Rugby League Marist-Western wins Tavendale Cup

Press, 4 June 1984, Page 14

Rugby League Marist-Western wins Tavendale Cup

Marist-Western Suburbs survived many anxious moments before beating Linwood, 6-4, to assure itself of the Tavendale Cup when the eighth round of the Canterbury rugby league premiership was held at the Show Grounds on Saturday. Three fine goal kicks by Tony Wildermoth in the first half eventually carried Marist through. Linwood held a marked territorial ascendancy after the interval, but could manage just one try. The Marist trophy cabinet has hardly been filled to capacity in recent years — the club won the Gore Cup (bottom four) and with it the Desmond-Rogers Trophy in 1981, shared the Tavendale and Massetti cups with Eastern Suburbs in 1980 and was the championship runner-up (Graham Neiman Cup) in 1979 and 1973. But the last major prize it gained on its own was the Massetti Cup as the 1972 premiership winner. Marist’s premiership lead was increased to three competition points when Papanui beat Halswell, 36-12, in the other match on the oval. However that game was marred by a second half brawl — the second such incident involving Papanui in successive weeks — and the dismissals of Bruce Mayell (Papanui) and Stephen Hoy (Halswell) for joining in. Four tries by its centre, Paul Pilimai, assisted Sydenham to a 26-22 victory over Halswell in a reversal of the 1983 championship grand final, while Eastern Suburbs beat Addington, 28-17, to leave that team languishing at the bottom of the table. The "player of the match” awards went to Mike Kerrigan (Papanui), Chris Charlton (Marist-Western), Dick Ngataki (Eastern), and Pilimai.

Papanui 36, Haisweii 12 Papanui: M. S. Kerrigan two, J. M. Blazey, B. Nicholson, D. M. Thompson, R. K. Ah Kuoi tries; Ah Kuoi three, Nicholson three goals. Halswell: A. W. Baughan, J. Whittaker tries; P. Bancroft two goals. Half-time, 12-12. Refere, Mr K. Ireland. There was no hint that the main match on the oval would be won by such a decisive margin when Haisweii and Papanui were tied at 12-12 after an evenly-contested first half. Halswell actually led by four points midway through the

spell, thanks to quick tries by Jeff Whittaker and Tony Baughan. The first came after a penalty attempt by Phil Bancroft had rebounded from an upright; Baughan’s touch down was a reward for earnest backing up after his left wing, Mike Yule, had broken away just inside the sideline. However, Papanui had managed a reasonable success rate in wresting gaps in the first line of Halswell tacklers. It drew level when Mike Kerrigan, who had lost a boot and had his shorts ripped in the previous tackle, took a pass from Doug Thompson and scored the first of his two tries. Even throughout the third quarter there was little between the sides. Bryce Nicholson penetrated Halswell defences to put Papanui ahead, but Halswell was unfortunate not to reply in kind as Yule lost control of the ball on the try-line. The balance was to swing in Papanui’s favour after the fistic confrontation which involved most of the players from both sides. After the referee had reduced the numbers to 24 and lectured the opposing captains Papanui suddenly sparked into life. On the other hand, all spirit seemed drained from Halswell. In just six minutes Papanui rattled on 18 points from three converted tries. Thompson began the rush when he twisted out of the clutches of his opponents, and Kerrigan and Roy Ah Kuoi completed flowing back-line manoeuvres. Yule and Whittaker were prominent among the Halswell backs, and Baughan and Darryl Hawker worked with a will in the forward exchanges. The Papanui pack, with Thompson, Steve Bazley and John Cole again making their mark, was extremely effective, and Kerrigan and John Blazey confirmed their present excellent form in the backs. Marist-Western 6, Linwood 4 Marist-Western: A. Wildermoth three goals. Linwood: R. Connors try. Half-time, 60. Referee, Mr K. R. Blackler. There were far more mistakes made than points scored during Linwood’s encounter with Marist-Western suburbs in the curtain-raiser on the oval. Poor handling and passing prevented either side from even approaching its potential, and ail but one try-scoring opportunity was frittered away. The closeness of the scores and the destiny of the Tavendale Cup ensured that interest was maintained, however, even after the full-time hooter had sounded. Linwood had received a scrum penalty near half-way and Lewis Hudson lofted a typically high up-and-under. His team-mates managed to regain possession, but the widely-spread Marist defence snuffed out the threat. Marist could be thankful for the cushion provided by its goal-kicker, Tony Wildermoth, in the first spell. He was successful with all three penalty attempts, from distances up to 42 metres. On occasions Marist had shown glimpses of the open

football which has carried it to its position of prominence on the premiership table. The Linwood backs, to their credit, managed to cover their rivals whenever Marist did not ruin its own groundwork by losing the ball. However, Linwood's backline had little to offer when in possession. It was the Marist pack which was placed under most pressure as Linwood dominated the match territorially for more than half an hour after the resumption. Its sole positive return was a smart try by Bob Connors on the right wing. It was no fault of the Linwood second-row forward, Paul Truscott, that his side did not emerge with a win. Truscott was the pivot of most of Linwood’s manoeuvres, and he was too often left looking in vain for supporting runners. Scott Barrow and Steve Blanchard had useful games in the Linwood forwards, and Ken O'Brien was sharp in his spurts from the scrum base. Marist could have done with more of Wildermoth’s and John MacGougan’s tactical kicks to inject variation. They, and Chris Charlton, Ray Baxendale, Michael O’Donnell and Michael McVicar, had effective individual displays in a generally disjointed effort. Sydenham 26, Hornby 22 Sydenham: P. Pilimai four, T. Amosa tries; P. Griffiths three goals. Hornby: V. F. Low, B, S. Cooper, R. Seto tries; B. R. Edkins five goals. Half-time, 12-14. Referee, Mr N. Turner. The lead changed hands or was shared six times in the first 48 minutes before Sydenham skipped away to an advantage that it successfully defended against Hornby. Sydenham was a deserved winner, even though Hornby was close to drawing level just before the finish. It scored five of the eight tries in the game, most of them the end result of hard, straight running and eager backing up. In contrast, Hornby was often hesitant as it attempts to struggle through a difficult period. The kicking of Barry Edkins — not only for goal, but also in his placing of the high kicks from which two tries were scored — was the prime factor in keeping Hornby within range. Although Pilimai had not been among Sydenham’s tryscorers in its six previous premiership appearances, he is a highly-respected midfield back. Of strong physique and with good speed and balance,

Pilimai had too much power and pace for the Hornby cover. It was fitting that Tom Amosa should also feature among Sydenham's try-scorers, for he was another to break past all but the firmest of Hornby’s tackles, and his display typified the positive attitude of the Sydenham forwards. Hornby can by no means be written off as a championship prospect and its situation was almost saved when John Griffiths was twice given room to move down the left wing. His second bid ended ironically — an attempted chip kick finished in the safe hands of his brother, Paul, the Sydenham full-back. Eastern 28, Addington 17 Eastern: W. Morice two, G. J. Stokes, T. Rickard, S. Smart tries; W. E. McCann three, S. W. Aistone goals. Addington: L. Walker, R. Bozhinoff tries; M. Green four goals; H. Thomas field goal. Half-time, 14-8. Referee, Mr G. Baxter. Fortunes also fluctuated for most of the other game on the No. 2 playing field, as neither Addington nor Eastern could control proceedings for more than a few minutes. It was not until Tony Smart contributed his try to Eastern’s cause just before the finish that the outcome was decided. The standard of football was disappointing from two clubs which so recently had been among the top flight in Canterbury. Both have lost many established players and their replacements have not yet adjusted to the greater demands of premier play. Addington began better, and had eight points in hand in the first quarter. But a determined try to Gerard Stokes lifted Eastern’s stocks, and Wi Morice enjoyed a magic few moments during which his two tries took Eastern to a 14-8 half-time lead. Once again, Addington held sway after the interval. Mark Green kicked an excellent conversion to Bob Bozhinoffs try and then added a penalty to have Addington in front. Its advantage was short-lived for Eastern responded with two converted tries in the final quarter, while Addington managed only a field goal by Hemi Thomas. Dick Ngataki, Stokes and Smart were prominent in the Eastern pack, and Wayne McCann was a most capable all-rounder at scrum-half Brian Griffiths showed promise at stand-off half for Addington, and Bozhinoff and Harry Tipene made the most of limited chances.

PREMIERSHIP POINTS P W D L F A Pt Marist 7 6 1 0159100 13 Papanui 7 5 0 2177126 10 Halsweil 8 4 1 3129128 9 Hornby 4 0 3180130 8 Sydenham 7 4 0 3134119 8 Linwood 7 3 0 4 93 96 6 Kaiapoi 7 2 0 5108111 4 Eastern 7 2 0 5118178 4 Addington 7 1 0 6110220 2