Canterbury wins, but lacks killer instinct

Press, 1 September 1980, Page 19

Canterbury wins, but lacks killer instinct

- By

JOHN BROOKS

Canterbury’s scalp will assuredly dangle from the Eden Park" goal-posts alongside Otago’s and Southland’s If the red and blacks’ Ranfurly • Shield performance equates their' display against South Canterbury at Lancaster Park oval on Saturday. Although Canterbury won, 26-6, the victory against the bottom team in the yLion national first division rugby competition was not convincing. The charitable view expressed by Canterbury’s senior coach, Mr Gerald Wilson, on South Canterbury’s prospects turned out to be justified. It was perplexing that Canterbury, with a marked advantage in rucked ball, could not attack with greater assurance and precision. The back-line did not function as a unit, and the scoring of five tries tended to overshadow some disturbing cracks in. the offensive machine. , . . Some of the forwards had periods of pussy-footing round the rucks, the scrum looked distinctly awkward, and at’ times the defensive play was a little lackadaisical. Perhaps encouraged . by Canterbury’s lack of killer

instinct, South Canterbury did riot lie down and obediently take its tenth defeat of the championship. The approach was bold, and in the middle stages of the game the side looked like a potential winner, scoring one try and tossing away three others.

For all the short-comings, however, Canterbury did show two facets of play which could cause Auckland some problems on September 27. The principal asset

was the ability of the backs to run off the shoulders of colleagues at a tangent to the general line of attack, in the style of the 1980 Wallabies. ' . . Two of Canterbury’s tries were scored in this way, and when Randal Scott did it superbly in the first minute, charging past several halfhearted tackles to the goalline, Canterbury looked ready to tear its opponent apart. Obviously, the early success had a soporific effect on Canterbury’s efforts until its rival scored in the sixth minute of the second half.

Canterbury’s other chief strength was at the maul. The forwards smuggled the ball efficiently from hand to hand through dropping a shoulder and turning the torso as contact was made. Peter McLaren bullocked off the back of some mauls to drive home the advantage, and there was evidence of a developing and fruitful understanding with his flankers, Don Hayes and Barney Henderson. Hayes and McLaren set up tiie final try with

some sleight of hand from the end of the line-out, and McLaren also did his blindside bit well to enable Henderson to charge unimpeded for the goal-line. Henderson, a busy defender as well, won the Fletcher Humphries “Player of the Day” award. The match marked the return to rugby of the All Black first five-eighths, Wayne Smith, after two months of frustrating inactivity. He performed soundly, but was obviously in need of the gallop and wisely did not attempt too much.

The outstanding Canters bury back was Randal Scott, who ran with conspicuous determination on the right wing, bursting out of many tackles through judicious use of speed and body movement. His fielding and tackling, too, were much improved, and he could be considered unlucky at not winning a “test” place against the Fijians. Robbie Deans, too, had a fine match. He ran strongly and elusively from full-back and showed unflinching steadiness under the high ball.

The other Canterbury backs had their moments; Paul Molloy and Kieran Keane made one or two sharp runs, Steve Scott was industrious, and lan Mather belied some faulty handling with a dextrous pick-up on

the way to the goal-line after Molloy had jarred the South Canterbury centre, Robin Heron, with one of several good tackles. However, there was no lack of enterprise from the South Canterbury backs, even if Lindsay Proctor had cause to berate himself for two costly errors before he redeemed his fortunes by scoring from his own grubber kick.

Paul Morris played with great efficiency at half-back, and Ray Tealfen and Barry Gallagher were perky attackers oh the wings. Mervyn Hynes, a rugged second fiveeighths, worked in close liaison with his forwards, among whom Duncan Bell had a game of considerable quality. Bell, in fact, had something to show the Canterbury tight forwards as far as application was concerned. Canterbury’s 20-12 linetout advantage and 14-6 success in the rucks could not disguise the fact that there was too much skirmishing and not enough honest and concerted driving. John Ashworth’s eleventh-hour withdrawal left Canterbury with deficiencies in the scrum and the ruck. The match marked the start of Canterbury’s intensive period of championship games, starting with three games against North Island sides in the next eight days. And although there were definite signs of ability in the display against South Canterbury, the team will need a lot more concentration and " attention to detail if it is to succeed. For Canterbury: .tries by Randal Scott (2), Mather, Henderson and Keane; Deans three conversions.

For South Canterbury: try by Proctor; conversion by Tony Kelly. Mr R. J. Austin, of Nelson, who was referee, dispensed only- 11 penalties, eight of them to South