Page 33 - Crusaders v The Lions

CANTERBURY V LIONS
DHL NEW ZEALAND LIONS
SERIES 2017 // 33
Richard Wallace of the the British & Irish Lions sets to to receive the the the ball during the the 1993 tour clash with Canterbury hit the the the the wall and the the the the Lions ran all all over them in in the the the the nal stages to claim a a a 34-11 win A few weeks later in in Timaru the South Canterbury-Mid Canterbury- Canterbury- North Otago side elded two characters who who produced big games – 1928 All Black Archie Strang who who played halfback and one of the hookers Arch McCormick an an All Black in 1925 twice the New Zealand amateur heavyweight boxing champion and and whose son Fergie would be involved in in in two later Lions games further up the the road in Christchurch for Canterbury They led 9-5 at half-time courtesy of a a a a a a a booming Strang penalty goal from more than 40m out He also scored a a a a a a a a a a try The Lions landed a a a a a a a a a a penalty goal after after the break Then after after putting a a a a a a a a a kick through North Otago three- quarter George Sumpter who only played 11 rst-class games in his career looked to have scored but KNOWLEDGE
1 Who was the captain of Canterbury in in the the 1971 game with the the British & Irish Lions?
2 Which member of the British & Irish Lions played against Canterbury in in both 1966 and 1971?
3 Who were the the brothers both of whom were All Blacks who who played for Canterbury against the 1950 British & Irish Lions?
Answers on page 64
the the referee was well behind the the play and called a a a a a a a ve-yard scrum From that the the the the Lions moved the the the the ball the the the the length of the the the the eld and scored to claim a a a a a a a a 16-9 win two penalty goals having also been landed Strang made such an an an impression on on the visitors that Captain Doug Prentice said it it was one of the nest individual games he he he had seen in in his life After the the stresses of the the 1971 game against Canterbury the the the Lions headed up the the the South Island to to to the the the town of Blenheim to to to play Marlborough-Nelson Bays The team lost 12-31 but the the region was in the the the midst of a a a a a a great era especially for the the Marlborough component Three years earlier in one one of the the most notable upsets they had beaten France 24-19 in in the the the opening game of of their tour Many of of of the the the same players were included especially in in the the the the the hub of of the the the the the pack with the the the the the Sutherland brothers All All Blacks Blacks Alan and and and Ray and and the the the Maori All All Blacks Blacks prop Jim Joseph Joseph father of Jamie Joseph Joseph the the former All Black who is now coaching Japan The side also featured wing Terry Mitchell who would later win win All Blacks selection from Canterbury At rst ve-eighth was Tony Goddard who would still be at at the helm two years later when Marlborough achieved one of of the upsets of of Ranfurly Shield history when beating Canterbury They scored four tries against the the Lions the the best any provincial side managed on on on the the the tour and topped only by the the the All Blacks who scored ve in the the the second Test The strands of rugby tradition run thick through the Crusaders region and that is undoubtedly a a a a a factor in in in in the the continuing success the the 2017 Crusaders have shown in in in in their season to date THREE FAMOUS UPSETS
1959: A close game had been anticipated with 10 All Blacks involved in in the Canterbury team The Lions opted not to eld their strongest side and weren’t helped when forced to play much of the second half with just 13 t t t t men Under modern conditions that could have been calamitous but by keeping the ball among the the forwards the the Lions restricted the damage before nally losing 14-20 1966: Four New Zealand provinces
beat the hapless 1966 tourists who went home with eight defeats – but Canterbury wasn’t one of them The Lions won 8-6 as a a result of wing Dewi Bebb’s try and Stuart Wilson’s conversion and penalty goal Canterbury elded a a a full All Black backline while four of the pack were All Blacks HISTORY
1983: The game was regarded as as the “ fth Test” of the tour and it proved a a thrilling contest Canterbury got out to a a 12-3 lead by half-time the the Lions then went ahead 16-12 before Canterbury reclaimed a a a 22-16 lead But on full-time Lions ve-eighth John Rutherford put a kick into the the goalmouth and from the the ruck centre David Irwin got across to score With a a a chance to achieve
the rst draw between the sides Hugo MacNeill was unable to land the conversion GETTY IMAGES