Steve Hansen key figure in Canty win

Press, 17 July 1980, Page 26

Steve Hansen key figure in Canty win

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

The position of centre in jtfie Canterbury A rugby team is one area which remains open. John Collinson was dropped from that position after the match against Marlborough and Vic Simpson receives his chance against Mid-Canterbury on Saturday. ■ Simpson will have to be on his mettle on Saturday for yesterday’s match between a Canterbury XV and Ellesmere at Leeston unearthed a player of considerable potential in. the strongly-built Marist centre, Steve Hansen. Hansen was the central character in Canterbury’s. 9-7 victory against a tenacious Ellesmere team, which all but escaped with a draw after scoring a fine try with two minutes remaining. The conversion attempt from the side-line by Ellesmere’s full-back, Neville Carter, dropped just below the crossbar. Hansen, stamped his mark on the game in the early stages ' with some devastating tackles and followed that with a number of penetrative runs. It was a scything run by him that led to Canterbury’s only try in the final quarter by the left wing, Don Humphries. Perhaps surprisingly Hansen was given the first goalkicking opportunity ahead of the full-back, Brian Hunter, but it was a wise decision. He was successful with the angled attempt and converted the try, also from a sharp angle. Although the Canterbury backs showed enterprise and handled a greasy ball remarkably well in the first half, ' the game developed into an intense forward struggle and Ellesmere showed it was well-equipped to tackle Canterbury on that score.

Ellesmere did not make good . use of a supporting wind in the first half and it

looked ominous for the team when a late first-half penalty goal by Carter only enabled it to be level, threeall, at the interval. But the Ellesmere forwards played with vigour and purpose in the second spell, dominating the lineouts and achieving parity in scrums and rucks. The . tall Ellesmere and Canterbury A lock, Bruce Farmer, had a great duel with Kerry Mitchell, a possible candidate for his position, and with ’ both teams ejecting to throw to their main leapers in the first half, the result was all square. But Ellesmere varied its throws in the second half and Farmer, ably supported by a replacement Tim Tichbourne, and Don Hayes at the end of the line-out, combined to snare 70 per cent of possession from that source. Ellesmere hoed in eagerly to the rucks and mauls and the sustained forward performance prevented the Canterbury backs from exploiting a lack of pace and confidence in the Ellesmere threequarters. The Canterbury pack was kept subdued throughout the game, although the covering of .Dale Atkins proved invaluable and NeiL Porter was the instigator of groundgaining drives from line-outs and mauls.

Intelligent. line-kicking by Wayne Burleigh relieved pressure for Canterbury many times in the second half; but it was unfortunate that not enough ball was delivered swiftly to the threequarters as Hansen and the wings, Humphries and Bill Anderson, had the measure of their markers. Hunter was a reliable last line of defence for Canterbury. Humphries scored for Canterbury and. Hansen kicked the conversion and added a penalty. Bruce Dunbar scored for Ellesmere in the closing minutes and Carter kicked a penalty goal.