THE FOOTBALL SEASON.

INTER-PROVINCIAL MATCH.

AUCKLAND V. NEW SOUTH WALES. DEFEAT OF THE VISITORS. HOME TEAM WINS COMFORTABLY BY 24 POINTS TO 9. UPWARDS OF 7000 PERSONS WITNESS THE GAME. Bktond the strong south-westerly wind that raised the dust en route, the Auckland football public had nothing to complain about on the score of weather on Saturday, when the New South Wales touring team met the Rugby representatives of Auckland province at Alexandra Park, Epsom. The moment the leading business premises in town closed down at one o'clock, the human stream began to flow Epsom and continued right up to the hour set down for the commencement of the match at three p.m. The combined efforts of the Tramway Company, with a fifteen minute service and the suspension of certain portions of the ordinary time-table on other sections, and the several 'bus and cab proprietors, were taxed to their utmost to moot the demands made upon them by the thousands anxious to reach the convincing ground in time to witness the one and only important contest fixed for the present season ; this despite the fact that the tariff was raised to 2s return, double the ordinary fare. Before two o'clock the seating accommodation on the spacious grandstand, with the exception of a portion that had boon reserved at 2s per seat, was taken up, and the latter were eagerly taken up by those arriving a little later, the stand being taxed to its utmost capacity by half-past two p.m. Thousands lined the fences in front of the grandstlnd and the railings round the field of play, the attendance when the matoh started being estimated as upwards of 7000 persons, many of whom were ladies. In addition to the townspeople who witnessed the match, there were a number of country visitors, over 300 of whom arrived by special steamer from the Thames on Friday night, while others came by rail on Saturday, the department having mado special arrangements for their carriage to and from town. The takings from all sources reached the good sum of £370, which is £27 less than the amount taken on the occasion of tho visit of Stoddart's English team. The amount guaranteed to the New Zealand Union by the Auckland Rugby Union is £125, and there should be a substantial surplus after meeting all disbursements in the way of entertaining, etc.

As the local fifteen headed by McGregor and Smith filed through the gateway and on to the field of play, followed after the lapse of a. second or two by the Welshmen, led by W. A. Shortland, where they grouped up to greet one another with the customary cheer, there did not appear to be any great difference in the physique of the two sides as a whole, though the home forwards must certainly have had something the best of the weight, owing mainly to the presence of the burly country pair, Cunningham and McDuff, both of whom turn the scale at 14st. Some of the. visitors looked just a bit jaded and stale, as the result of the large amount of travelling they have had to do by rail and water during their tour through tho colony, but when the game got underway the majority of them settled down to their work all right, and .showed .considerabledash. Having the advantage of the strong south-westerly wind and the sun in the first spell, they made good uso of it, as thirty minutes of play had not winged their flight before the scoring board, at the eastern end of the field, showed that they had scored nine i?oints to their opponents' nil, a state of affairs that caused a section of the onlookers to feel somewhat uneasy as to the ultimate result for a few minutes, but the majority of the onlookers making due allowance for the strong wind that assisted so materially towards tho score still pinned their faith to the local team, who, despite their failure to score, had nevertheless been having something the best of the general play, and their confidence was not misplaced. Three or four minutes later the blue and whites obtained their first try, which was converted by Cunningham, and before the spell closed, our backs again crossed tho lino on two occasions, and the half-time b-01l sounded, with tho score 11 points to 9 in favour of the home fifteen. This left no doubt as to the ultimate result, and although the Aucklanders, with the wind with them, failed to increase the points for close on half-an-hour, they were for the greater part of the time on the aggressive, and finally were rewarded for their efforts, three more tries being put on by them in the last 17 or 18 minutes, two of which were successfully piloted over the cross bar by Cunningham. The match thus ended in a victory for the blue and whites by 24 to 9, the highest number of points registered against tho visitors during the present tour, as shown by the following table setting forth the results of the matches played: —

Against Wellington: Wellington won by 17 points to 16. Against Southland : Southland won by 17 points to nil. Against Ota go: Otago won by 5 points to nil. Against Canterbury: Canterbury won by 11 points to 5. Against New Zealand (test match) : New Zealand won by 20 points to 3. Against Wanaanui : New South Wales won by 9 points to 8. Against Auckland: Auckland won by 24 points to 9. Total matches played 7, won 1, lost 6, points scored for 42, points against 102.

Saturday's match was the seventh played between New South Wale? touring teams and the representatives of the Auckland province, and in all seven the visitors have suffered defeat at the hands of the local men. The first New South Wales team visited Auckland in 1832, and were defeated in the two sanies played on the Auckland Domain Ground, the second team came across in 1886, playing three matches against our representatives at Dilworth's paddock, and losing all three. Then, after a lapse of eight years, the third team from the sister colony tried conclusions with the Auckhniders at Potter's I'addock : this was the 1891 fifteen, and a bold bid they made for victory too. Only one match was played, and the Welshmen looked like winning right up to within a few minutes of the call of time. Excitement was at fever heat, and urged on by the thousands who had assembled to witness the contest, the Aucklandors rallied brilliantly to the attack, and, fighting desperately, succeeded in literally pulling the match out of the fire right on the call of time, the game ending, amidst tumultuous applause, 14 to 11 in favour of the wearers of the blue and white uniforms. The results are set forth in the appended table: —

1882 : September Auckland won by 7 points to nil. ■.-,<> 1882: October 3—Auckland won by IS points to 4 points. 18%: August £9— Auckland won py ° points to nil. , „ 1886: September 21—Auckland won by 14 points to i points. 1886: September 25—Auckland won by 11 points to 4 points. 1894: August 25—Auckland won by 14 ; points to 11 points. 1901: September 7— Auckland won by 24 { points to 9 points.

As alreadv mentioned the spectators were not kept long in waiting on Saturday as the teams took up their positions in the field of play promptly at three o'clock, the visitors, who had won the toss, electing to defend the western sticks, leaving the Aucklanderg to line-out on the eastern side. The teams were as under: —

AUCKLAND. NEW SOUTH WALES. (Blue and White). (Light Blue). FULLBACKS: W. McKenzie. J. W. Maund. TfIREEQUARTERS: ?L Burkland. R. .T. McMahon. (i. Smith. S. Wiekliam. A. Asher. W. Lindsay. E. Hughes. HALFBACKS: R. McGregor. W. A. Bhortland. 11. Kiernan. F. Q. Finley. WING FORWARDS: W. Doran. B. McGregor. FORWARDS: ' G. Tyler. A. Beaumont. C. Brady. p. Underwood W. Cunningham A. Burden. S. Smith. 1,. Harrison. Mr.Dnfr. H. .Tudd. Bakewell. C. Rhortland. R. McGregor. S. See. I). Lutge. Captains, W. A. Sliortlaral (New South Wales). R. McGregor (Auckland): referee. Mr P. Mac.kie; linesmen. Messrs. J. Henderson (New South Wales), M. Keefe (Auckland). THE PLAY. Cunningham kicked off, and not a couple of minutes had elapsed before a couple of scrummages about midfiekl gave the spectators (ho satisfaction of knowing that Auckland's vanguard, though playing but seven men

against the blues' eight, could at least more than hold their own with the visitors in this important department of the game. Breaking away with the bail at his toe, Doran reached the Welshmen's twenty-five, where he snapped up the fullback, Maund, before bo could get the leather away; but Finley nipped round and smartly saved by punting to the touch-line. Dashing up as the ball was thrown in, the Auckland five-eighths, R. McGregor, got possession, and, with the assistance of Bstkewoll, got inside the visitors' twenty-five, where Maund was penalised for lying on the ball, and Kiernan had a shot at goal, but the strong wind drove the oval back across the face of the posts. Charging down on it in a body, the local forwards carried it to within a few yards of the opposing team's goal-line, Tyler being prominent, and the locals getting it from the line out, they handed it along to their backs, but a weak pass by McGregor to Smith robbed the rear division of any chance there might have been of scoring. An exciting dash by Buckland from a pass by Kiernan looked dangerous, but the Auckland back was too closely hemmed in, and the bell, getting on the ground, Lindsay led a dribbling rush for the Welshmen, and with Hughes in support, reached the half-way flag before being brought up by McKenzie. Shortland and Judd then partnershipped a sally that carried play well into Auckland's quarters, and one of the blue-and-whites being penalised for offside play inside the twenty-five. Wickham was entrusted with a. shot at goal, and with but thirteen minutes of the game gone, the Welsh threequarter landed

A CAPITAL GOAL, giving the visitors the first score of the day. On resuming play, a line kick by Kiernan, and a loose rush by the home vanguard, Cunningham in tho van, placed the blues on the defensive, and although Lutge brought temporary relief with a well-placed kick, the blues quickly charged the Leather back to within a few yards of the opposing team's goal-line. Here they rushed clown a kick, and Kiernan, diving in and snapping up the ball, started a passing rim. but a wild pass from McGregor to Buckland lost a rare chance of scoring, and W. Shortland filling the gap, pent the ball spinning down the field to within a few yards of neutral territory, where the spectators were treated to one of the finest kicks seen on the Epsom ground for many a long day. A penalty going in favour of New South Wales, Wickham was entrusted with another shot at goal from about three yards on the Auckland side of the half-way flag, and almost in a direct line with the posts. Like an arrow in flight the ball was sent on its mission, and striking the inside of the upright nearest the grandstand, it dropped in over the crossbar, and New South Wales had added three more points to their score. It was

A BRILLIANT KICK, and the Welshman well merited the applause that, followed New South Wales, 6: Auckland, nil. .A penally to the locals a few minutes later saw Kiernan find the line handy to the blues' twenty-five with a really nice kick, but the batter's forwards swept, the ball back to neutral ground, where, after an exchange or two. Underwood got in a hard kick, that reached the Auckland fullback, who was almost on the line. MeKenzie failed to take it on the first bounce, but his elubmates pot round him, and in the general scramble that ensued they rushed it back a Few yards, where it' found its way into the hands of Judd, who dashed through the ruck and scored

THE WEI-S'nir.N'S VIK.ST THY in a likely position. Wickham. however, allowed just a bit too much for the wind, and the ball crossed the fact* of the goal posts, the score thus reading—New South Wales. 9; Auckland, nil. Only a quarter of an hour now remained to tho call of half-time, but, despite the points against them, it was to be seen that, the members of the homo team were by no means dismayed, as they were quickly on the aggressive again. Tyler, who was playing with great vim, was the one to lead a forward attack, that took the locals into the opposing side's quarters, and Kiernan, getting hold of the ball, got well through the blues' backs with a tricky run, but there being no one to pass to, he was grassed with the ball in his possession about half a dozen yards from, the coveted line. The leather was centred, and the Auckland halfback, snapping it up as it came out from a scrum, ho transferred to Smith after a short dash, and the latter's great pace enabling him to beat two or three of the opposing backs, ho crossed the line and

SCORED FOJt AUCKLAND amidst the enthusiastic plaudits of the large assemblage. Cunningham was entrusted with the kick, and as tho ball, buffeted about by the wind, hung momentarily over the crossbar, it was watched with breathless interest. Then it. dropped over, and Auckland had scored five points to the nine by New South Wales. The ball had, however, gone beyond the crossbar before it looked like l>eing beaten back-, and even had the wind caused it to drop back on the inside, it would still have counted to Auckland. This roused the Welshmen, and their forwards breaking away, they came rustling down into the home team's ground, where W. Shortland took a nice mark, and Wickham was given another chance to show his prowess as a place kick. He triads a good but unsuccessful attempt, and the Aucklanders had every reason to feel satisfied at getting out of it as they did. Slowly but surely th« local vanguard men worked the ball up the field, and reaching the twenty-five flag, they gave their backs another chance to show what they could do on tho attack. It was handed along to Smith, who dashed across towards tho corner, a,nd then gave it to Asher. With two or three of the visiting backs blocking his way, the Auckland threequarter made a mighty dive for the corner, and though tackled by two men. ho hurled himself across, only to find himself carried out right on the flag. The effort merited success. Scrumming followed close to the line, where Shortland, coming round the Auckland pack before tho ball was out, a free kick was awarded the locals, and Cunningham had a shot at goal, but without success. Getting the host of tho ensuing loose play, the blue forwards relieved tho pressure, and after they had got to within a few yards of the halfway flag, a, free kick to them saw Shortland kick well down towards the Auckland goal),ne - The forwards wore in full cry, and as the ball bounced back towards them on landing on tho ground, matters looked serious for Auckland. Smith was, however, equal to the occasion, and dashing across at top speed, ho took the ball on the hop with unerring precision, and after running several yards he found the touch-line with a good kick, that reached the half-way flag. From the throw-in Kiernan got tho ball, and whipPing through tho opposition in grand style he eventually sent it on to Smith, who was oh down the touoh-line at his top speed. Just after passing the twenty-five flag he looked like going out, but nipping round in the nick time, He sent it in again to Buckand, who had been supporting him. and the of th °fi t , t, , n & '" loverly towards the centre 01 tho field,

DASHED OVER VNOTFOSED, scoring a. second try for Auckland. Cunningham did not succeed in adding the major points: New South Wales, 9; Auckland, o. With about eight minutes still to go, the locals were now making matters very willing for their opponents. They had hardly got going attain before the backs were seen flinging the ball about, and a passing run in which Kiernan, Asher, McGregor and Smith all played a part looked like leading up to another score, but a faulty pass by the last-named to Buckland brought up the attack. Buckland, however nipped round and kicked the ball out of play almost on the corner flag. A free kick was here awarded to Auckland, and Kiernan sending it but a yard or twe S. McGregor pounced on it and sent it along to the Auckland scrum-half, who went through the blue backs like a flash and

PCOItEI) A BEAUTIFUL TRY. for the home team. Again Cunningham tailed to convert, and although Lindsay got away with a fine feinting run that threatened Auckland's line, McKenzie and McGregor collared him together and a few minutes later the bell sounded for half-time, with the stores: Auckland, 11; New South Wales, 9.

SECOND SPELL. The sun had disappeared behind tiie clouds as the teams filed oat to commence the second spell, hut the wind was still as strong as ever, and as a.light rain was being driven in the faces of the Welshmen matters looked all in favour of the locals adding considerably to their score. This they did, but not until the best part, of half-nn-hcur had gone by. A few minutes after play had been restarted a long kick by McIvenzie went out within a few yards of the New South Wales' goal-line, but the blue forwards, playing with determination, worked it back to* the 25 Hag, where Doran picked up and transferred to the Auckland live-eighths (McGregor). The latter sent, the leather on to Kicrnan, who was backing up in rare style, and thence it passed in turn to Smith and Asher, the latter of whom dashed over ri«ht on the corner at top pace and it looked as though he had scored, but tho referee decreed otherwise, his finding being that Lindsay, who had tackled Asher, had carried him into toueh-in-goal before he got the ball down. They, however, were again quickly on the aggressive, but Doran had the hard luck to knock on when they had a likely looking chance in front of them. J lie local forwards wore keeping the Welshmen in check, hooking well and heeling out well, thus giving the backs every

chance, and Kieman always passing accurately they fought hard" to add to the score. Kiernan getting one nicelv away to McGregor, the latter beat a couple of men and gave the ball to Smith, but he hung to it a bit too long. Then Asher and Buckland were prominent in a passing run that pressed the visitors closely, but relief came to them in the shone of a force, and finding that the Auckland backs were becoming very troublesome, they started to make the game as close a' possible and keep the ball on the ground. This proved successful for a while, Kit though they managed to work the ball back to the centre of the ground by stubborn hard forward play, their good work was undone by Smith intercepting a pass among their back-. Ho got as far as the fullback and whipped it across to Domn. who looked a!! over like scoring, but, evidently fell short of the goalline, as a scrum was formed. The Auckland five-eighths then made a bid foi a scoro, but his pass not being taken by his comrades C. Shortland filled the gap and cleverly extricated his side from the difficulty, getting in a splendid line kick with the Auckland "forwards all swarming round him. Following up the advantage the Welshmen reached the half-wav flag, only to be driven back again to the line, where Maund and Lindsay in turn were successful in holding off the attack, and for several minutes the ball moved up and down between the New South Wales' goal-line and the 25 flag. Eventually Kiernan broke away and got right up to the line, but the man to whom he passed was grabbed from behind in the nick of time; but the home players were no: to be denied, and pressing hotly the local halfback once more whipped the leather up as it came out of the scrum, and shooting it along to MoGresror it passed frcm the five-eighths inlo the hands of Smith and Asher in turn, the latter getting over the line and

BBGISTEBINO AUCKLAND'S FOURTH TUT. Cunningham kicked a good goal: Auckland, 16; New South Wales. 9. With 17 minutes still to go. Buckland placed his side on the aggressive with a long lino kick, but from a free kick almost immediately afterwards Asher sent the ball too far and New South Wales forced. Buckland repeated the dose immediately after the ball was brought into play, and the ball coming out from a scrum on the Auckland side Kiernan, McGregor, Buckland and Smith got flinging the ball about, and the lastnamed

AGAIN' SCORES FOE THE HOME TEAM. Cunningham sent the ball between the uprights: Auckland, 21; New South Wales, 9. This was eleven minutes from the close of the game. Undismayed the Welshmen continued to fight out the issue pluckily, and a free-kick enabled them to penetrate Auckland's territory, but they were not allowed to stay there for any length of time, as the blue-and-white forwards retaliated with a sweeping rush that removed piny to the visitors' side of the field, where Smith, by following up his own kick, smothered the opposing back before he could get the ball away. His forwards improved matters by reaching the 25 flag, and getting in another kick Smith raced after it, reaching if simultaneously with one of the blue thveequarter-division. There appeared to be a chance of scoring, but tie was penalised for obstruction, and a free-kick to the visitors saw the ball back to the 25 flag. At this point.Kiernan got a pass away to McGregor, from whose bauds it passed to Buckland. The hitter fell just as he was getting under way, but succeeded in giving the ball to Kiernan, who passed to Smith, and the Auckland threequarter punted over the heads of the opposing backs, and trusted to his pace to reach it first. Asher was also in fuil cry, and reaching it just before his confrere, he fell on it, scoring the

LA3T TRY OF THE DAY. The bell sounded immediately after Cunningham's kick, which, though an excellent one, did not find the crossbar, and the seventh match played between Auckland and New South Wales representatives ended: Auckland, 24 points ; New South Wales, 3 points. NOTES ON THE PLAY.

After their defeat in the other leading centres of the colony it was generally anticipated that the rscvv South Wales representatives would be beaten by the Auckland team, which is looked upon as a sound all-round combination, and quite equal to the sides that have represented the province during the past three or four years. Taken on the whole they quite justified tho confidence reposed in them by their showing on Saturday, and should give a creditable account of themselves in the Southern tour.

The only weak spot in the back division, which proved infinitely stronger, both in attack and defence than the New South Wales' rear guard, was MeKenzie, at fullback, who is evidently not at home in this position. As a oentre-threequarter we know that he ranks with he best, but is out of his elementin the post assigned to him on Saturday, although no one who has watched his play in cup matches this year could question the wisdom of the selection made by Mr. Murray, as MeKenzie appeared to possess all the qualifications that go to make a successful fullback. Against New South Wales he was palpably nervous, or he would never have fielded the ball as badly as he did, fielding having been always looked upon as one of his strong points, while his kicking in the local competitions was easily superior to that shown on Saturday. In a nutshell. it seems that McKenzie feels that he is not a success as fullback and does not enter into his work with the confidence or the vigour that marked his play as a centre-threequar-ter.

It is understood that MeKenzie has intimated to the selector of the Auckland representative team that he will not accompany the team on its Southern tour as a full back, and the loss to the province of a player of his calibre is to be regretted. He would have willingly gone in any other position in the back division, but believing that he will not do justice to himself at fullback, he has declined, and therefore has to remain behind, as it is impossible to experiment with a team at the eleventh hour, as all the other backs have justified their inclusion. Sutherland takes McKenaie's plaeo at fullback in the towing team.

In the threequarter line George Smith played the most brilliant game, and ho was without doubt the best threequarter-back on the ground. He has the habit of always using his head as well as his great pace. On one or two occasions on Saturday he, however, seemed to trust rather much to his own turn of speed to carry him through, and consequently hung to the ball a bit too long. Buckland created a most favourable impression on the Auckland public, and quite justified his inclusion in the team. When under way he showed himself a hard man to stop, is possessed of plenty of pace, gets going quickly, and is always there to back his comrades up. His fielding is clean and his kicking good, while his tackling is deadly, his man being always taken well down.

Asher, on the other wing, played with great dash and vigour, and on one or two occasions on Saturday clearly demonstrated that he is a man who takes a power of stopping when anywhere handy to the line, and extremely hard to get oil his feet. Like Buckland, he supported his other backs well, and his collaring left no loophole for complaint. It. McGregor, at five-eighths, was as sound as a bell in defence, and although his passing was not at all timed as clean as might be wished and it took him all his time to keep up to the speedy backs he was playing with, he played hjs part in the attack, and did a. groat amount of useful work. Kiernan was at the very top of his form, and as tricky as a basketful of monkeys ; in fact, there was no better back on the ground than the Grafton half. There was very little done in the way cf attack that Kieruan did not play his part in, and in addition to the tricky try lie obtained himself, he was instrumental in leading up other of the scores. This, of course, is a halfback's duty, but we do not always see it as well carried out as on Saturday, when the Aueklander mixed his game splendidly, used Hound judgment, stopped rushes nicely, and punted very nicely, making every use of the touch-line. Doran was in great buckle on the wing, and his fine footwork earned him warm admiration: again and again he was instrumental in starting forward rushes. His confrere, S. McGregor, played that sound game characteristic of him. being always in the thick of the fray, and tackled in most determined fashion. Both paid a good deal of attention to the New South Wales halfbacks.

There was not, what is known in football phraseology as a " waster" in the forward division, and although they showed a tendency to boot the ball a bit too hard at times and did not always charge down on the ball in a body when a loose rush was started, their play on the whole did them credit. The pack formation was satisfactory, and when they got going together they generally beat New South Wales for possession of the ball, while the heeling out was much cleaner than in the recent Thames match. They got in among the opposing backs a good deal whenever the ball got to them, and if one man was to be singled out from a good all-round lot, the vote of the majority would, no doubt, be east in favour of G. Tyler, who was in everything that came along, started rushes frequently, always kept on the ball, and worked untiringly right through the piece. Cunningham's place-kicking was very creditable.

11l criticising the visitors, the public must not lose sight of the fact that bhey have undergone an arduous campaign during their tout through New Zealand, and are necessarily becoming a bit stale, while they have never been able to keep the ono team to-

pother, and must, therefore, have suffered so far as combination is concerned. However, after making dn» allowance for these facts, th*> impression formed on Saturday was that even at their best thf> Welshmen would not j have been equal to holding their own against the local team, though there can be no doubt but that they would have made a stronger | stand. Their principal weakness lay in the j back division, where the defence, taken a* a whole, failed to bear comparison with the rearguard opposed to them, and attack v,a< not I .13 dangerous as we hud been Sod to believe. There were those who showed good individual form in this important department of the game at times, but the combination in ' aggressive tactics war, not up to expectations; J there were a few dashy runs and sharp, neat passes, but. very frequently the passing was too slow, and was often intercepted by members of the Auckland side. There were times, too. when the men tried to go too far ■ before transferring, and then, when it was ' all too late, got rid of the ball without ap- ] pearing to know exactly into whoso hands it j war* going to find its way. The kicking was ! nothing to boa.st about on either side, but ! the Aucklanders made fewer mistakes than

; their opponents. The forwards compared ; more than favourably with the backs, pari ticularly in the open, where they showed a j good deal of dash and followed up well : j but they failed, taking the play right through, ] to hold their own with the local vanguard" in ! scrumming and close work. However, on j the whole, the Welshmen must be credited ' with having fought the game right oil' to the I end with that doggedness that has been i characteristic of them throughout their New i Zealand tour. | Maund. their fullback, had plenty to do. j and although he was beaten on more than i one occasion, it, must be said that he came j through a trying ordeal with considerable i credit, especially when it is remembered that j lie had not thoroughly recovered from a rej cent injury, and could not get over the j ground in his best style in. consequence. j He fielded the ball well, proved himself a | powerful kick, and tackled well when he J could get at his man, but might have used : the line to better advantage sometimes when kicking. I Of the threnquarters, Wickham proved I himself the cleverest allround player, and j with his dodgy runs often got well through j before being grassed, but the ball was not • Hung about enough for us to see him at his j best. Of the other threequarters, Lindsay j appeared to be the most dangerous, as he i possesses a lot of pace, and would probably I have been able to make more use of it had ! he been played on the wing. ! Finley, ono of the scrum halves, showed as | good* form as any of the visiting backs, and j mixed his game pretty well. He stopped ! rushes well, and got the ball away nicely J ta the touch-line. His passing out was not, i however, always too accurate, and at times | he appeared to hold on to the ball just a | bit longer than was desirable. His con- ! frere, Shortland, also did some good stopI ping, and at times kicked really well, but. j like Finley, his passing was not always of j the best; it was sometimes altogether too low. Both were, of course, greatly hampered by the Auckland wings. Judd was about the best forward in the Welshmen's vanguard, as he was in the thick of it all day, frequently leading the attack and collaring and backing up well. Of the others, Burden and Underwood were about the pick. On Saturday evening the two teams sat ; down to dinner together, Mr, A. E. Devore, I president of the Auckland Rugby Union. i supported by Mr. J. Henderson, manager of j tho New South Wales team, occupying the ] head of the table. The usual toasts were I proposed, and Mr. Henderson, in replying j to that of the New South Wales team, stated | that the Auckland backs were tho best the i visitors had played against in New Zealand, ! but gave the palm to Southland for for- ! wards. The two teams were afterwards the ! guests of the Auckland Rugby Union at the I Opera House, and on Sunday the visitors i were taken for au excursion down the har- | bour, landing at Motutapu. The outing ! proved a pleasant one. The New South j Wales team leave to-day for Sydney by the ! s.s. Mararoa. I THE AUCKLAND TOURING TEAM.

The Auckland team for the Southern tour [ will be the same as that which played against ! New South Wales on Saturday afternoon, with I the exception that Sutherland is to replace | MoKenzie as fullback— latter having deI cided not to go South as fullback—while in I the event of McDuff (Thames) not being j able to obtain leave of absence to tour, j Nicholson will replace him in the pack, and ! Bonella will be included as the extra for- ' ward. The team will leave foi New Ply--1 mouth by the s.s. Mapcmrika from Onehunga I on the arrival of the 'Frisco mail steamer, ! which will probably not be until Tuesday. j In the event of the mail boat not arriving ' to-day the team will go out to Onebunga by I the last train to-night, and remain on board i the Mapourika in readiness for the deparI ture. Mr. C. E. MacCormiok, secretary of I the Auckland Rugby Union, will go at> manaI ger, and several Auckland enthusiasts will I tour with the team.

SCHOOLS' CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE THAMES. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Saturday. The public schools' championship football matches were resumed to-day under the most favourable weather conditions with the following results:—Parawai school beat Sandes-street school by 3 points to nil, and Baiilie-street school won by default from Waiokaraka school.

KARANbiAHAKE BEAT OHINEMURI. I [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] j PAEROA, Saturday. ; A return match between representatives of the Karangahake and Ohinemuri unions took place at Paeroa this afternoon, Karangahake i leaving the field victorious by 11 points to j nil. Tries were scored for the winners by Rockley and Cock, one of which was converted by McLean, who also landed a pretty goal from a penalty kick. The game was fairly even until about the middle of the second spell, when the superior combination of the Karangahake back division told its tale. Mr. F. Ladner, of the Thames had charge of the game, and gave every satisfaction.

WELLINGTON BEAT TARANAKI BY 20 POINTS TO 3. [BY TELEGRAPH.PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Saturday. The Wellington team seems to have recovered the form they lost in the Southern tour, and though neither Wood nor Wrigiey could play, they beat Taranaki handsomely by twenty points to three to-day. Four tries were soored, from all of which Wallace kicked goals. The visitors, who had the advantage of a strong breeze in the first spell, should have done better, and lost some chances by being too eager and overrunning the ball. Similarly Wellington, with the wind behind them, frequently looked like scoring, and spoilt everything by neglecting to pass or by passing to the wrong man. The collaring was capital- op both sides, and both teams played a most determined game, but before the end Taranaki had had enough, and were practically at the mercy of their bettertrained opponents, whose forwards were romping over thorn. The- weather was beautiful, and the attendance, which included the Premier and party, numbered close on 4000. The ground was a little soft niter the rain, and slippery in places. Mr. Isaacs was referee, and Row© and Manson replaced Wood and Wrigley in the local team, who wore black, and the visitors yellow. The game started at twenty minutes past three, and Taranaki, winning the toss, opened with the advantage of the wind. They were expected to score easily, but it was soon seen that they would have all their work cut out to hold their own with the blacks, who came on with a rush at once, and looked likely to get over, till Glasgow got clear with the ball at his toe, and took the game into Wellington quarters. There Callaghan secured a mark, and Allen had a shot at goal, without success. The blacks worked their way back and threatened the Tarauaki goal, which was only cleared through some very bad passing. Both sides made the play very willing, but breaches of the rules were too frequent, and the referee's whistle was much in evidence. Then Wellington lost a certain try by bad passing. After two of their men had run through to the line tho ball was thrown too high, and Taranaki escaped. About this time, also, there was much knocking on on both sides in their eagerness in handling tho ball too much, with the result that the referee's whistle went three times in quick succession for this offence. After the yellows had been driven into a corner they cleared their lines by a long kick down the side, and Slattery got the ball in a loose scrum, and by some wonderful play he managed to run clean through a dozen men without being stopped or even blocked, and passed to Manson. The latter kept on up to the line and passed again to Slattery, who scored » well-deserved try amid a hearty round of applause. Five minutes later equally hearty applause greeted Taranaki's first and only try, which was effected by some clever passing between Mynott, Fookes, and Allen. The spoil then ended with the score five to three, and any odds on Wellington. On resuming, Wellington at once set up a vigorous attack, which thay practically kept up for the. rest of the game. Every few minutes the black uniforms might bo seen dashing at the goal-line, and only accurate collaring by Taranaki kept tho score down to the minimum. At times the latter played up

strongly, bat they were always beaten off, and pnlv ocoasionallv got into Wellington ground. " O'Brien was first to score, fairly jamming himself over the line (10 to three!, ami then, by a momentary rush, Wellington were forced "down; but th« next minute the blacks were rushing to Tar&naki line? again. Manson took the ball on the wing and made a great dash, but kept his pass too long, and then iookos responded by running up th* side line, evading several attempts to push him over and centreing the ball. Wellington had to ki«k hard to clear themselves. Their hack? followed up fast, got the ball to themselves, and then passed too wildly, with the result that Mynott cut in and cleverly intercepted close to the line; but presently the ball was shot out to Adams, and over he went, running unmolested behind the goal pasts. This was a wry doubtful store. as to many it appeared that the ball was thrown forward. Wallace kicked a goal, and the score stood at 15 to three. On resuming, Fookes was disabled by a Wow on the arm, and had to retire, and several other men got a few bumps, for which there was no begging pardon. The black forwards came down again, but Dodd slipped just in front of tho goal, and a free kick relieved the pressure Several more attempts failed, till Rowe got a clean pass, and had no trouble in running in. Wallace's fourth goal brought the score to: Wellington, 20: Turanaki, three; and then the bell went.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS' REPRESENT MATCH. [by TELEGRAPH. ASSOCIATION-.] Wellington, Saturday. The Wellington public schools' representative team easily beat the visiting' school'* team from Canto-bury by 30 points to five.