The Football Season.

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1064, 11 August 1904, Page 3

The Football Season.

EN'.,.AND y. OTAGO. ANOTHER WIN FOR THE VISITORS BY 11 POINTS TO 8, By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, this day. Tiik weather was splendid for yesterday's match, and tho ground dry doßpito the heavy ruin on tho previous night. Tho takings woro i'9so, which it is estimator! would give tho attendanco at 21,000. Tho teams wore evenly matched in weight, Numerous (vco kicks woto given against tho visitors for off side play, tho referee being very sevore on their frequent broaches of ihe rules. Frim one of ihcso ut goal should havo boon kicked. Then they lost a chance themselves by getting ell' side. Finding they could not make much headway tho ball wns given to tho backs, who punted up tho ground in sueccisivo stages, In the 21 thoro was a lino out, and Dobson dashoil across, O'Brien kicking a goal. England, ut; Olago. 0. Il.v this titno '.he Englishmen had discovered tho lata! weakness in tho Oingo men behind tho scrums, whoro tho liveeight (Munro) was useless Thoy Hooded the play on to the weak spot and broko through tho defenoo rcpoatodly, In one rush Rush potted a fine goal. Englishmen, 9 ; Otago, 0. Just as tho spoil was ending Hush swooped on tho ball in a loose scrimmage, nnd darted over, Another gjal was kicked, making a total of II points to iiil. Wiih this lead Ihe spectators settled down to watch a big score bting piled up, but n niauie eimngo came over tho game. Stead called Murphy up from full back, and mado him change places with Munro. When the team was picked lliern win loud compiaint that, he was not played behind the scrum, and thei'3 is no doubt the Otago n'pVTOiiiilivi s wove quilo a tliflWent lot Willi lliissiiiiplouli-f'.gi'. It was ;lig.v who took charge of the gamo and did iho scoring Stead fed his backs, and they ran and passed like deer, but not altogether with judgment, as sometime) they simply went across tho ground Irom one side to tho other. Nevertheless in the first quarter of an hour they put up two tries, both scored by Bonnett, and fiom one Murphy kicked a goal. England, 11; Otago, 8. The British, rosining that th'-y hud no beaten team to face as they imagined, set to work like cats, Their forwards put in sharp loose rushes, and their backs used all arts r.t their command, but again and p.girin they wcro swept upon their own lira. Kepeatidly ihe Otago backs would run in wiihin a couple of feet of tliii goal line, but the defence was too good and there they were stoppul, sometimes through their own fault in throwing f inv inl or failing to tako a pass. A m irgin giined by the visitors in the first fatal period of inopiiludo held good, nnd though they were play'ng a losing game in the last half they wore able to claim a victory by II points to 8. Bin for the bad playiug of iho Otngo men inr.l their fechlo goalkicking the position would probably havo been reversed.

At tho (linnet: in tho ovcning.the British captain gavo them credit for being tho host team thoy had yet met, They lin.il raally had n hard game, and his team could teach their adversaries nothing.

TAitANAIU V. WELLINGTON Hy Te|p|{riipli.-Pr«M Association. Nrw Plymouth, this day Taranaki beat Wellington by 11 points to !•>. Tho local forwards ran all over the visitors,