South Canty puts up strong fight

Press, 6 October 1980, Page 30

South Canty puts up strong fight

PA Timaru Waikato is in the first division of the national rugby championships for next year but it had to work far harder than most expected to get there. On Saturday at Fraser Park it overcame the final hurdle on the. road out of the second division when it beat a determined South Canterbury side, 22-13. The score was flattering to the visitors who had been pegged to 13-13 with only minutes to go and the Ranfurly Shield holder may have been just a little casual in its attitude to a side which had lost all 10 games this season. A couple of mistakes in front of its post cost the home team nine points in a lost few minutes and it also lost the draw which would have kept it in the first division. There could be no denying that Waikato was the better team and it would have been an injustice if it had missed

getting into the first division. Waikato’s coach, George Simpkin, said after the game that it was a match his side should not have had to play, and the South Canterbury coach, Ray Vercoe, agreed that promotion-relegation should be automatic, South Canterbury scored in the opening minutes with a Tony Kelly penalty and the full-back went on to score the rest of the side’s points with a dropped goal, a penalty and a try. It was all the home team for the opening session and it was 20 minutes before Waikato scored a try through the power of the prop, Paul Koteka, from the line-out.

Kelly missed another couple of penalties and Waikato took the advantage with another penalty to Rodger Litt and a try to the No. 8, B. Morrisey, on one rare incursion into South Canterbury territory. Good understanding on the burst saw South Canterbury

score its try, when Kelly joined the backline, to take a pass almost on Waikato’s goal line and the half-time score was 13-7. The home team launched itself on to attack in the second half and bustled Waikato all over the field. Kelly kicked a well judged field goal and handy penalty in the first quarter and the scores were tied.

The last quarter was real pressure stuff and a silly penalty for elbowing in a maul gave Waikato three points from a Litt penalty and the half-back, Phillips, sealed the game with a try from a ball which popped out of the side of the scrum on South Canterbury’s defensive putin, and he converted from the sideline. Scorers. —

Waikato 22 (P. Koteka, B. Morrisey, D. Phillips tries, R. Litt two penalties and a conversion, Phillips a conversion). South Canterbury 13 (T. Kelly try, two penalties and a dropped goal).