St Michaels University School - Black Red and Blue Yearbook (Victoria, British Columbia Canada)

Page 32 text:

different Finishing. Following the interval Reeves reduced the lead with a well-judged penalty before Hall demonstrated his talents by scoring three rousing tries by fast and intelligent running. Morganls performance at full back fa makeshifti is also worthy of mention, if only for his cavalier incursions into the back division, which unfortu- nately all took place on the wrong side of the touch-line. The tour was completed by a match against Nyenrode, a business School some twenty miles from Amsterdam. The Dutch side began with great elan. but after losing an early lead. lungs and legs failed them and the School romped to a comfortable victory. Undoubtedly the highlight of the game belonged to Keenlyside. whose outrageous flourish in the act of scoring almost cost him his moment of glory, by losing control of the ball. The victory over Nyenrode balanced out the number of games won and lost. and the lavish hospitality enjoyed after the match brought a highly-rewarding tour to a fitting conclusion. Results were as follows: Played 6. Hon 3. Lost 3: Points for 8-1. against 81. School v. Canford. won. 27-3 School v. Harrow. lost. 5-37 School v. Eton. lost. O-8 School v. Epsom. lost 8-21 School v. Atlantic College. won. 21-9 School v. Nyenrode. won. 23-3. M.W. FIRST FIFTEEN Sfamlizzgz M. Briggs. B. Yallance, D. Stelck, C. Dykes, C. Spicer, V. Smith, R. Klorgan. Tunnicliffe. Stated: D. Singleton, A. McDonald, M. Reeves, J. Meeker CCapt.j, R. Dade, Q. Meeker, C. Rainsforcl. 30

Page 31 text:

THE TOURISTS DEPART suffered a Hooker's nightmare. barely winning a single ball throughout the match. The rising frustration of the team was clearly illustrated when Roxburgh, having been penalized for a crooked put-in, sped twenty yards to escape the blows of his hotly-pursuing pack leader. an irate lNIeeker II. Play Continued to be scrappy. and with only seconds remaining Eton gained the decisive score: the unfortunate Roxburgh failed to locate Reeves and his pass was gratefully accepted by an Eton flanker, who touched down near the posts. Added to the disappointment of losing to Eton. half the reserves were rendered inactive through injury. so that most of the team at Epsom faced the prospect of their fourth match in six days. Once. however. the tension of the opening minutes had been overcome, there followed the best rugby of the tour. while the first try was as good as any scored in the season. A controlled deflection from Spicer at the line-out was rapidly moved to Smith. who had joined the line outside Rainsford. Two huge dummies from Smith wrong-footed the defence before the ball was moved back. via several pairs of hands. to Hall on the opposite wing, who raced over for a fine try. Playing with the slope in the second half. Epsom came more into the game. but were still un- able to pierce a resolute defence. Eventually Smith was caught out of position, the ball was lost from the ensuing scrum and Epsom regained the lead with a converted try. From this point the school seemed to lose heart, and Epsom found time to add two further tries before the final whistle. Amidst the picturesque surroundings of the Atlantic College grounds. the School were soon in trouble. A gash to the cheek had removed Roxburgh, and casual covering had allowed Atlantic to score two tries. a lead which might have been increased but for the home side's in- 29

Page 33 text:

FIRST ' FIFTEEN CHARACTERS SMITH Cfull backj -An entertaining full back, whose manner of defence was definitely not for the faint-hearted. Tackled only in emergency, using his considerable powers of contortion and leger-demain to extricate himself from dangerous situations, many of which were self-inflicted. His long kick to touch was used well in defence, while his ability to drop goals and incursive running into tl1e line greatly added to the teamls scoring potential. RAINSFORD Cleft wingj -Lacked real speed, but his sidestep and quick acceleration made him an elusive runner. In defence a safe and determined tackler. DYKES Ccentrej -His loping stride enabled him to cover the ground faster than his awkward movements suggested. Capable of selling a convincing dummy in attack, but still has to master the art of taking and giving a pass at speed. SINGLETON Ccentrej - A hard and straight-running centre. Combined well with Reeves in attack and was quick to take advantage of the loose ball in broken play. An uncompromising tackler in defence. INICDONALD fright wingj - Used his size and powerful stride to telling effect, although apt to run straight at the cover defence when his speed and swerve would have taken him clear. Sound and unruffled in defence. REEVES Cfly halfj -Confident and incisive running, allied to liberal use of a dummy and sidestep, made him the chief threat to the opposition's defence. An accomplished kicker of the ball, towards the end of the season he had begun to use the box-kick with particular skill. In defence effective, but sometimes hesitant to stop his opposite number breaking close to the scrum. BRIGGS Cscrum halfj -Although his pass varied in height and lacked dis- tance, he formed a good understanding with Reeves. Developed a useful break but wasted some of his efforts by put-ins to the set scrum so crooked that even the most myopic of Referees would not have been deceived. MEEKER I Cpropj CCaptainj - His unflustered Captaincy gave a firm meas- ure of stability to a team always liable to fall victim to its own temperament. He set a good example to his team by his own consistent performances on the field, and his reliable place-kicking added the conversion points to many of the season's tries. TUNNICLIFFE fhookerl - Fast-striking in the set and alert to the bouncing ball at the front of the line-out. Compensated for lack of poundage by speed in the loose and a flair for running with the ball. MEEKER II fpropj --A strong and durable forward. Together with his twin formed solid and hard-scrummaging support for the hooker. Thrived on the more rugged aspects of the game and was particularly effective in prising the ball out of loose mauls. SPICER Und. rowl -Without ever enjoying a size advantage over his op- ponents, he still won much useful possession by skilful deflections from the line-out. Hard-working in the loose and a good covering forward, but never fully at ease witlrthe ball in hand. VALLANCE f2nd. rowl - Lacked sufiicient height to be an effective jumper, but gave good support at the line-out. Weak handling never allowed him to make full use of his considerable mobility in the loose. MORGAN Cbreakl -Once he had overcome his weak positional sense, he became a useful member of the back row. Essentially a defensive player, the school line was saved on several occasions by his assiduous covering. STELCK I fno. 8D -On his day the most polished forward in the pack. A strong and elusive runner with the ball, he initiated many attacks by linking cleverly with the halves. A sound coverer, but apt to be casual in defence around the base of the scrum. DADE fbreakl -An outstanding member of the team. His fast breaking and marauding helped stifle opposition attacks, whilst his adroit running and handling in tl1e loose were of the highest calibre. Volubility was his only faultq apart from distracting his fellow-fonvards, his perpetual monologue during matches more than once incurred the referee's displeasure. lNI.VV. 31