Addington, Hornby tested

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 31

Addington, Hornby tested

The points table proved a reliable guide in the Radio Avon Canterbury rugby league premiership on Saturday, when the four higher placed teams beat those lower in the standings. But it was not easy, for three teams, and the joint leaders of the championship, Addington and Hornby were both tested.

Addington seemed comfortably enough placed at halftime against Sydenham, but it was outscored after the break, and with an ounce of luck, Sydenham could well have caused a big upset

The reverse happened for Hornby. It trailed MaristWestern by six points at halftime before throwing off the shackles in the second spell.

When Kaiapoi last met Linwood in the premiership, it scored 18 points but lost by two. On Saturday, it found that 18 points was good enough to win, although IJnwood twice tossed away tries in the final three minutes which could have forced a draw.

Eastern Suburbs stayed on the bottom of the ladder, but it had Halswell worried early in the second half when it closed to within six points. The big Kaiapoi forward, Tony Stanley, scored his eleventh try of the season and moved within two tries of the leader for the A. G. Bailey Cup (as the competition’s top try-scorer), Phil Cross, the Addington centre.

The "player of the day” awards in the late matches at the Addington Show Grounds were won by Robbie Rushton (Halswell) and Russell Tuuta (Kaiapoi).

Kaiapoi 18, Linwood 12 Kaiapoi: G. Pearce, T. Stanley, D. Rogers tries; S. Dixon three goals. Linwood: D. Kelly, R. Hudson tries; D. Davern two goals. Half-time: 10-8. Referee: Mr G. Baxter.

The lead changed five times in the main match on the No. 1 Show Grounds pitch, but Kaiapoi was in front when it mattered most It was' an even match throughout, Kaiapoi scoring an excellent try, started by Ray Peehl and finished off by Tony Stanley, late in the first half to lead by two points at the interval.

A charging burst by Robbie Hudson carried him to the line and gave Linwood the lead after 15min of the second half, but Kaiapoi scored eight quick points at the' start of the final quarter tp set up Its victory. Even then, Linwood could have, and perhaps should have, scored at least one try in the hectic final three minutes.

The player-coach, Paul Truscott, lost a certain try as the ball popped from his grasp as he dived over the line; and right on the final hooter, the full-back, David Perkins, broke clear and kicked over the head of the last defender. Perkins was first to the ball but his speculator to the line bounced into touch in goal. Truscott and Jeff Hollis worked hard for Linwood and were difficult to lower on the burst, while David Kelly’s elusive running and Ross Le Breton’s speed on the wing added impetus to attacks. Russell Tuuta accomplished a heavy workload for Kaiapoi and Stanley’s support play was invaluable. Glen Pearce was a nippy scrum-half and the replacement for an in-

jured Craig Small, Dave Rogers, was alert for scoring chances.

Halswell 34,

Eastern Suburbs 18 Halswell: R. Rushton (2), G. Condon, M. Frame, C. White, N. Sinclair tries; P. Bancroft five goals. Eastern Suburbs: G. Hamburger (2), V. McCue five goals. Half-time: 18-2. Referee: Mr R. Brott.

Although Halswell never looked like surrendering a lead gained in the seventh minute, it had to rally halfway through the second half to quell some stubborn resistance from Eastern Suburbs. Ahead 18-2 at half-time, Halswell was content to rest on its laurels in the opening exchanges of the second half, but urgency came into its play when a good try to Greg Hamburger and accurate kicking by Vince McCue enabled Eastern to reduce the gap to 18-12 with 25min remaining. The match’s outstanding player, the powerful prop, Robbie Rushton, sealed the contest for Halswell when he scored his second try soon after. No-one was really interested in stopping him as he charged 5m to the line. Halswell kept the ball close to the forwards until the final stages, when the backs twice scored wide out. Rushton and Mark Frame constantly tested Eastern’s defence with hard and straight running, and Phil Bancroft directed play well and made much ground with astute line-kicking. Colin Tennant made several sharp breaks in the midfield.

Hamburger and Mike Collett gave good accounts of themselves in Eastern’s pack, wwhile McCue was the most penetrative back as well as proving a reliable goalkicker, succeeding with all five attempts.

Addington 16,

Sydenham 12

Addington: T. Smart, E. Faimalo tries; P. Connell four goals. Sydenham: G. Cummings, P. Kara tries; Kara two goals. Half-time: 10-2. Referee: Mr K. R. Blackler. In their first match of the

premiership, Addington chalked up a half-century of points against Sydenham, but it was lucky to win by four in the curtain-raiser on Show Ground No. 2.

Addington scored the only try of the first half and it resulted from a fine attacking move, with Tony Smart being on hand to sprint the last 30m. But Sydenham had several chances and it was only bad passing at crucial times that enabled Addington to protect its line. Addington increased its lead to 16-2 five minutes into the second half, but that was the end of its scoring and Sydenham was on the verge of an upset win when Ricky Kara slipped his marker and found the rearguard absent. That took Sydenham to 1612 in the twenty-sixth minute. But although it tried desperately to score the winning try, Addington’s defence held to the end. Again Sydenham, which was hot on attack at the final whistle, let itself down by throwing a poor pass or dropping a catch at a crucial time. Both sides finished with two tries and the difference was in goal-kicking, where Pomare Connell was successful with his four attempts. Smart, who hooked well, Eseme Faimalo and Thomas Miki instigated many of the forward bursts for Addington, but the back-line was unusually subdued, although Phil Cross and Steve Mather showed their class occasionally. Paul Griffiths, steadfast in defence, the swift and slippery Steve Tull, and the forceful Kara were impressive backs for Sydenham, while Glen Cummings and Peter Kaisa never allowed Addington’s defence the chance to relax. Cummings’ try was richly deserved. Hornby 28, Marist-Western 12 Hornby: G. Larsen, S. Wells, S. Geddis, B. Tuuta tries; J. Griffiths six goals. MaristWestern: H.' Wihongi, G. Leek tries; D. Grant two goals. Half-time: 6-12. Referee: Mr J. Cropley (Dunedin). Hornby retained the Barr

Cup when it produced a determined second-half effort to erase a half-time deficit and overcome a spirited Mar-ist-Western at Leslie Park. After scoring the first try in the third minute, Hornby took a back seat for the rest of the first half as Marist-Western asserted control and scored the only other two tries of the spell. As befitting its role of competition leader, Hornby fought back strongly in the

second half and gradually established its authority. Graham Larsen and the youthful Michael Stewart were ' prominent in the Hornby pack, and the ebullient Brendon 'Tuuta and Harry Tipene had praiseworthy matches in the backs. The indefatigable Lee Nelson was the pivot of many Marist attacks, while Gerard Stokes and Gary Leek were menacing runners when in possession.

Premiership points Pt P W D L F A Add 12 11 0 1401166 22 Hom 12 11 0 1361138 22 Pap 13 7 1 5296237 15 Kaia 12 5 1 6232249 11 Hals 12 5 1 6176194 11 MWS 13 5 0 8220331 10 Syd 12 4 1 7227305 9 Lin 13 4 0 9174322 8 East 13 2 0 11188335 4