League Suburbs win ‘sevens’

Press, 9 April 1979, Page 26

League Suburbs win ‘sevens’

Eastern Suburbs-Hertz will compete in the national rugby league seven-a-side tournament at Wellington in October after its win in the Canterbury series at the Showgrounds on Saturday. After coming from behind to eliminate Sydenham and being fully extended by Marist-Westem Suburbs, Eastern had a surprisingly easy 23-5 victory at Papanui’s expense in the final. The young Papanui side fell well behind as Eastern scored three tries in the first of the two 7min spells, and Eastern quickly increased its advantage after the interval. Eastern conceded two tries to Sydenham before Bruce Murphy — who was among the scorers in each of his side’s three appearances — touched down to start a revival by Eastern which eventually carried it to a 15-6 victory. i Similarly, it was Bruce Murphy who redressed the i balance after Terry Gillman i

had opened the scoring first for Marist in the semi-final Kevin Murphy put Eastern ahead, but the totals were ■ tied at 10-10 when Graeme Frew crossed for Marist. Only 2min remained when Barry Edkins raced more than 70m for the matchwinning try. In the other semi-final, neither Papanui nor Addington was able to open its account until the second half. The Papanui defence remained firm to the finish, and it slipped in front with late tries by Barry Hines and John Cole. Mutu Stone (Addington) was chosen as the “player of the tournament” and Edkins, with 21 points, was the top individual scorer. Results:— First round: Addington 21, Hornby 3; Papanui 17, Halswell 0; Eastern 15, Sydenham 6; Marist a bye. Semi-finals: Papanui 6, ~ Addington 0; Eastern 13, Marist 10. Final: Eastern 23, Papanui 5.