Rugby leaders remain unbeaten

Press, 10 May 1982, Page 25

Rugby leaders remain unbeaten

The old order." failed to change in the senior rugby competition for the C.S.B. Cup on Saturday, and the long-standing rivals, Christchurch and Linwood, still share the lead with four straight wins each. Linwood turned aside the challenge by University A to win by 18 points but there was no doubt that University’s strenuous mid-week contest with the Japanese bad taken its toll. Christchurch, which will be University’s next opponent this Saturday, beat last season’s champion, Lincoln College, in an entertaining game which showed that, in the vital areas, the red-and-blacks have what it takes. Four teams are bunched

on the third rung of the ladder, among them Albion and Shirley; the former came back from two losses to beat the latter by a substantial margin on Saturday. Sydenham, which gained its third win, is up there, too, and so is Marist, although it must have had a leprechaun sitting on its shoulder to beat a greatly improved Burnside through a last-minute try. • The games at Lancaster Park oval were fairly dull. University A was obviously in the doldrums at the end of a hard week, and its complexities increased when it was forced to replace three men during the game. Linwood won through good tight forward play, coupled with a determination not to

take risks behind the scrams. Mike Fransen, a raw-boned Linwood lock who played three times for Canterbury A last winter, won the Cellar Ghost “Player of the Day” award, while the winner of a similar prize at Ragby Park was Wayne Tinker, the itinerant Southlander now at half-back for Christchurch. Outside Tinker, Graham Kench had an especially good game for Christchurch, and Jock Hobbs and John Mills were probing loose forwards who gave Lincoln College no peace. Two goal-kickers, Gary Cookson (Old Boys) and Brent Nicoll (Sydenham), each contributed 18 points to their teams’ totals. Old Boys scored six tries in beating

Hornby, without winning over all its critics, and Sydenham won for the third time in five matches — riches indeed. Burnside, which has Linwood as its next rival, was desperately unlucky to lose to Marist after a display full of fervour, and New Brighton sneaked home against Merivale-Papanui on the strength of a penalty goal Ulmin from the end. However, the seasiders were deserving winners because they did 80 per cent of the attacking in the second half and went close to scoring several times. Belfast, a side with rollercoaster fortunes, had one of its high days when it beat Suburbs. But although it

scored four tries, it conceded three, and that seems to be the way fate is unfolding for Jack Oldridge and his boys this season. The points table is:-—

P w D L F A Pt Chch 4 4 0 0 71 25 8 Lin. 4 4 0 0 65 19 8 Syd. 5 3 0 2 78 60 6 Mar. 4 3 0 1 46 36 6 Alh. 5 3 0 2 69 60 6 Shir. 5 3 0 2 70 80 6 Uni. A 5 2 1 2 88 77 5 Bum. 5 2 1 2 62 59 5 New B. 4 2 0 2 55 34 4 HSOB 4 2 0 2 70 60 4 Bel. j 2 0 3 67 62 4 Line. C. 5 2 0 3 52 62 4 Mer-Pap. 4 1 1 2 33 20 3 Horn. 4 1 0 3 26 99 2 Subs 4 0 1 3 30 63 1 Uni. B 3 0 0 5 30 96 0