Forwards carry North to win over South

Press, 5 September 1983, Page 17

Forwards carry North to win over South

Special correspondent Blenheim

A superb second-half forward effort carried the North to a 22-9 win over the South at Blenheim on Saturday.

The game was evenly poised at 3-3 at half time, but the North took control to run in three unanswered tries in the second spell. With a possible trip to Britain in the back of everyone’s mind, play was fast and furious from the outset. It was also extremely vigorous — too much so at times as boots were used indiscriminately on players lying on the ground. Play flowed from end to end in the opening 20 minutes, with numerous scoring opportunities created by both sides. The fired-up South team had by far the better of this quarter, with the forwards contesting possession as if their lives depended on it,

and the backs using the ball well.

The South gained a surprising early advantage in the line-outs, where Jim Love, Albert Anderson, and Peter Grant enjoyed such dominance that the count favoured them, 15-6, at the interval. South’s hooker, Grant Perry, had the better of his duel with Hika Reid, snatching two tightheads and conceding none. The South backs were at

their best during this period, with Steven Pokere and Craig Green cutting capers in mid-field, and Robbie Deans providing plenty of thrust from full-back.

Deans was probably the outstanding player of this quarter. Three times he was involved in attacks which ended just short of the North goal line, one of these being a superb solo carve up the middle of the field. He also featured in defence, on one occasion picking up the ball metres from his line, beating two players, and then from inside his own 22 kicking the ball out two metres from the North corner flag. Afer the frantic opening the game settled down in the second quarter. Play was confined largely to the forwards, where the North began doing slightly better. The black pack was winning the rucks and mauls decisively, and Alan Dawson and Glenn Rich were causing problems on the burst. The second half belonged entirely to the North, and the final points difference doesn’t begin to reflect the extent to which the South was shut out of the game.

The North continued to win the rucks and mauls two to one, and they had a remarkable reversal in the line-outs. The architect of this was Andy Haden, who had a generally subdued first half. In the second half he strode like a man among boys, soaring seemingly at will for clean two-handed takes in the middle of the line-out. He received support from Brian McGratten at the front, and Rich at the back. Led by Haden the North

pack spent almost all of the second half going forward, and such was the impetus that the South received only one put-in to the scrum in this 40 minutes.

Against such odds the South was always going to be struggling, and it was not long before points came for the North. John Kirwan was the first to score when he finished off a break down the right flank by Dawson.

The next went to Andrew Donald, who took a pass from Reid and crossed unopposed after a maul near the South line.

Kieran Crowley converted both, but also had an off day with his kicking, like Deans, succeeding with only three out of seven.

Deans kicked two penalties to keep the South in the hunt at 9-15, but with five minutes remaining North’s Grant Fox, who had a tidy game at first five eighths, delivered the death blow with a 45-metre drop goal, from a free kick. Two minutes later the left wing, Bruce Smith, settled the issue with a simple try after Donald and Fox had run the ball from a maul. The South backs threw the ball around from any position near the end, but it was desperation stuff, with passes often going astray. Statistics and scorers: Lineouts, 22-19 to South; rucks and mauls, 23-11 to North; penalties and free kicks, 14-8 to South; tight heads, 2-0 to South. North Island 22 (J. Kirwan, A. Donald, B. Smith tries; K. Crowley penalty, 2 conversions; G. Fox dropped goal). South Island 9 (R. Deans 3 penalties).