Eleventh-round upset win for Halswell

Press, 13 July 1981, Page 20

Eleventh-round upset win for Halswell

Halswell enjoved- one of its .finest, rugby league hourswhen it upset the co-leader, Sydenham, during the eleventh round of the N.Z.I.G: Canterbury .premiership at the Show Grounds oh Saturday. ;

A magnificent conversion from near the side-line by its captaincoach. Kevin Williams, placed Halswell ahead just before fulltime. But Halswell still had some dogged defending to do before assuring itself of the competition points. The previous week-end Halswell had let an equally dramatic opportunity slip away against 'Addington, but Williams exhorted, his men to lift themselves above the very wet and muddy conditions and hold firm to their 9-8 advantage. .Ironically. Addington, so fortunate to escape a similar fate against Halswell, benefited most from Sydenham’s demise. It is now two points clear of Sydenham and Linwood — which had the bye on Saturday — after having played an additional match. Marist-Western Suburbs also claimed its share of the limelight by beating Hornby, .14-12. the circumstances were different, though, with Marist being 11 points in front at half-time and only just managing to stave off a determined Hornby revival. Eastern Suburbs moved ahead of Hornby into fourth position by scoring all 10 points in its game with Papanui. while Addington added two converted tries in the last three minutes to'beat Kaiapoi in a match that was much closer than the 25-11 scoreline would suggest. A promoted wing for Marist, Fordy Ratahi, is the holder of a world crawling record, but he proved that he is also lively on his feet by scoring three tries atHornby's expense. Three forwards. Dick Ngataki (Eastern), Stu Wells. (Addington) and Daryl Hawker (Halswell), and the Marist stand-off, Tony Wildermoth, were the recipients of the "man of The match" awards. Results: Halswell 9, Sydenham 8. Marist-Western 14, Hornby 12. Eastern 1(1, Papanui 0. Addington 25, Kaiapoi 11. Linwood bye.

HAPPY HALSWELL There was a special significance to Baisweil's victory over Sydenham. The two clubs have niet on 10 previous occasions at premier level, and Sydenham had won them all by six or more points. But there was no denying Baisweil's claims on Saturday. It held the lead for most of the first half, and was in no way disheartened when Sydenham slipped to the front, 5-4', late in that spell.

Indeed it seemed that Halswell would‘regain the initiative when almost all of the action in the third quarter was centred within Sydenham's 22m (area. Several times Halswell' came within a few, metres of’a-try,y only to concede, foolish penalties or make .vital handling errors.:.'

Sydenham eventually trudged its way upfield and John Tapiata and Tony Bergman were close to touching; down. When Tom Amosa succeeded where his team-mates had failed. Baisweil's prospects, at 4-8, were as bleak as the weather.

The Halswell spirit was not broken, and Kevin Williams frequently moved up from full-back to marshal his team's attacks. Many were repulsed before Alan Davis found the leeway to cross near the left comer. The conversion could hardly have been more difficult, but Williams lifted the heavy ball truly and Sydenham was suddenly facing a second successive loss. Williams, and the f Halswell halves, Merv Manson anddPhil Woolhpuse. were very prominent in their side’s manoeuvres. However, the conditions demanded that the forwards carry most of the work-load, and the Halswell pack earned immense credit for containing Sydenham. KATAHI RULES The odds against Marist-West-ern Suburbs reversing its firstround loss to Hornby without the services of its three Canterbury representatives were long, but Marist's supporters found a new hero in tbeir hour of need.

• Fordy Ratahi was one of several premier B players promoted for the day, and he made his presence felt as early as the fourth minute when he scored from Tony Wildermoth's tactical kick. He had another try in the corner after 20 minutes, and a third from a spectacular solo run just on half-time. Premier scorers HALSWELL 9 (A. Davis try; K. P. J. Williams three goals) beat SYDENHAM 8 (D. Vincent, T. Amosa tries; K. Siave goal). Half-time, Sydenham, 5-4. Referee, Mr G. Baxter. EASTERN SUBURBS 10 (D. R. McLaughlan, R. Ngataki tries; B. R. E'dkins, G. Hamburger goals) beat PAPANUI 0. Half-time, 8-0. Referee, Mr T. Drake. MARIST - WESTERN SUBURBS 14 (F. Ratahi three, M. Kennedy tries; T. Wildermoth goal) beat HORNBY 12 (I. Gear, R. Hallett, V. Low, G. McLaughlin tries). Half-time, 14-3. Referee, Mr K. R. Blackler. ADDINGTON 25 (M. Pitts two, B. J. Brown, L. E. McCann, P. G. Klink tries; B. E. Corkran five goals) beat KAIAPOI II (W. Stanley, C. K. Smith, R. Bell tries; S. Dixon goal). Half-time, Addington, 10-3. Referee, Mr J. M. Baughan.

A most deceptive runner. Ra-. tahi marred an otherwise outstanding'effort by retaining possession with Wildermoth unmarked outside, him after he had left all but one of the Hornby cover-defenders in his wake. With Mike Kennedy having also claimed a try. Marist was seemingly safe at 14-3. But Hornby dominated the second half, with Alan Rushton a commanding figure. Rushton had much the better of the hooking duel, and then ensured that the ball was put to good use by drawing the Marist defence and sending his team-mates racing through gaps. The . ■ lethargy which had troubled Hornby’ in the first half was no longer in evidence. Gary McLaughlin and lan Gear were •especially, effective in following Rushton's example. Steve Hann was lively behind the Hornby pack, and the three-quarters. Vaughan Low and Russell Hallett. finished off try-scoring chances in commendable style.

Neither of Hornby's goal-kick-ers. Bruce Cooper and Kelvin Kelly, achieved any success and Wildermoth's one goal for Marist was to be the winning margin. In addition to Wildermoth and Ratahi. Ken Norton was in excellent form in the Marist back-line; Chris Charlton, a courageous tackler from loose forward, and Michael Mclntyre played particularly well in the forwards. PAPANUI’S PROBLEMS The deeds of Halswell on the adjoining ground and the early ascendancy of Eastern Suburbs over Papanui relegated the main game on the No. 1 field to something of a supporting role. Eastern made the most positive move while conditions were still playable. Its forwards attacked the Papanui try-line and a slick manoeuvre was completed by the loose forward, Derek McLaughlan. Given confidence. Eastern generally had the better of the first half.'Papanui's occasional breakaways were ruined by handling lapses, and the big Eastern prop, Dick Ngataki, virtually sealed the result with a surging try a few minutes before the interval. It would have taken an outstanding side to have cancelled out Eastern’s eight-point lead. Papanui. blunted by the absence of its captain-coach, Eddie Kerrigan, often came within range of Eastern’s line without really threatening to penetrate the solid defence. With the props, Ngataki and Gerard Stokes, and McLaughlan producing especially creditable work-rates. Eastern was able to combat Papanui’s thrusts. The Eastern centre. John Rangihuna. was one of the few players not bogged down by the muddy ground. DECEPTIVE SCORELINE Kaiapoi was far more competitive than the 25-11 score would indicate in the early match on the No. 2 field. Indeed, Kaiapoi was still within range of Addington just three minutes from the end. But. as he had done the previous week to deprive Halswell of victory,, the Addington stand-off half, Peter Klink, had the final say by breaking clear and sprinting more than 50 metres for the last try of the game. Addington had been quite secure at 10-0, a scoreless opening quarter being followed by quick tries to Barry Brown and Murray Pitts. Kaiapoi struck back with Wayne Stanley touching down before the interval, and Charlie Smith following suit soon after the resumption. Even another excellent wing's try by Pitts was countered by Kaiapoi when its replacement, Russell Bell, touched down and the 15-11 situation remained as full-time neared.

Les McCann, of Addington, broke the deadlock, although he appeared to bounce the ball in

the act of forcing it. and when Blair Corkran's conversion deflected between the uprights Kaiapoi’s lingering hopes were dashed.

PREMIERSHIP POINTS P W D L F A Pt Addington 10 8 0 2 231 128 16 Linwood 9 y 0 2 224 104 14 Sydenham 9 7 0 2 191 135 14 Eastern 10 6 0 4 193 104 12 Hornby to 5 0 5 152 200 10 Papanui 10 3 1 6 174 173 7 Marist 10 3 1 6 138 200 7 Halswell HI 3 1 6 132 208 7 Kaiapoi 10 0 1 9 100 283 1