OUTDOOR SPORTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 177, 27 July 1914, Page 8

OUTDOOR SPORTS.

InOBTIEERX T-NIOX,

ENGLAND V. AUCKLAND. GOOD GAME IN THE MTJD. VISITORS' WSE SHOWIXU. WIX BY 34 TO 12. ..AUCKLAND'S UPHILL FIGETT. ■Mt. M,infcvlini'.-< famous phrase, ""Drm'il (Liimp. moist, unpleasant." would Have voiced the feelings of many a Northern Uniim supporter when Ira opened his ■■vrmiaw curtains on Saturday morning. A more discomforting prosper t for the match between Auek,l:uid ami England i-ould Jiut b? imag-rini-il. iL-eaden doudn overhung a dreary., •rate-eaakal landscape, ainl: 'throughout the. marairii The aifareeaid cloud* conlirrnedl u> WP-cp rafttOMSly. With owa*;cmal .rncfnvaJi>—ti> continue tho laphTymai mrtaplior— to enable a fresh supply of te.vrs to aisMUDU-la-te. Never* it'n«l«*. ErrgKtSh liKinagenK ami the .jA-oHda-raT Leagrro officiate agreed to l-xrj/ary rai t!ie tixtnre. and. e'aorHy after ■Trrtidday (terreorous 'brass ibivndis, drawn an im*:ir l poodcv-lorxies. a bravn ami san-oroue din •in the etty Ktrreits, ami eftVctuaUy bostAng up the. crowd. Shortly after nrid--%isy. tt*o. .bright gleams of sunshine ehot nhrongh tlie blonds. Tlvere was a 'final 3]<>ffvy down-pour, ami ihcn: the. afternoon lirake a» 'bright and invigora.ting *as could be <l(?feired. ißy vxo ■o'clock the 3kraraia was baOheil' in ibrilliant- avnflihif. 'Althoiish tlif influx of epeeta•»tore fmm the district muFO have teeJi I>y ihe uncfTtaiin.y of the t:!re ecream of peofltswnng T>imiaiirw-ards over <"ini£ton IRredge miguTed a. big attendaaicc. By ,!t)}rnPß o"»'l'oc!c there •wre "probably "34.000 io L>iKlo petrpltf fprcsent, no fewer TT-han 13.000 pavhiE for adiniasion, the .rtaldnge at "the trartes and stands total•sincr just ovet £1)50. - up as follows:—> "ESGLMCD. Full-back? Woodr., Oldham (13et.y THrep-<juartcT6: TVloariKOTse, tHnddereificid . (J26fc 71b), slafl. Oldhiaii (illst 7Vb). .Tcnfcins, Wiguu ■llSsfc lOFb), Daviffii r Leede (12et 21bj. Half-backs: 'finritV'Huiislot. (list Wα), Rogers. 0!d:----ham (list <ilbj. Forwarde: r.amsdale. (J4st lWhl.Longetaffe, Uud'dieTefivld) (14-?t 10Ib), Chaoott. Bud-df-reiield (14st). JahnsDD, 'Widnee (I3st 21b),'Holland, Qldhum'-dast Stb), Cold--1 TKk. iXYigau; (14et 21b). treight. J2srt. 131b» AUCKLAND. FnJl-lxick-: Ctoss. PonscnibT 71b)i ~ Thre'e-quaxtere: IWs»oHey,"Ci£y (Met), Tfworsen. Grafton <105t «3rb), Fox. iXorth. .Shore (list 21b). Five-cigirthe: DXcCrrmoflt. Ponßonbv- (flst), H-ardgrave, Ota'huhu (12et). IIa!f-back: Wsbb, Ponsonby (I le-t- 41b). — . . -Foxwarus: fovory, iPonso:iby (1-ltt 61b). Bennett, iNVwitoit (14et). Walters. Shore •(1-it), Mitchell. Gra-ftcn (U&: 10\b). Hav-vra.Td, Thames (lSst). Ciarke, PouBUQuy (HstriHr); • ■ •Avarap-L' wt-jghlt. list l<Mb. ißefi'ree: Mr. K. Benson, Aucklaml. ALT£RATIOX OF TEAMS. An, iin-portanfc tha-njjp had: been made. iv tbt' adVertisedi L\u<-Jdand feara, (iil•lftt, of PoiiFonby. was un;ibV to turn out, au<l Iri* place at full-iiack 'vvai» filled by dues, of J'onsoittn'. CTlw; learn originalH" amroimoerl! to reprasoirt EngJuml .proba'Wy b'oiiM hard ibeen the azTongeßt. they liavr- vet put into Ihe itield, but on Saturday it was discovered that 'Wagetalfe. iheir brilliaat «entry. Irad rc.'fived an injury <to 'his %-U(fl in tlie 'Eitlui'm match, trhieh precluded liis appearance. Jarman. too. ■Mas i:na'ble tr> mra out in the forward liny. owinij to 3. tw-ieted anile. Tire restrrartfioineiK- of liip tram refnllrd in JHdll. the half-back, soing to centre TliTee-qiXiirtcr, h'.d place beinj; taken by Hogert. of Hudierslirld. bmA .Johnson, of Widn«B. joining the pat-k. Tho ru-t-iinflle had the dual HFec-t. «t redHicing awmjje weight from l3®t lib ti> list 13iib. a;nd raplai-ed tho burly l"uirt«Ti stonp AVajetaffc by an list 7li - man. thim .placing trhe companitivoly Jijrht AuckTaTHl centrrt; upon coneideTably betcar .tp-rar.e. Eveiv en, the disiparity of the physique Tier-omre apparent wjipffl the Anaidand avwag-e of list 3orbß is rompared vrith the English avn-aip , . fhvinjr to the eoddenod state of the pronnd rhe earlier "<Mjrta.in-raieor" was -.ibandonetL The match lietwcen Xorth S'jore and •(second prade) reMilted in a n-in for North Bhore by a jioitrto to nil, THE PLAY. afraiitefc tlie i?laiittii>; rave of a .powerful suTi England quickly gained tiro a-.i'vaiitag-c <rf Jo yards over the lialfw.ry line, but were ranmrdjat<«lj peimlisfd. for Savory to nicely tho linr. Qiiieldy f!ic p!.iy ewunjj out nf i; a- ICngti-'n ijiiancTd. .laikins out a nire miivemcirt. Mid-Held iliu Knjrljik Bt'rum-ihf.l/ ua.; pwiufet.! for exploring tlie blind f.ide of tlio f..Tinn, and again Aaekhind'd 14-etaoer i,i-iit ii \'ing raking kitk into toaeli at I .'■•-.Tiv-tivt. in ihe Ecrummagv i!ie iorwards were {lenaJised by Mr. BcEßcn for lilting in tlie serum, and Jfwtrson taking the kick, shaved the outside of the post. I'rom the twenty-five both teams niterua'tely enjoyed ejiort-livod gpclte of attacking, and 1 in , an Auckland puesing inowimcnrt M<.Clymottr*B wj«i interrrptrd, and only a fuulty throw by one <>l lire "Ihree-ipiartere averted iruabli". jmmediately after i'rnen nicely reltevcd a :pim-li, and 1 1 ln-n Ifypereen 4t.mil in i« t'Ui" "epotrlight*' l»y ii flcrrr k«t"wh of kk-lai and. lolloTs-up inrjy.sn»rte, from one vt wliich he fcyfjl.»rif tUJ^th.c^lii.;ldta>'iiU--sitL i isilt^t

his feet, ami had everyone beaten, but ■was recalled by the referee for a knockon. Once Davree sent a powerful purot ilowu ike ih>!d. and fi-Uowed up to eeiiiie possession, but llardgrave saved a ik-klish eiumtion. iWifli <tho game a ijinmvr of an ho-ur old the Englishmen opened tlioir ei-ore. Coldrivk leapt to intercept a long slow past*, and supported In- lloorhouse ran down the Held iv roint- when challenged by Cross, and M'ored without parting ■with -the ball. Woods, the burly British firll-back, eonrforta-bry «mv- the ball over. England „ G Auckland ... o W'heri play resinned the hall hovervd in nmUield for a brivf (rpaee. and HardRTavc. ■AW-lymtmt and i/wra-scn ■pajti-i-ipalvd in a handling movement which gained little ground, aiid then the Englishmen sweeping dorrai in the loose a>Bliu dre-w blood. .lenkins smartly gathered up the ball, and sent oiit a short, snappy paes to iMoorhouer, w.ho lightly punted. Jenkins an-l H-ollaml fleetly 'following up jointly fell on the ■hall. Woode again converted. ■Kngla-nd . ...... 10 Auckland .. .__.... 0 Lifting in the eerum again gave rfweieptl an opportunity of demonstrating bio nnagnifierart, kicking powcTs, ;.ho ball only tailing .1 few feet short when 'lcielcpil from the JiaW-way line. Swerving, eide-etepping and hurling tihe ball about in every direction tut that exipecred In fho eorpiy-Sried Auckland defendere, the English backs again got on the move, and. racing down the wing to crown a capital movement, Jenkins passed to Moorrfionb-e, who eroeeed near the touoh-linp and , ran round and nicely placed the hall. iWoode added the goal points, msfcing the ecore:— Hvngiand .—•. 15 Auckland -.., x 0 By this time the ground had Ireeome a quagmire, and with *thp greasy ball e-'ltoofring between tme hands of the ATJcdclaawi ibacke Ilk?" a. squeezed ora-irge pip they could' maku little iprogr&as against the stalwart English defence. At lairt ffwers'anr's cblnce came again, aj>d whe-n Rogens refused to play the ball mkl'way 'between halfway and twenty-five lino, the Auckland captain sent, an unerring shot over the crossbar. England ..._....„......._ 15 Auckland ........_..._.».. 2 Once 'Hardgrave shot out a pretty to iic-Clyniont, and the nippy iiveughthi kicked aud followed up to regain pos=esbion, but he was promptly smothered. Xext Ifwersen was conspicuousfor a sparkling run up the right" wing, in the course ol which he cleverly tricked three successive challengers, and then cross-kicked for Hardgra\ - e to make further ground. If Auckland were faulty in handling they were resolute and determined in tackling, and time and again a 13-stone Englishman would violently 'bump the earth at .the challenge of a slim Auckland back. Hereabouts Auckland were doing tolerably well, and forced play to within a few yards of the English line. Once again over-eagernes,> in the scrum led to another free against the Englishmen, but ■ Webb, faced by a eimple proposition, 1 struck the post with the ball. Scarcely had the game got iuto motion again when th c referee whistled another penalty a<rains.t the and Uweraen's kick fell nicely into the hands of Jenkins. The versatile TVigan threequarter Taced pcil-meU down midfiekl.' to burst through a ruck of defenders by I cheer weight, but MeClyniont proved hU undoing. Just before half-time 'Fox. who had been assiduously worrying the Engi lish three-quarter line, enginvred a proj mining opening for Bennett, who sprinted J trywards with the defence ibeaten. A ■better turn of speed would haw crowned the ciTort, hut with :i defender close upon his heels Bennett desperately swung the 'ball out tn a win? man hustling to the rescup. iAn Englishman, however, secured possession, only to be promptly floored, and in the ensuin? melee the visitors were penalised for olTsidc.and.liwersPn taking the 'kick, ihe board again cliamred. Half-time came a minute late r with the score:—• Englan,} .... - 3 j-, Auckland ...-.;.--.*„.....,, 4 I THE SECOXD HALF. I I Resuming, Auckland returned to the fray with ze>t. but Woods got in a hefty relieving kick, which Temporarily changed the venue, and then a series of unfortunate slips again caused the black clouds to gather over the hope* o f the home team's supporters. Clever work by Ifwersen, however, swung play back, and energetic following up brought the home team's first try. Woods, in attempting; to relieve near thr line, dropped the ball, and Savory, coming up with a might v rush, carried the' ball over. Ifwerson found the angle too difficult to add thu goal points. England .... ...„_. „._. 15 Auckland *...*.,._i..._ 7 Then the English backs swept down on a vengeance hunt. Deftly tlip ball travelled in a series of short, faultless jumps tn the wing, and Hall, the last man to handle, went over lor the prettiest try of the afternoon. Wood* failed with the kick. England ». ...„ IS Auckland ................ J After the kick-off. Mitchell was con-.-picuous for heavily bringing llogers down, but with Auckland pressing. Johnson intercepted a hiph pass and made an upon ing for Moorhntise on the leftwing. Ffwrrscn hunted him to the lino iiud actually collared the fugitive bi-fon; hi- crossed, but the. pair shot half a, dii/.pn yards on the silushy turf, and Moor house got Ijh try. Kngland .. 21 Auckland .. 7 There were tlirills in plenty for (lie spfi'tuiors lit this juncture. I'n.lismayed by the niwrses of the piwt few minutes the Auckland forward* continued U> make a brave show, and Bennett drihbling the ball at the head of the pack, carried play to the line, where Clark cms-ed, Jlwereen cuiwting. England „.._,_„..,.. 21 Auckland ***.** . 12 The slim and agile Auckland barke w<»rr hereaboutn beautifuliv linmlling xiTf. ball, to the liugf dl-ligilt nf the spfotat<irs, lint from the scrum the English thoae-deadj^

machine-like movements which the Auckland defence seemed impotent to frustrate, and, with odds on another try Irani the epeedy left 'wing, JfwsTeen hinstled flying thTee-fluarter and caused him to throw forward. From Hardgrave's mark ..Savory showed that he is not a half-way line kicker, and once more a period of play pregnant with incident brought forth another try. Ooldrick, the Wigan forward, gathered up the 'ball, and Jenkins ami' Holland participated in «• lovely series of exchanges which sent the latter over. Woods converting. Kngland i 26 Auckland , ~.. 12 The Englishmen's next succese was by way of a soft litle gift. A melee tell yards from the Auckland line bad been temporarily nijmcd in the 'bud, 4mt the ball unexpectedly dropped from a (Struggling mass of playera into Longstaffc'a hand when he was so placed that be hud only to fall over the line. As a matter of fact, toe lost possession, but Ramsdale was up. and added the finishing touch. Woods nusacd at point blank range. England _.. .. 29 Auckland .„„ 13 Xotv. Auckland were visibly tiring, and with Cross on the ground. Rogers foroke through in mid-field, and Blade a bep-line for home. Woods again kicked a goal. Kngland ...... M^... ........ 34 Auckland r --■...., tJ ... 1? Once Savory, who had played a hard, untiring game in the Auckland pack, raised a cheer by a daslring dribbling movement, which gained half tlie length of the field, but no tangible advantage accrued, antl Mitchell was also conspicuous for a like individual burst. The rigour of the game tailed off towards the end, and the game finished up without further score.

HOW THE GAME AVEXT. Considering the state of the ground the game, was a fine exhibition of the Northern T'nion code. From kick-olf to the final bell there was not a let-up during the eighty minutes' play. On the whole the hefty Britishers dominated the scrum, but this does not. imply that the Aucklanders were badly beaten in this department. On the contrary they made a good showing against' their doughty opponents. The most noticeable weakness in the Aucklandcrs' play was that the ball did not come cleanly from the pack. On the other hand the men from overseas got the oval out with remarkable rapidity, which enabled the halves to send their three-quarters away iv great style. The visiting forward? were hardly as good in the loose as they were generally expected to be. and this ■was really the only fault that could be. debited against them—that is. judging on this afternoon's play. The Aucklanders broke away from the pack much quicker than their opponents, but there was an absence of a knowledge of the finer points of the game, and, time after Time, a lot of good individual ■work was nullified 'by the absence of combination. , AUCKLAND'S WEAKNESS. The Auckland pack wae certainly not disgraced, fur had they received' anything like decent support from their backs tihe points against them might have been p-maller. It was in the rear division that Auckland failed, and .failed badly, for outside Ifwersen, Hardgrave and McClymont the rest were v*ry weak. Of course, they were greatly overshadowed in the matter of weight, but this does not altogether excuse their failure. Probably the fact tihat come of them were niakin<r their nrst appearance in big football had something to do with it. but it cannot be disguised that their failure to act up to the reputations gained j n i oca | Jootball wae the primary factor in the margin ot points registered against them.

The visitor,' backs gave a fine display with a greasy ball, their quick, accurate passing being a strong feature For heavy men they showed wonderful pace on -ie sticky ground, and when they started throwing the ball about some"thing usually happened. The marked difference m the tactics of the two back divisions was noticed in the positions taken up by the two sides from the scrum, nic visitors played closely, and were always handy for the short pass wlide the AuL-klanders lined out more in accordance with Kugb-- Union methods, .nls enabled the visitors to intercept their attempted passing run*. and several fine openings were absolutely wasted. Another weakness of the local men w.is a disposition to try and go tix> far on their own. which, agaiii-t such deadly tackling as the visitors demonstrated, was absohrtolj- fatal to the chances of the side. Had the locals taken a les?on in the second half from their more experienced opponents, it would have been greatly beneficial. THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS. Of the individual players, Woods, at full-back, gave a fine exhibition. His kicking was very sound, but once or twice ho got tip too dose to bis threequarters, and this fault was principally the cause of Auckland's two tries. The three-quarter line was very solid, Hall and Jenkins, if anything, being the pick. Rogers, at half, was the best back on the ground. Ho got the ball away in great style, and it wa-s a real treat to witness his corkscrew runs. Smith, his partner, also made a good showing, only biifferinii in comparison with Rogers. The forwards were an even lot? Coldrick probably being the pick.

Of the loyal players Crore, at fullbark, was not a. RIICCP--S. His defence was very weak, and. though at, times his kicking was decidedly useful, hie pJay generally was not up to representative etanrtard. 'I'fwereen was the. pick of tire 'three-<]uaxter.s. l>ut got very lrttlfi support from his wings, Woolley ami Fox. both of whom v.rrc a long way below fnrin. Their handling and taking of thr: ball was decidfdly weak, suid they spoiled a ntraJjcr of opportunities by running into the oppr.ejng forward* in The ivain iiu'pc -of 'broukincr through. Of lTic ilvp-t'ighuhr* QfurdgraTp utik the betttr. hiß .bting a Ktron-" leawire of his work. McClyjnont did not play up ti> pspectatione, wat; altotoo ligiit 'J'or the propcKUion c he was up agatiists Wfthb. aL half, wait a .['.inirmimwl failure, auti rnruiinly did not justify jlichujioit in Un- tea.m. He was ve-ry β-low in getting the ball away Do hJK backe, and wat> reijeatedly ta.-klvd in 'pctse&sion, with Uie result that the attack was somewhat starved.

Wihiii'j: can be waia ihc forwiir<ie. for l\\e )>»;-k. ar» h Vnolc. a rc:il ffoott p\)iibiLif>ii. TTicy ioughl it our. to the hittpr cud, aihi AhcayK had tbe heavy Brk'»h Tangniar.l their liewi.. Ther istj-c hardly -ok Uml at ihe

,-wae every 'bit ac good-. There wae a slight disposition on the part of one or two of them not bo get round ac quicldy ac might have 'been the caee, but, ail things considered, they are to be congratulated on the good -fight they put up against 'the vieitiKg half dozen.

CROSSING THE BAB. SOMETIMES. HOW TEE GOAL-KICKIXG COMPETITION FAKED. The haif-time interval was enlivened *>y a goal-kicking competition between Woods and Rogere, representing England, and Asher and Duity (of '•Give it to Dtifty"' fame) on 'beh-.tlf of Auckland. With the bail weather-sodden conditions ■were fur from ideal for place-kicking, with the result that from the right whig not. a single kick found the parallel. From the centre, however. Woods and Dufty scored, and on the left wing the quartet again drew a blank. Woods and Dtifty then kicked for the honours, which fell to the Englishman.

SOUTHERN MATCHES. CANTERBURY V. WELLIXGTOX. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) • CHRISTOUmCH. Saturday. The League rep. match Canterbury v. Wellington was played to-day. It was a good display of open football. In the first spell Wellington put on 8 points to nil. Wllsou scored from a passing rush, ami Strickland kicked a ueat go.ll. Bradley also scored. Tbe dual score was:— Wellington 13 f'anterhury 3 Second spell scorers -were: Wellington. M-anning. n try. converted by Campbell aud , Canterbury a try scored by Smythe. In the jiiuior rep. match, Wellington, 11. beat Canterbury, 6.