University wins rugby cup for the first time

Press, 15 July 1985, Page 23

University wins rugby cup for the first time

University is always a hard team to beat for the Championship Trophy, the second, and more prestigious, leg of the senior rugby competition. It has won it three times in the last five years.

However, this year the Mark Romans and Brian Hays coached side has got wound up a little earlier than usual. A decisive 28-3 win over Shirley on Saturday gave it the firstround Championship Cup for the first time in the eight years that this trophy has been at stake.

And if it can carry on with have an excellent chance of becoming the second club — Lincoln College did it in 1981 — to win the Cup-Trophy double in the same year. For half-an-hour or so at Lancaster Park on Saturday, Marist, the cup winner for the last two seasons, had some hopes of completing a hattrick. It got home narrowly, 76, against Belfast to regain its place at the top of the table and if Shirley could have beaten University it would have stayed there. But the main game had not been going for very long before it became apparent that University had no intention of stumbling at the final hurdle. With as a fine an exhibition of wet-weather football as anyone could hope to see it soon had mastery over Shirley and was safe by half-time, at which point it led K-0. It was total effort by University, but standing out in a very select crowd was the Canterbury No. 8, Dale Atkins. He scored two of University’s three tries and was duly rewarded with the Quills “player of the day” award. University lost three games in the round, and two were in the first week back in April. The first loss was 23-9 to Marist and a few days later it lost its night-round game, 1312, to Christchurch. The third defeat was at the hands of High School Old Boys, 20-15 in the fifth round.

A big win over MerivalePapanui on Saturday enabled Christchurch to claim third place and Christchurch, like University and Marist, was beaten only three times in the 15 rounds. However, Marist and Christchurch each had a draw.

Belfast, the team which was poised for so long to win the cup, slipped back to fifth, and its loss to Marist was its fourth (and it had only five) in five games. Linwood secured the final place in the top eight. It made sure of at least having a chance by beating Suburbs and was safe when Burnside went down to New Brighton.

There are two newcomers to the top eight this year, Shirley and Linwood stepping up at the expense of Burnside and Albion. This was a big drop for Burnside, which came in third behind Marist and University in the cup series last year. Shirley rose from tenth to seventh and Linwood from thirteenth to eighth. Albion went from eighth to eleventh.

Burnside made a valiant effort, in conditions which did not suit it, to beat New Brighton at Rugby Park, but it foundered on the fine tactical kicking of the New Brighton five-eighths, Wayne Burleigh. Burleigh won the “player of the day" award at Rugby Park. After 14 weeks of firm grounds, and generally blue

skies, players had the fresh experience of having to play with a heavy ball on fields that were more slippery than heavy. However, the standard of play was surprisingly good, with High School Old Boys and Sydenham joining University as teams giving particularly impressive displays. The draw for the first round of the Trophy series next Saturday is.—Section one: University v Belfast, Christchurch v Shirley. Section two: Marist v New Brighton, High School Old Boys v Linwood. The D.C.L. Shield games are.—Section one: Burnside v Merivale-Papanui, Albion v Sydenham. Section two: Suburbs v Lyttelton, Lincoln College v Hornby. Final cup standings:

University 28, Shirley 3 University: D. Atkins 2, R. Gibson tries: M. Liddicoat dropped goal; D. Cotterell two conversions, three penalty goals. Shirley: C. Williamson penalty goal. Referee: Mr G. J. Anderson. From full-back to the front row, University had players well skilled to ensure that Shirley’s challenge was easily fended off and the Championship Cup became the property of the students.

It was a compelling display by University, which scotched doubts that it would have difficulty in playing its freeflowing' game on the soft, watery ground at Lancaster Park oval. The control of the forwards was magnificent, the handling, passing and kicking of the backs from the top drawer. University had the game in hand after 20 minutes when it led, 7-0. The advantage on the scoreboard might have seemed significant, but the manner in which University had gained the upperhand was decisive. At half-time University was ahead, 16-0, and very secure. Dale Atkins used his immense strength to telling effect and he brushed off attempted tacklers as though they were pestering insects on the course of several great charges. Never far away were his fellow loose forwards, Mark Meates and Rob Moffat. That trio made life on defence difficult for Shirley as the inside backs were often involved in trying to stop the three big men. With John Buchan claiming two tight-heads and having a robust game at hooker before retiring injured in the second half, and Chris Tait and Andrew Mackey getting a good supply of line-out

ball, University stayed rampant for most of the match. , Shirley lacked nothing in determination and tried hard to play an open game in conditions which were against the ball being moved quickly by hand.

Bradley Stringer injected impetus into the Shirley backline attacks when he ran from full-back and the beefy prop, Mike Burn, found conditions to suit and he enjoyed the gallop in the mud. There was also a good contribution from the lock, John Mitchell, who performed nobly in the loose as well as giving good service in the tight. He saved an early University try by excellent cover defence in the corner.

Mark Liddicoat and Rick Gibson were accomplished five-eighths for University and Daryl Cotterell continued his impressive form by sliding superbly into the rolling ball and kicking equally as well. He succeeded with five of his six goal kicks, a remarkable effort considering the heavy ball. Marist 7, Belfast 6

Marist: R. Smith try; G. Coffey penalty goal. Belfast: R. Goodman try; B. Hutchinson conversion. Referee: Mr A. R. Taylor.

Belfast must wonder where the element of luck has gone. Certainly it has not been with it in recent weeks and it was absent again in the curtainraiser against Marist at Lancaster Park Oval.

Most of the organised attacks came from Belfast in the first half, the build-up was slow and sure, but unsuccessful as yet again Marist showed excellent defensive qualities. To prove that it was not Belfast’s day, two penalty attempts by Brent Hutchinson hit uprights and bounced the wrong way, then Richard Smith, the Marist left wing, received a gift of a try almost on half-time.

Kieran Keane was the guilty party for Belfast. He . tried a little chip kick from his own goal-line, the ball only went 15m before Steve Hansen toed the ball to the Belfast line and Smith was easily the first to fall on it.

Belfast, however, held the lead 10 minutes into the second half when the nippy flanker, Rod Goodman, capitalised on a Marist defensive blunder. His

converted try gave Belfast a two-point lead which only lasted five minutes. Greg Coffey kicked an angled 35m goal for Marist and that was the last scoring act of the game. There was plenty of furious action in the last quarter and Belfast attacked hard for the last few minutes. But the Marist forwards did their team proud and won vital ball from mauls when Belfast desperately sought it in the final hectic moments.

the forward possession was very even, Marist winning the line-outs, 22-18, after honours had been shared nine-all at half-time. But the telling difference in the end was that the Marist pack won ball when it was needed most.

Mark Connell, Pat O’Gorman and Bernie Ryan were three unrelenting members of the Marist pack and the durable half-back, Steve Baker, put Belfast in retreat with many well-judged kicks over the scrum.

Owen Rees and Goodman were industrious flankers for Belfast and the hooker, Alistair Bolt, had a useful allround game. But Keane did not choose the right options for the backline at crucial times and handling became an increasing problem when Belfast tried to attack through its backs.

New Brighton 8, Burnside 3 New Brighton: M. Powell, T. Williamson, tries. Burnside: D. McKinnel dropped goal. Referee, Mr J. R. Adams. The main game at Rugby Park was played on a very treacherous surface and with the ball very hard to hold and handle, tactical kicking became more and more important.

In Wayne Burleigh, New Brighton had a very skilful player, and his punts into the open spaces had Burnside slithering about in desperate defence.

Burleigh played at first fiveeighths for much of the second spell, and he had a good platform from which to control the game, for his forwards, shaded by Burnside in the first 40 minutes, came back strongly and exerted increasing pressure throughout the secona half.

It was a very hard-fought and close game, from which Burnside emerged with much credit. New Brighton took the lead after 15 minutes of the second spell, and scored its second try only in the last seconds,/ Burnside, scrummaging impressively, had much the better of the first spell, and was a shade lucky to have only three points to show for its wholehearted efforts. But as conditions worsened, its forwards lost their drive and the backs made more handling errors than New Brighton.

Shane Philpot did well at full-back for Burnside, making some very good takes under pressure and Deane McKinnel benefited by a very good service from the half-back, Tim Sprott. Robin Penney was the best of an eager and earnest pack. The New Brighton forwards went from strength to strength, with Peter McLaren again being strong on the drive, adept at linking with his half-back, Ross Adler, who also had a particularly good game. Apart from Burleigh, the back who won special distinction was Phil Holstein, whose handling and kicking were excellent. Old Boys 27, Albion 4 Old Boys: A. McPhail 2, D. Pool, J. Sprott, R. Mclntosh

tries; Sprott two conversions, penalty goal. Albion: P. Reardon try. Referee: Mr G. Howard (Queensland). Showing a remarkable level of ball-handling ability in most difficult conditions, Old Boys scored a convincing victory over Albion in the early game on the South ground at Lancaster Park.

Albion did not play badly and looked likely to score several times. Twice in the first half, Albion players relatiely in the clear could not control the ball to bring it down over the line.

In a sense, that was the story of the match. Old Boys seized their chances and finished them with alacrity. Playing into the easterly drizzle in the first half, Old Boys shot out to a 13-0 lead at the break and just topped that scoring effort in the second spell. On a day when just holding onto the ball and keeping one’s feet were major achievements, the Old Boys midfielder, Kieran Flynn, excelled with many strong breaks.

Indeed, most of the Old Boys backs contrived to look good at times in the saturated conditions. A new inside pairing comprising Dean Shelford, at second five-eighths, and James Hohapata, inside him, looked by no means out of place. Hohapata performed neatly while Shelford left his mark in the second half with a series of strong runs. Lively performers in the Old Boys pack were Geoff Hooker, at No. 8, and Alex McPhail, who called on the pace and skills of his days as a back to score his second try. Barry Newfield was an uncompromising character in the tight while Rob Mclntosh also had a strong game as the white pack drove forward. Albion’s best attacking player was its half-back, Ralph Robertson. While by no means possessing genuine pace, Robertson was nonetheless able to make a monkey of the Old Boys close-quarter defence on several occasions.

There were good displays in the pack from Shane Adair and Brian Toki, the latter making a fine bid for a try in the corner in the first half. The powerful punting of Grant James was an asset to Albion in the first half, and James was also safe under the high ball, but there was not much else on offer in the middle of the field.

Once, the Albion backs squandered a glorious opportunity by dithering in miarield when sharp running and a quick transfer of the ball would almost certainly have yielded a try. Christchurch 38, Merivale-Papanui 0 Christchurch: W. Lawrence, G. Kench, B. Harvey, G. Bree 2, P. O’Brien, G. James tries; R. Latham two penalty goals, two conversions. Referee: Mr H. R. Catherwood. Strength and skill in the forwards, annd an almost faultless display by its halfback, Wayne Tinker, took Christchurch to a very easy victory. Christchurch led by 13 points after 14 minutes and it was a very one-sided game after that.

Dictating in every phase of play, Christchurch had an overwhelming advantage in possession, and all the forwards looked impressive in their driving and mauling. Tinker not only delivered the ball safely, his defensive and tactical kicking were firstclass. Bruce Amai, a prop,

was probably the pick of a well-drilled and assertive pack. Andrew Maze (MerivalePapanui) disputed line-out possession vigorously, and behind a beaten pack Don Chalklen distinguished himself with two or three sharp solo breaks. Lincoln College IS, Lyttelton 3

Lincoln College: H. Murchison, K. Deaker tries; A. Dickison two conversions, penalty goal. Lyttelton: A. Williamson penalty goal. Referee: Mr W. R. Johnston. For two bottom-of-the-table teams playing in difficuclt conditions, this was quite a good game. It was well into the second spell before the ball became almost impossible to handle and up to then both sides tried to keep their backs employed. However, Lincoln College looked the better team throughout, especially in the forwards. Tom Coughlan was the dominant force in the lineouts and there was quite an outstanding game from the loose forward, Andy Boland. Mark Gasgoine and Colin Heads were other hard-work-ing forwards in a Lincoln College pack that invariably had a numbers advantage whenever the ball was loose in open field. The backs found clean breaks hard to make, but there was some strong running right through the line and the team was extremely well served by its full-back, Athol Dickison, whose handling was his greatest strength. Lyttelton tried to put Lincoln College under pressure with kick-and-chase tactics, but generally the kicks were too deep to be all that effective. Andrew Gilmore and Paul Williams stood out in a pack which managed one or two good drives. The backs had limited chances, although Dean Couch was guilty of few errors at first five-eighths and the wings, Andy Williamson and Chris Baines chased hard after kicks and both also made some good defensive saves. Sydenham 22, Hornby 9 Sydenham: W. Gray, J. Arbuckle, tries; M. Timms, conversion, four penalty goals. Hornby: C. Bloomfield, try; P. Treves, conversion, penalty goal. Referee: Mr K. N. McCrea.

Scoring 16 points in the second spell, Sydenham overcame a three-point deficit at half-time to beat Hornby on a rain-drenched Sydenham Park. Sydenham’s win was not as convincing as the score might suggest, for Hornby controlled play well in the first 40 minutes.

It was a rejuvenated Sydenham forward pack in the second half and this sound play paved the way foro the side’s win.

The play was surprisingly good in the unpleasant conditions. The Sydenham try scored by the centre, Bill Gray, came from a confident passing movement and shortly after the Hornby backs initiated a move from their own line which travelled more than 60m. Both sets of forwards made a significant contribution, which was not just kick and chase, for there were some stirring passing rushes, particularly from Hornby early on.

Stewart Gourdie was a fine half-back for Sydenham, kicking intelligently and running with judgment. Outside him Mark Timms also played well and his contribution of 14 points from goal-kicking was an important factor. Hornby was also well served by the half back, first fiveeighths combination of Clayton Bloomfield and Paul Treves. Treves looked a player of promise and his goal-kicking was also impressive. John Arbuckle, Andrew Gray and Mark Rhodes were the best of a very even Sydenham eight and Lamen Hohaia and Phil Cross showed up in the Hornby pack, which surprisingly did fade in the second spell.

Linwood 13 Suburbs 9 Linwood: R. Curd, K. Seinafo tries; A. McCormick converson, penalty goal. Suburbs: P. Walkinshaw try; N. McKay conversion, penalty goal. Referee: Mr G. T. Barrett.

Although hard-pressed by a lively Suburbs pack, Linwood held on for the win in the main game on Lancaster Park South.

Linwood led, 10-0, at halftime and then 13-3 early in the second spell. Not for the firt time this season, the green-and-blacks then had to withstand a prolonged siege. Suburbs virtually set up camp in the Linwood 22 metre area

for the remainder of the match, and it took stout defence to hold the side off. Skilfully led by Barry White, the Suburbs pack mounted assault upon assault. There was none more dedicated than the chunky prop, Tahu Williams, who excelled on the burst, while Gary O’Maliy got up well in the line-outs. Jim Bennie and Alan Rossiter also had useful games. Behind these men, Paul Tait was of considerable value with his kicks over the top and when they were down the left side, Alan Davidson gave his all in chasing through. David-

son also went back well in defence and he showed considerable strength and fortitude in running the ball back at the opposition. But where Suburbs had most of the fire, Linwood had the finesse. That was epitomised notably by the young first fiveeighths, Stephen Bachop, who confirmed his rating as an up-and-comer of considerable skill and promise. Bachop tried to pin-point his kicks into gaps in the Suburbs rearguard and while he sometimes put the ball out on the full, he was never far away from the mark he had chosen.

As well, he showed an ability to split a defence with a silky outside break, one of which set up Kose Seinafo for his try. On the left wing, Clive Joyce did all that was asked of him on such a day, extricating his side from several sticky situations as it reeled backwards. The full-back, Tony Wells, was in much the same mould. In the Linwood pack, Ru Koha was again prominent and Phil Cropper was his usual ebullient self, but the green-and-black forwards as a whole were not quite up to the fiery, driving standard of the Suburbs men.

W L D F A Pt University 12 3 — 372 172 50 Marist 11 3 1 372 133 48 Chch 11 3 1 294 140 47 H.S.O.B. 11 4 — 298 157 46 Belfast 10 5 — 289 167 45 N. Brighton 10 4 1 202 156 43 Shirley 10 5 — 319 185 42 Linwood 9 5 1 241 238 39 Burnside 8 6 1 284 201 36 Suburbs 6 8 1 150 225 30 Albion 6 9 — 186 317 25 Line. Coll. 4 11 — 181 281 20 Sydenham 3 12 — 119 291 16 Hornby 2 12 1 181 335 12 Mer.-Pap. 2 12 1 113 320 12 Lyttelton 1 14 — 103 386 5