Fox’s boot keeps Otago at bay in Auckland

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 27

Fox’s boot keeps Otago at bay in Auckland

PA Auckland Auckland won the national rugby championship, gained a share of the Ranfurly Shield record, and got the fright of its life while defeating Otago, 27-17, before 35,000 spectators at Eden Park on Saturday. A lusty, hard-tackling Otago challenge had the visitors ahead 10-9 at half-time and Auckland did not take the lead until scoring its first try in the sixty-ninth minute. Auckland added a converted try in the seventy-seventh minute to give it a flattering 10-point margin when 20min earlier Otago seemed poised to win the match, the shield and the championship. Otago got the first of its two tries in the first half, during , which it also got three points for a penalty goal after Peter Fatialofa, the Auckland prop, had been sent to the sin bin for smin for punching. In the twelfth minute of the second half, with Otago leading, 13-12, Auckland seemed to be getting backline attacks

organised instead of having them knocked over by the hard-tackling Otago men. Auckland set up a series of attacks, switched to the right where it had three men poised to attack about halfway, and there was only Noel Pilcher, the Otago wing, on defence. Bernie McCahill, the Auckland centre, tried to cut out Pilcher with a high pass, but Pilcher intercepted and burst away for a try in the corner. Cooper could not convert. A few minutes later Pilcher roared into another Otago backline attack and beat three tackles as he plunged towards the Auckland line. Lindsay Harris’ tackle stopped Pilcher just short of the line, and attempts by Mike Brewer and Shane Stone to get over the line from attacking scrums were foiled. From there Auckland went on to attack, built a steady and heavy forward effort near the Otago 22, and waited for the mistakes. The first came when Otago collapsed a scrum as Auckland was

going for the pushover, and Fox kicked the three points. Auckland came back with a series of forward raids, one of which put Zinzan Brooke over for a try in the right corner. Fox converted, giving Auckland the fourpoint lead. The Aucklanders rolled forward on attack again, and halfback Brett Iti broke two tackles as he darted across for a try between the uprights. Fox converted. The Otago coach, Laurie Mains, had high praise for his men, saying that only the superior power of the Auckland front five denied his team a famous victory. However, while the Otago defence did a good job of foiling the Auckland backline attacks, men like Arthur Stone and Rhys Ellison were frequently taking the risk of going offside in midfield. Dave Latta and Noel Pilcher scored Otago’s tries and Greg Cooper kicked three penalty goals. Zinzan Brooke and Brett Iti scored tries for Auckland and Grant Fox kicked two conversions and five penalty goals.