Canterbury’s rugby league aura fades

Press, 15 May 1987, Page 20

Canterbury’s rugby league aura fades

Though Canterbury’s remarkable rugby league recovery against Wellington on Tuesday night earned the players considerable credit,the 32-24 defeat virtually ensures .'Canterbury of a ranking ■no better than third among provincial teams this season. ; On the basis of its > home and away wins ; over Canterbury, and its brave showing against Auckland earlier this ; month, Wellington is en- : titled to the second rung ' on the rugby league ladder.

- The change in status —between Canterbury and is the result * of one province’s stand\'ard slipping at a time when the other has improved. Wellington was long " one of the sport’s easy beats, but in recent years -its administrators have been conscious of the •- value of having a winning representative squad.

They have recruited widely and wisely, to the extent that Canterbury’s coach, Ray Haffenden, admits to being unable to pinpoint any obvious weakness in the Wellington line-up. On the other hand, Canterbury has lost a number of its more experienced players because of transfers or retirements. Adequate replacements have not been attracted to the district, and the. natural cycle of developing home-grown talent has not occurred quickly enough to compensate. At present Canterbury is without a seasoned full-back and wings because of the injuries to Heemi Wihongi, Pomare Connell and Steve Mather. Meanwhile, Marty Crequer — who has played for Canterbury and New Zealand as a wing and Auckland at both wing and full-back — languishes with his adopted Northcote club,

performing well but not well enough to regain Auckland selection. Criticism of Wellington’s talent-scouting tactics is directed towards its signing of such established players as the former Canterbury prop, Adrian Shelford, the Junior Kiwis centre, Tony Kemp (from

By

JOHN COFFEY

Taranaki), and the former New Zealand, Auckland, Hull and-Leigh midfield back, James Leuluai. But two of the more prominent players last Tuesday night were Victor Aramoana, a wing from Whakatane, and Kelly Makaore, a frontrow forward from Hawke’s Bay. Their skills in contrasting roles have been developed beyond a standard which might have been expected had they stayed in the minor leagues. Canterbury, it must be said, has done very well to even threaten Auckland’s supremacy in the last few years. However, it takes more than an apprenticeship in Canterbury club football to learn the authority evident in players such as Crequer, Shelford and Brent Todd.

The dreadful lack of defence by Canterbury in the first 30 minutes against Wellington mirrored what has become the norm at club level. It makes for entertaining play, but was inadequate against a strong provincial oppopent. Yet Canterbury tackled

and attacked outstandingly well for the other 54 minutes, even when injuries to Mather and Brendon Tuuta reshaped the formation into seven forwards and only six backs.

The i Canterbury centres, Andrew Vincent and Steve Campbell, relished their running opportunities; and Vincent emerged very well from inevitable comparisons with Kemp. The Canterbury pack, perhaps assisted by Shelford’s second-half absence, unified its resources and wrenched the initiative from Wellington. Mark Frame, a substitute in six of his eight appearances for the province, surely did enough to warrant a place in the starting side against West Coast at Greymouth on May 24. Frame consistently; penetrated Wellington’s front-line defences and all but sent Esene Faimalo away for what would probably

have been a winning try . close to full- • time.

Others will have the chances to challenge for promotion when’ Canterbury B begins its second division campaign at Invercargill tomorrow and Dunedin on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Mr Haffenden will be checking the condition of his walking wounded when the Canterbury A squad trains on Sunday morning. Its ranks are depleted in the midst of many representative commitments — after playing at Greymouth, Canterbury is to field a provincial XIII against Wellington on May 29 and the top team against Auckland on June 1 during its seventy-fifth anniversary week-end. Unless those Canterbury combinations have their mind on their work from the first kick-off all of the celebratory toasts will need to be to past glories.