Sparkling second-half resurgence by H.S.O.B.

Press, 2 June 1986, Page 14

Sparkling second-half resurgence by H.S.O.B.

A strong, sparkling secondhalf resurgence by High School Old Boys undermined New Brighton’s methodical game at Lancaster Park on Saturday, and kept the youthful All Whites up with the pace in the Christchurch senior rugby championship.

Down, 0-12 at half-time, Old Boys rediscovered the enterprising play, which has won them many friends this season, and rattled up 25 points in the last 40 minutes. It was an important victory for the largely-inexperienced side, and kept it on terms with the other unbeaten teams in the race for the Trusteebank Trophy, Marist and Shirley. A share of the limelight, however, was snatched by one of the less-glamorous sides, Sydenham, which gave one of its most noteworthy displays in recent years to score four excellent tries in a comprehensive defeat of Albion.

Shirley overcame the vastly improved Hornby; Marist accounted for the luckless Merivale-Papanui; and Christchurch graunched a way to a win over perky Lincoln College. University suffered a second loss in as many weeks, this time at the hands of an effervescent Bumside. Belfast hammered home eight tries against Suburbs, and Linwood, although showing the effects of playing six competition games in 25 days, scored seven tries against a game Lyttelton. Quills “player of the day” awards went to Simon Brown (Old Boys) at Lancaster Park and Craig Williamson (Lincoln College) at Rugby Park.

Deane McKinnel kicked 22 points for Belfast and Andrew McCormick 13 for Linwood to make them the sixth and seventh century scorers in the competition. Colin Williamson gained 17 for Shirley to take his aggregate to 129, one ahead of Mike Reeves (Old Boys), and 12 behind the leading scorer, Greg Coffey (Marist). Adrian Boyd’s four tries for Belfast made him the leader in this field, with 11, ahead of David Ellis (Old Boys), Phil Cropper (Linwood) and Colin Williamson, all with eight. Points are:—

H. 5.0.8. 25

New Brighton 12

Old Boys: R. Henderson, S. Drazitski, N. Ward, S. Brown tries; M. Reeves three conversions, penalty goal. New Brighton: P. Holstein try; R. Adler conversion; Holstein, W. Burleigh dropped goals. Referee: Mr T. F. Doocey.

Down 12-0 at half-time, Old Boys improved out of all sight in the second spell to swamp New Brighton in the main game at Lancaster Park. Old Boys always had advantages in possession, but it was the way it used the ball in the second spell that transformed the game. James Leggat found the sun at his back a handy ally as he peppered the New Brighton defence with high kicks. New Brighton played a one-paced game, and it found the pace too hot in the second spell as Old Boys lifted the tempo with some fine running in the backs. Simon Brown had an outstanding game at centre, and David Gyde and David Ellis were also snappy movers. The backs were the beneficiaries of some powerful driving and rucking from their forwards, with Denis Trembath and Barry Newfield giving a strong lead. Nigel Ward, who received a clearance on Friday to return to Old Boys from Burnside, was guilty of a few mistakes in the first spell, but he improved in the second spell and scored a good try, as also did Steve Drazitski. New Brighton was handicapped by the early loss, through injury, of Peter McLaren, but the forwards showed little of their usual cohesiveness, and, apart from Wayne Burleigh’s clever running in the mid-field, the backs did not have a great deal to offer either. Christchurch 19 Lincoln College 9 Christchurch: R. Kilpatrick, S. Barclay, G. Kench tries; Kench two conversions, penalty goal. Lincoln College: R. Pound three penalty goals. Referee: Mr M. L. Fitzgibbon.

With the feast of possession won by its forwards, Christchurch should have romped away from Lincoln College in the main match at Rugby Park. However, the Christchurch backs made their team sweat before they finally got their act together in the last quarter. Two tries in that final period took Christchurch from a trailing position to a comfortable, if somewhat flattering, win. Lincoln College threw the ball around with some success, and its tackling, low and hard, stifled many a Christchurch attack, but the superior strength of the Christchurch pack gradually ground College down.

Graham Kench had a most unhappy day at first fiveeighths for Christchurch; too often he took the wrong option, and although he scored the final try, Christchurch should have been well in front before it actually gained the lead with 20 min remaining.

A gallant College pack was well led by lan Fleming and Blair Van Der Maas, and the backs tried had with limited ball, but they never breached Christchurch’s defence. Andy Thomas and Mark Treweek, who dominated the back of the line-outs, were impressive in the Christchurch pack, but the backline did not function at all smoothly.

Burnside 24

University 3

Burnside: D. Farrant (2), D. Walker tries; J. Preston three conversions, two penalty goals. University: M. Liddicoat penalty goal. Referee: Mr N. Bowring.

A scoring burst, which produced all three tries, in the second quarter gave Burnside a comfortable win in the early game at Lancaster Park. However, it did not have a lot to beat.

Both forward and back, University was very disorganised. It struggled to contain the lighter Bumside pack in set play and was invariably in trouble whenever Bumside moved the ball wide. This Burnside did most effectively; using long, skip passes to get the ball to David Farrant, up in the line from full-back, and Farrant’s fluid running was a joy to watch. Almost on a par with Farrant in attacking skills was the second five-eigthts, Shane Philpott. Extremely quick on his feet, Philpott made one break in which he beat at least eight men. Jon Preston, too, played veiy well inside Philpott, while in the forwards Danny McGuire and Simon Foley were good value. Mark Liddicoat and Stephen Harding were dangerous runners for University, but there was never much support on hand, and had it not been for the covering of John McCaw, University would almost certainly have conceded more tries.

The side will need to improve dramatically to have any chance of testing Marist in the main game this week.

Shirley 29 Hornby 17

Shirley: C. Williamson, C. Power, G. Mickell, P. Trask, tries; Williamson, two conversions, three penalty goals. Hornby: P. Mason, E. Goodhue, G. Ngatai tries; P. Treves, conversion, penalty goal. Referee: Mr G. Anderson. ’

Hornby supporters’ hopes were raised in the first 5 minutes when their side scored a good try, but from then on it could not match the control and discipline of the competent Shirley team. Shirley established control in the forwards early, convincingly winning the lineouts and having an edge in the rucks and mauls. Grant Mickell won good possession in the line-outs and he was also a force in the loose where solid support came from Barry Hammersley. Best of the Hornby forwards was Neville Wilson, who was prominent in support play, and Lamen Hohaia was another who played well. The back play in the first spell lacked finish, although Shirley, with the capable inside combination of Alan Lindsay and Colin Williamson, looked the more likely line.

Some bright attacking play from the Hornby full-back, Greg O’Reilly, and wing, Gordon Ngatai, in the last quar-

ter livened up an otherwise dull game.

Linwood 41

Lyttelton 7

Linwood: S. Bachop (2), A. Lefale (2), G. Jones, G. Bachop, F. Brown tries; A. McCormick penalty goal, five conversions. Lyttelton: J. Kottier try; W. Porteous penalty goal. Referee, Mr T. M. Hannan.

An avalanche of 22 points in the last 12 minutes gave Linwood a flattering winning margin against a courageous Lyttelton. Although lacking the speed and attacking skills of its rival, Lyttelton displayed exemplary spirit; its strong competitive urges kept it in the game until its overworked defence faltered in those last hectic minutes of Linwood domination.

There was an atmosphere of stunned silence at Linfield Park when Lyttelton led, 7-0, after 10 minutes, and it was not until 25 minutes that the portsiders were headed. lan Mallard’s half-time coaching boost was brief. “Short and sweet, eh?” called a spectator. “Not too sweet,” replied Mr Mallard. Linwood attacked with a will, even fom deep defensive positions, and in these plays a constructive Graeme Bachop was often the key figure with swift clearances or sharp bursts. Stephen Bachop linked well with him and cavorted merrily for the period in which Lyttelton regarded him with the awe accorded a new Canterbury star. Then he attracted closer attention — probably because two of his brothers, Tony and Brian, were in the opposition. Tony Bachop also showed off some smart footwork in promoting Lyttelton attacks. Steve Knight toiled hard in a diligent pack, and Andy Williamson was never found wanting on attack or defence. Despite the earnest efforts of Robert Potts and Mike Fransen in the tight and Phil Cropper’s enterpise in the loose, Linwood spent 38 minutes scoreless and errorridden in the middle stages. That must be a worry for Mr Mallard, although Andrew McCormick’s kicking for goal was encouraging — six successes from eight attempts. And another son of an All Black father, Andrew Norton, made a pleasing debut in Tane’s old position at hooker.

Sydenham 18

Albion 9

Sydenham: M. Timms, N. Tamatea, G. Bull, W. Vita tries; M. Small conversion. Albion: T. Baldwin try; G. James conversion, penalty goal. Referee: Mr K. N. McCrea.

After an impressive start, Sydenham looked likely to wilt under pressure from the driving Albion pack, but the side stuck to its task admirably, regained the initiative and fashioned a resounding victory. The Sydenham backs, refreshingly inventive, were able to open up big holes in the Albion defence. Crucial to the side’s success was the powerful, elusive running of Ned Tamatea on the left wing, while Peri Faletanoi, at centre, was also very hard to hold.

Mark Rhodes held the Sydenham pack together well under the pressure, John Arbuckle leapt effectively in the line-outs and Andrew Gray

was a dominating presence in the loose.

Others to have games to remember were Grant Bull, Watta Vita and the young half-back, Malcolm Aldridge. Robert Taefu made a promising debut at prop.

At the heart of Albion’s driving play was Murray Davie, who also made a useful contribution in the line-outs, jumping at No. 4, and there were fiery displays in the loose from Peter Palmer, Chris Langsdale and Don Gourlay. Albion’s most incisive back was Trevor Baldwin.

Marist 27

Merivale-Pap. 3

Marist: A. Kennedy, G. Coffey, R. Smith, T. Kele, P. Gibson tries; Coffey conversion, penalty goal; K. Hansen conversion. Merivale-Papanui: K. Thomas penalty goal. Referee: Mr G. Collins. Merivale-Papanui was never going to upset Marist, but it gave a highly creditable performance for a team which has met with its share of setbacks in the last fortnight.

When the two teams met in the Trusteebank Cup firstround competition, Marist scored 64 points. MerivalePapanui ensured such a massacre was not going to be repeated by holding Marist to a 13-0 half-time lead. Marist made an unusual number of basic errors, but this, in part, could be attributed to the bustling, purposeful play of the combined team. Merivale-Papanui’s biggest fault was its sometimes shoddy tackling and several of the Marist try-scorers did not have to work too hard for their tries.

Tom Coughlan and Mark Connell gave Marist a constant supply of line-out ball and Adrian Kennedy made his presence felt at the back of the scrum. The backs, though, were not as impressive as usual, although Phil Gibson settled the line when he came on as a replacement early in the second half. Stuart Barnes gave an honest display in the Merivale pack, and John Sherratt and Kevin Thomas had useful games in the backline.

Belfast 54 Suburbs 3 Belfast: A. Boyd (4), A. Bolt, B. Hutchinson, M. Dalzell, R. MacDonald tries. D. McKinnel four penalty goals, five conversions. Suburbs: N. McKay penalty goal. Referee: Mr A. R. Taylor.

Adrian Boyd scored four of Belfast’s eight tries in an enjoyable romp at Hoon Hay Park.

Slick passing from a confident Marty Vincent put him in for two of them, one was an individual effort, and the other a simple finish to a powerful forward build-up. Belfast, well led by an aggressive Alistair Bolt, soon achieved forward dominance and points came at regular intervals after his opening try-

Hud Rickett and John Retallick both had good games for Belfast, and the loose forwards were free to hunt out the loose ball and create many opportunities for the well-oiled back-line.

Deane McKinnel provided the finishing touches with nine goals from 12 attempts.

W L D F A Pt Marist 3 0 0 88 13 12 Shirley 3 0 0 77 42 12 H.S.O.B. 3 0 0 62 27 12 Linwood 2 1 0 78 29 9 Chch 2 1 0 50 30 9 N. Brighton 2 1 0 39 47 8 Belfast 2 1 0 80 32 8 Burnside 2 1 0 70 39 8 Sydenham 2 1 0 42 30 8 Lin. College 1 2 0 42 35 5 — University 1 2 0 68 48 5 Hornby 1 2 0 41 52 4 Albion 0 3 0 23 81 0 Suburbs 0 3 0 9 121 0 Mer. Pap 0 3 0 7 64 0 Lyttelton 0 3 0 16 96 0