Christchurch sets cracking pace in senior rugby

Press, 23 April 1979, Page 17

Christchurch sets cracking pace in senior rugby

Christchurch, the defending champion, moved to the top of the C.S.B. Cup senior rugby competition when it piled on the points in the second half to wallop Burnside. 48-10, on Saturday.

Christchurch has played a £ game more, three as against : two, than most of the other t strong treams. On Saturday t its free-running backline , in fine touch, scoring all t nine tries. The wings, Tony i Murdoch and Don Hum- ‘ phries, were responsible for i seven. ; Christchurch was no dif- * ferent from a number of < other winning sides, which < found early points elusive.l, In the upset of the day Mar- i > ist gave University A a dis-ij mal start to capping week J with a comprehensive dea- ' feat, Marist skipping clear ’ with a late surge of points. The Marist back, Paul i Molloy, was the winner of j the Fletcher Humphries j “player of the day” award ' and as if to prove the judges’ wisdom he greeted the announcement with a try. New Brighton would find little consolation in the hope that another loss — its second in two games — is going to bring a repeat of last year’s effort, when it overcame a slow start to win the main, C.S.B. Trophy, championship. Suburbs pipped New Brighton almost on the post with a dropped goal by its first five-eighths, John Neilson, but New Brighton got too far behind early to be anything but the author of its own misfortunes. Two late tries carried Belfast to victory over Hornby in a dreary game and one which slipped further with the sending off of Bill Bush (Belfast) and Bob Harrison (Hornby). Both were involved in a general exchange of blows and for Bush, especially, the cost could be high. He is due to leave next week on the New Zealand Maoris Pacific tour and his participation must now depend on the penalty he receives. However, such cases seldom bring more than suspension for three games, which should not affect his selection. High School Old Boys and Linwood were other teams slow to get going, but once their backs were given more ball both sides had little difficulty maintaining their unbeaten records. Merivale-Papanui, too, made it two wins from as many games when it accounted for Sydenham fairly comfortably. Albion, on the other hand, had its third loss when it failed to | survive a late run from Shirley. Results: Belfast 19, Hornby 9. Marist 29, University A Suburbs IS, New Brighton 17. Shirley 14, Albion 11. High School Old Boys 18, Lincoln College 0. Christchurch 48, Burnside 10. Linwood 21, University B 6. Merivale-Papanui 17, Sydenham 3.

SCORING SPREE The main matchc at Lancaster Park between University A and Marist was expected to be close and hard-fought. It seemed that way when the scores were level, 3-3, after 60 minutes. Five minutes later, Marist was ahead. 19-3, and from then on it was all Marist until the final minute when University A scored a consolation try. Two of Marist’s tries were runaway efforts by Garry Hooper and Michael O’Donovan. but the Marist performance was still a very fine one and the win was deserved. Marist has a talented backline and it was well served by the energetic half-back. Adrian Young, and the experienced first five-eighths. Bernie Stewart, whose timing of passes was to be admired. Paul Molloy. Steven Hansen and Hooper relished the opportunities created for them and they made several penetrating runs. Although John Black gained five tight-heads for University and the forwards were very impressive in the first half in freeing the ball from tight situations. the effort declined as the match progressed and Marist had control in both backs and forwards for thp last 20 minutes. Nelson Collett, until he retired Injured, had a purposeful match on the side of the Marist smim. and there was some sterling work done in the tight bv Pat O’Bvrne and Bernard Oliver. The diligent following of Brendan Bateman gave him a try when Marist was enjoying its scoring spree. Kevin Wooster and Mark Hammond worked industriuosly for the students and Black, apart from his haul of tight-heads, was In devastating form in the loose. But the ba*-ks were disappointing. Keiran Keane’s line kicking was of high oualitv. but he was caught several times near his line when he had ample time to clear. The passing and handling of the three-quarters was suspect and University A badlv missed the service* of Doug Heffernan at PIN* eULL-RACK A performance bv 14-v« a r.oid MarU Whee lo r, the O’H B«vs <ull-hari<, disfirnui'hed the Lincoln Cn’leoa. nw Boys match at Rugby Park. Coo! and safe under nr*»ssure. Wheeler ran with fin® hidgment and nearly all Old Bnvs* most dangerous movements cnuld be •attributed tn his attacking bent. This match, like the early one

at Rugby Park, was played in a splendid spirit, and it was often attractive to watch, although there were many handling mis-

Lincoln College had its chances when it played with the wind in the first spell. It mounted some useful attacks, and could well have won a useful lead had Brett Codlin been in his best kicking form. He missed all four of his attempts at penalty goals. The Old Boys’ kicker, Gary Cookson, was hardly more successful —he succeeded with two kicks in

When Old Boys turned round t half-time on level terms, it ad an excellent chance, and duly ran up 18 points, before incoin College, with admirable erve and spirit, made some ery strong thrusts in the final

In line-outs, rucks and mauls, possession was shared evenly, but the stronger Old Boys forwards, going forward regularly, won the scrums at a two-to-one ratio,

with Robert Mclntosh winning a * couple of tight-heads. Old Bovs ran the ball willingly. ! but there wa some bad hand- < ling, some bad passing, and at j times Old Boys courted danger ( with haphazard disposal of the ] ball. There was a particularly in- i teres!ing struggle between Alan i McLellan and Mark Harding, on- f posing props. McLellan remains 1 a fine forward, and he did his ’ side signal service with his abil- j itv to kill the ball in the tackle. Harding played splendidly, add- ; ing to his general service by win- , ning some useful ball near the ! front of the line-out. j Don Gillanders at the back of ’ the Lincoln scrum played soundly and Dave White made 1 some verv robust runs. The first five-eighths. Lance Rickard, a beautifully-balanced player, con- ’ tributed some deft tactical kick- , ing. especially in the first quarter. Mike Toner, leading Old Boys in the absence of Alwyn Harvev. set a lively example and Alex McPhail, second five-eighths, moved well. The trv of the day was scored bv lan Mather. Cookson, the first five-eighths, ran on the short side from a scrum near the Lincoln line. Mather came inside him at top speed, his pace and determination taking him over. VITAL KICK John Neilson's kicking form had not been too impressive against New Brighton, but the Suburbs first five-eighths kicked the one that counted—a dropped goal two minutes from the finish — to give his team a one-point victory. The early match at Lancaster Park never reached great heights and the two teams were evenly matched. Inept tackling bv New Brighton’s backs allowed Suburbs two of its three tries and Suburbs looked set for a sound win when ahead, 15-6. But two excellent tries to Ross Gibson and a Inng-range dropped goal by Derek Davidson put New Brighton in front with 20 minutes remaining. However. Neilson had the final say with his straightforward kick at the finish. In Gibson. New f Brighton had

a possible match-winner, but the team did not seem to place much confidence in him. He only received two chances and scored from both.

The New Brighton forwards held their own against bigger opposition, but Wayne Burleigh seemed obsessed with kicking. He is usually a sound tactical kicker, but Saturday was not his day.

Although his own tackling was suspect, Geoff Brain twice exploited a glaring weakness in the defence of the Brighton backs. The big wing scored one try when two tacklers held off until it was too late and set up another with a powerful charge. John Gibson and Mike Taylor were prominent in the Suburbs pack, both proving very mobile for props. Lyn Davis returned as half-back and was a steadying influence, allowing his talented opposite, Graeme Ellis, no latitude. John Te Amo again had an outstanding match for New Brighton and Garth Samuels made several clean line-out takes. BACKS SUPREME Some lovely flowing backline movements, which brought nine tries, and superb goalkicking by Richard Wilson gave Christchurch an overwhelming win over Burnside at Burnside Park after a rather indifferent start. Tony Murdoch had a dream game on the right win to score four good tries and he was only denied another by a crashing corner-flag tackle from the Burnside iull-back, Muri Lloyd, who went off injured shortly afterwards. Three of Murdoch’s tries came in succession during the second half and the left wing. Don Humphries. obviously started to get a little frustrated; right on time he appeared wide on the right flank and showed sharp acceleration to race around the defence and score under the posts. The big win was achieved without a startling forward dominance and the Burnside hooker, Paul McKay, finished ahead in the tight head count. Burnside’s young pack revealed considerable potential and there was some constructive work by its flanker. John Hanrahan, with Phillip Fraser showing out in the line-outs.

Christchurch started disappointingly and Burnside led, 10-6, before the Christchurch bacKs started to get more possession. strike up an- effective combination and eventually run riot. Two of the tries—one in each half—came after movements of 60m to 70m.

Humphries (who also brilliantly engineered a try for the first five-eighths Barry Thomas) and Murdoch made great use of their try-scoring opportunities, largely created by the midfield backs and when a movement got at all messy Murray McEwan was usually there to tidy up. Thomas had generally good service from his half-back, Graham Gordon, and was a most effective link. The best of the Christchurch forwards vvas Mike Cron, who shone at No. 2 in the line-out, while further back Alister Robinson also won good ball. Neil Porter and Mick Powley, in the front row, made some crashing runs while Jock Hobbs showed promise as a loose forward when he came on in the second half. A feature of the game was the number of shots taken at goal—nearly 20 —and Richard Wilson’s success rate was much better than the Burnside captain. Graham Church. Wilson missed a few kicks in the first half, but landed four conversions from the sideline, including three in a row from Murdoch’s second naif tries. Church kicked a long penalty in the first quarter, but thereafter seemed to overdo the number of shots taken, although a couple were close.

In the Burnside backs, Warren Low had a good game, with a couple of early thrustful runs down the right sideline, and Rav Genet was a safe half-back with a useful kick. REVIVAL

Shirley, after conceding seven points in the first quarter, and being generally outplayed by Albion, produced a spirited revival to add 14 points before Albion scored again near the end. It was not a memorable match, however, being riddled with errors by both sides. Albion started well enough. Backed by a brisk breeze, the Albion forwards were very much in command, setting things up efficiently for their backs. However, possession was usually wasted in bad handling, and when the transfers w’ere made safely. Shirley was quick up on defence and generally tackled with finality.

After this first phase Albion’s ball was often untidy while Shirley played with growing confidence. The outstanding player was Steve Scott, the Shirley halfback, who gave a sound service, and who showed an ability to size up a situation quickly. An example of this came with the try with which Shirley levelled the score after 30 minutes. Scott broke from a scrum and discovered that one of his flankers. Lyle Hood, was for some mysterious reason lurking unmarked near the sideline. A

gridiron-type overhead pass sent Hood over. 1 This was one of the game’s ; few bright moments, although ’ Scott made a couple of decep- ( tive runs. But it was hard- , fought, free of unhappy inci- j dents, and remarkable for the fact that only eight or nine free ‘ kicks and penalties were awarded. , Dennis Reid, an Albion prop, , distinguished himself by scoring ‘ two tries and by his' generally robust play. Peter Sutherland was often prominent too. Lou ! Wynyard sometimes beat the defence with some jinky running. : Shirlev’s forwards perhaps in- 1 spired by some strange prematch chanting in the dressing room, gave a determined display to win back and retain the in- ; itiative. It was a solid pack , effort. FLATTERING MARGIN Winning by a margin wider than the difference between the sides would suggest, Linwood was forced to struggle for much of its game against University B. Although the game was characterised by scrappy and indifferent play, it was still an interesting one. Much o£ the time the young students valiantly contained the more powerful Linwood XV. and they earned much credit for keeping the score down to 11-6 until the last lo minutes. . . University B maintained a policy of harassment and disruption the success of which depended largely on the work of John Martangi and Allen Muir in the loose and Fletcher Teesdale in the tight. Where University B fell down, however, was its lack of attacking ability. Attacking bursts were usually solo efforts, with little evidence of team effort. Linwood took nearly the whole game to get itself organised, but when it did it completely outclassed its opponents. The wings, Shane Gibbons and Willy Tune, showed class and determination with their limited opportunities, while in the forwards Gary Hogg and Kim Shannon worked ably. Despite its late charge, Linwood could not be happy with its performance. It made far too many mistakes and rarely showed the determination needed to overcome its opponents unsettling tactics. POOR RUGBY Two tries in the final ten minutes gave Belfast a w;n . over Hornby at Denton Oval | after 70 minutes of mediocre I rugby which was notable only for the lack of skill shewn by both sides.

Shortly before the first of these tries, Bill Bush, of Belfast, and Bob Harrison, of Hornby, were ordered off after a brawl on the Hornby 22-metre line. It was the second such skirmish and no doubt this led the referee, Mr P. J. Brandon, to take stern measures.

The match was a poor spectacle. Combined back play was almost nonexistent, the ball seldom going past the first fiveeighths and although Belfast mounted a few hand-to-hand forward rushes these foundered more on poor handling than solid defensive play. Playing with the wind, Hornby held Belfast to 9-9 at half-time, and it appeared that in the second spell Belfast would take control. However, a tenacious Hornby defence withstood periods of sustained pressure, only to falter twice in the dying moments. It was a. change of tactics that gave Belafst its win, for in this final period more use was made of the backs and the handling, which had been of such dismal standard earlier, showed improvement. Belfast had an overwhelming superiority in the rucks and mauls but other facets of forward play were matched by Hornby and credit must be given to the Hornby forwards for the manner in which they contained the heavier and more experienced Belfast eight. The defence was made easier by Belfast’s penchant for mounting attacks close to the scrum and although Dave Thomps.cn made some bullocking runs,' greater use could have been made of the backs. Teddy Davis, the Belfast halfback, had a mixed day, being caught frequently in possession by his opposite, Neville Wilson, but outside him Wayne Smith did several things well and was the only back on the field to play up to senior standard. Thompson received good support from Bush and Paul Tcneycliffe and in the Hornby forwards, Brent Campbell and Howard Wilson were the best of an even and hard-working pack.

Fred and Sam Hale defended well for Hornby and made the most of their few attacking opportunities. DESERVED WIN Although overloaded with penalties, there was still plenty of movement in the game between Merivaie-Papanui and Sydenham. Merivale-Papanui was the more constructive side, especially in the distribution of second-phase possession, and deserved its win. Sydenham would have stayed in the game longer if Ken Taylor had been able to find the posts with three handy penalty attempts. However, there was never much doubt: that MerivalePapanui would build on its halftime lead of 6-3 once it got the wind behind it. After some early mistakes, mainly from Sydenham, the tackling was extremely good and both sides found that overlaps were valueless against good defences. Near the end Sydenham moved the ball very smartly through the chain, but there was neither the pace nor the penetration to bring a try. Merivale-Papanui kept the ball close to its forwards and in lan Culpan, Steve Barnden and Donis Skipper it had three efficient workers. The prop, Dave Bryce, also showed up with some robust runs.

Tony Manarangi had a sound game behind the winning pack, while the centre, Dave Ngati, was a quick-witted attacker. Ngati’s try capped a long movement which flowed very sweetly. Lindsay Thorne was competent at full-back. The Sydenham forwards, mainy through the agency of Roger Higgs, had the better of the line-outs and Bernie Ryan took a number of tightheads. But the possession was seldom put to positive use and the inside backs were inclined to punch for gaps that were nonexistent.

Dennis Fay was the best of the three-quarters and although the forwards never forged an effective unit there were useful individual efforts from Allan Duffin and David Pegley.

Points:— P W L D F A Pts Chch 3 3 0 0 73 10 6 Lin 5 2 0 0 59 6 4 Mar 3 3 1 0 50 27 4 H.S.O.B. 2 2 0 0 47 13 4 Belfast 2 0 0 37 19 4 Suns 3 2 1 0 31 29 4 Me r Pap *> 0 0 30 9 4 Shir 3 i 1 1 37 50 3 Line Coll 2 i 1 0 13 27 2 Univ A 2 i 1 0 37 35 2 Burn 3 i 2 0 36 68 2 Horn 3 0 9 1 19 1 N Bri 2 0 2 0 27 36 0 6yd 3 0 3 0 23 67 0 Albion 3 0 3 0 27 39 0 Univ B 2 0 2 0 6 34 0