Merivale beats Albion for D.C.L. Shield

Press, 11 August 1980, Page 17

Merivale beats Albion for D.C.L. Shield

Merivale-Papanui took the D.C.L. Shield with a 10-9 win over Albion on the south ground at Lancaster Park.

It. was 18 years since the club, then purely Merivale, had last won the venerable trophy. . It was a bruising encounter; the. battle for possession was ferociously fought, the defence of both teams maintained at desperation level. The only try of the match was scored by Merivale when the American Eagles player, Jay Hanson, stormed across in the corner in the second half. Albion had the better of the first half, leading 9-3 at the interval. Merivale gradu-

ally increased the pressure in the second half, produced the all-important try and took the lead through a penalty goal by Lindsay Thorn.

Later, Thorn had two good chances to increase Merivale’s lead but he missed the penalty attempts from handy positions. Merivale, relying heavily bn the tall No. 8, Mark Deaton, held an edge in the line-outs. When Deaton was knocked off. his jump, lan Culpan was often able to secure the ball at the end of the line-out. It was from a line-out that Culpan sparked off the move leading to Hanson’s try. He snapped up the loose ball and made ground before sending his fellow flanker on the path to the comer. Apart from the line-outs, the forward struggle was even. Albion’s tight forwards, with Murray Davie and Mike Gee always in the

thick of it, threatened to take control in the first half and the flankers, Gary Sellars and Richard Hawkes, showed fire and aggression. At first five-eighths,

Nicky Dierck kept the pack going forward with huge punts from his left foot. Whether kicking high or probing for the line, Dierck always menaced Merivale. ' The blue-and-whites began their surge after the interval. John Harwood was able to propel himself into the heart of the Albion rucks and win the ball for his side, or kill it for Albion. Harwood also .made some useful takes in the middle of the line-out and Harry Tawera supported him well by tidying up the ball as it came back.

Ken Smith and Dennis Skipper were bruising and effective in the tight, joined often by Deaton who looked much more at home in the close quarters play than he did last week. He was named player of the match. Merivale, especially in the first half, used snappy back moves in an attempt to create chances for the talented centre, Tim O’Brien, but the defence of the Albion backs, both individually and as a unit, was sure. Even the eellike Paul Karena was hard-pressed ■to cross the advantage line. In the end, the merivale forward pack carried the day and an exhausted but elated Harwood held the Shield triumphantly aloft. Merivale’s points came from Hanson’s try and two penalty goals by Thom. For Albion, Murray Straight kicked two penalty goals and Dierck a dropped goal.