HOKIHEHN TJNION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 195, 17 August 1915, Page 8

HOKIHEHN TJNION.

tHARLIE SAVORY. The announcement of the death of Corporal "Charlie"' Savory, ine ex International Northern I'nion player, and one of the stalw ;rts of the Ponson'ov United t'iuh. will he greatly regretted by all followers of sport in New Zealand. savory's association with Northern

l°£'-nn football dates from his disqualification by th-' Rt'gby Union in 1011 under whose auspices he formerly played. In almost every match in which be placed. Savory was easily the most eon spietious figure in the field. He was a

wonderfully energetic player. He was the coping -tone that carried the weight ~f the scrum: he was the first up when the bal! had been released. In every forward rush his burly figure was the nilor. and whenever there was the spectacle of a whole mass of wriggling players near tbe line it was generally he who smilingly emerged from undermost. Probably his physique served to emphasise his vigorous play, and bring him more prominent l v into the limelight.

WITH THE AUSTRALASIANS. Despite the circumstances under which he had left the ranks of the Rugby I'nion. the League, after witnessing Savory's play.- had sufficient confidence in him immediately to give him a place n. the New Zealand team which .toured Xew South Wales in 1911. To my mind he was the gentleman of the team." stated a prominent member of the New Zealand League, who accompanied the team on its tour. He was always a happy-go-lucky fellow, and, despite the misconceptions his weight has sometimes caused in regard to his play, he was v thorough gentleman on the football field. He acted more like a father to tbe boys when he was touring, and lie was a prime favourite with all with whom he came in contact. With the exception of Francis, he was the best forward we took away with us. and he kept himself so fit that he never missed a match in the whole tour." The following year he \ras picked, along with Gillet. Francis, and Woodward, as a New Zealand representative m the Australasian team which toured England. Ag.iin he won a reputation as one of the best forwards in that formidable combination. On re'urning he airain donned tbe jersey fo- Ponsonby United,, and continued to play for the team until he joined the Army Service t'orps iv the main body of the Expeditionary Force.

THE "SAVORY CASE." Around Savory's name is wrapped much incident that has made hisiory in Northern Union football in New Zealand. His conversion to Northern Union football followed shortly after ' a big accession of strength to the newer code from the rauk-s of the Rugby Union. Quite a furore was created in sporting circles in the season of 1913, when,after a match between Ponsonby and Manukau. Savory was reported for an alleged serious football offence. The Auckland Rugby League suspended 'him for life, but on appeal to the Council of the New Zealand League it was ruled that the Auckland League's decision I had been given contrary to the evidence, and the penalty was quashed and the player was exonerated from all blame and forthwith reinstated. A curious impasse followed. The Auckland League refused to recognise the ruling of tbe parent body, and «as in turn suspended, and the management of Northern Union football was henceforth in entirely new hands. From time to time what'is known aa "the Savory case still crops up in connection with the management of the game, f-,r the new- executive has rigorously exe,uded .ill who were associated with :he defiance of the parent body from participation in tbe management" of the game. It was significant that after the incident both the Ne* Zealand Council and the Auckland League reposed so much confident in the stalwart forward •.hat representative honours, provincial and Dominion, were re OT l ar ] Th d upon him li), to the time of hi, departure. ''

A PROGRAMME UPSET. The result of the semi-final of the knock-out competition tor Roope's Rooster threatens to be the fly in the ointment of the end-ofthe-season programme arranged by the Auckland Rugby Lcapue. Provided that, the competition went according to time-table the programme would have been a full and interesting one. Saturday's draw between Grafton and Newton means the creation of an extra game, and the task of the League will now be akin to cramming a quart into a pint pot. Next Saturday was due for the final of the competition, and the - three succeeding weeks were booked for the home and return games between Auckland and Thames and the visit to Huntly, where the Auckland reps, will play a team from the Lower Waikato. There will be the additional difficulty of obtaining a ground locally if the final has to be deferred until other fixtures have been played. A decisive result on Saturday would have been a more satisfactory termination to the game, and would have enabled the machinery to run smoothly. WIND AND RAIN. The weather, conditions of Saturday afternoon were an effectual bar to good football, whgn Newton, Bapgerg »nd.

Grafton Athletic met on Victoria Park j in the Roope's Rooster competition semifinal. Given good weather and normal circumstances, the. issue was strongly in | favour of (,'rafton, although Newton | could be expected to put up a game tight, j The heavy wind and rain, combined with Grafton's weakness, promised to give the Red and Whites a sporting chance. , Grafton were without the services of Ifwerscn, Warner. Hay-ward, and Proscott. The wind and the state of ground and ball threatened to upset the handling . tactics whicii have been the keynote of their success, whereas Newton, strong in | the forward line, would suffer little dis- j advantage. Playing in the first half against the wiud, the Rangers gave a spirited display, and, thanks to their ! determined tackling, were well able to hold their opponents. Although the opportunities for accurate passing were few and far between, play in the first half was. on the whole, fast and open. Despite the handicap under which they played. Newton had a fair 6harc of the attacking, and although they were two points behind at the interval, they were prime favourites when they changed over to play with the wind. Unfortunately tbe heaviness of the going bad told on the players, and neither team was nble to resume with the dash that had characterised the first half. Play gradually became n monotonous series of Scrums and Ukisc rushes, and during the last 20 minutes was little more than a general scramble.

ELEMENT OK LUCK. Luck was with Grafton. Hud Newton been able to up half of the enterprise and vigour that had marked their work in playing against the wind they must inevitably have won. For nearly the whole of the second half play was between the tirafton 23 and the line, but Newton were unable to push home t'.ie overwhelming advantage they possessed. Indeed, on more tbnn one occasion there was » suspicion thnt no real effort was made to rise to the occasion when uniqw opportunities presented themselves, and that a little spurt nt the eventful moment might have brought them victory. -None of the players could be definitely sine-led out as slackers, hut

tilt' Kamrcis were again and again in a position to bring off the winning score ,'.n.l failed to do so. On tbe other hand there were several instances of sheer bad luck, and if there was any balance of fortune in n ga nio that was pregnant with chance it w-ls in Grafton's favour. In the course of the second half Potior potted a goal, which equalised the score, hut several potential goals from free kicks were missed, the last, which occurred just on time and was taken by Williams front a difficult nngle, creating a lively curtain-drop. On the afternoon's play Newton ought to have won, but in the replay their chances will he considerably diminished if Grawton put in a full team and arc favoured by good weather.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS. Of the Newton men, Bennett and Rope were outstanding for bustling, energetic play. The former was always as sturdy in defence as he was vigorous in the forward attack. The bulk of the work of the three-quarter line fell upon tbe shoulders ol Rope, and bis work was of sterling quality throughout. Biggs nnd Farrnnt did a good many useful things in the course of the game, but, taking tbe backs on the average, their work was of mediocre quality. Tbe forwards, however, were consistently good, except for one brief spell at the beginning of the second half, when, they fniled to get the ball in the scrum. Bennett's efforts were ably supported by Simpson and Pollock. The Grafton backs were exceptionally weak, and consequently did not shine. For half of the game the attack had to lie further weakened by the removal of .1. McGregor to the fullback position. His sound exhibition here was justification of the change, but the combination of the team Buffered accordingly. D. McGregor was the only other back who showed up to marked advantage, while of the forwards, Mitehel, Rutledge. and Rogers were the host.

The Otahubu players who were participating iv matches on Saturday last all turned out with white bands on (heir arms, as a mark of respect to their late comrade C. Hally, who was last week reported to have died from wounds received in the fighting at Gallipoli.

ASSOCIATION , With nest Saturday the tussle for the Falcon Cup will begin in downright earnest. The preliminary round on Saturday last was required to reduce tbe number of competitors to eight, so that the remaining rounds could be played out without byes.

There were ten entries in , the first place, and four of these derided last week which two of them were to go out. With eight teams left there will bo four games next Saturday, two on the following Saturday, and the final in three weeks.