Heroic Heffernan helps University A to rugby title victory

Press, 11 August 1980, Page 17

Heroic Heffernan helps University A to rugby title victory

Doug Heffernan was the hero of University A’s 11-10 victory against New Brighton in the grand f inal of the senior rugby championship at Lancaster Park Oval on Saturday — in spite of missing his six kicks at goal and having a clearance converted to a try by the opposition.

If that sounds like a contradiction, it can be explained that the strapping full-back dislocated a shoulder at training last Wednesday, and scorned pain to play in the big match for the C.S.B. Trophy. The mishap was a more closely guarded secret than University's tactical plan. ‘ “Just having him on the field was an inspiration to all the others," said the University coach, Mr Laurie O’Reilly. “He was strapped up and sore, and the injury might easily; have recurred if he had been bumped in a certain way. But. he was determined to make a contribution and it was a significant one.” The match was probably Heffernan’s swansong after seven seasons with the A team, but it did not matter that he failed to add to his tally of 627 points in . senior games. His presence helped swing an absorbing ; .game University’s way after a close and bruising struggle on a damp, tacky surface. New Brighton produced a typically honest, wholehearted performance, the forwards lifting their; effort in the set play markedly. University responded willingly, and its narrow advantage in all-round ability, was faithfully captured in the try count of two to one. It was not a great game of rugby—the' sloppy pitch and the intensity of the duel between two welLmatched teams led to many errors and

curbed spectacular developments. But with the lead changing hands four times and the scores close throughout, the match constantly demanded the close attention of a crowd of about 5000. It was much more of a fesAs before when the rivals met — for a 15-all draw — in the last round of the C.S.B. Cup competition, Kevin Jennings, at first fiveeighths for University, was the shrewdest. It was he who chipped the ball across to the unguarded left wing for Peter McLeod to score for University in the ninth minute of the second half; and it was he who gave the team its winning points 12 minutes later when he unconcernedly potted ■ a goal from a free kick. The ball scraped in off the right-hand upright. Jennings’s marker, the

quick thinking and quick footed Wayne Burleigh, scored a splendid try tive occasion than previous grand finals. Supporters of the rival sides displayed banners and placards bearing inspirational messages, and a New Brighton bass drummer boomed away on the embankment to the distraction of the radio announcer.

Young yellow-jerseyed boys from New Brighton lower grade teams formed a guard of honour for the teams at the start of the game. That was one flourish which University had no hope of matching. through shifting ground deceptively after Garth Samuels, a most underrated lock, had caught a low-tra-jectory clearing kick from Heffernan in his midriff. Then Stephen Blackler dropped a goal with his. left foot — giving the seasiders a half-time lead of 7-4 — and Dave Bowick chimed in with a penalty goal, which took him to within one point of Colin Henderson’s record of 146 points for New Brighton in a senior season.

University’s half-back and captain, Gary Barkle, scored his first points of the season, and of the game, when he charged down a Burleigh clearance and won the race to the ball. Both sides were well served by their inside backs — Barkle and Jennings for University; Graeme Ellis and Burleigh, and occasionally Blackler, for New Brighton.-

The other backs were forced into the largely unglamorous roles of rush stopping, retrieving and clearing. McLeod did good work on University’s left flank, and Heffernan’s fielding was always reliable and often immaculate. Trevor Keats was a competitive figure for New Brighton in the impromptu scrambles, and Kieran Keane came to light with canny kicks for University.

Inevitably, the forwards shouldered much of the workload. John Te Amo had his New Brighton pack hewing away with the utmost diligence, and the concentration exhibited by players such as Bob Davison, Samuels and Peter McLaren was admi-

rable. The others gave them solid support, and the oftrepeated cry from the stands, “think about it, Brighton,” became superfluous.

University finished ahead in the line-outs, 14-11, the scrums, 19-17, and the rucks, 7-3, but these figures illustrated the extent of Brighton’s ball-winning improvement. Samuels surprised University with-his effective line-out jumping, and Davison took the game’s only two tight-heads against a ffiOSO cohesive University scrum.

It was around the fringes that University upset New Brighton’s schemes. Dale Atkins, who won the Fletcher Humphries “Player of the Day” award, played the hard driving role from the back of the scrum to good effect, while Adrian Muir and Mark Meates fossicked for the loose ball. Muir’s work rate was again incredibly high, and he tackled and set up play with the utmost reliability. Atkins and Meates, more robust of build, carried the ball forward with certainty. Atkins, an explosive runner, took a lot of stopping. Among the tight forwards, a’ particularly energetic performance came from Tim Lambert, ah ungainly mover at first sight, but a lock with the right spirit and loads of application. After the C.S.B. Trophy had been presented to Barkle, Mr O’Reilly shed the silent image he had adopted in the days before the final and became his usual loquacious self. “I thought it would be better to say nothing beforehand,” he said. . “The ground conditions didn’t suit us, but the game went fairly close to the way we planned it. Four or five times I felt we were getting on top, but then things got away from us." Mr O’Reilly admitted that he was a strong admirer of Burleigh —. "I think he is a very, very useful player.” But then he turned to his own men, and praised in particular those from the Canterbury squad, who had slogged away at their dual commitments.

“We tried to play positive rugby this year, involving both backs and forwards in the skills,” he said. Then he permitted himself an expression of pride. “Over the whole season, I think our guys played the best rugby.” For University A: tries by McLeod and: Barkle; a dropped goal by Jennings. • For New Brighton: try by Burleigh; dropped goal by Blackler; penalty goal by Bowick. The referee, Mr Alan Bateman,- awarded 10 penalties to University and eight to New Brighton.