Papanui retains lead in premiership

Press, 27 June 1983, Page 22

Papanui retains lead in premiership

Papanui retained its twopoint' lead in the Canterbury Rugby league premiership when’ it beat the' defending champion, Addington, 12-6 at the Show Grounds on Saturday. But a curious administrative decision — to introduce the new 'time-off rule for the late matches on the No. 1 playing field — almost cost Papanui its advantage. Having led. 10-2, after 80 minutes of playing time. Papanui conceded a late try. Although Papanui subsequently scored from a penalty. Addington could well' have equalised when it went within a metre of Papanui's line in the last minute. The match actually lasted for £9 minutes as the clock was stopped while the respective kickers had nine attempts at goal. All other premier matches were played under the former laws. A continuation of the present policy, with some teams having more football than others, will negate the worth of points percentages as a means of breaking ties. It is also certain to devalue the individual tryscoring and goal-kicking competitions. No extra time was necessary for Sydenham and Hornby to have the measure of MaristWestem Suburbs and Linwood in the other matches at the Show Grounds, while Kaiapoi had a home win at the expense of Halswell. Hornby has moved into a clear second position, one point ahead of sydenham and Kaiapoi. Addington has slipped to fifth, with Marist, the coleader only three weeks ago. back in sixth place. Premier matches next weekend have been transferred to Sunday to avoid a clash with South Island's match against Northern Districts at Huntly. Results: Papanui 12, Addington 6 Sydenham 27, Marist-Westera 10 Hornby 24, Linwood 0 Kaiapoi 22, Halswell 8 Eastern Suburbs a bye PREMIERSHIP POINTS

Papanui 12, Addington 6 Papanui: M. Ambrose try; B. Nicholson four goals. Addington: B. J. Brown try; P. Bancroft goal. Referee, Mr S. O’Grady. Papanui never managed to achieve the ascendancy over Addington that it hinted was possible when it went six

points clear within the opening quarter. A more positive start and a fine try to’ Malcolm Ambrose, when he capitalised on smart lead-up work by his fellow forwards, had Papanui particularly well placed. But'neither side’ attained its potential in a match that was frequently interrupted by minor infringements. Had the match been held under the old regulation 80 minutes. Ambrose would probably have had the distinction of gaining the sole try. In the hour after he touched down the only scoring came from the goal-kicking of Bryce Nicholson and Phil Bancroft. Addington created more opportunities. only for panic passing or sloppy handling to help a Papanui cover-defence that was obviously stretched at times. Not until a' few minutes from the finish when Barry Brown moved forcefully on to the ball and scored in a tackle was Addington's potential turned into points. Nicholson extended the lead to six points with another goal, but Papanui almost made a fatal off-side error on its own try-line in the last minute. Addington, however, muffed its chance by taking a tap kick with too much haste and very little thought. The match seldom flowed smoothly. However. Papanui’s outside 'backs. Michael Kerrigan and Mike Williams, had several impressive runs, and the captain. Gary Tale, returned a quite ' exceptional work-rate to earn the “man of the match" award. Papanui has a particularly mobile forward pack, and Addington had to concentrate on its defensive positioning to keep Doug Thompson. John Cole, John Cannell. and Ambrose restrained. Brown and Grant Stocker were the best of the Addington backs, although Pomare Connell was responsible for one of the most decisive breaks. Addington’s pack carried out its duties conscientiously without threatening to assume control.

Sydenham 27, Marist-Western 10 Sydenham: R. Wells, M. J. Smith, F. Toomalatai, G. Tapiata. 51. Forsey tries; D. C. Field three goals; Tapiata field goal. Marist T. O’Donnell try; A. Wildermoth three goals. Referee, Mr K. R. Blackler. It would have required a calculator to have kept count of the Marist-Western Suburbs error-rate. Sydenham at least strung together enough passes to score five tries, but in the third quarter it, too. made many mistakes as the match dipped well below the standard expected of premier football Marist’s poor performance was all the'more obvious because its hooker. Willie Tauwhare. won possession from ail but one of the 13 scrums. He could hardly have been blamed had he despaired at the manner in which the bail was returned to his opponents. One player who might well remember’ an otherwise forgettable match was the Sydenham centre. Gavin Tapiata. He might have been wearing a reserve's number on his jersey, but he fully deserved the "man of the match" prize. Tapiata set Ricky Wells up for Sydenham’s first try and then scored one himself when he ranged up in support of Mark Forsey After 10 minutes Sydenham was 12 points ahead. 'a minor Marist recovery led to Terry O'Donnell's scoring a determined comer try. only for Tapiata to show out again in helping Mike Smith to touch down. Accurate goal-kicking by Tony Wildermoth reduced Sydenham's advantage to 16-10 at the interval, and there the match stayed deadlocked for all of the third Quarter as both teams fumbled their way along. Eventually Tapiata put Sydenham out of range with a deft field goai. and the Marist resistance collapsed and conceded two more tries. Forsey. David Field, and Tapiata’ gave Sydenham a strong hand among the inside backs, with Smith, leti Keti. and the replacement, John Fidow. playing fine games in the forwards'. Apart from Tauwhare's hooking skills, there was little to suggest that Marist will soon halt its slide down the premiership table. Hornby24, Linwood 0 Hombv: B. S. Cooper two, R. L. Alfeld, 51. P. Crequer tries; B. R. Edkins four goals. Referee, Mr K. Ireland. Once Hornby had sealed victory with Bruce Cooper’s

second try just after half-time, most interest in the match on the No. 2 ground centred on whether Robin Alfeld could maintain his magnificent tryscoring record. Linwood had been the only side to prevent Alfeld from touching down in the first full round. But it was able to subdue him for only 75 minutes this time. Alfeld’s determined try near the corner flag being his thirteenth in his last eight club appearances. Not that Alfeld had not troubled Linwood earlier in the match. A desperate tackle by Lewis Hudson tipped the Hornby full-back over the touch-line in the first half, and Alfeld was prominent in the movement from which Cooper claimed his second try. For his part. Cooper has prospered since hs switch to stand-off half. His acceleration enables him to make capital from the breaks of his forwards. and the quick service riven by Steve Hann and Cooper enabled Marty Crequer and Lance Setu to present Linwood’s cover with plenty of problems in midfield. Ross Taylor and Wayne Wallace were again in impressive form among the Hornby forwards. Mel Tihore gave Cooper his first scoring chance, and the Junior Kiwi Adrian Shelford. soon fitted into Hornby's pattern as a second half’replacement. The 24-point margin did not fairly reflect the territorial flow' of the match. Linwood had several promising attacks turned baack by determined Hornby tackling’ when points seeme'd certain to result. The biggest surprise, however. was the choice of Paul Truscott, of Linwood, as the "man of the match." Truscott was certainly the most effective Linwood player, and it was no fault of his that a selection system which largely encourages compromise choices promoted him ahead of several more deserving Hornby players. Kaiapoi 22, Halswell 8 Kaiapoi: M. Barron two, A. Piper, R. Hampton tries; B. Dryden three goals. Halswell: A. G. Bailey try; P. C. Ashton two goals. Referee, Mr R. J. A. MacKenzie. The perennial problem encounterd by Halswell this season, a failure to finish off potential try-scoring moves, was once more evident as it steadily fell behind Kaiapoi in the second half of their match at Murphy Park. Kaiapoi was ahead by only 10-8 at half-time, before accumulating all 12 points in the final 40 minutes. Over all. it was a fairly even encounter. Halswell spending more than half of the match in Kaiapoi’s territory. Mike' Barron was the most notable individual performer. He contributed two of Kaiapoi’s four tries, each time positioning himself well and running forcefully on to the delivery of Russell Tuuta. The Halswell forwards won possession from 11 of the 17 scrums, and the ball was capably relayed by the scrumhalf, Tommy McLeish. The Halswell full-back, Chris Watson, was another who could be quite satisfied with his efforts. Apart from Barrow, Russell Bell stood out in the kaiapoi pack, and Richard Hampton’s evasiveness if the centres was rewarded with a try. Kaiapoi’s win has enabled it to keep within the top four teams, and it faces a vital match against the fifth-placed Addington on Sunday. Halswell continues to languish at the bottom of the table, but will have a chance to break through for its first win, against Marist, in the next round.

P W D L F A Pt Pap. 9 7 0 2 175 97 14 Hornby 9 6 0 3163113 12 Kaiapoi 9 5 1 3140113 11 Sydenham 9 5 1 3123112 11 Addington 9 5 0 4150115 10 Marist 9 4 0 5134178 a Eastern 8 3 1 4 89107 Linwood 9 3 5107142 7 Halswell o 0 0 91M208 0