Odds stacked against final challenger

Press, 5 October 1984, Page 36

Odds stacked against final challenger

By

KEVIN McMENAMIN

With just two wins, against North Auckland and Hawke’s Bay, from its nine national rugby championship games this year, Bay of Plenty must be considered a long shot to take the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury in the final challenge of the season at Lancaster Park tomorrow.

And most of the defeats have been fairly decisive, culminating in a 65-9 thrashing by Auckland last Saturday. The Bay’s for and against points of 97 and 219 tell their own story. But while its record as a team this year is woeful, Bay of Plenty does have some good players, and this is one reason why the Canterbury coach, Alex Wyllie, is not taking the challenge lightly. “They are the sort of side which could prove very difficult if things go their way. And as they have shown against overseas teams they can lift their game to meet the big occasion,” said Mr Wyllie.

He said that while it was true that Bay of Plenty had a much better record playing at home than it did away, it would not be alone in that regard. “It would be wrong to look at the side on its previous performances on Lancaster Park — it lost 28-0 here two years ago — because those games were probably part of ,a South Island tour, and tours can be very different to a oneoff game like this one,” he said.

Mr -Wyllie thinks of Bay of Plentv onlv in terms of its barnstorming finish to lose by only two points, 26-24, to Canterbury last year. “We were under a lot of pressure that day and were a little lucky to hold on.

That’s the sort of form we have got to expect again,”' he said.

The Bay side for tomorrow contains five changes from the team which lined out at Whakatane last year. And two of the newcomers are the All Black flanker, Frank Shelford, who was living in Hawke’s Bay last winter,, and Mark Basham, who has been a New Zealand Juniors half-back. The team is: Mark Henshilwood; Brent McKillop, Mark Osbourne, John Hanley; Barry Ririnui, Ron Preston; Mark Basham; Graeme Elvin (captain); Craig Burrell, Craig Ross, Gary Braid, Shelford; Steve McDowell, Hika Reid, Peter Kennedy. Reserves: Wayne Ranui, Bruce Cameron, Gordon

Teitjens, lan Cumpstone, Lehi Hohaia, Steve Ngnamu. In addition to Shelford, there are two other AU Blacks, Reid and Braid, and Elvin might well consider Lancaster Park his favourite eround. It was there in 1977 that he played in the New Zealand Universities side which had a shock win, 21-9, against Phil Bennett’s British Lions.

Elvin, in fact, is the only member of that N.Z.U. side still playing first-class rugby. The side has a number of young players, the youngest being the second fiveeighths, Ririnui, He is 17 and a pupil at Tauranga Boys’ College. The Bay of Plenty team arrived in Christchurch yesterday afternoon and the coach, Graeme Crossman, said it was under no illusions as to the task it faced. “We realise that Canterbury is a very good side and that we will need a lot of luck to win. Our pre-occupa-tion this year has been avoiding relegation and this we have down.

“Getting a shield game is something of a bonus. I just hope the players enjoy the game and the experience of shield rugby,” said Mr Crossman. He confirmed that regardless of. the result he would be retiring this year after six seasons as the Bay of Plenty coach. Elvin has indicated that he will be retiring as well.