Wins to Hornby, Papanui

Press, 19 April 1982, Page 15

Wins to Hornby, Papanui

Hombv and Papanui joined Kaiapoi and Addington at the top the Canterbury rugby league N.Z.I.G. premiership table when they won their first round matches at the Show Grounds on Saturday. There was a marked similarity in the manner in which Hornby and Papanui Achieved their victories over Halswell and MaristWestem Suburbs, respectively. Both achieved decisive points advantages in the early stages before surviving spirited revivals from their opponents. But whereas Hornby had the comfort of a 35-17 victory, Papanui managed to hold on by only 15-11. and was distinctly fortunate to emerge with the two competition points. As gallant as was Harwell's comeback against Hornby, it could not get closer than 12-20 midway through the second spell and Hornby always had something in hand. However, Papanui, after scoring three tries in 13 minutes from the start, had to wait 64 minutes before a penalty by Grant Karaitiana increased its total. Marist, meanwhile, had been tantalisingly close to claiming a winning try on several occasions. The upset of the title-holder, Eastern Suburbs, by Kaiapoi last Wednesday evening' suggests that the premiership will be extremely interesting. Kaiapoi, Addington, Papanui and Hornby have two points, to lead Eastern, Sydenham, Linwood (which had the bye), Marist and Halswell. Results— Papanui 15, Marist-Western 11 Hornby 35, Halswell 17 ANXIOUS MOMENTS It seemed that Papanui would start its premiership campaign with a resounding win when it had 13 points on the scoreboard in as many minutes. In that time, Marist had possession for only Marist had possession for only Premier scorers PAPANUI 15 (D. M. Thompson two, E. S. Kerrigan tries; G. Karaitiana three goals) beat MARIST-WESTERN 11 (H. W. October try; M. W. J. O'Donnell four goals). Half-time, 13-4. Referee, Mr R. J. A. MacKenzie. HORNBY 35 (W. J. Wallace three, M. Willis two, B. R. Edkins, R. L. Alfeld tries; Edkins seven goals) beat HALSWELL 15 (K. Kinley, A. G. Davis, M. A. Manson tries; M. Yule 2, Manson goals). Half-time, 20-4. Referee, Mr K. R. Blackler.

nine tackles and it appeared as if its defence would collapse completely. Doug Thompson started Papanui’s scoring spree when he ranged out wide to touch down in the comer, and he continued it soon afterwards when he sent the Marist cover the wrong way with a far from convincing dummy. Greg Roberts was. next to deceive his rivals and he sent his captain, Eddie Kerrigan, away for the third try. But from that point, the match •underwent an unexpected transformation. Kerrigan was injured and had to leave the field, and he seemingly took with him all of Papanui's attacking initiative. For its part. Marist found its tackling feet, and reorganisation was made in its ranks: the fullback. Hal October, and loose forward. Ken Norton, swapped roles, and John MacGougan switched to scrum-half, with Wayne O'Donnell moving to stand-off. Marist made some inroads into Papanui’s lead with accurate goal-kicking from Michael O’Donnell. October contributed a fine try early in the second half, running strongly onto Carl Wild’s pass, and two more goals from O'Donnell had Papanui visibly struggling at 1311. Territorially, the half was very much Marist’s and it was also dominating the scrummaging.

If Papanui had lost all of its penetration, it doggedly defended its line in the face of" numerous thrusts by Marist. Twice the Marist right wing, Bob Bozhinoff. was almost through, only to be dragged down by a desperate lunge. Wild was an outstanding worker in the Marist pack, and Michael O’Donnell a thoughtful play-maker among the backs. October. Norton and MacGougan did not have their talents blunted by changing positions. The early incursions that Thompson made past the Marist defences lingered long enough in the memories of those who decide “man of the match” awards. Really, though, he was as anonymous’as his team-mates over the last hour. PERIODS OF PROSPERITY Hornby's 18-point advantage over Halswell in the curtain-raiser was a fair reflection of the manner in which the teams used their even share of possession, but there were marked changes in the . fortunes of the two sides as the game advanced. A series of horrendous handling mistakes haunted Halswell in The first half — after which it trailed, 4-20 — and it was to fall into error again in the last quarter. Promising situations created by Halswell were wasted until

soon after the resumption, when tries to Alan Davis and Merv Manson suddenly had Hatewell within eight points of its rival. It was then Hornby's turn to regather its resources and the result was put beyond doubt when the strong-running centre, Mark Willis, broke away for his second try, and Wayne Wallace positioned himself expertly to gain his third, and clinch the "man of the match” award in a close vote with Barry Edkins.. The major ■ reason for Baisweil’s recovery was the astute ball distribution of Manson. Whereas the Halswell forwards, and especially Darryl Hawker, Davis and Ken Kinley, had been making enthusiastic solo charges at the Hornby defenders, they now had Manson’s slick passing from which to probe for gaps. Murray Wright, not the’ comparatively sylph-like figure of former seasons, proved that he is still a dab hand (or foot) at hooker, but only Manson, of the Halswell backs, could make much headway with the ball. The third quarter apart, Wallace and Edkins frequently had the Hornby cover baffled with their ability to set up their supports or choose wisely their own try-scoring chances. Willis, too. was skilful in mustering top speed when Halswell was most frail in midfield.