Burnside ‘arrives’ in senior rugby in good display against Old Boys

Press, 31 May 1982, Page 17

Burnside ‘arrives’ in senior rugby in good display against Old Boys

Three brilliant tries by Burnside in the space of seven minutes midway through the second spell buried the chances of a good Old Boys team in the curtainraiser at Rugby Park. , . '.. *_. _. rnncpniipntlv Piven a good ainr

The first was scored by the charging No. 8, Kevin Johnston after a superb break .from set play by the first five-eighths. John Lindsay. Johnston showed great pace to get up in support of Lindsay and he went into overdrive in his angled, 20metre sprint to the comer. David Farrant scored the next two after fine runs up the left flank by Kevin Spratt and Ray Genet. Genet capped off a grand display at half-back with the cheekiest of solo tries from a scrum 10 metres out, near the end of the match. Not a hand was laid on him. Apart from these fine scoring efforts, Burnside had the winning of the match through its tigerish but constructive forward pack led by Graeme Church, until he went off, and Johnston, and a sharp set of backs directed shrewdly by the masterly Lindsay’ All of the Bumside forwards played well. They went a long way towards countering Old Boys’ line-out strength, in the persons of Gary Fuller and Don Symon, by using a variety of ploys including shortened line-outs and long throws. They also rucked excellently, often snaffling the ball from their bigger opponents. By the end of the match, they had taken almost complete control. Burnside’s defence was tested to the limit at times by Old Boys but it held fast, except when Geoff Brain rollicked into'the line from the blindside wing and burst clear through to score right on half-time. Old Boys also had a penalty try when lan Mather was obstructed while following a kick ahead that rolled loose over the Burn- • side line. Old Boys’ stunning loss was not attributable to poor play. There was some fine forward play, particularly in the line-outs, and some strong, elusive running in the backs, notably from Simon Brown and Hamish McPhail. Rather, it came from the fact that Burnside has now arrived on the Christchurch club scene as a major force to be reckoned with. MARIST RAMPANT Playing with flair and opportunism, Marist scored nine tries and romped home against a lacklustre Belfast team. It was a strange result in that all the statistics were against Marist. Belfast had superior possession from both tight and loose play and. apart from the last quarter, most of the play was in Marist territory. But Belfast had one big failing; a reluctance to tackle. It was in the eleventh minute that Marist struck first. Winning the ball from a scrum within the 22m area, the ball was run and passed the length of the field for Garry Hooper to score in the corner. Within five minutes, two more tries were scored, both from defensive positions. At half time the score was 17-3 and then in the dying stages Marist had another scoring spree, running in three tries in almost as many minutes. Although beaten in the struggle for possession, the Marist forwards showed up well in the loose and both Greg Hills and Tala Keie were suitably rewarded for their efforts. Kel’e showed speed with the ball in hand and made several bruising runs. The Marist wings, Hooper and Bill Anderson, were the stars of an impressive backline but it was the ability of Marist to support and run that bewildered the Belfast defence. Little can be said about Belfast. The forwards, with Denis Karatea and James Bedwell to the fore, toiled manfully only to see their efforts squandered. Neville Don and Wayne Smith combined well behind the scrum but the defensive work outside . them was shameful. ALBION DRUBBED •University A racked up 21 points in the first spell and then went on to score a further 21 after half-time to rout a hapless Albion at Rugby Park. The big University forwards won a good supply of ball from set play and they were also highly mobile in general play. The props. Phil Robson and the

veteran John Edmondson, were sprightly movers about the field, and the hooker. Merv Aoake. also got in on the running act as did Chris Allan, a lively lock who has appeared as a flanker for the team this season. Mark Meates had a powerful game off the side of the scrum, supported well by his fellow flanker, “Butch" Currie. Although he was carrying a lot of weight, and had a heavily strapped right leg, Dale Atkins made his presence felt with some thundering charges and some good work towards the back of the line-out. With the forwards in such imposing form, the backs played little more than supporting roles, although Craig McDowell picked up two tries on the right wing. The half-back. Doug Sharland, gave his forwards fine support with his darting runs close to the pack, and with his kicking into the "box." Andrew McMaster gave a commanding disolay at full-back, although he was’ hardly seriously tested, and his goal-kicking was superb. He missed only one shot at goal from eight attempts and won the "player of the day" Although they were completely outgunned on the day. some of the Albion players took a little credit from the match. Murray Davie. Carl Ahlfeld, and Mike Gee had some success in the line-outs, anfPthey drove well at times, while Nicky Dierck, with the small amount of ball he got. drove University back with some long, raking kicks. POOR HANDLING Shirley will need, among other things, to polish up its handling before it meets Linwood in next Saturday’s main game. Poor handling, plus a rather half-hearted altitude, left Shirley a winner only on the board against Hornby. 6 The score was 4-4 at half-time and it was not until the final quarter that Shirley pulled away with two further'tries. It had most of the possession, by courtesy of its much taller forwards, but little was gained from the huge weight advantage it also had. Hornby emerged with just as much credit, for it played as well as its abilities allowed. The forwards scampered about with plenty of purpose and the backs were'far more enterprising than their opponents, especially the first five-eighths, Simon Bloomfield. who had an exceptionally good game. If just a couple of Hornby's penalty attempts had gone over, or if 'some bounces had been kinder in the second spell when Hornby spent a lot of time on attack, then Shirley could well have awoke from its slumbers too late. . Rob Yates was one of the few Shirley forwards to extend himself, although towards the finish the big men. Roger Smith and Kerry Mitchell, were putting more heart into their work. The backs had a terrible time with their hands, and it was from these dropped passes that Hornby was able to push deep into Shirley’s territory. Only the half-back. Grant Ellis, made a favourable impression. Howard Wilson was the pick of a Homby pack which hunted the loose ball with ample vigour and purpose, while Dave White also had a good game in the unaccustomed position of prop. Ross Paterson, the long-legged wing who scored Hornby's try (and it was an excellent try), was, after Bloomfield, the best back on the field and Willie Pirini. on the other wing, displayed plenty of determination. There is probablv no way a side as small as Hornby could beat a side as big as Shirley. But Hornby certainly made a brave attempt. MERIVALE PREVAILS In spite of a rousing attacking display by Lincoln College in the second half, Merivale-Papanui managed to win comfortably without showing any of its rival’s flair for moving the ball. In size, strength and age. Merivale was superior to the youthful college side, and this was translated into a big territorial advantage in the first half. Lincoln seemed bemused by Merivale’s line-out calls, which bore such lofty titles as Oliver Reed. Dominion Brewery, and Queen Street, and the side was almost constantly under pressure as the blue and white forwards followed John Harwood’s stem commands and poured after the loose ball. On the tick of half-time, when trailing 0-12, the Lincoln backs fashioned a splendid try. The mood of the match changed magically, and for much of the second half the Lincoln forwards hoed in vigorously to win excellent rucked ball, which was

consequently given a good airing by the purposeful backs. Craig P’ullar was given ample chances to show off his aggressive running on the right wing, and Brent Nahkies often embarrassed Menvale's close quarter defence by flitting through the smallest of gaps. However. Merivale had sufficient stamina and determination to bounce back for nine extra points in the last few minutes. The key player was the first five-eighths, Deane McKinnel, whose smooth and relaxed kicking action brought his side 13 points; in his general play, too. he showed a maturity beyond his years. Bub Hepi and Les Roberts were effective attackers from the back of the scrum, and Lindsay Thorne came out of retirement to play his part on defence. Although the Lincoln College backs held the limelight . for much of the second half, the forwards emerged from the game as footballers of durability and character. George Murdoch, a rotund prop from Central Otago, and Marcel Paullier. a shock headed hooker from Uruguay. were at the head of the hand-to-hand exchanges. And the backing up by Neil Warren and Leo Donkers.'in particular, was first class. FIRST WIN Suburbs gained its first win in this season’s competition by beating University B, which has yet to experience similar joy. But there was little in Suburbs performance to suggest that it will continue in winning form. Stronger and more assertive • up front. Suburbs had plenty of possession at its command, but the wastage rate was high. The University defence was not calculated to strike terror into the hearts of the Suburbs attackers, yet the amount of ball that was dropped or knocked on by the men from Hoon Hay suggested just that. Unimpressed by idyllic surroundings at the Ham field, the sides produced a scrappy match, in which mistakes and indecisiveness overshadowed all else. True, Suburbs knitted together well in the tight, Tony Pugh and Barry White were bloodhoundlike in their pursuit of the loose ball - a constant task — John Neilson supplied a few deft touches, and Neil McKay played with confidence at full-Back and supplied most of the points. But, over all, it was not a compelling display against a struggling University team which played without much imagination’. Craig Bunyon was a useful performer, arid Derek Lardelli tried hard to rally the troops. Alas, they were in disorder. DEANS SHOWS WAY t Poor tackling by Sydenham enabled a far superior Christch church team to gain an easy 42-3 win at Denton Park. The Christchurch forwards were superior in all phases of play, with Peter Fry command- ’ ing'a lot of ball from the front of the line-out. After some early handling mistakes had been ironed out, the Christchurch backs capitalised on the wealth of ball available to them and managed to score some good tries, aided by some ineffective Sydenham tackling. When the hard-working Sydenham forwards did winkle the ball to their backs it was wasted either by dropped passes or inaccurate kicking. Only in the closing stages did Sydenham manage to make much ground. Robbie Deans, at full-back, and Johnny Jones, at second fiveeighths. were the most incisive runners among the Christchurch backs; they made many long, penetrating runs. The Christchurch loose forwards backed up well, with the No. 8. Eddie Cutts, especially prominent. In the Sydenham forwards. Trevor Luke at lock was an assertive figure in the tight and also gained some line-out ball. One of the flankers. Grant Bull, chased the loose ball tirelessly. Sydenham's half-back. Sirnon Bloomberg, played with flair.