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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 30, No. 3. 1967.

NZU wins rugby

NZU wins rugby

Russell Fairbrother

The New Zealand Universities trounced a Wellington rugby fifteen 27-3 at Athletic Park on Saturday. Included in the NZU team, undefeated in Japan, were six Victoria club players, including Gary Hermanson, the tour captain. From this solid core of Victoria players came 18 of the Universities points.

Weinberg established him-! self as a serious contender for] the centre berth in the Wellington Representative Team. As well as proving a vital link in the precision movements of the Universities' backs, he scored three of his team's six tries.

Williment, although appearing a little jaded from the tour, was always reliable behind his backs. His excursions into the back line provided an additional vigour to the scintillating back play hat the Universities' side proved themselves so capable of. Although missing several angle attempts he converted three tries and kicked a penalty.

Kember, playing outside former All Black, Kirton, of Otago, did excellent work in clearing the loose ball, which compensated for the sometimes apparent lack of understanding between him and Kirton.

MacDonald and Grant were invaluable in the many tight rucks and in the lineouts, until MacDonald was forced to leave the field halfway through the first half with a shoulder injury.

Hermanson, who was leaving for a year's study in America the following Monday, played intelligent and aggressive football and, as a fitting tribute, was chaired off the field by his jubilant teammates.

The other Victoria player in the match was Alan Osborne, the Wellington Representative winger. Not in the touring team, he found himself playing against many former team-mates, but lacking match fitness, his game did not regain the verve of past seasons until midway through the second half.

The game started off with a succession of fine back movements that in 30 minutes had resulted in 18 points for NZU. Near the end of the first half and for the first part of the second half, the play, with NZU attacking, was fairly scruffy and became, at times, a little heated in the rucks.

After 33 minutes in the second half, the Universities' backs were caught offside from a scrum. This saw a revival in fast actions from the then weary Wellington players.

Inspired by a magnificent penalty kick, which rebounded off an upright, from 45 yards out by centre R. L. Gray, the Wellington forwards tore into the play and pushed Universities on to the defensive.

Fast rugby ensued and the game finished on the same high note as the beginning.