Shirley, Merivale in D.C.L. final

Press, 3 August 1981, Page 17

Shirley, Merivale in D.C.L. final

The Shirley and MerivalePapanui rugby sides will meet in the final of the D.C.L. Shield next Saturday and the fact that they emerged successful from their respective sections came as no surprise.

When the competition was divided into the top and bottom eight after a full round-robin, Shirley and Merivale-Papanui were the ninth and tenth placed teams, respectively. Both teams have big, strong forwards and skilful, elusive backs. Their clash in the final will be most interesting, especially in view of their 13-all draw when the two teams met in the roundrobin.

Whereas Merivale-Papa-nui, with a try five minutes from the finish, was able to down the hitherto unbeaten Sydenham in the final round of section two and qualify with a perfect record, Shirley had Albion to thank for its position as top qualifier from section one.

Hornby, which had beaten Shirley, 4-3, in the first round, was the only side with the perfect score starting the final round. However, Albion gave a fine display of running rugby in difficult conditions to overwhelm Hornby, thus stopping it from contesting its first major senior trophy final.

Shirley, Albion and Hornby all finished with two wins from the section, but Shirley had the best points differential.

Results. — Section one: Shirley 28, Suburbs 7; Albion 38, Hornby 11. Section two: Burnside 14, University B 3; MerivalePapanui 12, Sydenham 6. Points. —

Delightful display Albion gave a delightful display of running and handling to overwhelm Hornby in the early game at Rugby Park, scoring seven tries to one.

A slushy ground and heavy bail pointed to a grim forward struggle, but Albion overcame the conditions remarkably well. The handling was skilful, the man with the ball seldom lacked support and its was an exhilarating performance. Hornby, with two previous wins and the prospect of a place in the final, was as eager as Albion, but it did not have the quality of its opponents on the day, although it exerted steady pressure for the first 20 minutes of the second spell. Hornby, however, could not complete its movements. For Albion, almost everything went right. Paul Tew won several tight-heads, Murray Straight was impressive, lan Kennedy was swift and sure on the flank and the backs all ran strongly. But it was the handling which won most appreciation. Very fewpasses were dropped.

Brilliant run A brilliant run from his own 22m by Paul Karena led to a try to Ernie Goodhue which carried Merivale-Papanui clear of Sydenham five minutes from the end of their match at Lancaster Park South. Considering the amount of ball Merivale won, especially in the first half when it played into the wind, it should have racked up twice as many points. Merivale was desperately unlucky not to score several times in the first half. Its penchant for giving away penalties when hard on attack did not help its cause. The Merivale forwards rucked well and used the rolling maul tactic sunerblv. with the flanker.

Grant Herbert, a key figure. John Harwood and Roger Powley were also outstanding in the Merivale pack. When the ball was moved to the backs, Karena and George Poutu ran sharply in the centres. Les Roberts directed play shrewdly and well from halfback.

For Sydenham. Brett Oetgen scored a crashing solo try when he summoned all the power in his compact frame to dive across by the posts. The try came from a rare attacking chance for Sydenham. Convincing win

Shirley needed a convincing win against Suburbs to ensure itself a place in the final and it

achieved that, beating Suburbs. 28-7.

The Shirley forwards were too strong in both scrums and lineouts, Stewart Mitchell having an outstanding game and being rewarded with a pushover try. A depleted Suburbs side fought bravely in the second spell and scored the last try with a movement that swept almost the length of the field.

But the powerful Shirley forwards did not relax their earnest efforts and the backs, led by Brad Stringer, complemented them well.

Burnside breakthrough

Three second-half tries, which came in quick order, took Burn-

side to a deserved win. 14-3. against University B at Ham. The students played well enough to lead, 3-0. at half-time, but Burnside capitalised on its opportunities in the second spell. Solid teamwork enabled Burnside to score its tries against a defence that lapsed in the second half. The Bumside flankers Denis Kinraid and Gary Dor. nelly, and the hooker, Colii Stokes, were prominent in the Burnside pack which won most of the loose ball.

The second five-eighths, Stuart Lindsay, impressed with his good handling and acceleration. John Sproatt and Craig Bunyan showed determination for University B.

Section one P W L F A Shirley 3 2 1 51 20 Albion 3 2 1 69 47 Hornby 3 2 1 29 41 Suburbs 3 0 3 23 64 Section two P W L F A Mer-Pap 3 3 0 71 10 Sydenham 3 2 1 30 24 Burnside 3 1 2 24 60 Uni. B 3 0 3 9 40