FOOTBALL.

NZ Truth, Issue 58, 28 July 1906, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

(By "Pakeha.")

In theatrical parlance there was a full house to witness the return struggle between Petone and Poneke. The perfect weather prevailing assisting in a great measure to' swell the crowd which packed the pavilion, lined the terraces and took up every possible inch of standing room on the northern and eastern sides of the enclosure. About 5,200 are said to have paid for admission, and the crowd altogether, including ladies and the inevitable small boy. must have numbered over 6,000. The ground was on the soft side— in places excessivelv so— and this fact took a lot of pace out of the players. Considering the quantit- of rain which fell during the week, caretaker Murphy had food reason to flatter himself that the playing area was in much better condition than one could reasonably expect in the circumstances. The game ended, as was anticipated in a very close fight, the champions being lucky enough to squeeze home bv a single point. On the afternoon's nlav there was practically little difference in the merits of the contesting teams. Substracting the penalty notched b^ each combination, Petona was left with a potted goal to its opponent's try. and •■ this •was the margin Of difference when the bell clanged for no side. . .. Although one could not..conscientiously say that the game was well spiced with brilliancy, individually or collectively, there was, nevertheless, plenty of play, mostly of a forward tvne. which kept "the crowd interested and excited in a marked degree.' Dame Fortune was kind to Petone,. but the red and blacks failed to win her good graces. However, that's all in tfee game. Billy Wallace is the most unlucky devil when it comes to spinning the coin with the suburban skipper, who has beaten him time after time for choice of positions. On Saturday it 'meant much, as the Petone men had the advantage of playing with the sun aV their, backs and a light breeze behind them in the first spell. On - changing sides, the sun had practically disappeared and so had the. wind. : Probably few of the spectators realised the great disadvantages placed in the way of the Poneke men in the first half when their lamps- were dazzled with the glitter of old "Sol," and the taking from high return kicks was a picnic which few would care to essay with the certainty of accuracy. The defence on either side was sound, but in attack it was not what, it ought to have been. There, were chances of showing, to advantage/ but the opportunity when it came along was not grasped. It was noticeable time after time in both -rearguards that the men did not open out in proper order, and consequently the scoring machinery was not set going 0 to deadly effect. Dunk McGregor has a great toppiece when called upon for individual efforts, but the writer is not one of those who Tegard the "Flying Scotchman" as gifted with. Napoleonic generalship when it comes to handling a team. Saturday proved the correctness of this contention and those linekicks, wtiich certainly gained tremeri-. dous. stretches of ground and conserved the strength of the scrummers, counted for naught when the defence of the opposing combination was too sound to break through. More centering and high punting, to give, the forwards a. chance to race down and spoil the red and black rearguard would have paid better, particularly as the home, players were handicapped with the sun in , their eyes and a heavy ball to handle. . , , . Again, Dunk missed chances of working the silly side to advantage. His p'ame was to press closer the cordon of Petone backs, especially as Wallace was leaving big gaps in his lines in anticipation of attack on the. open side. The Petone five-eighths and wing three-ciuarters stood too deep, consequently when Green did beat the opposing winger on three or four occasions, those behind him were not near enough or slick enough to carrv on the attack. ■'..'■ With all the advantages on their side in the first spell the Petone players should have made more ot their attacking powers. The forwards got possession often enough to drive home a warm assault, but the backs* kept too close up to put it into execution. McGregor and his men should: remember the axiom laid down, I think, »by "Off-side Mac." viz., when possession, is obtained the rearguard should keep deep and. come up with a run as soon as the ha^lf gets the ball into his clutches. When the other side secures the ball, their game vto advance as far as possible to the other side so that when the backs that have the ball start removing the danger, or get troublesome, they have not far to run before meeting his obstacles. McGregor failed to observo the worth of this advice against Poneke. Somehow . the Poneke backs wer :> sluggish qn many occasions and th;; sureness,; nippinessi quickness, celerity and concert in movements which were such distinguishing features, of their play against Melrose and Old Boys were absent quantities on Sat-^ urda^. To the writer^ idea> Wallace's tactical plans wotked out indifferently and he quite overlooked the fact that the five-eighths is the key which unlocks the whole of the; back plav. Between Walsh and Wallace there was not complete understanding, the effect • being to cripple, in a great degree, the threeiquarter line's uses at that stage of the game when the forwards were playing on the ball with consistent dash.

Summing up the back play of both divisions one is constrained to admit that Petone was the sounder and surer combination. Their line-kick-ing, taking and fielding and handling were more cleanly executed than' in Poneke 's case. Poneke showed up best in tacklin"- and in this special department, it was unerringly certain, and deadly. Petone's forwards were not so solid in the tight, or fast-rushing in the loose as in previous occasions. The absence of Byrne, and McGill probably accounted for this defect. Th«s scrum worked erratically, there being no adequate weight behind or on the left flank. Their footwork was mediocre. On the other hand the red and black vanguard shaped finely. Though a lighter pack it just about held dts own in the "tight," and were more systematic in scrum tactics. Their opening-lip efforts, wheeling and turning were nicely executed, and the agile movements of the division in the loose proved troublesome to both opposing backs and forwards. The pushing capacity of the red and black forward brigade was a' pleasant surprise to its followers. The packing was wedge-like and cohesive. . The writer has repeatedly saM. that on a heavy going he would prefer a light pack to one of weighty calibre, provided that the former's composition embraces pace and dash. Weight is essential, that cannot be gainsaid, but a bogpv turf is apt to .tell upon a heavy man, whose movements in consequence tend to sluggishness. The. Poneke display against Petone is an : argument in favor of this theory. One defect .in the Poneke scrum was the. failure of the back-rankers to heel out smartly. • When Petone sent the [ ball out, its . backs got moving in .unison more quickly than the homers.: Horgan had to literally dig the ball out of his pack to get a chance to transfer it elsewhere. Charley Slater was reliable as ever in taking and fielding, but the "booting" power was less, forceful. ■■■• His tackling, was superb and that, grass- | ing of ' Hardtiam, when the Petone. man was racing for the line with the certainty of a try ; up his sleeve, was as good as one, could hope to see. . . ' M. Ryan was fairly solid in the "rough stuff" sent along by the Po~. neke forwards. His catching was sure but fielding somewhat uncertain. His kicking was medium. J. Barber did the right thing at the proper time and did it well! He took the ball splendidly and kicked, with judgment. His play throughout was of a very solid order. . The Petone man earned,, fame early in the game when he potted a sensational goal. It was a "corker," .\nd upset, the, nerves of the, Poneke supporters, for the rest of the afternoon." J. Ryan .did some smart • work on the other wing, and his intercepting of passes and - dashes down the: line were cleverly , and faultlessly/ ex-, ecuted. What Instone was . doing when he failed to block the Petone man is a problem that wants a lot of solution. Ramsden appeared to feel the effects of the going. The little fellow forgot that he should always dodge straight through his opponents' in which case Ryan and Barber would have had better chances of scoring in< the first spelL At times he encroached too much on the line. It would have been more profitable to his side on Saturday to .have kicked' oftener and ran to score. ; McGregor brought off some .great line-kicking. His passing to his centre was- not marked by too ripe judgment, though Ramsden, it must be a'dmitted, was not moving off the mark ciuick enought to be in position to baffle the other^side's movements. "Dunk" wasn't handling any of the rough stuff, . , " Kelly was good on defence but was rather weak in attack. ", Green, behind the scrum, had dash, judgment! arid pluck. His passes 'were always well timed, and he proved a sure rush-stopper. Green made some nice openings which his five-eighth failed to carry on successfully. For a lad pf his inches Green is very fine inetal. • Among the forwards Tom Cross, shone out conspicuously, toiling ' as; he did in the solid and loose from start to finish. There are plenty of people who cry out about Cross playing dirty, but while this scribe knows full well that the burly Pe'toneite is not too. .tender in his grap- { pling of an opponent, he has never

seen him "deal it out" to the extent that they imagine. Tom plays up to his. weight and strength, consequently a lighter man has to suffer in a measure. Billy Hardham made several gr«at dashes on the wing and was trauWts'ome to Horgan. Only that "perler" at the hands of Charlie Slater stopped a trv being placed to the winger's credit. Hardham should learn to protect • his half better. Mitchinson was seen to advantage again, notwithstanding that the work was not coming his way in the manner it should have been. A comparison between him and Ramsden was decidedly in favor of the Poneke bov wh» was quicker in his movements and "headier'' at a pinch. In the slick company of Wallace. McGrep-or, Mona Thomson, and Predd^ Roberts, Mitchinson should be worth his weight in gold in a representative competition. His work on Saturdav .was always marked by reliability, neatness, certainty and resourcefulness. Instone put in some serviceable work, and his defence was exceptionally sound. A weakness in his play was failure to find the line more effectively. To do him justice others on his side were worse . offenders. Dan Toohill was not seen" to advantage and his play all through savoured of uncertainty. In the writer's opinion Dan was too anxious to do the correct thing. Walsh tackled like a demon. Thj big fellow had hard. cheese, in missing that trv .by inches. His offensive work was powerfully executed. Wallace; the king-pin of , the Poneke rearguard, was -below his usual, self. He did some splendid offensive and defensive work arid made some, curiousV , botches.. The recklessness of the champion in slinging the "ball alibut indiscriminately in his own territory, was something not understandable to the writer. To give Bill' his dues, he saved; the situation fqi '.Poneke twice . by his judgment in backing up and his fleetness. The way he 1 worked his teanij however, was not what one would expect from 'a ; player /-of his; : experience and reputation. Horgan was quick, and neat, and stood up *to the 'opposing rushes lika a Briton. The half did his bit in tradesmanlike style. • . ... Of an excellent and well-balanced lot of forwards, Sam Galbraith and Callum for honest graft, and Calcinai for dash in the open caught the eye often. . Sam is a toiler from end to end and a more valuable forward than many imagine. Calcinai's pace, dash, fast following up and tackling made him a conspicuous figure in tho red and black ;vanguard, .and the Italian boy shdufti;have a siy in tlse ; rep. team' before the season^s ovfif He is the type ol forward .that Wel^V lington wants at the present junti o ture. 1 "■ ' '"' .■■■ ; ' ;i ■ '■• '' !| Jim Sweeney played up to his reputation as one of the best alround forwards? iii the city competitions. Jim Mann-and Griffiths were in £ieat evidence; on the wing, and the forrnsr went near to getting over. the Petone ,chalkmark. He threw a "cert" try, away, however, by transferring the -wrong moment. Wallace, to my mind, committed an error of judgment in essaying th^fc, pot at the eastern end. The position of the . Petone backs at the , time Wallace secured the leather was such^ as'., to leave a clear run in for his win&threequarter, Toohill, whose pace, miust have taken him over r the lint* without trouble. The Peto-ne backs were evidently expecting trouble in another direction and their movement' left an unbridgabltf gap in 'the open between the wing" and full arid" tjßje'-. touchline. Wallace, however? thoughtit was "four points easy" arid let fly. with bloodless result. If the feat had come off Billy would have been a hero. ■ -.- , . Some of the spectators who were in a good position to see .the incident i thought that Referee Laughton was wrong in penalising Poneke, the up-? shot of which was a goal b? ' McGregor. They averred that. Green whipped the ball back into the scrum after Griffiths had slipped round and before the referee observed the movement. The referee was quite correct, however, and Griffiths looked as if he could have kicked himself for his indiscretion. Mitchinson just ' missed repeating his Melrose performance. A second's indecision made all the difference. One of the loveliest bouts of passing in ; the match, : and they were a^ rare as spring showers in. the Sahara,, resulted in- Poneke scoring the only; tr^ of the match. Dan Toohill initiated it and Walsh, Wallace 'and

'Mitchinson carried it on to a success-* issue. Wallace had a stormy pas- ; sage in bumping off three or four live obstacles, his move being to get .the ball grounded as near to the uprights as possible, and thus ensure an easy range at goal. As it' was Mitchinson had to beat his man to race across the chalkniark at the corner. . Walsh made- an*, herculean dive for the line when he rot that pass from , Horgan sear the Petone line. A' couple of inches more would have idonei the trick. Billy Wallace's . luck was "dead >put" at the goaling game. He made tone or two fine efforts, the driving., .■grower lacking a wee bit more steam. Petone backs found the line splendidly, though there was a falling off. fan their efforts in i the later stages- of *the second half. Poneke's line-kicking was .weak all 'ibhrough, which meant increased burdens for the' packmen. Jack Laughton did kapai' with the:; whistle.- "Pakeha" never recollects seeing Jack peirform so well, in fact. , His decisions were given quickly and taqce'p ted without demur from the contestants. ... The Poneke packmen were cherry ripe for Saturday's stiff- ordeal. They lasted out splendidly to the bitter' snd. Three or four of these' young forwards" should give a fine account of..themselves when next -season's-" <d;6iri gs^ come up for 'decision. M'ore : wfeigbt and experience , will inake them-rvalu-: a^e/ l aoqwiisitionß.' < ji6 the ranks' o^tlie red' apo blacic'. .'Against Petone /they pack^ ( adhesively.' and kept ;itfpVing % from'.^he jump, "'". •' ;.;!"'.. : . "■''.., .A. xgci/Xon pf^fte prowd--made, ' sjtjglit &STQ oiirtrations against one- or iwo of , *b«s Petone forwards, rougfiness being their v plea... There, was no justificaitiori for calling ia/to question ; the play of** these jpen, .- i^ being quite- fair and; i ebofve board. The Wellington-Victoria- -, College lf game pr©v«d fast and> exciting, both teams "snowiag improvement on previous displays-. Wellington attacked strongly throughout the. 'first spell, but only succeeded in scoring s 'points —a. try by Manson converted by Malftoy- ■ ' ' '. ' .■ ! ;• ■■■ [ .'.". For the first fifteen minutes of the ge'cpnd spell WcllingtOTi continued to attack, • then condition failing, (they were kept busy defending 'their lines; Milleic* finally sqpred .for College; after a,^assingTicun f^ v %hii?h,all the College baclis tqoTC,part.» Wellington 'thie^i ralUefevaS&fipiH ftn.t the result 'beyond doybt by following up a loose kick' and' scoring a«ar the posts, Malfroy' afigiin adding tiie major points; The concluding stage of the game, was marked by a magnificent effort ontho- part of .' Eogle, a goal from a •mark from; near the walf-way- line, the game .ending— Wellington -10, Victoria College 8. •'•'■ ■■•■• ■/■■•' Rilef, the Wellington centre threequarter, is a greatly improved player, especialiy- : 6n defence and on. Saturday .wa^t'aarly' reliable. He has, however, a -tendency to run 'in positions' where he' ' itiowld' ■ kick for touch ■ or centre. ' HiTi much better than usual an^sfen<£V; wiiiie Malfrdyy .at half, gay^^a yetV,' neat exhibition. ' ' . gire^t failing, of the Wellington backs' is {liability to find touch, Smyrk bj^nj; -the/greatest offender in .ihisi Carey,; on the win-g, eaf:s; aigood" indiyklual .. display, ■* 6ut makes .tt)« -^rcat mistake of tucking »tbe' ball under? his arm when irunninir. . with the; result that he is nearly always collared with the ball. ■ He ia. also too much given to running across ;the .field instead of -whipping the ball out to his backs who are in a posi- i tion to r«ff straight!; ' ' •;■' ! ' ' i Manson gave a, good display among the Jof wards, his tiry being' quite re^ tainiscenii of his old time dashi.;,, his work' on the line /rout;- also very. eifectiTe throughout.' ,( - Tetiaaufe .followed up^-consistently,-while Broa&an and Mansford- were 11 prominent in the ruck. - • Bogle, at five-eighth, was- -the* stat" attist among^ the Victoria, College* 1 backs^ his play throughout being' of a high order. Miller, wing tbreerquarter, a-lso played well, while Tudhope,,, atf full , was very safe : and , a' : g reatfi cojitrasV to ' Smyrk- : as ibgajds finding: .the .line. '"■/-'■<";.'. '"■'■ '" '■ ,"v Delamare aud Simpsoit'^efe^ ><the^ bast of the College forwards, thoughj -the fdraier 1 msirs; Ws : i>layv'Dy^oiitinu- '■• ally standing off-side, especially. on> the Line-out. Lynch, wing forward foe ■Victoria^ College, is a '/me stanip of- a> player^ and in a stronger team .would "beheard of as a •.ior:."-rep. i honors. '■■ '_■'•' '•'■•'. . .;'■' Since his, promotion to sen?.orTranks>' Malfroy has had ".four kicks a€ goal from tries, all of which he-bas.vcon- ; .verted. A mild sensation was thor-defea^- of-ij Oriental by Old Boys, who musttered their full strength. The game '^as, fast and interesting, good individual: and collective play being noticeable, onboth sides. . ' - | The Old Boys vanguard made av| capital showing against theories'! packmen and serviceable support .was*! accorded to it by the 'backs. The ; scrumming brigade played, hayi; fast. (Tootrball ' from start to ■finish- *b|.' -bhe'i PISCO. . ' ■;..'.r. i - . . i T?i3 Thomson '.brothers. loom.e<f up^ largely in the Old Boys' rearguard, the youngeir dashing- round and mak-^ ing fine openings for- his . backs, Mona's dodgy, pacy runs were in evidence and Woods played his best game of the season. Oriental mada desperate attacks- onv the Old Boys' citadel, but the defence was sound and impenetrable. ..' Potting j?oals is now quite a com? mon occurrence and Freddy Roberta essayed the feat with success ,in this match. Scobie McKenzie stood out of /the Thames-Auckland match on account of the death of his father at Westport. ,•.'■■-■ '":•■ Billie G-lenn, the 'All Black forward, has disposed of his farm on the Waimate Plains and bought a property off the Wanganui River in the backr blocks for a sheep station.

V__- Wairarapa team will not visit •Piiainaki this season. The northern towing team leaves Masterton on August 1, playing Manawatu, at Palmerston North, on that . date. It will leave Palmerston on 'August 2, .for Wanganui, and play Wanganui on. August 4 ; then return to Masterton on Monday, August 0. Mackrell, the Auckland forward, k reported to be still a good deal bethied the form, which secured him aiplace in the "All Blacks." A funny incident took place during a gjime between the Albury and Fair.B* teams at B'airlie a few days ago. Just an time a Pairlie man scored a try. The hall was carried out. in the usual manner for a shot at goal, -which went a long way from theposts. The referee, for some reason Joiown only to himself, told the Fairlie captain that his must have thekick again. This time the- -additional" points were added, much to the. aasftzement -o f both team s « and'- specta-^ •tffrs. , . The English Rugby Union has • declined to. amend the laws of tlie-game,, by making rule 3 prtivide that in all matches a referee and two touch' judges must be appointed, all- 'being ■inwtually agreed upon. At .present it. iis only, the referee who is -to mutually agreed upon. ; The .Taranaki Rugby. Union-. is some.'What disappointed to hear that the •1&460 loaned to it by the New.Zeav la-^d Rugby Union will not be avail- = 'able before September 22. i As the representative matches will be- in- full swing shortly the Rugby - take steps to hasten on the senior championship competitions., Southern, which defaulted to,: Melr rose on Saturday. ; and Victoria College ought to withdraw- fxom further^ participation in the contests, and' Wellinfton cr>uld with .advantage foL■low.suit. The present- svstem simply 'borders on the- farcical, andc-the Rugby Union would do well' to give consideration to- the plan -suggested, by Brass^ White, which had the nierii? of sound common-sense. Brassy's , suggestions, Jiawever, were too progressive for some ~ of the-amia-ble, ineificients controlling our Rugby, interests. They have long since got into a narrow, conservative rut, and notbinff.-on this mortal earth, save a 'Frisco "quake," would shift them. Little, who collided with Riddell in the Glcibe-Auckland City Club ' match, wheieby both had their legs broken,, was at one time playing in a Wellington junior combination. The opinion is unanimous that theTaranaki team now on toitr is one of the best combinations that has represented the butter province for years. Its victory over Wa.nga.nut.' ' shows conclusively that . "WellinKton has a i touch, task on hand to up-end Hunter, Mynott and Co. Great interest N is being taken in the Dunedin visit, as it is some years siace a 'Taranaki' team went -'so '-far South. Speaking from . memory, I don't think the Taranaki and OtaKo teams have met on.*tt Dunedin . rugbv ■ground since that eventful afternoon when Alf BavivV tackline- of poor Barnev Armit led to the death of tho crack .Otagp wiiify three-ciuarter, The Old Bov-'s. team iournev to Wafi^anui on the 17th prox. and play a match there against the 1 Wangariui College ojd boys on the following day.