Big league win to Maoris

Press, 2 November 1983, Page 6

Big league win to Maoris

NZPA Barrow The Maoris showed power and pace to run up the biggest win of their eightmatch rugby league tour, 46-12, against a determined Barrow and District league team, which contested bravely until they ran out of steam. A, sporting game was marred by the sending, off of the Maori forward Ricky Cowan, for flattening a Barrow substitute with a right hook near the end. The Maori captain, Dean Bell, chose to play into the strong "wind and his team found it tough going to contain Barrow, which was using the wind to advantage and -it was six minutes before O’Regan took them across the half-way line. Then the strong Pat Poasa made a powerful run down the centre to set up an attack in which Kevin Schaumkell and . Hugh McGahan were both held short of the line. When the ball moved swiftly across the line, however, Tom Waitai was left with an opening to score an unconverted eighth-minute try. Straight from the restart Waitai knocked on and from the resultant scrum Arrow’s Golify nipped

a gap for a try which Donald converted. Donald drove the visitors back with long kicks to touch but it did not prevent Owen Wright joining in the attack to score a solo try after pushing off several Barrow defenders in the thirty-ninth minute. Waitai failed with the touchline conversion. Five minutes into the second half Waitai and Trevor Clark ran in tries, both of which Wright converted, to completely upset Barrow’s challenge. When Barrow eventually got into the game it found a solid defence until a line passing movement gave Mutton room to dive over and rescue the arrears. Donald failed with the kick. Dean Bell then produced a brilliant jinking run past several men before racing 40 yards to score a try too far out for Wright to convert. . . When O’Regan transgressed in front of his own goal Donald converted the penalty. From here on, however, it was a case of who would score next for the Maoris and in the last quarter they ran in four tries through Cowan, Poasa and Clark (2), three of which Wright converted.