Exhausting build-up proved worth while

Press, 5 October 1984, Page 19

Exhausting build-up proved worth while

GARRY HOOPER

recalls the eighth occasion that Canterbury won the Ranfurly Shield, from

Wellington in 1982

Many people viewed the appointment of Alex Wyllie as the selector-coach of Canterbury in 1982 with; scepticism. He had a marvellous record as a player but there were plenty who wondered if his style and manner would be so suited to coaching. Canterbury had finished third to bottom in the first division championship the year before, but from the' time of the first trial match the players knew that reputations stood for nothing. Grizz did not believe in them.

He was as new to the job of coaching Canterbury as many of the players were to first division rugby. This was probably an advantage as there were no barriers or cliquey groups to be broken down, not that they would have lasted anyway. He shuffled players like cards looking for the right balance. It was not long in coming. Those who had sneered when Alex was named coach were quickly in retreat when he beat Queensland, 21-9, in the second match of the season. Grizz was a man not to be trifled with. Although he could be extremely hard, he knew when to lay off and when to apply the pressure.

One time when the screws were really tightened was after we had played North Auckland and we had a training run at Warkworth on our way back to Auckland. Training might not be the right word. That day will never be forgotten by those who took part. It was still a couple of weeks before the shield game and Alex was not

happy. He decided that it would be a training without rugby balls. What was required was a fitness tune up.

For over two hours he ran-us into the ground, and further. Grizz was in his element and he loved it. I can assure you that this love was not returned.

However, we knew we had to do it and so did Grizz and typical of his sense of humour he waited until everyone was feeling crook after a big night out in Whangarei. It was from such harrowing trials as Warkworth that our dedication grew and a strong team spirit developed. The camaraderie became so great that we were a team of close friends as well as rugby players. Playing the actual shield game was nowhere near as harrowing as the days leading up to the match. Nervousness made sleep almost impossible and by the time Saturday morning finally arrived I had played the game hundreds of times. Wellington trained brilliantly before the game, and although it had only sneaked home by a point against. Hawke’s Bay two challenges before, Wellington obviously regarded this match as its stiffest challenge. Although most people only gave us a slim chance, hundreds of supporters travelled up from Christchurch.

The actual morning of the game dragged on and on and by the time we assembled for our last meeting at the hotel at about 2 p.m. I was absolutely exhausted. We had been preparing for this match all season and just to top off our preparation Grizz played us a tape, recorded that morning, of Allan Hewson telling us to fly back to Christchurch as we had no chance. Words like that only sharpened our appetite for vic-l tory.

Wellington provided a typical windy day and we suprised many by playing into the wind in the first half. But when the score was only 9-4 to the holders after 40 minutes it looked as if the decision had been a sound one.

Our points came from a try I scored in the right hand corner. The ball had come along the backline but the movement was checked when a pass went astray. We managed to retain possession and the ball was worked to Robbie Deans, who put a little chip kick through in behind the Wellington backs.

Much of the credit for the try has to go back to something Grizz had said to us many times in the build-up: “The challengers take the risks."

Normally I would have toed the ball ahead and hoped that I could control it sufficiently to dive on it over the line. With what Grizz had said racing through my mind I took the gamble, bent down while at full gallop and was lucky enough to have the ball stick to my fingers. Many people thought I should have run around and dotted the ball down under the sticks, as I was in the clear. Even Grizz blasted me for not scoring closer to the posts. As II explained to him, in language that he was familiar with, when you are stumbling off balance and unsure how close the opposition is you force the ball pronto. That was the last time the subject was mentioned. With the wind at our backs Robbie added two penalties and we hit the front. Even though we did have the near gale behind us, the Wellington pack was winning plenty of ball and with only 10 minutes to go Brian Cederwall, who had replaced Hewson, added another penalty to give Wellington a 12-10 lead. History tells how Wayne Smith got the match-win-ning try for us in the last couple of minutes, but it was a try that could easily have eluded us, given the chapter of accidents in the build-up. The noise coming from the crowd was deafening. I hadn’t heard what the move was so I yelled to Vic Simpson. Unbeknown to me, he had thought that I had called for a cut-out pass and for him to throw the ball straight out. I was under the impression that Robbie Deans was going to come into the line as an extra man.

We won the ball, which was a relief as we had been getting a terrible hiding in the stakes. As we moved the ball along I was;

looking ahead to see if they had brought anyone into their line to combat Robbie and if there was room on the outside for a run. I just happened to glance across the check where Robbie was when Vic fired this massive pass at me. It surprised me, and Wellington, but I was able to make some ground before cutting back infield to link with the forwards. Jock Hobbs was the first to arrive, we won the ball and Bruce Deans, who initially was going to pass to the blind side, swivelled right round and threw it to Wayne Smith, narrowly missing John Mills, who was late arriving at the scene. Mills did everything in his power to try and catch the baU.

There was a huge gap on the open side and Wayne went straight through it to score.

Irrespective of their loyalties, one group of Wellington people who must have thought we were going to win was a television crew. During the match it had set* up lights and cameras in our dressing room to film a Fresh Up commercial. It was quite astonishing watching some of the players down can after can as the television crew shot its footage. The publicity machine that goes with the Ranfurly Shield was already in action.

Although we were ecstatic about our win, we were amazed by the numbers who turned up at Christchurch Airport when we flew home that night. There must have been 8000 people there to welcome us.

It took ages to get out of the airport and then we were taken to a celebration at the Hornby Trust. The party went on quite late, but most of the players had slipped away long before it finished. Sleepless nights leading up to the game and then 80 minutes of pressure, concentration and commitment had taken their toll.

Anyone with ideas of relaxing and taking it easy on the Sunday had not taken

into accounts Grizz’s uncomprising nature. He ran the pants off us. In the matches leading up to the challenge we were told by many North Islanders that the strength of rugby in New Zealand started at Auckland and

ended at Wellington. We were keen to bury that idea. The effect of winning, the shield astonished us all. the enthusiasm and backing of the supporters, the sponsorship, and the advertising, gimmicks and adulation which grew, were amazing.