Delayed start to campaign

Press, 12 July 1980, Page 56

Delayed start to campaign

By

JOHN COFFEY

‘ Heavy snowfalls in the : Southern Alps might be wel- ‘ corned by ski-ing en- : thusiasts, but they hindered ' the preparation of the South : Island rugby league team ! which meets Northern Districts at Huntly today. Training was to have been held at the Show Grounds on Thursday. However, the coach (Mr Ces Clark), the manager (Mr Bob Aynsley) and the West Coast players were delayed until the road near Arthur’s Pass was cleared of snow. By the time they arrived at the ground, their Canterbury counter-’ parts had left. To compensate, Mr Clark had them working just that much harder in two runs yesterday in a bid to bring South hack to the peak of performance which carried it to a 12-11 win over Australia last month. To Mr Clark, that win was a pinnacle of achievement. He said that in his long association with the code — it is about 35 years since he made his debut as a schoolboy — he had never seen a South side with such a will to win.

“But we cannot underestimate Northern, Auckland or Central in our three matches if we are to earn a place in the Tooth Cup tournament in Australia next year,” Mr Clark said. “We must look upon all of them as hard games. “After all, the Australian

match was played for prestige. The real prize is Tooth Cup status and I am sure that all of the other players and coaches are looking to the inter-districts championship with similar views,” he said. The stunning result against Australia has, not surprisingly, persuaded Mr Clark and his fellow selectors to retain the winning combination at Huntly. David Field, of Canterbury, remains at stand-off half in place of Chris Menzies (West Coast), who had to withdraw from the encounter with the Kangaroos, and Wayne Dwyer (West Coast) is again reserve forward. The only injury worry,

that concerning Kevin Franklin’s strained groin muscles, has been alleviated. Any doubts were resolved at training yesterday. South’s players will not only be seeking victory at Huntly, but will also be in quest of a wide winning margin. If the contest devel-

ops as expected, it will become a tense tussle between South, Central and Auckland, one that might eventually be decided by pointsscoring percentages. The whole outcome of the Canterbury N.Z.I.G. rugby league premiership meanwhile might rest on the durability of the South Island representatives required to take part in vital club fixtures tomorrow. When the bye is taken into account, there are virtually three co-leaders, Syd e n h a m , Marist-Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs, while Papanui, now fourth, has entered serious calculations. Eastern and Sydenham

will meet in the main game at the Show Grounds tomorrow, with Marist and Pa- : panui also competing for the Barr Cup in the curtainraiser. But Marist’s prospects of gaining possession of the cup for the first time since it was presented as a memorial to lan Barr in 1956 have not been helped by the timing of the game. Three of its most effective players, Mark Broadhurst, Michael O’Donnell and Kevin Franklin, return to Christchurch from Huntly only an hour before the kick-off. Both Papanui (Mike Williams), and in the later match, Eastern (Barry Edkins), have one player facing double assignments, and Sydenham two, Bruce Dickison and David Field. Eastern and Sydenham have had a win each in their two encounters this season, and Marist narrowly headed off Papanui in the opening premiership round. There have been few occasions in the past that the four top sides have met in such evenmoney situations.