.

I Kevin Johnstone was an asser- , tlve No. 8 for Burnside but often • lacked support after making the ■ initial thrust. In contrast, lan Bull had his forwards working • well as a unit and- with Mike Gee , excelling In the line-outs, Albion • won sufficient possession to be a : decisive victor. : The Burnside backs tackled well, compensating in part for ' their ineptitude on attack. Only i Kevin Bowie on the right wing : showed much penetration, and ■ he handled the high ball well. The first five-eighth, Mika Dolan, was the pick of the Albion backs, and the tactical kicking outside him of Nicky Dierck was usually- effective.

P W D L F A Pts Linwood 3 —. 71 28 6 New Bri. 3 *2 — — 54 27 6 Shirley 3 3 — ■— 43 33 6 Lin. Col. 4 2 1 1 54 57 ■J Albion .4 «> 1 1 31 46 5 Univ. A 3 2 —— 1 75 39 4 Marist 3 1 2 . 53 27 4 Belfast 3 9 — 1 57 49 4 Univ. B 4 2 o 41 63 4 Chcli '» 1 1 1 44 24 3 HSOB 4 1 I 2 52 65 3 Subs. 4 I «—• •z 48 60 2 Mer-Pap. 4 1 — 3 42 75 2 Burnside 4 —_ J; 3 30 45 1 Hornby 3 —— 1 2 38 57 1 Syd. 4 — 4 35 73 0