England shows mixed form against Otago

Press, 29 May 1985, Page 68

England shows mixed form against Otago

From

KEVIN McMENAMIN

I in Dunedin

For the first 40 minutes of its game against Otago at Carisbrook yesterday England looked a rugby side which might give the All Blacks something to think about in the first test at Lancaster Park on Saturday.

But not so in the second spell as the tourists lost their concentration and were for a time in some danger of losing the match as well, it was only two minutes from the end that their fourth try wrapped the game up for them at 25-16. Like England, Otago played well in patches and it gave the crowd of around 15,000 plenty to get excited about in the final quarter, when three times it came close to a try, which if converted, would have put it a point in front. Nevertheless, there was always the feeling that England had the match under control and just needed to make better use of its posession to deliver the knockout blow. It never did, though. The Otago coach, Mr Laurie Mains, had no hestitation in singling out the England fly-half, Stuart Barnes as the outstanding player on the field and later he coupled Stephen Bainbridge with Barnes as the architects of Otago’s defeat. Bainbridge’s great worth lay in the line-outs, where he made majestic leaps. At the finish England was 29-16 up on Otago in possession from line-outs, although it was Otago men who were getting up higher in the last 10 minutes. England’s aim was to try and move the ball about in the backs and for the first 40 mintues it succeeded admirably. With Barnes pro-

viding direction and inspiration the line functioned better than it has in any of the three previous tour matches. Otago, although trailing only 18-10 at the interval, was also having a lot of trouble in the scrums and the tourists appeared to be setting themselves up for a runaway win. But although continuing to look strong in the forwards England was nowhere near as effective in the backs after half-time and much of its play became muddled as Otago whipped up a storm of its own. As a test build-up, the match should have done a

lot for England’s confidence. The forwards with captain for the day, Robert Hesford, and John Hall showing out often, put their beefy frames to good use in the tight and they took a power of stopping when they got into the clear. The side was also very well served by its half-back, John Hall, a busy little player with a tidy punt. Dean Kenny also had a fine game behind the Otago scrum, and although stretched and strained at times, all the backs were diligent in their tackling. Greg Cooper had a rather mixed day at full-back but he did get off to a flying start with two penalty goals in the first six minutes. Two minutes later the England right wing, Michael Harrison, lost a try through step-

ping into touch. However, England’s first try soon followed. A strong two-phase attack ended in the full-back, Huw Davies, crossing wide out. Two penalty goals, both from handy positions, although one came off an upright, by Barnes had England in front, 10-6 after 22 minutes. Harrison scored England’s next try, running perfectly on a kick ahead by Barnes after Barnes had made a scintillating centre field break. If more opportunist, Otago was not long in replying with a very good try of its own. Davies was caught in possession by Ralph Milne and Otago had men to

spare out wide as John Waldron, Noel Pitcher and Mike Gibson, all handled. And just when the chance looked to have been lost the flanker, Phil Young, appeared on the scene to take Pilcher’s pass. England increased its lead to 18-10 just before half-time when Hall was given an open passage to the line on the short side of a line-out. Compared with the first half the first 20 minutes of the second spell were very ordinary. It was not until Kenny dashed around the blind side and with a great show of determination reached the line, Cooper adding the conversion, that the momentum picked up. Barnes gave England some comfort when he kicked his third penalty goal in the sixth-fifth minute, but the next 10 belonged to Otago, which suddenly seemed to realise that this England side had gone far enough off the boil to be beatable. In the space of six minutes the prop, Stephen Hotton, Milne and the first five-eights, John Haggart all came within reach of tries. Milne’s dropping of what could have been a final pass was the biggest blow. England, if still not bringing a lot of urgency to its play, survived the onslaught and Otago’s dreams of a victory were finally shattered when Barnes slipped tlirminln a nminlp nf cnft

lliruugll d uvupic UL ouxu tackles to score a try two minutes from the finish. It was a game which had positive aspects for both sides. England might not be as bad as it had been made out to be, and Otago has every reason to look forward to another rewarding winter. For England, Huw Davies, Michael Harrison, John Hall and Stuart Barnes tries; Barnes three penalty goals. For Otago, Phil Young and Dean Kenny tries; Greg Cooper two penalty goals and a conversion. The referee, Mr Geoff Smith (Hawkes Bay) awarded Otago 13 penalties and England seven.