Three quick tries give Canterbury comfortable win

Press, 4 September 1980, Page 28

Three quick tries give Canterbury comfortable win

By

KEVIN McMENAMIN

Rugby may be an 80-minute game, but it took the Canterbury team only 15 minutes yesterday to ensure itself of two more points in the Lion national championship.

In this 15 minutes, beginning from the start of the second spell, Canterbury played as well as it has all season to score three tries and with Richard Wilson converting them all a slender half-time lead of 7-6 was transformed into a winning 25-6 break. But without these 15 productive minutes Canterbury would have been in a lot of trouble md it may even have been saved by the bell in the finish. Bay of Plenty put the score in better perspective with a late rally that earned it two tries, one of which Greg Rowlands converted, Canterbury, to some extent, invited this late, if futile, charge by Bay of Plenty. At 28-9 with less than 15 minutes remaining it should have chanced its arm and given its backs a chance to show what they could do; they had been waiting patiently most of the game. But it was Bay of Plenty which threw caution to the wind and opened the game up. If nothing else this certainly rattled the Canterbury defence which, did not earn many marks for trying when, first, Rowlands and then the flanker, Gordon Tietjens, broke through for their tries. . There were reasons other than providing entertainment why Canterbury should have used its backs more. The forwards were at full, stretch to match a lively Bay of Plenty pack and it was only when Canterbury got the ball into the open that it looked the better team. Paul Molloy, for example, was an explosive runner at second five-eighths, which is undoubtedly 1 his true posi-

tion, and he had a hand in both of Canterbury’s first two tries. Yet for the last 20 minutes he barely received a P aSS ’ • U These two tries were both very good ones. For the first, Victor Simpson swapped positions with Molloy and this confused the opposition enough for Molloy to force an outside gap. Randal Scott took Molloy’s pass to score. Wayne Smith got the second try when he doubled round outside Molloy, and the props, John Ashworth and Murray Davie, scored the next two, both tailpieces :to concerted drives. For the second time in three games, Canterbury’s towering, lock, Jock Ross, won the “player of the day” award. He was largely responsible for ■ Canterbury’s 13-11 advantage in line-outs, but some old problems recurred with Canterbury not always retaining possession won in this area. Canterbury also finished ahead in rucks (13-7) and scrums (20-9), Murray Hall taking three . strikes against the head. Much of this possession — too much, perhaps.— was: returned to the forwards and while Ashworth- and Graeme Higginson led some fierce drives the backs were seldom allowed to deliver the knock-out punch. The strength and industry of the Bay of Plenty forwards prevented the Canterbury loose forwards from straying far from base, and they might well have relished: the opportunity -to stretch their legs and rest their arms. However, Barney Henderson was still able to make’ an impression on the visiting backs.

What ball Canterbury did move through the backs was expertly handled by the inside pair, Gary Barkle and Wayne Smith. Barkle was as plucky as ever in taking on men twice his size and it was probably his size that allowed him to slip through their grasp a number of times.

Molloy complemented his aggressive running with some low, hard tackles, while neither of the centres — Ross Gibson replacing an injured Simpson just before half-time — received much in the way of set-play opportunities. If anything; the Bay of Plenty backs moved the ball better than did Canterbury’s, although it was late in the game before they started running on to their passes. Casey Wanoa was a clever wing and Ron Preston a penetrative five-eighths. With its Ranfurly Shield challenge creeping closer, Canterbury can take some heart from yesterday’s game. It’s just a matter of playing for 80 minutes like it played yesterday for 15. For Canterbury, tries by Randal Scott, Wayne Smith, John Ashworth and Murray Davie; Richard Wilson three conversions and two penalty goals. For Bay of Plenty, Greg Rowlands and Gordon Tietjens tries; Rowlands a conversion and three penalty goals.