RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 134, 13 July 1914, Page 2

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

THE SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP.

v With Old Boys a point to the good, and Merivale and Christchurch level in second place, the contest for the Canterbury Eugby Union's senior club championship has become decidedly interesting. Only three more matches have to be played by each :team, and they are such matches that the issue of the championship competition should be in doubt right up to the full-time bell in the very last match. Old Boys have to meet Christchurch, and Merivale. In the first round.Christchurch beat the whites by 7 points to 6, and, now that they have also beaten Merivale, the red and blacks, who have improved considerably Since -they played their first two or three matches, will face Old Boys next Saturday with plenty of confidence. Moreover, Old Boys are without H. M. Taylor, and their forwards have played very poor Eugby in their last two matches. So in Christchurcli and Merivale, Old Boys have two very difficult problems to solve. The Merivale team has to meet Linwood, Sydenham, and Old Boys. On their recently, the blue and whiter may' have* considerable difficulty in disposing of Linwood, so at least two hard matches seem to be in store for Merivale. After Old the Christchurch team has to meet Linwood, and either University or Sydenham;, and the first-named at ieast will give; it some trouble. By the way, the Christchurch team has met with some luck in the arrangement of the second round matches. When the C.E.U. Competitions' Coriimittee found it imperative that, the second round should be curtailed, it decided that neither .Merivale nor Old Boys should play either of the two teams- at the foot of the table. But in the first match of the second round Christchurch drawn against Marists, now the "wooden-spoon" team, so the red and blacks have' been provided with a slightly lesg difficult row to hoe than Merivale and Old Boys have to negotiate. The competition is very open. The most notable feature of last' Saturday's matches w'as the closeness of the scoring, two matches being won by three points each, and the third by one point, while the fourth was drawn. If the scores had not been so close the games would have been uninteresting, for the average standard of Rugby during the afternoon ; was : not high. Only occasionally was there any really attractive play. Taking the games all through, it may fairly be said that most of the scoring was done through advantage being taken of mistakes by the defending side, and not pf' openings made by the attackers, , , ;. i A FORWARD TIfSSLE.

For the most part, the I Chf iptchu'rehMerivale game was one of those' close, stern forward tussles that clo not permit of much description. In some respects, too, it was a curious game. Both individually and collectively, Merivale was somewhat the better team, but it could not win. It did most of the attacking, and it often found weaknesses in the defence, but it could get through only once. There were seyeral reasons for this. One was that the Merivale pack lacked a real leader. Very often the efforts of the forwards were spoilt by over-eagerness or by their omitting to do the right thing at the psychological moment. Again, although there was little systematic defence in the Christchureh backs, one or other of the red and blacks usually managed to "get there" in time to save his side. And another important reason was that Merivale's plan of campaign was unsound.

It may seem, at first glance, rather contradictory to follow that assertion by the remark that it was difficult for even the keenest observer to say .exactly what. Merivale's plan of campaign was. But the very absence of well-defined strategy,' : from Merivale 's methods, and the contradiction between the arrangement of the team and those methods, support the statement that the plan of campaign was unsound. Glance, for a moment, at the arrangement of the back division of the Merivale team as it went on to the field. R. Evans, at full-back; Cade, Fuller,!and GReadi in the three-quarter line; Maxwell! and Gleary at five-eighths, and Atkinspn; at half. C. Hegarty, lately, returned from Hawke 's Bay, was back in his, old place in the front row, pf the pack;., The fact that Maxwell had been taken out of the forwards and placed at fiveeighths indicated that this tiine Merivale was going to rely on its forwards a little less than usual, and play to the

backs more, for Maxwell is the most useful scoring forward in the team — when he cannot score himself he tries to make openings for others. VARIETY NEEDED. However, the early play discounted this anticipation*, for the Merivale forwards were playing their usual game. They were getting the ball in most of the scrums, but keeping it in the pack. Presently, though, they sent the ball out to' Atkinson, who started the backs going in a passing rush that ended in Cade scoring. That was good strategy, and it looked as if the blue and whites intended to vary their play. But it proved to be little more than a flash in the pan, for very' infrequent indeed were the subsequent whole-hearted efforts to set the backs going from the scrums —there were a few half-hearted efforts —except in the last few minutes, when the spur of necessity compelled Merivale to make one or two desperate attempts to send their backs dashing for the goal-line. Although Maxwell shaped very well at five-eighths, it would have been better for Merivale if he had been leading the forwards. CHRISTCHURCH FORWARDS GRAFT. Although they had a little the better of things in the loose, especially inlineout play, the Merivale forward rtishes seldom looked like, ending successfully, because they were carried out in a stereotyped manner. The Christchurch rushes, on the other hand, always smacked of possibilities, and no one was surprised w T hen T. L. Burns dashed over the Merivale line from one of them. The Ghristchureh paek worked hard and with good combination —there was not a single laggard among the forwards. Most of the credit accruing to the Christchurch team' for its victory should be given to'the hard-worked forwards, despite the fact that one of the backs, A. H. Gruiney, scored six—a dropped goal and a, try —;of the red and blacks' nine points. Of organised attack or defence, the Christchurch backs gave nothing; w r orth mentioning. Their play wasv almost purely individual,'and with some of them it was quite haphazard. y Some of the attempts at tackling were very weak indeed. Had it not been for the, great amount of work that L. W. Mehrtens_d.id so very well at five-eighths, the Christchurch backs would have been in sore trouble. MARISTS FALL AGAIN.

Marists fell to Sydenham by one point at Lancaster Park after a hardfought game in which the former team's forwards did most of the heavy work. Truth to tell, it was a lucky win for Sydenham, for both sides were scrappy, and the. Marist backs' arid Sydenfiaim forwards were equally ineffective?-In-dividually the green backs played well, but they lacked cohesion, and when required for combined work were found wanting.

From - the kick off Marists forced the pace and the forwards charged down the field, doing excellent team work. On one occasion they were over-zealous, and when a Sydenham back went down bn the ball the green pack came down on to him, attempting to kick, the ball from his grasp. There were three offenders,. and ; th,ey will probably, recognise the incident. As it happened they did, get the ball away, but they might just as easily have seriously hurt the man.

Watson's penalty place kick, giving Sydenham the first points of the game, was useful. Sustins and Clemens did the next piece of combined work when the former passed to the latter at the, Marist twenty-five. Clemens got .over easily. v Mahoney scored the first try for Marists by following up hard, and Seabourne added the extra points with a magnificent kick. Then Marists got a lead; it wa's again; the result of a forward rush, and Williams dived out of the melee and got oyer. The greens thus led by two points, but Hutchings made the game safe for Sydenham with a try scored solus right behind the posts after a Half -way run. . The game concluded when Marists "were attacking strongly, with Sydenham one point in the lead, 12 to 11, A'LUCKY DEAW. The first spell of the Albion-'Varsity game provided very dull football from a, spectator's point of view. The marcons, as on the two previous Saturdays, put a very Aveak team in the field, having once again to draw on their Juniors and Presidents. Next week, though,' Ave hope to| see 'Varsity, out with their full senior team, and show as 11.c combination they are going to play against the. Sydney students next month. In Saturday's game t*lie forAvards let them down badly, especially i-.i the first half. They seldom got the bail from the when they did they were too slow at breaking up. Their attempts at drftifbling rushes consisted of wild kicjring, : the players vcy el ten missing the. ball altogether. After their first try the. backs played with more confidence* anJifkct, their secondscore was the result q|; a pretty piece of passing work. t-The inner fiveeighths, though, kept:tpo far away from the half, and this very often gave the opposing forwards a chance to intercept.

Albion played their usual team, and having such weak opposition, it was generally thought they would secure a. second win. They played very poor football, and only for "Gray and Henry they would have suffered defeat. In aD_y case, they were lucky in making the game a draw, for the referee, instead of allowing 3yder hh.marlc, ought to have ordered a scrum—the ball "having .rebounded