Belfast loses again, Marist shares lead

Press, 24 June 1985, Page 23

Belfast loses again, Marist shares lead

With only three rounds remaining, the Championship Cup, for the first round of the senior rugby competition, looks to be down to four teams.

Belfast, which had led the table for most of the season, was beaten for the second successive week on Saturday — by High School Old Boys — and it now shares the lead with Marist, which it will meet in the final round on July 13.

The other two contenders are University and Shirley, one point and two points behind respectively, and they, too, will face each other in the last round.

Old Boys’ win over Belfast, more especially on the latter’s home ground at Sheldon Park, was a little unexpected, but an even bigger surprise was New Brighton's loss to Linwood. Both these teams had two losses behind them, but it was generally thought that New Brighton would be more at home on a heavy ground. However, Linwood, after taking an early lead, was never in much danger of defeat. University overcame some spirited early resistance to beat Hornby, and Shirley and Marist were other sides which had to wait until the second half before they were safe. In a rather strange game at Rugby Park, Christchurch beat Albion by 19 points — strange mainly because Albion looked the better side for much of the game. The Quills “player of the day" award was won by the Christchurch full-back, Rod Latham, whose sound display included some superb goals. Burnside had to weather a torrid first 20 minutes from Sydenham before it took control and although scoring two tries to none Lincoln College had to bow to Suburbs. The next three weeks will be anxious ones for the teams in the middle of the table as they battle to make the top eight for the second round, and at present New Brighton, Burnside and Linwood are in the most danger of coming in ninth. Colin Williamson kicked 18 points for Shirley to take his total for the season to 134, just three behind the top scorer, Deane McKinnel (Burnside). Latham is third with 122. However, the top scorer on Saturday was the University full-back, Daryl Cotterell, with 19 points. Cotterell, who was dropped from the Canterbury squad after playing the games against South Canterbury and Queensland last month, missed only one kick in nine attempts. The points table:

Christchurch: G. James, G. Kench, R. Waghorn, J. Leota tries; R. Latham three conversions, penalty goal. Albion: G. James penalty goal, dropped goal. Referee: Mr T. F. Doocey. The score in this game hardly does justice to Albion, which actually looked the better side for nearly all of the first half and a fair proportion of the second. However, it could not finish off its strong attacking moves and Christchurch, which had a 6-3 lead at the interval, was able to skip clear in the second spell when it did make the most of its chances.

The Albion forwards, in particular, played well. They gave the Christchurch eight a torrid time for the first 50 minutes and even when their cause was lost they still managed to muster a final sprint at the end.

Christchurch’s one area of dominance was the line-outs, where John Currie and Andrew Thomas were sometimes unopposed as they leapt for the ball. The side also had two great assets in Jock Hobbs and Mark Treweek.

They combined very well in many advance actions and if Treweek was the better runner with the ball Hobbs was no less valuable on defence. Defence was Christchurch’s saving grace. It withstood a tremendous amount of pressure in the first half when Albion spent long periods on attack and twice it achieved the almost impossible by halting Muray Davie right on the line.

Davie was Albion’s best forward, but he was well supported in some stirring driving play by Phil Reardon and Peter Palmer. Ralph Robertson, as always, was a fine servant to his outside backs and the first five-eighths, Ross Elliott, played an intelligent game. Albion moved most of its possession out wide and while there was some strong running from the three-quarters, especially Brian Theobald, the Christchurch defence was never outflanked.

Christchurch had to rely a lot on Vaughan Brown and Rod Latham’s kicking to get it

out of its own half and Latham, in particular, did kick well. Three long conversions further enhanced his game.

Still, it was only in the middle stages of the second spell that Christchurch looked a deserving winner. Using Treweek as the battering ram it mounted some sustained attacks and unlike Albion it was able to apply the finishing touches. Ray Waghorn and Gordon Smith also showed out in this period. Wayne Tinker and Grant James were lively and constructive attacking backs for Christchurch and Joe Leota ended the game on a bright note with a lovely wing’s try, his speed making the try possible and a superb inside swerve doing the rest.

High School Old Boys 15,

Belfast 10. High School Old Boys: M. Cunningham, J. Leggat tries; M. Reeves two conversions, penalty goal. Belfast: A. Boyd two tries; B. Hutchinson conversion. Referee: Mr G. T. Barrett. High School Old Boys held on to beat Belfast on a havey Sheldon Park and the closeness of the play kept the large crowd interested right until the finish.

Although the heavy wet ball and muddy ground made back play difficult, both teams showed a willingness to pass and run. However, the conditions meant that much of the play was confined to the forwards.

Old Boys began in great fashion. The forwards tore into their work, and play for the first quarter was confined to inside the Belfast 22m area. Their efforts were rewarded when Mike Cunningham scored near the posts after a wellplaced high kick from James Leggat. The rest of the spell was all Belfast. A sustained attack was mounted and two tries were narrowly missed. A score appeared inevitable, but James Leggat snapped up a loose pass and ran the length of the field to give Old Boys a 12-0 lead at half-time.

The second spell was a repeat of the first with Old Boys starting well and then Belfast gradually getting on top. Two tries from Adrian Boyd, one the result of a smart back-handed pass from Wayne Smith, put Belfast within two points. Then three penalties in the final 10 minutes kept the crowd on its toes. First. Brent Hutchinson, for Belfast, hit an upright, five minutes later Michael Reeves’s kick from 50m out suffered a similar fate and then, within a minute, Reeves from the same distance bounced the ball over off the crossbar.

Barry Newfield, Nigel Ward and Mike Cunningham were hard workers in the Old Boys pack, while Theo Gormans was a strength in the line-outs for Belfast with solid support coming from Owen Rees and Dick Bowden. Both first five-eighths, James Leggat and Wayne Smith, had good games and the tactical kicking from both was consistently accurate.

Leggat’s defensive work was also sound, as was that of his

brother, Richard, and the wing, David Pool, looked a player of promise. Adrian Boyd handled well and his speed resulted in two good wing’s tries, while Mardy Vincent showed up in the midfield play. Linwood 16, New Brighton 9 Linwood: R. Curd two tries; A. McCormick conversion, penalty goal; S. Bachop dropped goal. New Brighton: G. McWhirter three penalty goals. Referee: Mr R. B. Rudkin. Linwood’s consistent, co-or-dinated first-half display enabled it to reap enough points to hold New Brighton at bay in the main match on Lancaster Park South. After establishing a useful 16-6 half-time lead, Linwood soaked up tremendous pressure from New Brighton in the first 20 minutes of the second spell, but the seasiders could manage only one penalty goal when it was dominant. Linwood came back in the last quarter and, although it seldom looked like scoring, it was quite happy to protect its handy lead. Certainly the tackling was sound under persistent pressure and Clive Joyce aided Linwood’s cause by safely fielding the high kicks sent to test him at full-back. That Linwood was intent on inflicting the third successive defeat on New Brighton was evident in the opening minutes when Ross Curd capped off the forward pressure with a try. But it was the second try by the big Linwood No. 8 that showed him in a better light. The fleet-footed right wing, Greg Jones, made a dashing run down the sideline, was taken by the last defender, but Curd showed the value of backing up and his speed and skills gave him a fine try. Peter McLaren, playing an inspired game, did his utmost to rally New Brighton in the second half, but although the response was there early, Linwood earned credit by holding off all assaults then striking back itself as the match neared its end. Unfortunately, play failed to flow for any length of time and was not helped by the 32 penalties awarded against the two teams. The Linwood forwards were exceptionally proficient at turning the tide of attacks. Not often do Brighton forward drives go in retreat. Curd was very much to the fore, but Robbie Potts, Ru Koha and Mike Fransen were only too willing to lend a helping hand. Although Linwood did not attack as much as usual through its backline, the defence was sound, Andrew McCormick proving that tackling low is the best way to stop an opponent in full flight. McLaren, Mark Bell and Greg Lamb tried unsuccessfully to establish control for the Brighton forwards, and the backs, although able to find gaps at times, never thwarted the cover defence. Shirley 46, Lyttelton 3 Shirley: M. Brown 2, B. Stringer, M. Young, A. Lindsay, P. Trask, P. Rushton

tries; C. Williamson 6 conversions, 2 penalty goals. Lyttelton: A. Williamson penalty goal. Referee: Mr H. R. Catherwood. While looking the more polished combination from the outset, Shirley left it until the dying stages of the first half to really ask the question of the Lyttelton defence at Richmond Park. When Shirley chose to turn the heat up the results were spectacular. Of the seven tries scored — and all were superb efforts — arguably the best was the second, scored by Mark Young. Colin Williamson made an inside break, and ranging up in support were Kerry Mitchell and Brett Dixon, who combined like three-quarters to put Young in the clear. It was a superb example of backs and forwards linking in a sweeping movement. This one covered 50 metres.

Shirley had a lot of good ball, notably from line-outs where the Mitchells, John and Kerry, performed well, with efficient tidying-up work from the non-jumpers, Barry Hammersley among others. Hud Rickit, however, began to compete. effectively with Kerry Mitchell in the second half.

The iron man in the Shirley pack was Ross Tarawhiti, who lifted his opposite, Stephen Harteveld, clear of the ground in the early scrums. Dixon took two tightheads in the match and Shirley missed out on the use of a third when Lyttelton moved the scrum more than a metre, and the put-in was retaken. Young was a prominent figure for Shirley, so often in timely support, but there were strong games also from the other loose forwards, Paul Trask and Paul Rushton.

In the backs, Allan Lindsay was somewhere near his brilliant best, especially in the scoring of a splendid solo try, and Brad Stringer was always an eager attacker from, fullback. On the right wing, Ken Wells bruised more than a few Lyttelton players, forwards included, with the strength of his running. For Lyttelton, Jeff Geayley did all that was asked of him when the ball was kicked downfield to him and Brian Bachop was a busy half-back who, unfortunately, occasionally chose the wrong options. In the first half, Dean Couch stood out for the. power and precision of his punting. After the match, the Shirley coach, Frank Jack, • paid tribute to the way Lyttelton continued to run the ball as the score mounted against it, and commended the side’s general attitude which allowed this to become an open affair. Understandably pleased with his charges, Jack must have also felt quiet satisfaction that they had produced the goods without Craig Green. Marist 36, Merivale - Papanui 6 Marist: A. Washington 2, R. Smith, S. Pijfers, S. Kilworth, B. Ryan tries; R. Connell three conversions, penalty goal; S. Baker dropped goal. MerivalePapanui: R. Smith try; J.

Sherratt conversion. Referee: Mr G. Collins. Merivale-Papanui did well to keep Marist down to 6-0 at half-time, and in what was a substantial defeat MerivalePapanui could be proud of its performance. Its tackling for a long time was quite outstanding and it was only towards the finish that Marist, which had a wealth of ball in the second spell, was able to unleash its backs with any confidence of success. The game was notable mainly for the fine play of the Marist forwards. Even without Pat O’Gorman they dominated

the line-outs and their driving and rucking in the second half was of an exceptionally high standard. A new lock, Sef Pijfers, had an excellent game, and not far behind him were two backs up from senior B, Andrew Washington, who scored the first two tries, and Scott Kilworth. Bernie Ryan, Adrian Kennedy and Tala Kele were other Marist forwards to impress and Phil Gibson’s tight control of the mid-field play made sure that Merivale-Papanui was unable to find any joy there. Although Marist scored six tries to one, the try of the

game was undoubtedly Meri-vale-Papanui's. The right wing, Ross Smith, intercepted a pass almost on his own goal-line and ran the length of the field. Bud Hepi, in the strange position of full-back, proved quite useful in the role and George Poutu and Gary Lawson were competent inside backs. Steve Barnden led a pack which never stopped trying and Kevin Sarr and Richard Meek, until he retired injured, applied themselves with plenty of zest. University 39 Hornby 13 University: S. Tobias, R. Moffat (2), M. Meates, R. Gibson, tries; D. Cotterell five conversions, three penalty goals. Hornby: W. Guerin try, P. Treves three penalty goals. Referee: Mr R. Grant. The match at Denton Oval was nearly half an hour old before University led Hornby for the first time, but then the floodgates opened. By' the interval, University was nine Bits ahead, and in the second scored four more tries to Hornby’s one. University could not have been over-elated at its 23 point margin. Its bigger forwards won most of the line-outs, nearly all the rucks, and John Buchan contributed a couple of heels against the head. Its backs were faster than Hornby’s and both forwards and backs were quicker to back up and carry on a movement. It said much for Hornby’s spirit that with the tide of possession set so strongly against it, it was able to restrict University to five tries. It was fierce, persistent defence, and the side showed an ability to counter-attack from the scraps University left behind. Hornby often tried short line-outs, with mixed success, but its forwards took University on for the full 80 minutes. Lamen Hohaia had a great game, with some bullocking runs and some in which he showed speed and an ability to deceive. Several of the backs showed up at times, with Paul Treves using his pace effectively and Sam Hales’ wholehearted display was marked by particularly good tackling. For University, Rob Moffat was in tremendous form, making some spectacular bursts, and linking with his backs effectively in an outstanding display. Dale Atkins was his usual commanding self, and Mark Meates had a particularly good second spell. Behind them, Gary Barkle made a few errors early in the game, but set the line away at speed as University took command. Apart from scoring 19 points — with eight successful kicks from nine attempts — Daryl Cotterell was near perfection in his line-kicking. Burnside 27 Sydenham 10 Burnside: R. Penney, G. Finiki, C. Power, S. Philpott, M. McKeefry tries; D. McKinnel two conversions, penalty goal. Sydenham: M. Doreen try, M. Timms two penalty goals. Referee: Mr G. J. Anderson.

After a robust performance for the first 20 minutes, Sydenham let its effort lapse markedly and a one-point deficit had become a 14-point one by half-time. Sydenham’s tackling was disappointing and Burnside's backs made progress at will. The weakness in tackling was never more evident than when the Burnside fu'l-back, Shayne Philpott, side-s.epped his way through half . the Sydenham team on his way to a try which he started from half-way. With the wind behind it in the second spell and Sydenham already appearing dispirited, Burnside could have been expected to double the 20 points it had managed at half-time. Handling errors crept in as the ball Became heavy and Sydenham bustled and tackled more purposefully. Burnside scored only one try in the second half and Sydenham matched that with a deserved try near the finish after a prolonged movement which went from one touchline to the other. Deane McKinnel had an excellent game at first fiveeighths for Burnside and Chris Power and Graham Finiki were strong runners when given room. Rob Penney and the promoted Barry Donaldson were relentless workers in the forwards. Andrew Gray and Grant Bull were constantly to the fore in Sydenham’s pack, while Mark Timms, with several elusive runs and clever linekicking, stood out in the backline. Suburbs 15 Lincoln College 8 Suburbs: T. Neilson 4 penalty goals, dropped goal. Lincoln College: C. Head, A. Dickison tries. Referee: Mr K. N. MccCrea. In a match marred by many handling errors, Suburbs managed to hold out Lincoln College at Hoon Hay Park. The first half was fairly even with Lincoln College holding a slight territorial advantage, but it conceded 2 penalty goals when Suburbs did get into its half. In the second spell both teams tried to run the ball at every opportunity, but poor handling and passing killed most of the moves. Lincoln College scored first in the second half, with a good try which came froma rucked ball that was cleared quickly by Craig Williamson. The ball was passed through the chain and it was the No. 8, Colin Heads, who scored in the corner. Heads had a good all-round game and featured in a number of Lincoln College’s best moves. He also took some good ball in the line-outs. Lincoln College’s second try was a fine effort. The fullback, Hamish McGregor, came into the line and made the break for Athol Dickison to score in the corner. The Suburbs No. 8, Jim Benny, was in the thick of the battle throughout and made a couple of long, barging runs. Barry White had his usual good game, and not, far behind him was Tahua Williams. Behind the scrum, Paul Tait combined well with John Neilson, whose play was always steady.

w L D F A Pt Marist 9 2 1 302 111 39 Belfast 9 3 — 242 139 39 University 9 3 — 267 149 38 Shirley 9 3 — 279 144 37 Chch 8 3 1 227 121 35 H.S.O.B. 8 4 — 228 134 34 New Bri. 8 4 — 161 138 33 Burnside 7 4 1 257 159 31 Linwood 6 5 1 199 193 31 Albion 6 6 — 166 231 25 Suburbs 5 7 — 126 200 23 Line. Coll. 3 9 — 157 211 16 Hornby 2 10 — 163 281 10 Mer.-Pap. 2 10 — 127 249 10 Sydenham 1 11 — 78 269 7 Lyttelton 1 11 — 83 313 5 Christchurch 25, Albion 6