Ruhby youth Many high spots in Saturday's games

Press, 12 June 1984, Page 29

Ru hby youth Many high spots in Saturday's games

The spring-like weather in Christchurch on Saturday morning, before the wind came up, was made for attacking rugby. Some of the running with the ball in hand of tiny eighteenth-graders was wellworth watching. Linwood B provided fine entertainment on Saturday. In that side, Karan Tukapua is coming to terms with tight forward play and his goalkicking skills have improved markedly in recent weeks. Daniel Blake is playing well after a late start to the season and Dale Blake is proving a strong, elusive runner. Chris Roberts and Daniel Hibbs are both good, hard tacklers. Linwood met Old Bovs on Saturday in a match played at a furious pace. Josh Boyce is rated the best tackler in the Old Boys side and he needed to produce his very best to keep Linwood in check. Tim Thomas is a good allrounder, Tim McClurg is a prominent figure with the ball in hand, and Daniel Turland has shown a great improvement. Matthew Austin never gives less than 100 per cent effort. In the "open” section of the eighteenth grade, Christchurch is performing well after promotion from the weight-re-stricted section. John Howell, Hamish Denny and Dan Huggins in the forwards, along with Sam Sissons in the backs and Tim Abbott, a utility player, have shown encouraging signs of development, recently. For Christchurch’s opponent, Merivale-Papanui, Greg Smith stands out as a good prospect after recently joining the side. Regan Bennett, an import from Invercargill, is also playing well. Nicolai Thompson has shown a lot of promise in his first season, Graeme Bidois is learning the techniques of forward play rapidly, and Paul

Smith, in his second season, is an astute general of the backline. This side appoints a different captain for each match, and also a different goalkicker, which keeps all of the lads heartily involved in the team’s fortunes. Burnside, in the B section of the seventeenth grade, is enjoying a good season. In the forwards. Matthew Fitzgerald is improving steadily, while Jeremy Grice has been a consistently outstanding player. In the backs, Grant Pratt has confirmed his reputation as the side’s best tackler and Daniel Wild is also playing well, iMarcus Hemming continues to display good form up front. St Bede's College, in the twelfth grade, has some likely prospects and there are others who are valued members of the side. Patrick McGovern, a five-eighth, has improved his tackling immensely while Robbie Richards, a prop in his first year, is coming along well. Jason Butler is an “80-min-ute” flanker and Andrew Shead, a lock, is showing good line-out skills. In section II of the 15th grade, Old Boys and Belfast had a good tussle on Saturday. For Old Boys, Cameron Green shows a lot of promise as a hard-running full-back who enters the back-line to good effect. Gareth McClurg, the half-back and captain, has a reliable pass and runs well. Glen Pierson, the smallest and youngest (by two years) is the side’s best tackler. In the forwards, Neil Mannering is a hard runner. Fran Siotoga a reliable striker with a penchant for taking tight-heads, and Richard Wallis a No. 8 with good positional sense who reads a game well. Darren Edkins, a sweet mover at first fiveeighths, has undoubted potential.

For Belfast, Tony Burke is a dynamic little player, who is coming along very' well in his first season at full-back. Israel and Marcus Bullmore, twin brothers, are light-weights playing in this open grade and they always give their very best. Robert Johnson has shown an ability to beat a man in his first year and should develop further. In the sixteenth grade, Christchurch has produced a sound team effort. Ben Skelton, Tom Barry, Glenn Corson and Michael Abbott are forwards who are playing well, while Andrew McNee, Stephen Marshall, Stephen Nicholls, Toby Stanley and Derek Lough all show promise in the backs. Christchurch met Shirley on Saturday and for the latter ■ side, Nick Halsall and Jamie Rangi in the backs, and Dean Lutton and Jason Gwatkin in the forwards are performing well. Scott Fraser never needs urging to become involved. In a fourteenth grade match on Saturday, Linwood met New Brighton. For Linwood, Michael Washington. Todd Goodman and Justin Dunn have improved markedly, along with Darryl Jones, while Richard Norton, the captain, continues to emphasise his value. Simon Little and Karl Wick always give their best.

For Brighton, Dallas Ruruku stands out as a strong-running prop while David Crawe is always buried usefully in the tight. Glen Webley is a lively loose forward, never afraid of physical contact, and he wreaks havoc among opposing back-lines.

At half-back, Michael Hetherington is a staunch blind-side exponent, a strong runner and tackler. Greg Douglas is a highly promising running full-back, while Kevin Lackie, a newcomer from soccer, has proved himself a fine tackler.