Bush brilliant as Belfast beats Brighton in first round of rugby

Press, 9 April 1979, Page 21

Bush brilliant as Belfast beats Brighton in first round of rugby

Inspired by the assertive play o f its All Black tight-head prop, Bill Bush, Belfast turned on the forward p ower for which it is noted to beat last season’s champion team, New Brighton, in the first round of the senior rugby competition for the Canterbury Savings Bank Cup on Saturday.

The Belfast forwards ground down relentlessly a rebuilt New Brighton pack to pave the way for an 1810 win, after trailing for three-quarters of the match at Rugby Park. Bush, in outstanding form after his tour to Britain and Italy with the Cantabrians, was a papular winner of the Fletcher Humphreys “Player of the Day” award. But his fellow’ forwards, Dave Thompson and Andy Karatea, were not far behind him in resoive.

Christchurch, holder of the C.S.B. Cup, won a testing match against an improved Marist side, while University A and Linwood both ran up big scores. Merivale-Papanui regarded the new coach, John Creighton, with awe after the team won its first opening match for 10 years; Suburbs, in spite of many losses of personnel, also opened on a winning note. Lincoln College took advantage of missed opportunities by Albion to snatch an eleventh-hour win, while Old Boys’ high-scoring Gary Cookson started in his usual fashion by kicking 13 points against Shirley. There was a big crowd at Rugby Park for opening day, and it was not disappointed by the standard of play in the two matches. Most games in the competition were played in good spirit, too, but it w’as still necessary to order one man off and dispatch a further two to the “sin bin.” The referee in the early game at Rugby Park, Mr Alan Bateman, acted with commendable swiftness in sending off Mike Bradley (Marist) for a late charge on Richard Wilson. The Christchurch full-back had passed the ball and was admiring his handiwork when he was flattened by Bradley. Wilson was dazed, but recovered. At Lancaster Park south, Rob van Lent (Old Boys) and Stewart Mitchell (Shirley) cooled Off in the "sin bin” for 3min after some testy play. Results were:— Belfast 18, New Brighton 10. Christchurch 13, Marist 9. Linwood 38, Hornby 0. University A 30, Sydenham 6. Old Boys 29, Shirley 13. Lincoln College 13, Albion 9. Merivale-Papanui 13, Burnside 6. Suburbs 13, University B 0.. RECOVERY Belfast staged a remarkable come-back to beat New Brighton. After 50 minutes, it was 10 points behind. In the next 20 minutes, it scored 18 points. This spectacular recovery was effected mainly by the forwards, who showed admirable power end skill. At the start of the match Belfast looked all thumbs, and although it had plenty of ball the backs never looked dangerous, largely through an unhappy alliance between the half-back, Teddy Davis, and the new first five-eighths, Wayne Smith. They settled down after a considerable time, but Davis did not always get the sort of forward service he would have liked. If possession was sometimes untidy, the Belfast forwards did little else badly. This is a very strong pack, and it was magnificently led by Bill Bush, who looks as fit and strong as at any time in his distinguished career. He was tremendously strong on the drive, and it was from one superb thrust that play was set up for the left wing, Dave Percasky, to score the try which sealed New Brighton's fate. Andy Karatea was comparable with Bush and Dax e Thompson was also outstanding in all facets of the forward play, especially in covering.

Belfast’s forward power gave almost 75 per cent of possession from rucks and mauls and its hooker, Murray Hall, took two tight heads to one. New Brighton wrung parity from the lineouts. but the team suffered from a sorry succession of infringements. Near the end of the match, Belfast led the penalty count by 20 to five. The match did not flow as the curtain-raiser at Rugby Park had done, but there was much to admire in Belfast’s spirited seizing of control. The slim, tall Smith is a decided acquisition at first five-eighths. His round-the-corner goal-kicking was only moderately successful, but he has good hands and feet to go with cool judgment. New Brighton looked a confident team in the first quarter, and must have been further encouraged when Dave Bowick kicked two penalty goals in the first 11 minutes. The New Brighton backs certainly looked sharper than Belfast’s line, but steadily the forward pressure from Belfast told, and towards the end New Brighton was being bustled into errors. Jon Te Amo was in fine form, but in the last 30 minutes he had his hands full trying to bolster his side’s desperate defence. Graeme Ellis played a fine game •t half-back, and further out

Ross Gibson and lan Grifiiths ran determinedly. CLOSE GAME Christchurch had many anxious moments before it overcame an eager Marist team in the early game at Rugby Park. Christchurch led by but a single point until it scored from a penalty two minutes from the end. Marist lost this opening match, but it must derive some comfort from its performance. It was a player short for the last 20 minutes, after Mike Bradley had been ordered off. but for much of the match its determined pack worried Christchurch consistently The Marist forwards hunted together, and upset the rhythm of the Christchurch back-line. Marist enjoyed a slight advantage in possession from all sources, but was particularly successful in the line-outs, where Vance Stewart played a dominant role. Christchurch has a very strong front row—Neil Porter, Mick Powley, and Mike Cron—and Powley was able to take three tight heads while conceding one to Richie Collins. In spite of 32 penalties tl?e game flowed swiftly most of the time, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable beginning to the new season. Richard Wilson’s line-kicks when he was out of his 22 usually went astray, but he looked confident at full-back, handling and running well. He missed four goal kicks in six, but one was an ambitious attempt from 58m. Graham Sims looked sharp but had very few chances, and the most impressive backs were Don Humphreys, a fine wing, and the new half-back. Graham Gordon, whose service was good, and who showed a good turn of speed. Cron did some very good work near the front of the line-out, but the Christchurch pack was matched by the Marist forwards, well led by Terry Peterson. Adrian Young played soundly at half-back, and at centre Steve Hansen looked especially capable, but the main thrusts came from Brian McLean, the fullback. It was a very close thing indeed for Christchurch. Twelve minutes from the end Bernie Stewart missed a penalty from a reasonable positidn. Two minutes later Marist went over the line but no try was awarded and with eight minutes to go Stewart duffed a simple kick at goal. BRIGHT ATTACKING High School Old Boys were too strong in both the forwards and backs for Shirley, and in the second spell the speedy Old Boys rearguard dominated play. The gam e was played at a fast clip and Old Boys produced some fine football, one movement going the length of the field with some crisp passing among the backs. Shirley also ran strongly in the first spell, but the team lacked the confidence of its opponents. Tackling lapses were displayed by both sides, and also some hesitancy under the high ball, and this hesitancy by Old Boys led to Shirley’s first try. There was, however, a testiness in the play, and an unnecessary amount of late tackling. This unpleasantness came to a head in the seventy-fifth minute when Stewart Mitchell and Rob Van Lent were placed in the “sin bin” for three minutes. Mitchell found himself placed at deep extra cover in the cricket game being played on an adjoining ground.

Old Boys had an edge in the forwards, gaining cleaner possession in both rucks and lineouts, and the loose forwards were mor e mobile than Shirley’s. The pressure on the Shirley backline led to poor handling and the strong rucking Old Boys’ forwards were able to capitalise on this. Alan Croad wa s a mobile No. 8, who also made his mark in the line-out, and he was well supported in all aspects by Alwyn Harvey, Mike Toner, and Mark Harding. The Old Boys’ back-line was given good service by the half, Phil Thomas, and the crisp passing of the inside backs gave two speedy wings in Alexander McPhail and lan Mather, the opportunity to show their pace and determination. Mark Wheeler, generally, wa s safe at full-back and ran judiciously in the backline. Stewart Mitchell and Gordon Burrow’s were the best of the Shirley pack, and Ralph Smith was an able first five-eighths. The Shirlev backs lacked the pace of Old Boys and loose passing limited the opportunities of the outside backs. EXCITING FINISH An exciting last five minutes was some compensation for a largely scrappy game between Lincoln College and Albion. Basic errors, especially in passing, penalties, and stoppages for injuries combined to keep the play at a pedestrian pace. Albion looked by far the better team in the early stages of both spells and Murray Straight’s third penalty in the opening minutes of injury time seemed likely to give the side the win it possibly deserved.

But Lincoln College struck back and after the forwards had controlled possession well through two rucks, Brent Codlin took the gap that had been created and Graham Snapland scored the winning trv when he won the race to Codlin’s crosskick. For good measure, Codlin added a superb conversion. Albion should have scored more points, especially in the third quarter when its forwards were consistently making headway. The backs, however .were unable to capitalise, in spite of a splendid service from their half-back. Ralph Robertson, and some indifferent tackling by Lincoln College.

Robertson was the game’s outstanding player He matched nat-

ural skill with agilitj’ and aggression and his fine break set the scene for the penalty which, for a few moments, seemed to have saved the day for Albion. The other Albion backs showed little, although the wing, Lou Wynyard, made the most of his few opportunities. In the forwards Albion had greater cohesion and three hard workers in Murray Davies, Straight, and Peter Sutherland. Four tight-heads, two at crucial times, were evidence of the advantage Albion was able to assert in the scrums, but the possession was frittered away too often to be of any lasting value. Lincoln College gave a strange display. It was responsible for more than its fair share of the game’s mistakes, but once in front withstood the pressure well and the way it came back at the finish gave substance t 0 result. It also scored two tries to none;

The side’s best player was the first five-eighths, Lance Rickard. His balanced running took him far, although his penetration was not shared by those outside him. Codlin had a sound game and in the forwards Don Gillanders, lan Sargent, and Dave White caught the eye. Alan McFellan was as valuable as ever before a shoulder injury forced him to leave the field. He remains a past master in the art of winning maul possession. SEVEN TRIES Seven tries on the lush grass of Linfield Park was enough to make Linwood supporters forget the misery of their team's* defeat in last season's grand final. There were some impressive touches to the play of lan Mallard and his men as they demolished Hornby, none more so than when Mallard himself scored in the thirty-fifth minute. Rue Koha made the initial thrust from a Hornby kick-off and other forwards and backs joined in a spirited shortpassing move, capped by the Linwood leader when he found a hole in the defence. The Linwood forwards won most of the mauled and rucked ball, and their backs showed a willingness to try various passing manoeuvres. This was contrary to the advice given to Hornby players by one of their new flankers, Tom George, who twice asserted that Gary Overend, Linwood’s half-back, “kicks it every time.” Hornby’s Tom George is not the former Christchurch club captain, by the way. Five of Linwood’s tries were scored by the three-quarters; the former All Black, Terry Mitchel], got the first within two minutes of the start. Later, when he had scored two tries and Shane Gibbons, on the right wing, had but one, Mitchell displayed his unselfish nature by giving his colleague a scoring pass in the Hornby in-goal area.

With the Linwood forwards driving reasonably well and the backs running freely, Hornby had little chance to get into the game, except when marauding by Neville Wilson and Robert Webster broke up Linwood’s pattern. Then came some rousing rushes by the Hornby forwards, but Sam Hale was the only back in the team to reveal good attacking qualities. Linwood’s defence comfortably coped wKti these problems, John Phillips often making the save. Unfortunately, his handling was not. of a similar standard, but his team was so dominant that it didn’t really matter. BARKLE SHINES University A gave Sydenham a lesson in 15-man rugby in a fast-moving match at Sydenham Park. It was a case of a tired home guard trying to hold back fit and eager combatants. Sydenham could do nothing to counter the speed and individual flair of the University backs and their forwards were sluggish and slow against a fiery pack. From the start University showed it was eager to run the ball, led by the half-back, Gary Barkle. who proved to be an 80-minute headache for Sydenham with his dodging, weaving, safe handling and ability to read the game. The University backs, at will, were able to carve holes in a disorganised Sydenham defence. Although outshone by his rival, the Sydenham half-back, Steven Papps, offered some dogged resistance to the energetic University loose forwards, Kevin Wooster, Mark Hammond, and Nick Frankish. His handling and passing were safe and he was able to clear the ball well on occasions. The rest of the Sydenham team turned in an unconvincing displaj'. Easy tackles were often missed and the inside backs were slow and disorganised. For University it was a solid start to the season. There was good understanding among the backs, all of whom ran hard and made intelligent use of the ball. Half-back Barkle received clean line-out ball through some fine jumping by Hugh Barnes, and the tight forwards, led by John Black, were always up with the play, setting up the second phase. REFRESHING START If Merivale-Papanul can continue to Improve or even maintain Its standard displayed in its victory against Bumside at Denton Oval, It will be a team worth watching. Merivale-Papanul gave a competent 15-man performance and outplayed a disappointing Burnside team in every facet. Burnside led at half-time, 6-3, after

an opportunist try by Paul Me. Kay, but it was against the run of play. With the wind behind it ir the second half, Merivale-Papanui camped in Burnside’s half for most of the spell and its two tries were products of good crisp passing and handling. Merivale-Papanui’s strength was in its three loose forwards, Steve Barnden, lan Culpan and Jim Moodie, who were quick to the breakdowns and set up much second-phase play for their team. Barnden’s ability to read the game had him in perfect position to create a try for Grant Herbert towards the end of the match, and that virtually ended any chance Burnside might have had of reversing the result. Tony Manarangi proved an excellent half-back for the combined team and Paul Hammam and Geoff Griffiths handled well and kicked astutely. Burnside was badly hamstrung at first-five-eighths where Brent Williams suffered a torrid time. His indecisiveness had the whole team back-pedalling and the outside backs received no chances from set play. McKay was the outstanding forward for Burnside. He gathered a loose pass to sprint 40m for his team’s only try and led a rare countercharge by Burnside in the second half that almost led to a try. Apart from the outstanding contributions by the Merivale loose forwards, the other pack members worked diligently and won a lot of ball from rucks and mauls. Ces Patrick, the hooker, figured prominently and he managed to gain a tight-head from the accomplished McKay. FEWER ERRORS The rugby season began on a slow and inauspicious note at Ham on Saturday where fewer errors rather than quality play gave Suburbs a comfortable win over University B. The students began with an ; enthusiasm and determination rarely seen last season and they were somewhat unlucky not to have established some sort of a , lead. Their forwards chased hard ' while the backs, if lacking finesse, were intent on running : the ball. Through the first half j University did most of the attacking, but strenuous efforts ; were thwarted by some poor goal ■ kicking from John Edmondson. I In the second period of play, Suburbs pulled things together ' a little, but their only try came from an intercept by the burley Geoff Brain. Although the forwards achieved clear domination, , the backs rarely flourished. Johnnie Neilson was probably 1 the best of them, giving a calm and intelligent display, but out- . side him there appeared to be a , lack of cohesion. i Up front, Paul Dixon and i Roger Cummings won some good ( ball in the line-outs, while John . Matanga was an aggressive No. 1 8 for the students.