Rugby Top six sides in trophy series on collision course

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 26

Rugby Top six sides in trophy series on collision course

All the leading sides competing for the Trusteebank Trophy in the Christchurch senior rugby championship moved further up the ladder on Saturday. But there will be some blood on the rungs after next week-end, after the six front runners have played off.

Riding high on 11 straight wins, Shirley came through an entertaining game with Lincoln College on Saturday to face one of its conquerors of the first round competition, Christchurch, next weekend.

Marist and Linwood, the Trusteebank Cup finalists, will also be locked in combat in the twelfth round, and High School Old Boys, smarting from three consecutive defeats, will try conclusions with University, which has had only one reverse in its last eight outings. On Saturday Marist came from behind at half-time to overcome Old Boys at Rugby Park. The Marist forwards again impressed on the drive, and the promoted first fiveeighths, Tony Houston, did so well that he won the Quills "Player of the Day” award. Out at Denton oval, Linwood played with superb touch to run up 49 points in yet another victory. But Meri-vaie-Papanui captured the spirit of the game, too, and its 18 points represented its highest total of the season. University profited from some dedicated forward play to account for Belfast, and New Brighton had to come from behind to head off a determined, but not always decisive, Hornby. Bumside found Sydenham no pushover, and Christchurch laboured for an hour before creeping ahead of Lyttelton. Suburbs scored a meritorious win over Albion, and its long-serving full-back, Neil McKay, reached his personal century of points for the season. The leading tryscorer, Adrian Boyd (Belfast), pushed his aggregate up to 16, and the prolific scorer, and record-breaker, Colin Williamson (Shirley), added another 14 to his already impressive aggregate.

With the snow on the Port Hills, it was a day for long johns and hip flasks among the hardy spectators; but out in the thin air at Lincoln College, one Shirley player removed his thermal singlet before half-time, such was the rip-roaring nature of the game.

Marist 22, H. 5.0.8. 9 Marist: A. Houston, T. Kele, S. Hansen tries; T. Ziolo two conversions, penalty goal; Houston dropped goal. Old Boys: N. Mayo try; M. Reeves conversion, penalty goal. Referee: Mr A. R. Taylor.

In spite of improving

greatly on their previous week’s performance, Old Boys were still clearly beaten by Marist in the main game at Rugby Park. An opportunist try, which was converted, plus a penalty gave Old Boys an early 9-0 lead, but even at half-time, when Marist was still three points in arrears, the signs were ominous for Old Boys. The Marist pack was starting to wrest control, and this it had for nearly all the second spell. The loose forwards, especially Adrian Kennedy, were in fine form, and their hard running at the Old Boys inside backs set a platform from which Marist was able to call the shots.

Marist’s first 12 points came from its two promoted players, the first five-eighths Tony Houston and Tony Ziolo. Houston scored a lovely try when he doubled around outside Phil Gibson, and later showed a sharp mind when he dropped for goal as other options faded.

Ziolo’s contribution was two excellent goals, but he earned himself even higher marks when he stopped a rampaging Denis Trembath in full flight Trembath had covered 40m in what was the best run of the game before Ziolo put him down.

Houston’s play could not be faulted and he revived memories of the Marist first fiveeighths of a decade ago, Bernie Stewart, when he walked off the muddy park with barely a mark on him. This was fair testimony to his elusiveness.

Although never looking all that dangerous In the second spell, Old Boys stuck to its task reasonably well. The defence could, perhaps, be excused for not being able to stop the 117.5 kg Tala Kele from 5m out, but Steve Hansen was aided by some weak tackling as he collected Marist’s final try. Pat O’Gorman, Kele and Seph Pijfers were forwards besides Kennedy to impress in the Marist scrum, while Nigel Ward, Trembath and Ken Pope showed good skills for Old Boys.

Shirley 26, Lincoln College 10

SHIRLEY: G. Mickell, B. Stringer, C. Green, C. Williamson tries; Williamson two conversion, two penalty goals. LINCOLN COLLEGE: H. Murchison try; R. Pound two penalty goals. Referee, Mr T. M. Hannan. It was well into the first half before Craig Williamson called to his College colleagues in a shrill note of incredulity, “We can do it — they’re soft, they’re soft” Shirley was far from soft but it was vulnerable, and a College side which gradually warmed to its task gave the competition leader a lively game. Shirley, ahead 13-3 at half-time, was never in danger of defeat, but neither was there any likelihood of it winning by a big margin. After Craig Green scored a clever solo try from broken play 2mln into the second half, Shirley was held scoreless until the last lOmin. It was in this period that Lincoln gained its try from an excellent passing move, and it constantly tried to give back as much as it received.

Shirley’s superior reservoir of experience helped it significantly, with Alan Lindsay directing the attack with cool authority from half-back. His

stem rebuke to his forwards that they were “just coasting” led to the side’s storming finish, in which Colin Williamson scored his inevitable try.

Green and Williamson were smoothly constructive for Shirley, and Barry Hammersley produced a spirited showing from his post at loose-head prep. But the "Jacko” call usually heralded chaos, and when Bradley Stringer came roaring into the line like the Kaikoura express, there was no guarantee he would actually catch the ball.

The College right wing, Hugh Murchison, had a splendid game, showing the ability to beat a man with little room to move. Robert Pound was constantly active and effective at first five-eighths; Richard Wilson and Andy Owen were prominent in a pack which believed in itself a lot more at the finish. Linwood 49,

Merivale-Papanui 18 Linwood: P. Cropper (3), G. Jones (3), A. Lefale, C. Joyce, A. McCormick tries; T. Wells five conversions, penalty goal. Merivale-Papa-nui: A. Maze, D. Stringer, J. Sherratt tries; Sherratt three conversions. Referee: Mr B. Gardiner.

With both sides showing a desire to play attacking rugby, the match at Denton Oval was entertaining throughout, and the high scoring (67 points) was a reflection of the teams’ attitudes.

Linwood was clearly the better team, with the forwards controlling the loose play and the backs passing and running with elan. Meri-vale-Papanui, however, fully deserved its three tries. The inside back combination of Graham and Steven Bachop and Andrew McCormick laid the basis of the team’s success. The speedy three-quarter line fully appreciated the skills of those inside.

The full-back, Tony Wells, besides kicking accurately, frequently joined in to add impetus to the attacks. Phil Cropper and Gene Newman were lively loose forwards, Cropper in particular showing up in almost every scoring move. The Merivale forwards, worked well in the tight, but could not match their opponents in the loose. Dave Isitt and Kevin Murray were solid performers, while John Sherratt was the best of the backs who tried hard but lacked the skills of Linwood. University 16, Belfast 6 University; M. Meates, ' C. Cooper, M. Liddicoat tries; Liddicoat two conversions. Belfast: A. Boyd try; D. McKinnel conversion. Referee: Mr M. G. Johnson.

University looked to have problems when it turned to face the wind with only a 106 lead. However, a big effort from its forwards ensured that Belfast did little attacking in the second spell.

Nevertheless, only 6min. remained when University finally broke through for another try and made its position safe.

The University forwards did play exceptionally well, especially in their close-quar-ter driving. Pat Benson and John Buchan were often prominent in these actions, but the whole pack frequently came together to win large stretches of ground.

With Hud Rickit winning some good line-out ball, Belfast had an impressive first half. The backs ran on to their passes well, and never better. than when Adrian Boyd broke away for his sixteenth try of the season. Unfortunately for Belfast, its possession ran dry in the second spell, but the backs were again seen in a favourable light when they pressed hard for a second try in the last minutes.

Mark Liddicoat gave a fine display at first five-eighths

for University. His shrewd direction of the play towards his forwards had a big bearing on the game, and it was Liddicoat who cut a neat gap for himself to score the try that was so long in coming In the second spell. Richard MacDonald, from full-back, and Mardy Vincent were strong-running backs for Belfast and Vincent also did a good job in keeping Warwick Taylor in check. New Brighton 21, Hornby 15 New Brighton: L. Stevenson, M. Carrington tries; R. Adler two conversions, three penalty goals. Hornby: S. Ward try; P. Treves conversion, three penalty goals. Referee: Mr G. F. Collins. The half-time words of their coach, Mr John Phillips, must have echoed mockingly in the ears of the Hornby players after their loss to New Brighton in the early match at Lancaster Park South. Mr Phillips clearly told his charges not to give away silly penalties in their own territory after the break, and to make first tackles count. They failed him on both counts. Playing with the wind in the first half, Hornby had led, 6-3, at the interval. Almost Immediately‘ after the resumption, Ross Adler was given a gift penalty goal and then another 20min. later. In between, Hornby had produced a very fine try, the first of the match.. Hornby's biggest mistake, however, was in failing to ground Mark Carrington, who in a long run beat not only the first tackle, but four or five thereafter to put Lance Stevenson in for a try. That was the turning point in a match Hornby might well have won. Carrington had a strong game at centre for Brighton, scoring himself near the end. lan Boyce performed well in the line-outs, and in general play while Paul Bell was often prominent on the charge as well as figuring at the heart of the tight play. Bell marred his display by being sent off a few minuts from time. Hornby’s outstanding player was its lively full-back, Greg O'Reilly, who ran, tackled, dealt with the high bail and punted with conviction. Graham Turner got through a lot of useful work on the left wing, Paul Treves and Sam Hale used the tactical kick effectively and Stu Ward roved to good effect Lamen Hohaia led the side well and made some good jumps at the back of the lineout. Suburbs 24, Albion 13 Suburbs: P. Tait, M. Mcßoberts, P. Waikinshaw tries; N. McKay three conversions, penalty goal, dropped goal. Albion: G. James try, two penalty goals, dropped goal. Referee: Mr K. N. McCrea. This was a well-earned win for Suburbs, considering the side had scrum problems for most of the match. The Albion hooker, Bevan Mitchell, took several tightheads, Suburbs’ problem stemming from the loss through injury of its halfback, Paul Tait early in the match. Mike O’Neill shifted in from first five-eighths, but not even a spot of practice with the front row during the half-time break could solve the problem of the feed.

The loss of Tait had seemed an even more severe blow in that the lively halfback had scored a sparkling solo try after smin and picked up his injury almost repeating the effort shortly

Suburbs, however, fought back well against the odds and fully deserved its win after being on level terms at the break. Mike Mcßoberts was the hero of the second half, scoring a disputed try in the comer, and standing up for a long time in a tackle waiting for Paul Walkinshaw to arrive to set the seal on

the victory.

Barry White repeatedly stood out to good effect for Suburbs. Ross Dore made some splendid two-handed line-out takes, and Neil McKay was usually able to cope easily with everything Albion kicked through to him. Albion’s best and most fiery effort came in the dying stages as the side sought, before Walkinshaw’s clincher, the converted try it needed for victory; but the pack still struggled to find cohesion and control. There was a whole-hearted effort from the abrasive lock, Russ Matheson, while Grant James, after an enigmatic display at first five-eighths, produced the try that had seemed likely to elude Albion entirely. Christchurch 18, Lyttelton 6 Christchurch: R. Kilpatrick (2), M. Treweek tries; G. Kench three conversions. Lyttelton; A. Stewart two penalty goals. Referee: Mr S. P. Garland. It took Christchurch just over an hour to gain the lead, and although it held the upper hand in the final quarter, the display was far from memorable. Lyttelton had achieved its first victory the previous week, and when it led, 6-0, at half-time the possibility of two straight wins was discussed avidly by supporters. The lead should have been greater, a knock on spoiling a potential try-scoring move. Playing downwind in the second half, Christchurch gradually got its act together, but not without some hiccups along the way. However, the replacement half-back, the nuggety Wayne Tinker, and his burly No. 8, Mark Treweek, formed a fruitful partnership in working off the scrum platform, and their shrewd use of the ball restored Christchurch's fortunes.

The Canterbury right wing, Roger Kilpatrick, made the most of his side’s growing ascendancy to score twice in the final quarter, V Earlier, Victor Simpson had revelled in his temporary role of first five-eighths for Lyttelton, upsetting Christchurch with his zestful tackles and spectacular kicks, as well as probing for a gap whenever the mood took him. John Kottier was another Lyttelton back to show plenty of cheek.. r>ii J : Christchurch,,, 52-6 winner, including nine tries, against Lyttelton earlier in the season, will not recall this game at the port with particular affection. ; U Burnside 15, Sydenham 0. Burnside: G. Choat, D. Farrent tries, J. Preston two conversions, S. Philpott dropped goal. Referee: Mr T. R. Marshall. Even without five regular players; Bumside was able to put down a willing Sydenham side at Bumside Park. The locals scored a try in each half, and never looked like losing; yet never looked like dominating either. The forwards won a stream of ball, particularly in the second half. Much of the game was played in the Sydenham half.

But the Burnside backline never functioned with real conviction. Much of the play broke down in the midfield through poorly directed passes and sub-standard handling. Jon Preston and Shane Philpott combined well enough without stamping the authority on their play that would be expected from such a talented pairing. The full-back, Dave Farrent, was the pick of the backs, proving safe under the ball and enterprising in his running. Danny McGuire was involved in all aspects of play from No. 8 and solid support was given him by Michael Coughlan and Alistair Watson. For Sydenham, Andrew Grey gave a committed performance in a beaten back and the captain and hooker, Grant Bull, played with zest and purpose. In the backs, Malcolm Aldridge was efficient and the mid-field pair, Ned Tamatea and Peri Faletanoi, made the most of limited chances with hard running. It was a game played at a good pace, but one to be remembered more for ambition than results.

W L D F A Pt Shirley 11 0 0 308 95 44 Marist 10 1 0 329 83 41 Chch 9 2 0 229 103 37 University 8 3 0 378 110 34 Linwood 8 3 0 283 156 34 H.S.O.B. 8 3 0 242 127 33 Burnside 7 3 1 222 131 30 New.Bri 5 5 1 172 178 25 Linc.Coll 5 6 0 191 185 21 Belfast 3 6 2 173 208 17 Hornby 3 7 1 157 189 16 Sydenham 2 8 1 95 302 10 Albion 2 9 0 115 270 9 Suburbs 2 9 0 109 300 9 Mer-Pap 1 10 0 105 309 5 Lyttelton 1 10 0 77 414 4