Lincoln College has chance for notable double

Press, 27 July 1981, Page 17

Lincoln College has chance for notable double

Lincoln College's crushing win against Belfast on Saturday has placed it in a good position to complete the senior rugby double this season.

Already winner of the C.S.B. Cup, Lincoln College, after receiving a set-back in the first round of the C.S.B. Trophy, won so well on Saturday’ that it leads section one on points differential.

All four teams in the section have had a win apiece, but Lincoln and Christchurch are the only two teams to be on the credit side when points for and against are taken into consideration.

Lincoln will meet High School Old Boys, a narrow winner against Christchurch in the second round, in the final section round next Saturday and it must be favoured to win after beating that team. 16-7. in the C.S.B. Cup competition. Brian Fechnev. the young but powerful College flanker, won the Cellar Ghost “player of the day" award at Rugby Park. In section two. the finalist will be either University A or Marist, both of which scored their second successive wins on Saturday. Linwood scored the only try of the match against Marist. but two dropped goals in the first half and a penalty goal took Marist to a narrow win. It was Marist’s second close shave: in the first round it beat. New Brighton by one point, scoring a try in injury time. University A, last year's C.S.B. Trophy champion, will take a power of beating. It dominated the forward battle against New Brighton and won by 12 points, although either side had a chance with 20 minutes remaining. Marist cannot afford a draw against University A which has a much superior points differential.

Results;- Section one Lincoln College 23, Belfast 3. High School Old Boys 4. Christchurch 3. Section two University A 24, New Brighton 12. Marist 9, Linwood 7.

Forward power

A concerted forward effort, one that was sustained most impressively, gave University A a decided edge against New Brighton at Jellicoc Park.

It took University A until a minute before half-time before it gained the lead for the first time and that was from a try which started with a blatant knock-on that went undetected by the referee. Even with 20 minutes remaining, New Brighton was still in with a chance when Graeme Ellis sped through a narrow gap and ran 30m to score under the posts. The converted try narrowed University’s lead to two points, but the students were more efficient in their approach over the final quarter and surged to a decisive 24-12 victory.

With such control in the forward battle, University A was content to play to its strength and the half-back, Gary Barkle and the first five-eighths. Mark Liddicoat, were happy to punt the ball deep and keep New Brighton penned in its own territory. New Brighton showed flair among the backs and several smart passing movements could have brought richer rewards had not dropped passes occurred when the over-lap had been created. New Brighton and three Canterbury representatives. Peter McLaren. Ross Gibson and Wayne Burleigh, watching the match from the sideline and the loss of those

experienced players was felt bv the seasiders.

’ lan Stewart and Tim Lambert were towering figures in the line-outs, winning a great share of the ball for University and Dale Atkins was at his’ best at No. 8. None of the New Brighton team was keen to halt his bruising bursts.

Barkle and Liddicoat dictated play astutely and, although the backs’ did not have many attacking chances, they tackled safely.

Na Katae was the outstanding player in a New Brighton pack which could not quell its opposite. John Te Amo made some strong runs and it was his initial break that enabled the nimble Ellis to spring for his try. Phil Holstein gave a gutsy display at first five-eighths, too often having to lower charging University forwards, and Trevor Keats shirked nothing when it came to tackling. Second-half dominance After playing against the wind and leading by one point at the end of the first spell, Lincoln College made no race of it in the second, conclusively beating Belfast by 19 points. The winning margin by no means flattered Lincoln and it won by simply doing the basic things very well. The tight forwards worked as a unit and consequently won an equal share against their heavier opponents. The loose forwards harried the opposition when the ball was lost, covered on defence and backed up on attack.

The work of the backs was equally efficient. They ran hard, passed with judgment, and their kicking both on attack and defence invariably gained ground. The tackling was faultless, and Belfast could well feel that its attacks ran up against a brick wall. One point difference Christchurch failed to capitalise on a possession advantage it held for threequarters of the match, notably in the line-outs, and Old Boys sneaked home by scoring the only try of the game. The line-out battle, in an area where Old Boys are usually strong, was highly absorbing. Old Boys fielded three locks, with Bob Van Lent playing number eight, but the Christchurch pairing of John Mika and Peter Fry, with support from Mike Cron at the front and Eddie Cutts near the back, had much the better of their counterparts.

Christchurch won some line-out ball when the Old Bovs’ jumpers lost control at times and the ball bobbled away from them, but that was only a small part of the storv.

The statistics tell it best. Christchurch had clean possession from 12 line-outs to Old Boys’ 3 in the first half. Gary Fuller and Ken Pope began to perform for Old Boys after the interval but Christchurch was still well on top. 18-8, at the end of the game.

It was Old Boys who scored the crucial try, midway through the second spell. The forwards won a ruck 15m from the Christchurch posts and the ball was swung to the backs. Mark Wheeler came into the line from fullback. carved through, and the left wing. Alex McPhail, was on hand to make the touchdown. Robbie Deans was successful with only one penalty attempt for Christchurch but he had only three in the game. One of his misses was from a long way out but the other, his first, early in the game, was from almost right in front of the posts. If Deans was unable to win the game for his side with his goal-kicking, his play at full-back was outstanding. Close contest Linwood scored the only try of the main match at Lancaster Park South but it lost the game. Marist was victorious on the strength of two dropped goals early in the piece. The sides were evenly matched up front and neither back-line was able to make much headway, although the Marist unit looked the more likely, especially towards the end ’of the match. A cry of “too many blues, green!" rang out from the top of the No. 5 stand at one stage in the second half. The caller was a Linwood supporter but ironically, and aptly, his comment could well have applied to both sides. Occasional promising movements were stifled, usually by poor handling. Robert Potts, a prop, scored the only try of the match when the Linwood men crashed through a lineout hard on the Marist line, 10 minutes from the end. Soon after. Rod Latham had a chance to win the game for Linwood with a penalty 40 metres out but the ball sailed just wide. Latham had missed an easier attempt earlier in the spell.