Marist only two victories from C.S.B. Cup title

Press, 4 July 1983, Page 22

Marist only two victories from C.S.B. Cup title

Only Christchurch and Suburbs now lie between Marist and victory in the first round C.S.B. Cup series of the senior rugby championship. Marist continued its march towards the title with a 14point victory over Hornby on Saturday, but if it should stumble in either of the last two rounds University A and Belfast, which drew their match earlier in the season, are both poised to pounce. They are both just a point behind Marist.

University A’s last two rivals are Burnside and Linwood, while Belfast still has to play New Brighton and Christchurch.

In the only clash among the leading sides on Saturday, New Brighton edged ahead of High School Old Boys with a 6-3 win. Once again Dave Bowick was New Brighton’s saviour. He kicked two penalty goals to take his points total for the season to 103 and he is the third player, after Andrew McMaster (University A) and Gary Cookson (Old Boys), to reach a century. While Marist should hold on and win the Cup, the battle for the last few places in the top eight for the C.S.B. Trophy series remains tight. Shirley,’ one of the sides on the borderline, improved its chances with a good win over another in the same situation, Lincoln College, on Saturday.

Christchurch is another side which badly needs wins if it is to compete for the Trophy. It not only lost on Saturday, but its points differential, which could be important, suffered as the result of a 47-6 hammering from University A. Victor Simpson scored two of University A’s nine tries and he is now equal with his Canterbury team-mate, Craig Green (Lincoln College), at the top of the try count. Both have scored 11 times.

It was a miserable day, with most of the games being played on slushy grounds. It was particularly cold on the fields exposed to the elements and at Sydenham Park, where the home team met Albion, the captains, by mutual agreement, called a halt 20 minutes early. Points.—

New Brighton 6, Old Boys 3 New Brighton: D. Bowick two penalty goals. Old Boys: R. Falloon penalty goal. Referee: Mr T. Apted. New Brighton survived a lack of possession and a sustained second-half onslaught by High School Old Boys to score a three-point win at Jellicoe Domain. Although the scoring consisted solely of penalty goals — two by the New Brighton full-back, Dave Bowick, in the

first spell and one by his counterpart, Richard Falloon, in the second half — the game produced plenty of movement on a surprisingly good surface. Old Boys monopolised possession in the second half and had much the better of the territorial battle, but New Brighton weathered the storm and had the Old Boys line under siege for the final lOmin. In spite of losing the lineouts, 16-3, in the second half, the New Brighton forwards took the honours in secondphase play by driving powerfully and mauling determinedly. The Old Boys back-line was never allowed much freedom, the forceful low tackling of the Brighton mid-field pair, Andrew Cartwright and Mark Carrington, stopping moves in their infancy. Old Boys did manage to clear the first line of defence near the end, and lan Mather, the speedy right wing, seemed set to score a match-winning try for his team. Bowick did marvellously well to cut him off in the corner. Bowick and Ross Gibson safely fielded the many high kicks sent their way, and Carrington again displayed a growing maturity on attack and in defence. Dave Taylor, on the burst, and Neil Pyne, in defence, gave admirable service on the flanks. Don Symon and Ken Pope gave Old Boys an overwhelming line-out advantage, andJohn Laugeson was impressive on the burst. However, the back-line lacked penetration and too many upfield kicks went straight to New Brighton players who returned the ball with interest. Marist 14, Hornby 0 Marist: W. Anderson, S. Hansen tries; G. Coffey two penalty goals. Mr G. T. Barrett. The wet, miserable conditions seemed to quench some of Marist’s traditional fire, but the side had enough in the way of composure and control to turn back Hornby’s lively challenge at Lancaster Park South. Marist made mistakes, not surprisingly, but at times it played very well. Adrian Young had a reasonable outing at half-back, and the fiveeighths, Greg Coffey and Gosky Seinafo contributed much to the victory. Each made several clean breaks close to the pack, Coffey setting up Bill Anderson for Marist’s first try. It was a tribute to Marist that it was able to produce two good tries in the backs in the latter stages of an energysapping game, and into the teeth of a sleeting southerly. Steve Hansen scored right on time after a well-executed tappenalty move, a fitting climax for the captain who had kept his composure throughout and led his side well. Anderson was involved in a couple of fiery confrontations with his former club-mates, but at other times he showed his class with strong, elusive running. Gary Burrowes and Mark Connell performed usefully in the line-outs, and Bernie Ryan had a good game off the side of the scrum.

Hornby won as much ball as Marist, but was not quite as

assured in its use. Nevertheless, the side went very close to a try, the ball being knocked on in goal after a well-judged kick by Fred Hale. Trevor Hayton made a good fist of the full-back’s position for Hornby, Phil Cross was an outstanding figure in line-outs and in open play, and John Spencer led the side with spirit.

Shirley 13 Lincoln College 7 Shirley: R. Mackay, R. Hammersley tries; B. Stringer conversion, penalty goal. Lincoln College: D. Woods try; M. McLean penalty goal. Referee: Mr G. J. Braithwaite. Two tries in the first 10 minutes when the ball was still dry set Shirley on the road to victory over Lincoln College at Rugby Park. From then on the play was confined mainly to the forwards and this suited Shirley as it had the stronger pack. Lincoln College, with an improved supply of line-out ball, had some scoring chances in the second spell, but the conditions made it very difficult for the backs to apply the finishing touches. With the Shirley pack going forward so much, the backs

were able to keep the pressure on with kicks over the heads of their opponents. The half-back, Allan Lindsay, filled this role well, and the first five-eighths, Wayne Simpson, also kicked intelligently. The captain, Mark Young, had a particularly good game at flanker for Shirley. He was very quick to the loose ball and his speed off the back of the line-out made life even more difficult for the Lincoln College inside backs. Robert Mackay and Grant Mickell were other industrious forwards for Shirley and in the first quarter especially the Shirley pack showed excellent cohesion hs it drove ahead with short passing rushes. The Lincoln College forwards, too, had their moments, but they never lasted much longer. Gwyn Williams stirred his men to action with a couple of good breaks and Anthony Dalzell and Rob Crawford both had useful games. But if Lincoln College was to have another of its secondhalf recoveries it had to get the ball quickly to its backs. This it was unable to do, although Craig Green and Chris Connelly came very close to tries. The full-back, Jock Fulton, was very sound, returning with interest many of the testing kicks that Shirley sent his way.

Linwood 9, Suburbs 4 Linwood: R. Latham two penalty goals, dropped goal; Suburbs; N. McKay try. Referee; Mr A. I. Lawrence.

A gritty second-half performance gave Linwood a rather unexpected victory over Suburbs, on a wet Linfield Park. It was the sort of day on which wing three-quarters suffer hypothermia and it seemed for a long time that the Suburbs forwards would win the day. But Linwood lifted its performance in the last half hour, and although it failed to score a try, it probably deserved its five-point victory. Suburbs looked very impressive at times, especially with its swift-moving short-passing rushes by the forwards. But it made too many mistakes, losing the penalty count 14 to 10, and giving Linwood the loose head 24 times to 14. Linwood’s hooker, Phil Cropper, also had two heels against the head. Linwood’s

advantage in the line-outs was minimal. Suburbs seemed to have a royal chance when it led 4-3 at half time, after playing against the wind, but the Linwood forwards played with rare determination in the second spell, Rue Koha leading them with spirit. It was the sort of day requiring total commitment by the forwards, and both sides gave everything to this aspect of the struggle. There was hardly any back play, although Rod Latham (Linwood) was a cool and capable first five-eighths, and Mark Righton had a very good game for Suburbs. Righton is large by half-back standards, and he used his size effectively with little dabs to link up with his forwards. He also impressed with his tactical kicking. University A 47, Christchurch 6 University A: V. Simpson (2), J. McLean (2), R. Moffat, C. McDowell, S. Karpik, M. Watson, M. Aoke tries; A.

McMaster four conversions, penalty goal. Christchurch: G. Kench two penalty goals. Referee: Mr D. Morrison. Superiority both forward and back gave University A an overwhelming win over Christ- * church and the score was a fair indication of the difference between the teams. After a brief settling down period, in which Christchurch should have scored twice, University found a rhythm to which Christchurch had no answer. With Dale Atkins and Rob Moffat in commanding form, the University pack dominated all facets of forward play and the ball was fed to the backs crisply and tidily. Jim McLean, at half-back, gave his outsides swift, sure service, and Andrew McMaster’s well-timed running from full-back coupled with Victor Simpson’s jinking movements, had the defence at sixes and sevens. In the closing stages, University scored almost at will, four tries coming in the last 10 minutes.

Mark Treweek was the best of the Christchurch forwards and Marty Dawson came through a difficult day with credit at half-back, but overall the team’s performance was disappointing. Burnside 38, Merivale- Papanui 16 Burnside: K. Johnston (2), M. Neutze (2), M. Lake, D. McGuire, K. Spratt tries; K. Johnston five conversions. Merivale-Papanui: K. Mariu try; D. McKinnel four penalty goals. Referee: Mr R. B. Pidgeon. Burnside had too much class for Merivale-Papanui in a match at Nunweek Park. Despite the conditions, both sides played a fairly open game, especially in the second half.

Merivale-Papanui failed to fully make use of its win advantage in the first spell, although it led 12-10 at the change-over. Burnside impressed with some strong forward drives, often carrying play 30 to 40 metres.

Both sides showed enterprise by running the ball from defensive positions, but Burnside was far better at finishing these movements off. The well-drilled Burnside pack combined effectively and relayed possession quickly to the backs who always looked threatening. Gary Fuller won some excellent line-out possession. Burnside eventually ran away with the game by scoring seven tries, but MerivalePapanui plugged away bravely and never lost its inventiveness. The outstanding player for Burnside was the left wing, Kevin Spratt. He was sound on defence and showed great speed on attack. Kevin Johnston, at No. 8, toiled hard and he still managed to contribute 18 points, while Danny McGuire capped off a fine game with a try in the last minute. For Merivale-Papanui, Deane McKinnel was cool under pressure and he displayed some fine attacking skills. The No. 8, Karl Mariu, was the pick of the MerivalePapanui forwards with some dynamic bursts, but unfortunately he had little support. Albion 13, Sydenham 0. Albion: M. Davie, D. Goslin, tries: G. James, penalty goal, conversion. Referee: Mr T. M. Hannan. A powerful Albion pack dominated its Sydenham counterpart in a shortened match at Sydenham Park. The two captains agreed to end the game 20 minutes from time, • a decision which would

have been welcomed by both sides’ outside backs, who looked to have more chance of getting exposure than any worth-while possession. Albion kept the play close to its forwards, and the ball was rarely moved beyond lan Taylor at first five-eighths. Sydenham, to its credit, was prepared to use its backs but the slippery ball made progress difficult. Murray Davie, who looked the pick of the Albion forwards, apart from one dangerously high tackle, opened the scoring with a try after 25 minutes. Grant James converted, and the score remained at 6-0 until half-time. With the wind behind it in the second spell, Albion intensified the pressure, and was rewarded with a try to Dave Goslin, who picked up loose ball to the Sydenham line. James kicked a penalty goal and, with Albion looking comfortably in control at 13-0, the players headed for an early shower. Belfast 26, University B 7 Belfast: M. Burns (2), B. Newlove (2), O. Rees, N. Don tries; Don conversion. University B: G. Barry try; B. Scott penalty goal. Referee: Mr A. C. Russell. Even though Belfast scored six tries to the one managed by University B, it did not give a totally convincing performance at Sheldon Park. University B started with all the confidence of a side which had achieved its first win in 41 matches the previous Saturday and its second five-eighths.

Geoff Barry, who had a useful game, broke through for a try after only 2min. It was not until 30min had elapsed that Belfast made the lead and even a Mark Burns try right on half time only put the green-and-golds ahead 12-7 at the interval. The Belfast forwards won the vast majority of possession. but initially there were too many mistakes in the back-line with sloppy passing and handling. And every time the ball went to ground a University B boot would send it up-field. In the second half, though, there were some fine back-line movements. It was not a day for kicking — neither line kicks nor shots at goal — and Mardy Vincent missed with six in a row before Neville Don finally put one over in the final quarter. Often, especially in the first half when playing into the wind, Belfast opted for tap penalties. With Kieran Keane required to play first five-eighths in the absence of Wayne Smith, the usual half-hack, Don, filled in at full-back and did admirably. But the outstanding back was Burns, the right wing, who went across the line four times but was only rewarded with two tries for his enterprising running. Keane made one or two telling breaks and kicked well in the conditions. In the forwards both Belfast flankers, Barry Newlove and Owen Rees, had their moments and the lock, Andy Mills, won good line-out ball. Belfast scrummaged well and often pushed the other pack back several metres. University B’s No. 8, Derek Lardelli, showed speed in the loose.

W L D F A Pt Marist 12 1 0 227 95 24 Univ. A 11 1 1 360 127 23 Belfast 11 1 1 227 74 23 New Bri. 10 3 0 200 159 20 H.S.O.B. 9 4 0 249 150 18 Bumside 7 5 1 310 135 15 Shirley Lin. Col. 7 6 0 228 162 14 6 6 1 240 169 13 Albion 6 6 1 138 135 13 Chch 6 7 0 207 201 12 Linwood 6 7 0 153 159 12 Suburbs 5 7 1 173 194 11 Syden. 1 11 1 138 299 3 Mer-Pap 1 11 1 129 311 3 Hornby Univ. B 1 12 0 89 346 2 1 12 0 73 425 2