Crafty scrum-half ends notable league career

Press, 5 October 1984, Page 10

Crafty scrum-half ends notable league career

By

JOHN COFFEY

Wally Wilson, one of the most consistent and efficient rugby league players in Canterbury for the last decade, recently completed a notable career in a comparatively modest fashion. His last dozen or so appearances were for the Linwood club’s second XIII, very much removed from the representative scene that he graced at provincial, island and international levels between 1973 and 1982.

But it was probably appropriate that Wilson, aged 30, bowed out in such a manner. Linwood received outstanding service from Wilson as a scrum-half and coach, and his willingness to assist the premier reserve team was typical of the loyalty and affection which was mutual between the player and his club.

Wilson’s retirement .was marked by his receipt of the Linwood club’s “sportsman of the year” trophy, and a special presentation was made to recognise his varied and valuable contributions since his premier debut in 1971. In that time Wilson would have worn with pride the Linwood first grade gear on

well over 200 occasions. Even though he had few appearances at the Show Grounds last season, Wilson had one last gift for his former premier team-mates in late April. He was a second-half replacement wing against Hornby and had been on the field less than one minute before he was scuttling away for the try which gave Linwood a decisive lead and eventually a 19-12 victory. That was Wilson’s eightyeighth try in premier football. He was also an occasional goal-kicker in his younger days, and his alertness in field goal opportunities assisted him in boosting his career aggregate to more than 300 points. There was nothing sluggish about Wilson’s movements around the scrumbase, or in capitalising on gaps in opposing defences, and he had a top seasonal try-scoring haul of 12 in 1979. But just as beneficial to Linwood’s cause was Wilson’s courageous tackling and high work-rate. Two tries by Wilson

against Hornby had much to* do with Linwood extending a winning sequence to 13 games and clinching the 1973 premiership.

For three seasons from 1981, Wilson was Linwood’s player-coach, and he enjoyed immediate success when the club won the preseason knock-out tournament and went on to finish third in the championship. Wilson was promoted to

the Canterbury A team for the final match in 1973, and he was among the tryscorers in a 41-17 victory at the expense of Taranaki. Within two years lie was Canterbury’s captain, and led the side in 30 of his 40 appearances. While the high-points greatly outnumbered the set-backs, Wilson did suffer one particular reverse. He was relegated from the captaincy to non-playing reserve against Brisbane Souths, then dropped altogether in 1977. But he was back the next winter and soon restored with the leadership.

For much of his firstclass career, Wilson’s passage to higher honours was blocked by the West Coast and Kiwi scrum-half, Gordon Smith. However, Wilson did not waste his opportunity when a knee injury kept Smith on the sidelines in 1981.

Wilson scored a try in his first full match for South Island — he had twice been a replacement in 1979, including an 11-10 win over Auckland at Carlaw Park in a thrilling 27-28 loss to Auckland. Wilson subsequently captained South

to an 18-11 win against Central Districts at Greymouth in a season in which South won the inter-districts title for the first time. The ease with which Wilson stepped up to the higher representative level did not go unnoticed by the national selectors, and he was chosen for the New Zealand squad to oppose the French tourists. Shane Varley, of Auckland, wore the No. 7 Kiwi jersey in both games, but Wilson had his name added to the code’s honour roll when he replaced Varley during the second test at Auckland. Wilson had three more matches for South in 1982, including one against the Kiwis before their departure for Australia,, before leaving representative football.

Although Wilson will no longer be serving the ball into scrums on the Show Grounds, Linwood will continue to reap the benefits of his efforts. For many seasons Wilson has directed some of his energies to coaching youngsters,and it will be quite a few years before his influence is no longer present in one or more of the club’s teams.