Under 18 rugby team succumbs to North

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 27

Under 18 rugby team succumbs to North

Only an apparent reluctance to finish off telling assaults against a reeling opponent prevented the South Island under 18 rugby team from getting close to, perhaps even beating, its North Island counterpart in Saturday’s Lancaster Park curtain-ra-iser. North won, 19-6, after scoring all of its points in the first 25min of the match. During that period, North looked likely to rout its rival. The first try came after 4min, after severe pressure on South followed by decisive midfield running, and strong finishing by the left wing, Rene Naufahu. Then it was the turn of the forwards to show their irre-

sistibility with ball in hand. Seemingly the entire pack handled in a rousing surge over 30m to the posts. Soon the backs were in action again, with the fullback, Jerome Nahona, providing the crucial punch from the rear. From there, North strangely relinquished control to a suddenly inspired South team. The South fullback, Glen Davis, began to make huge inroads with some startlingly elusive running which sparked a vastly improved performance from the rest of the team. Its try, finally coming after 22min of the second half, was scored decisively by the big

lock, Justin Cullen, after Clark Frew had pounced on a loose ball and driven almost to the line. But three times ’ earlier, South had lacked the confidence to finish likely movements. During North’s period of dominance, Maurice Tuketo and Jamie Ryan forged a powerful combination in midfield and Naufahu relished the flow of play towards his left wing. Nahona added an extra dimension from fullback. Providing the link between a surging pack and an explosive backline was the openside flanker, Joseph Lafaialii. South stuttered in the backs in the early stages, perhaps

rendered a little gun-shy by the crunching, offensive tackling of Tuketo, in particular. 1 Once Davis began to cut his merry capers, Steve Cleave and Steve Fowler grew in stature and Glenn Porter emerged as a strong running halfback. / The loose forwards, John Campbell, Brian Hutchinson and Frew, likewise lost their tentativeness to become aggressive, influential players. • For the North Island, Naufahu, Nahona and Lafaialii scored tries, and the tall, imposing first fiveeighths, Donald Kerr, kicked two conversions and a penalty goal. Davis converted Cullen’s try for South.