Impressive scoring

Press, 17 December 1980, Page 28

Impressive scoring

The 1980 rugby season is long gone, but the enthusiasm of an elderly, former South Canterbury representative now living at Stoke, Nelson, brought it back to life last week. He thought that someone might be interested in the record of an under-11 team which wore the Stoke club’s colours a few months back. Perhaps there were other teams in “The Press’ circulation area which had done better? But he doubted it. In 16 games, the Stoke north A team scored a total of 738 points and had a mere 32 scored .against it. The most remarkable feature of this total is

that not one point was scored from a penalty goal. The reason for that is that the team coach, Mike McSherry, is adamant that the only time the ball may be kicked is in defence of the teams goal-line. Anyone breaching this rule was likely to find himself on the sideline the next week. This policy is reflected in the try scoring. The first five-eighths, Michael McSherry, scored 40 tries, the second five-eighths, Jason Tasker 20. the centre, Nigel Muir 28, th? two wings, Grant Tucker (17) and Warren Harris (10), 27 between them, and the half-back Hamish Soper 10 — a total of 125

tries by the backs. Only 18 tries were scored ny the forwards, an indication of the type of rugby played. Conversions of these tries totalled 82. For the record, the team, scored an average of 46 points a game and only two against. One player, McSherry scored 20? points, and Tasker and Muir scored 174 and 140 respectively. The enthusiastic supporter of the team , who . provided all this information said the Side had given him, and many others, some joyous Saturday mornings “the like of which I can scarcely hope to see again.”