Away points vital to Canterbury

Press, 30 August 1986, Page 76

Away points vital to Canterbury

By

KEVIN McMENAMIN

With three home wins behind it in the first division of the National Mutual rugby championship, Canterbury will be chasing away points for the first time when it meets Manawatu at Palmerston North this afternoon.

Manawatu has had a mixed season. It was well beaten, 28-9, by Counties in its first championship game back in July and in its second, two weeks ago, it came from 15-3 down at half-time to beat Taranaki, 27-15. However, last week on a very heavy ground at Masterton it slumped badly and was beaten 25-9 by Wairarapa-Bush. Along the way Manawatu gave the Wallabies a hard game, losing 9-6 to them through a late penalty goal. The Palmerston North Show Grounds, a ground on which Canterbury has not been successful since 1978, should provide firm footing today. There have been no games there for three weeks, and the weather this week has

been mainly fine. After almost a decade of having one of the best packs in the country, Manawatu is in the process of rebuilding. The long-serving coach, Graham Hamer, has introduced some more fresh players this season, the first five-eighths today, Ross McLeod, being the third to fill the position. He has also brought back Chris England, a very big lock, in a quest for'more line-out ball. It was in this area that Manawatu faltered against Wairarapa-Bush. The Canterbury coach, Alex Wyllie, said yesterday that ever since Wellington beat Auckland people had been talking about the CanterburyWellington game to-

morrow week as the big one in the championship. “But it will be only if we can hold our place by winning our first two games in the North Island (Manawatu today and North Auckland oh Tuesday). And I don’t see victory being easily achieved in either,” he said.

Nevertheless, Canterbury must be favoured today. It has lost only one game — a single point defeat to New South Wales in Sydney in May —- in 12 so far this season, and while the confidence of old has still to be recaptured it has played well in its recent outings.

If the side does have a point to prove in the next eight days it is that it is capable of playing just as well away as it does on

Lancaster Park. The teams are:—

Canterbury.— Robbie Deans; Craig Green, Victor Simpson, Joe Leota; Warwick Taylor, Stephen Bachop; Bruce Deans; Dale Atkins; Don Hayes (captain), Andy Earl, Tony Thorpe, Jock Hobbs; Murray Davie, John Buchan, Chris Earl.

Manawatau.— Mark Finlay; Dave Gosling, lan Wood, Simon Clavis; Mark Currie, Ross McLeod; Chris O’Neill; Murray Rosenbrook; John Fisher, Richard Jerram, Chris England, Paul Wilkie; Gary Knight (captain), Bruce Hemara, Graham Hurunui or Steve Cumberland. In other national championship first division matches today. Counties take on Wellington at Pukekohe stadium and Taranaki meet North Auckland at Rugby Park, New Plymouth.