Marist still sets pace in Chch senior rugby

Press, 4 June 1984, Page 17

Marist still sets pace in Chch senior rugby

Positions remain unchanged when the ninth round of the senior rugby competition for the Trusteebank Canterbury Cup was held on Saturday. Marist and University, building up towards an inevitable show-down, are still separated by a mere point, with the unbeaten Marist holding pride of place. Burnside beat Hornby in a high-scoring game to retain third position, and Christchurch played with fine purpose to shut out Shirley, pushing it out of the top-eight group. New Brighton and Belfast won with strong forward efforts, but Albion struggled to hold Lincoln College to a draw. The brothers Leggat, Richard and James, combined to good effect as High School Old Boys gave Linwood its seventh loss. For the second consecutive week, Mark Treweek, the big Christchurch No. 8, won the Cellaar Ghost “Player of the Day” award at Lancaster Park. Na Katae, a New Brighton flanker, won a similar prize at Rugby Park. Outbursts of ill temper resulted in seven players spending time in the sin bin. At one stage in the main Rugby Park match, two brothers, Mark and Paul Bell (New Brighton), and Sydenham’s Steve Schultz cooled their heels simultaneously. Others to be punished were Bill Bush (Belfast), Craig Mcßeth (Suburbs), Brent Whakataka (Linwood) and Peter Palmer (Albion). Points are:—

Christchurch: M. Treweek, 2, J. O’Brien, V. de Beus, G. Abbott, G. Bree tries; G.

Kench conversion, penalty goal. Shirley: M. Toa try; C. Williamson conversion. Referee: Mr H. R. Catherwood. The absence of Rod Latham and the loss, through injury, of Graeme Kench after 30 min did not hinder Christchurch in its bid to roll Shirley off Lancaster Park oval. Deprived of the services of his two reliable goal-kickers, Ray Waghorn, the captain, obviously told his players: “We’ll get ’em in fours, men.” That is exactly what happened; Christchurch’s last five scores were five unconverted tries, four of them achieved in the space of 14 min in the second half. On in the last 10 minutes did Shirlev assert itself, but by then Christchurch had eased up, after sustaining a concerted attack for most of the match. There were four substitutions made by Christchurch, but the changes did not affect the efficiency of the bombardment of the Shirley line. Christchurch had much of the ball, and most of the penalties, and the strong attacking platform created by Mark Treweek and Wayne Tinker had Shirley in constant apprehension. Treweek was a hard man to pull down, and Tinker survived a lot of involvement in the mauls to give his fellow backs plenty of attacking opportunities. Steve Broomfield, another casualty, ran spiritedly while he lasted, and Lua losefa made the most of his chances. Bruce Amai, Viv de Beus and Junior O’Brien were at the heart of a sold forward effort, the latter also capping an eight-man try-scoring move begun by Geoff Abbott, who was without his right boot at the time. In a buffeted Shirley side, Grant Mickell, a loose-limbed lock, Wayne Simpson in midfield, and Brad Stringer on the right wing were conspicuous for honest, if forlorn, endeavour. Marist 28, Suburbs 3 Marist: G. McWhirter, S. Baker, G. Coffey, S. Carter tries; Coffey 2 dropped goals, 3 conversions. Suburbs: N. McKay penalty

goal. Referee: Mr A. R. Bateman. When Marist scored in the opening minutes it apeared that Suburbs had as maiy gaps in the field as shown in the programme, but a gritty Suburbs pack soon attempted to fill these holes. Suburbs' deficit of 43 at half-time did not indicte the stout work by Mike Burke, Mike Taylor and Barry I’hite. Pat O’Gorman and Adrian Kennedy won plenty of ineout ball for the Marist baqs, but cold fingers and good efence kept the free-running threequarters at bay. Suburbs blunted Jarist’s line-out supremity by railing short line-outs and using Dennis Thompson as th main jumper. Marist ran the ball aievery opportunity, often brining in the blind-side wings oi using the hard-running fukback, Grant McWhirter, who noved with great purpose. Steve Baker seems to be regaining his form behhd the Marist pack, and none more than first five-eighths, Greg Coffey, enjoyed the exellent service. Coffey ran and icked diligently. It was a credit to a resourceful Suburbs defene and the team’s character tat it was not until late in the natch that Marist was able t add substantially to its leac with two tries and conversion. New Brighton J 9, Sydenham 12 New Brighton: A. Faotia, R. Gibson, P. McLarq, N. Katae tries; R. Adler two conversions, three paalty goals. Sydenham: P. T?eed, K. Anderson, S. Gordie tries. Referee: Mr t T. Barrett. Sydenham posted the first points of the main math at Rugby Park, with a wellexecuted try after only four minutes, but once the New Brighton forwards hit ;heir straps, there was little oubt as to the outcome. Sydenham, however, cntributed markedly to a pulsting, sometimes ill-tempred, second half, adding two futher tries from stirring breakiuts. Brighton did not look neaiy as

efficient going back. It was as well for the side that it was advancing far more often than retreating. It seems almost unfair to single out players from the Brighton pack, such was the cohesion on the drive. Na Katae won the player of the day award for his frantic pursuit of the loose ball, his timely, spirited support play, and for his work at the back of the line-outs. Peter McLaren seemed even more aggressive than usual, if that were possible, while the locks, Greg Lamb and lan Boyce, were fully committed to the tight play as well as grappling for, and winning, a good share of the line-out possession. Paul Bell was prominent on occasions as the Brighton pack swept downfield. At first five-eighths for Brighton, Phil Holstein directed operations coolly, a little too coolly at times for he had several kicks charged down. Ross Gibson approached 'his very best form on the right wing, where he allied strength to his speed, especially in the scoring of his try. For Sydenham, Andrew Gray and Grant Bull were vigorous flankers in a losing pack while Kevin Anderson, who replaced Bernie Ryan during the first half, had a satisfying first senior appearance. Peter Robertshaw and John Tapiata came to life after the interval. Alan Edge looked a likely full-back, engineering the first try and thereafter handling his general duties with some panache. Stewart Gourdie showed flashes of his undoubted skill in the second half. High School Old Boys 26, Linwood 12 High School Old Boys: D. Park, P. Carrodus, B. Newfield tries; J. Leggat 2 dropped goals; P. Henderson 2 penalty goals, conversion. Linwood: R. Koha, M. Fransen tries; A. McCormick 2 conversions. Referee: Mr A. R. Taylor.

Saturday was the first time the Leggat brothers, Richard

and James, have played together and Linwood supporters could feel justifiably piqued that they chose this game to start what should be a long and profitable partnership. Richard, at half-back, and James, at first five-eighths, both display the same finely honed ball skills and smart acceleration that suggests a future to back their illustrious schoolboy careers. Twice Richard handled in blind side movements which resulted in tries and James's ability was best displayed bv his two dropped goals off either foot. Old Boys led 22-6 at halftime, an indication of its dominance. Don Purdon was winning plenty of ball at the back of the line-out which was well distributed through the pacy backs. Half-time seemed to recharge the Linwood forwards who drove with much purpose on the resumption, especially the trio of Ross Curd, Mike Fransen and Rob Potts. Andrew McCormick was the pick of the Linwood backline which never seemed to flow, the problems often starting with untidy ball to the halfback, Tony Wells. Shane Menehira was another who would have appreciated better possession to snow his paces. Brent Whakataka spoilt an industrious game with a needless late tackle on James Leggat which earned him a spell in the sin bin. Daryl Park and Mark Wheeler were elusive runners for Old Boys. Burnside 31 Hornby 17 Burnside: M. Neutze, D. Farrant, S. Lindsay, T.

Sprott, G. Church, tries; D. McKinnel, four conversions, penalty goal. Hornby: P. Hayton, P. Cross, tries; P. Manson, P. Cross, 2, penalty goals. Referee: Mr M. L. Fitzgibbon. With both sides prepared to attack, the early game at Lancaster Park was entertaining and Burnside ran out the winners because of the greater speed and experience. There was also a confidence in Bumside's play which was lacking in Hornby. The ball was passed at times, almost indiscriminately, but such was the support play that frequently movements gained momentum rather than breaking down. A negative feature on both sides was the faulty tackling, but this, however, only led to the movement which characterised the game. Prominent for Hornby was the back-row forward, Phil Cross, and although nobody stood out in the Burnside pack, collectively they returned better possession. The combination of Tim Sprott and Deane McKinnel behind the Burnside scrum contributed much to the success of their team, with McKinnel’s shrewd kicking invariably gaining ground. The outside backs ran with a judgment and skill which compensated for some loose defence. David Farrant, the longstriding Burnside full-back, took the eye early on with his well-timed entry into the backline and throughout the match he was a dominant figure both on attack and defence. Although their ability did not match their enthusiasm, the Hornby backs made a worth-while contribution with

Neville Wilson playing his usual solid game at half-back. Belfast 16, Lyttelton 6 Belfast: M. Burns 2, M. Vincent tries; M. Mulder two conversions. Lyttelton: P. Beecroft penalty goal, dropped goal. Referee: Mr G. D. Morrison. Belfast was forced to wait until 19 minutes into the second spell before it scored its first points against Lyttelton, pulling away from its spirited opponent only in the final quarter. Lyttelton led, 6-0, at halftime and would have led by more but for poor goal-kicking. The side enjoyed a territorial advantage in the first spell, and impressed with its willingness to take play to the more fancied opposition. There were stern words for Belfast at the interval, and there was clearly an instruction to test the Lyttelton fullback, Jeff Geayley, with high kicks. Kieran Keane did the honours, and there was no mercy offered Geayley. He never shirked his duty, but took a dreadful pounding and retired shortly before the finish. The fact that Belfast had to use such tactics spoke volumes for Lyttelton’s endeavour. Andrew Gilmore stood out in a hard-working pack and there were some spectacular line-out leaps from Hud Rickit, who improved his ball control in the second half. Bill Bush conserved his energies sensibly, waiting for the moments to burst around the back of a line-out, or to display some sleight of hand in a maul. However, he earned a spell in the sin-bin after an incident in the second half. Graham Parratt worked well behind the Lyttelton pack, sending the Belfast backs scuraback with some judicious g. Barry Newlove, John Retallick and Andrew Mills were at the core of Belfast’s driving play, and Kelvin Holland was industrious and aggressive in his pursuit of the loose ball. Kieran Keane was as audacious as ever at first fiveeighths and Mardy Vincent made several powerful breaks. University 21, Merivale Papanui 3

University: J. Buchan, R. Taylor, J. McGaw tries; S. Karpik three conversions; U. Herman dropped goal. Meri-vale-Papanui: J. Sherratt penalty goal. Referee: Mr D. J. Winton. A lacklustre University side had trouble in containing a much improved MerivalePapanui on the exposed

reaches of Nunweek Park. University was flattered by the winning margin of 18 points. Merivale matched University in most facets of the game; the scrummaging was sound and Bud Hepi, Merivale's No. 8, evened the count in the line-outs. University made better use of its possession, with Garry Barkle showing his skills a't the base of the scrum. University produced a sparkling try in the first half when Steve’ Karpik made a break inside his own 22m line. His pass found John Buchan, the hooker, who sprinted 30m to score between the posts. Merivale continued its sound forward effort in the second half, and at times placed University’s pack under heavy pressure. It was only good play by the loose forwards, two of whom, John McGaw and Mark Nevin, were having their first senior games, which saved University several times. A lot of straining and heaving was necessary for University to claim its other two tries. One came from a quick tap kick from a penalty, after a succession of scrums’on the Merivale line; the other was from a pushover drive by the pack. Albion 7, Lincoln College 7 Albion: R. Gaitt try, G. James penalty goal. Lincoln College: J. Earl try, H.

McGregor penalty goal. Referee: Mr J. R. Adams. In a fast-moving exhibition of open rugby, Albion could count itself fortunate to have held an eager Lincoln College to a draw in a surprisingly low- scoring game. For most of the match. Lincoln College was superior in all facets of play.

In the line-outs even the resoluteness and resourcefulness of the Albion captain. Murray Straight, coula do little to deny the students a big slice of possession. Brent Pope made some fine takes and was on many occasions responsible for setting up second-phase play with some determined drives. From the most defensive positions. Lincoln College was prepared to spin the ball through the back-line. Snappv passing and good linking with forwards made for some lively attacking rugby by the students. The most impressive of the Lincoln College backs were a wing. Don Morrison, and a five-eighths, John Earl. Towards the middle of the second half Albion started to contain Lincoln College by keeping the ball in the forwards and with more convincing tackling. This effort was somewhat marred, however, by a deterioration in the home team’s standard of clean play. An Albion lock, Peter Palmer, was ordered to the sin bin for rough play.

W L D F A Pt Marist 8 - 1 172 70 17 Univ. 8 1 — 210 80 16 Burn. 7 1 1 167 105 15 Chch 7 2 — 177 107 14 Belf. 6 3 — 207 74 12 HSOB 6 3 — 167 103 12 New Bri. 6 3 — 180 121 12 Albion 5 3 1 128 81 11 Shir. 5 4 — 146 122 10 Syd. 3 5 1 82 156 7 Subs 3 6 —. 73 145 6 Linc.Coll. 2 6 1 96 150 5 Linw. 2 7 — 78 113 4 Lytt. 1 7 ] 58 171 3 Mer-Pap. - 9 — 57 209 — Hom. - 9 — 58 247 — Christchurch 29, Shirley 6