FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 134, 7 June 1911, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

BUGBT. The big card of the llugby Union at ajesaailra i'arj; on Saturday van the jgtftoil-Marist Bros, match, it was throughout a game of incident and cxAtaaent, full of all that goes to make .Mil' football. Yet it was not good Bli'ljy by any ipeans, tliere being a lack o f finish in t' le forward and bat'k work of 'both sides which made combination impossible. Before Betting out to say nasty things, one may be permitted to congratulate Grafton on the result of the game. This (earn was minus a halfback and without the services of Swninson and Honeymoon ji the forwards, and had to bring Caseley iip behind the scrum and push tive{jghih Marshall into the pack. Under {he circumstances, it looked as though jhe Marists would have a fairly tasy 'vrin, and the result of the game must have been something of a shock to ileir supporters. At' the same time it can't be confa&ei tjiat the Marisfc Bros, went down defore a better team. They really owe fleir defeat to inaccurate passing and poor handling, for several times (three at least) passes were dropped or knocked forward just on the goal-line. Grafton lad only one similar chance, and they grasped it with both hande, sure. The , game among the forwards was of the strenuous variety, but much good, lefty work was marred by an amount W wild kicking which must have made the accident insurance fund officials fed sick. The protecting providence that makes a specialty of casting a mantle ef safety over drunks and Chinamen must 'have had a day off to see the foot c ball , match. Thfi is the only way that ene can account for the absence of serieut accident during- the game.

InkstcT and Marshall played a conlidera'We part in the Marist downfall ly keeping the ball away from the opposing backs. They almost invariably Ijooked the ball in the serums, and, thongh it frequently zig-zagged a very slow passage to the half, the fact that it Tfas in possession of Grafton helped the eide ajong mightily, because there waa always a. chance that something might iappen if it got out amongst Ben O'Brien, Power and Co.

Caselpy did his sturdy best as emergency talf, and if he didn't always get tie ball away as smartly as he snould Mve done it lias to be remembered that the opposing -winger, McDonald, lavished very active attention on him, aid McDonald is a very capable spoiler ofgqod. things. .;Cpieian and Power did a lot of stopping work, but in their attack they allowed themselves to be pushed, too mpijl across field instead of whipping the ijali away immediately they discover.el there was tk> chance of a cut in. (Ms is a rather fault with i\t Qrefton inside backs." They, howthemselves at the finish with-s dish, which gave Grafton the 'euiib Jh Woolfgram and Edwards they itni.a couple of wing threes -who may VrelieoVon to do something if given ttxA and opportunity; Wdolfgram was not given any chance to show his scoring ability, but be M a great deal of saving work for the tide, and did it well. Edwards also Ms neglected so far as being hawded out He ball was concerned, but he also did a Jot of defensive work. He is apparently possessed of some pace, and is, therefore, a useful man to feed. At fullback, Miller came tfrrough a hard game witH credit. His taking -was not too clean, but he always managed to retover in time to beat trouble. ' The llarist much beIpw the form shown against Ponsonby tte previous week. They were beaten in scrum work and were only a good Bemud so far as play was concerned. Heir strong point was their quick breaking from the scrum and close, hard folipVfing. The Tikes go hard all the way. nnd on this occasion they were well led. by Grace, McDonald, Gteeson, and Herring. They etill have a tendency to Itick too hard, instead of dribbling close, efld lose chances thereby. Individually the Marist backs played a ' tapital game, but they invariably failed »t the critical moment when on the at*Spk; They, too, showed to a, marked degree the old fault of running across fieldi • Ourran was probably the worst offender in this respect. The habit of niriijiiig across or back, unless there WP.eniJ.'tp 'be some very good reason, is always j-to be deprecated, and it is es- I pwial|y a habit that a centre three"jnarter should avoid as he is always «pected mpre than any other back to itraighten up the line and give his wings * iair xun. Curran has pace and several #er qualities that go to make the successful' centre three-quarter, and if he tultivated the habit of going straight, ho Would probably do better. Anyway it's an occasional trial. S()]an jfas given little opportunity to instigate any dangerous attacking movements from behind the scrum, as his # got very little of the ball. On one lesion, however, he badly beat the op.josition on the blind side", and had his piss to the wing not gone astray, there Jjfght have been a different ending to fteaiatch. ..Little, like ifalan, was buried in defence work close behind the forwards, an tt he also had only one shining chance ""-when he got a clear pass and put in V.straight dash to the line, finishing «P with the usual missed pass at the W moment. Ben O'Brien, Fisher and Curran freqnently initiated attacking movements tt T iy un P rorai3in !l beginnings, and uiev o;ept tSie opposition busy from IF to finish, but the hick waa against 1 !™^ ana the > T nevpr «l ni te" got there. ?• O'Brien, at fullback, wns a thorn f tne. sido of tho enemy. His fielding. jwng and kicking were both sure and ' lull mA ti,,lc nnd a S- lin «c averted .?"« threatened tragedy. He can in no W beblanie tl for the score that Graf-. i? n eventually got. the whole game it has to ■L\? ltted tl,at the Mavists «r e a strong' Wt, ? ?,? rous tcara - Some d,I V their 5" a r? ! and on that day they tho en! t -}° muet tho best " team 'n toitin ? P ' I ,On and put U P a S lad ex " ™n Oi tac game. eOnbfn? b ? might casiJy have compiled Mo T teild of ™ Newton ■VvnTo 1f a Park on Saturday, but, ■-Work" , if i. SOft " ■ ?ame ' lhe .V went to l C»hr t aphaZard! - v ' "» d S ave little l ■'WwA con «rted action. There was, *We V S ? rt . q£ nash-in-the-pan brilWa"ri,™ oUe s. ]t ,vas generally a onc-■V-WpdS'x >,cwtal ' s back 3 suffered a ■'• tlj oPttrtnf-^ m / nsufi ' cicnt feedin g on ' peretl fh ° forw "ds, and this hamt!l *rlt i r i a great deal - In an l' ca s=. • "M'-.iuf^t d P a . ssln S was bound to seribL tt «if(mn n n tl ! cir 5 c ? lan «es ot success, and found little difficulty in

keeping them within bounds. It must niH b.- forgotten that Newton lost two uf their best men early in the game and hud to replace them with juniors. McGregor was by far the eesc man in the held. He was always there, and his strong rushes brightened up the game considerably.

The contest between the City and Parnell fifteen resulted in a rather easy victory for the former by twenty-four points to eight after an exhibition that at no stage rose above mediocre. At the commencement Parnell for a while appeared to be the aggressors, and had their opponents gradually receding to their base, but it was no more than a temporary delusion. When City once settled down to the task before them they demonstrated beyond question the fact that they were tne masters of the siuation, and promptly began to run up the points. On several occasions in the course of the match Pamell rallied, and, collecting their forces, made things lively for City, but hardly at any time was it more than a. passing spurt. The defeated were outclassed in all departments—fairly beaten by City's forwards, and no match for the rearguard. The game was largely confined to the forwards, but the backs occasionally took a prominent hand in affairs, and particularly in City's side some good passing bouts were inaugurated, and splendid line-kicking indulged in. Tyler appeared for the first time this season with his old team, and, though a bit out of condition, kept the forwards together, and showed the young players what to do. City got the ball from the scrums on most occasions, and pushed through the opposition in strong rushes, generally working with the vigour and combination necessary for a pack to be successful. Frake was the moit prominent forward on the ground, and if he maintains the high standard he has shown in recent matches he will not be far away when "rep" honours are bestowed. All the City backs played well, and made but few mistakes. Magee, Barclay, and Healy were never found wanting, and Fitzgerald, at full, gave an exhibition that was easily his best i in Auckland. He never missed a ball, his line kicking was magnificent, and he collared splendidly. The goal he landed from the field was a fine effort.

The Parnell forwards at times only concerted their efforts, and mostly resorted to loose, individual play. Failure was the result. Hansen, Wilson, and Warbrick were the best of a pack that has the material required for effectiveness, but lacks either the inclination or the training. The backs appeared to be "shaky," and made frequent mistakes in dropping the ball and mis-kicking. Hardwicke was about the only exception, but his good work did not counterbalance the series of errors by the others. Williams, at full back, played" a safe game, but he is a bit slow in his movements to get out of trouble.

In the inter-collegiate match 'between Auckland and Wellington Universities, played at Wellington on Monday morning, , the Auckland team -were defeated for the first time this season, and the Wellington team scored their first victory. It must Jbe: iemembered, however, that Auckland were playing six secondgrade players, •which somevrcrat disorganised the team.

The Wellington forwards got to work right away, and as the;result of fine combination, beat the Auckland pack in every department. Auckland secured fche ball from the scrum, twice, the Wellington hookers shooting the ball out cleanly when ever it was wanted. Walsh, the well-known representative five-eighths, was the pick of the Southern backs. The remainder were not at all aggressive, failing to take advantage of the,, frequent openings made 'by the forwards'.

Auckland forwards had none of the vim and dash of their opponents, and ■with the exception of Grierson, Bamford, and Cargo (a second-grade player), their play was very poor, failing to follow up, their fault of thrue years ago, "was very much in evidence. Of the hacks, Gray played his usual sound game at five-eighths, hut was hampered through the - lack of the hall, Macky, Qμ the wing, took advantage of his only chance (a long random pass from Gray), and after a pretty run, in which tie T>eat the majority of the' Wellington backs, scpred "between the posts. He converted his own try, and a few minutes afterwards kicked a beautiful penalty goal from the touch-line just inside the twenty-live flag, thus scoring all Auckland's points. The game ended Wellington 17 points, Auckland 8 points. , NORTHERN UNION GAME. The match to he played on Saturday •between Auckland representatives and the New Zealand team about to leave for Australia, will prove an interesting and close contest. The Auckland team contains good players, backs especially, and the New Zealand representatives will he up against a combination hard to beat. The New Zealand team leave for Sydney on Monday. The weekly meeting of the Management Committee of the Auckland Provincial Rugby League wae held on Monday evening in His Majesty's Arcade, there being present: Messrs. Brigham (chairman), Smith, Oliphant, Graham, Noone, Jackson, Anderson, Mcßeynolds, Linkhorn, H. Oakley (hon. sec.), and P. Ussher (hon. treas.). Messrs. J. G. Garland and Signor Bragato were elected vice-presidents of the league. A large amount of correspondence was received from several country districts, in regard to playing rules, and the Management Committee have decided to have 1000 copies of the playing rules printed to distribute among those districts which are desirous of forming Northern Union districts. Seven new players were registered to play in next Saturday's matches, while several were huld over for further information. The committee have taken this sland on account of tllfc different clubs protesting against prominent Kugby players coming over and being selected in the New Zealand team for Australia.

The following matches Trill take place on Saturday:—Auckland v. New Zealand, at Takapuna Racecourse, at 3 p.m. Second grade: North Shore Albions v. Northcote Ramblers: at North Shore; referee, Mr. Cunningham. City Rovers v. Ponsonby United, at North Shore; referee, Mr. Hopkins. Third grade: North Phore Albions v. City Rovers, at Victoria Park; referee, Mr. Chalmers. At a meeting of the Management Committee of the Lower Waikato League, held in the Waipa Hall at Ngaruawahia on June 3 the first round of the junior competition was arranged. Three teams were entered, viz., Himtly and Ngarua>vahia A and B. It was decided to play the junior matches as curtain-raisers to the senior, fixtures throughtmt. June 10, Ngaruawahia A plays Ngaruawa-hia B, at Ngaruawahia; June 17, Hu-ntly plays Ngaruawahia B, at Ngaruawahia; June 24, Huntly plays Ng&ruawahi* A, at Huntly, -

ASSOCIATION. The Nortfoepte Club has entered for the fifth division championship, and: will 'be pitted against Church of Christ on the Domain on Saturday next. The Everton-Caledonian fixture oa Saturday next ought to toe a good contest, as both teams are strong ones. It has been decided to write and invite the Wellington 4th division, representatives to play Auckland about the third Saturday in July. A club has been formed at Karangahake this season. They have applied to play a match at Auckland. Mr. Levien, a Wellington delegate on the N.Z.F.A., was in town during the week, and was present on Eden Park on Saturday last.