FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 145, 19 June 1917, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

KUGBY. ORAFTON DEI-EAT- UNIVERSITY.. When Grafton met University at th" ghow Grounds on Saturday a fairly Jipre crowd anticipated witnessing a (leas. g°°d game. Nor were they disappointed, dough rain marred the con- {}___>■ stages oi tlie match The (Jraftoi fifteen again proved themselves to 6c punc fighters, and not a few of the oaDokcrs were considerably surprised alien they forced the running from the Srd and i.a.l scored three good tries before the student.- began to awake to ti? fart that it was time they started. During the rim spell the tlraflon pack lad a big advantage, and the blues' back division were kept f'>r the most part Bteadßly on tD,; defence, but they kept tfeeir men well marked, and their taeklin; tras perhaps what kept ■}_,■ whites Iffii. crossing as much a> they would otherwise have done. Hanseh scored tae nrst try for Grafton in the opening portion of the game, gaining possession from a scramble near the line, and very soon afterwards < larke separated himself front a scrum tin icr the bar and scored again. Tint- kivk should not have been missed. The next try «;»- scored lor Grafton iu>; before the first interval, and followed a bit of boys.? play. Wn'fsnim. the wing three-quarter, carried the ball fiom half way. and forced bita-elf over almost on the corner. After the tirst interval, play was very miiih faster, and Grafton did not have -hir.-s nearly so much their own way. The blue pack went to work, and several times almost succeeded in getting over, bat tie white backs were fighting hard. «nJ several time.- saved neatly. Rut Oarparich. the University wing, eventnslh scored from a ruck, and half tbe __mr wns our nith University two tries behind.

Kant commenced falling as the teams ■spilt on again, but the game was fast notwithstanding, and for the remainder of the afternoon honour? were for the most part with tin - students, who. hampered hy the fading rain, w hi.-h made the ball and the ground slippery were attacking more often than not. The blues pressed all through the third spi li. an! their w iug scored near tiie eerii-r before ;hr la-t interval. The fourth sjell w.oild ha*c been a specU lilar struggle hut ff>r the heavy ram la.l the taping light, but. etc!) 50. the iztue was verj fast and iiilere-tiiig Ve.ivers.ity tried hard to even the scores. ar-I came very near succeeding on more '.'"in ore occasion, but play was not 3 in the nuiee territory, as several teres the blue backs had to take big '■tiT.nres to keep the white pack out. The pame dosed aith a deserved win for li aft on by three points. Kor the "inners. Rawhiti. the full. played a good safe game, and on several o. .-sions nearly relieved his side when in trouble. The whole of ihe back division arc working together much betbr than a tew Saturdays ago. lihent. the half, tits int.. ins position very well. >nd from him the line—Paull. Martin. Bar_s—ls a' strong une. where all work vil together. T - ao tWll pna.—Wolfram and Kronfeld—are young. but trier make n-e of their opportunities. Perhaps Kronfeld could use himself a ».: more in the rushes for the line. In the pack. Hansen has crmie up sell, and was in the van right tlirou-'i tre game. His t--y was a good piece of Tork. Rankin, the wing, could seareelv be bettered in the position, and Uarke. 1 shack-ranker is always there with the tTo former players. Sheahan also does food work and the pack work right tirongh shows a big improvement. Inkster. the blue fuli, had had luck in having his leg knocked during his first ;h?ce of w-vrk. an I his place was filled rv Boucher, and then by swanson. Th? ■Jtter had a good deal to do. and shows •J '-s of experience. "■ "nnor. the wing three-quarter. -sonc] evidences pace, and did what if got , ; , ,hance to do well, but too •r>;ue:-: opportunities did not come his nv. l!obinso:i. the centre, did good ra<livi,;..„l - A ,-,-k. i;.,liwat.r took position behln I the scnmi. and did a great •t'-l ..f useful work, but ..n tlie whole tlie passing bout* In the backs were a t'ifle wjM. The hall in many rases wa • 'ltronn .1 .out ijuitc aimlessly, and the ""'u.tlng f'.i.'.ibling spoiled some line P«~sibiliti.*. talker, the right wing three-quarter. a.- .|. -j.;.- i|v a weak link. There was !t r Mgom :n his game, and hi- few 'forts .-.ere ci,an..-tens.-1 by half -=-te),, ... Kadeley. * ho came on soon after the '--tic opi-ncl. ,'.i.i -,i n „. nee defensive and nith Forbes, his companion ■ e-igMS.s made g 101 in the ru.-k as a the 1,.c-e. '-la-psrieh --..re! on b.tl asions '"•the blues. His play as c.ing for"•n was liaraeterisrl by some disre»rd for ihe oIT-stde rule, hut he. and '•ebons i,eri:a : .s nl ,, rr . fn . played a nn I i-msmtent game. Re'id al-*o 1 t3 -Te ..lit into the light on several occa- ] 'ion*. tt'heu next these t.-ams met. "iven ,- .Editions, there shouli he a I fartk-ulailv willing battle ri!E I'ATRIOTK MAlt 11. ! '"" ma; .. H t J-icien I'ark on Saturday j*»eeii tlie Twenty eighth I;<-inlorc;<-I «*OU "A " 1 ~mp-,inv team and a Maori "am fr.nu the Narrow Ne-k camp [in,- , v "hs-l patrons will, pj.-ntv «>f exciti-ment JM entertainment. The Maoris proved a '»• he.n> |,«t. v. it!, ~lentv of individual I "forties, among the backs, and hcaiis , f j' llPl m ,. ( , u*ht,-r forward 1 that ,-!,ve! tog.-th.-r. and P*voj ~„, ~,.,,., f .„. thl . n| in Ul „ u , nrl . ; »M scrum ta<-tic*. but their dash and : fdcfcaeklmg tiro „ e „.p the combination fwng th,- - ,\ " c-mjanv lu.-ks. 1 nc utter hi, „■,.- 1 ■'. 1 1 1. nu.te.er. by indnclual i-leverness, ; :^nt a ,„,.,, thr LTpnr ,, l| ( .„ [M . ri , )ritv „ ;v ,. n I lh l? '•• 'h-ii foruards. r ,„- ~. to m , ln . |io mmm . p'-e, „,.. rIII , „. t(|c ' , ay f() _ t W time ofler time had bil e,r „,,,.„ »w ilefen.'iug. ~„,,| H,e game wns full ol fttan.l in.bvidua.U -.ever play. ««» Maori In.-eightii.-. I'ohio .lwA l.ira t- I* „ ~,„.i. s„0„, pan. ~n , | ,(v,„ : gh opposed hi- "«*? placers „ l.ij.-omU- anil IWrelly. «J 5.... v.e.i t,, advantage. Katene 11. and 1.,. ,„,|| !„,.„, .-,;.„ showed ™ ]t Prominently. |,_i ~.. „,; lllv interesty -''el- ~tl, 1 „||i n ... M,..\nenv. and . -a In. a. r.- i-insni.-uoi '• for-... r .l -.1, the \|...„n ,i.l„ „. la -ide.. ,1,. „ mc fcirw . arrt . -.'li r ,a!, , !: "y I '' l " r ' h, ■ l'»'rioti. funds .' f'C play.-d a r Kden Park to-morrow , between the team from the ' '-or-panv. _s t h Reinforcements, nnd a Ui Wii eboccn froni tbe Returned Soldiers'

Association. Tho match will commence at _.4o p.m. Teams are: — A Company.—Hanlon. Collins, Lipscombe, Minogue. McAneny. Farrellv. Don, Riley. Pooley. Clark. Patterson, Lovie' Douglas, Holland. Hollander. Dennett MeC'ullagb, .Jeffrey. Any of the above players unable to play are requested to notify the secretary. P.n. Pox lio.t, at once.' THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS. SACRED HEART HEATS KINO'S COLLEGE.

The meeting of the secondary schools. Sacred lieart and Kings College, at the Show Grounds, on Saturday attracted a good attendance of the supporters of the team,. The game was a good exhibition of Rugby as it should be played, for 1 although there were mistakes, and plenty oi them, the boy.s gave a fast, <Jean display, without a dull moment frotn bell to bell. Sacred Heart had an advantage in weight fo: • and their pack had the better ol \ohanges in the tight I work, but tn. ~ in the open was very 1 eien. Both .■', -of forwards maintained the pace splendidly, though in the concluding stages King's tired somewhat, and it »a» only a solid defeiice that kept Sacred Heart from adding more points. The Sacre.l lb-art backs "showed considerably improved form on their play ajainst Grammar School the previous week, and sonic of their work was very nippy. A slowness in passing prevented them from being really first-class, and this failing seems very pronounced in all Rugby this season. It is the short, quick pass that counts, hut this seems to be becoming a lost art. King's weakness was very much in the same direction as Sa-rod Heart's, though occasionally they showed glimpses of the real thing. To get the hoy in between the one who goes too far on his own and the one who does not go lar enough is the problem the coaches have to face. Taking the game a> a whole. Sacre.l Heart fully deserved their win. for they were the better side, ;and their next meeting with Grammar 'School will be awaited with interest. [ Of the individual players. McAuliffe, at i full-back, could be hardly recognised as I the same player seen against Grammar i >chool. In the latter match he ,!id not appear able to do anything right, bat !on Saturday did not make a mistake, and evidently only requires confidence. I Dyer and Goldwater were the bright j particular stars, both giving ol" the best. I They were particularly nippy in attack, .while their defence was also sound. Pilling, at half, showed his best form in I attack, giving his backs plenty to do. ' The forwards combined splendidly, and did not repeat the fault of the previous .week, when they broke away too quickly. .Tansev. Mackle, and McLaughlin were lprobai.lv the pick. | Cn Kings side the full-back and right wins- three-quarter were a bit weak, but should improve with more experience in ! senior play. Steadman. in the centre, .and Barker, at half, got through a treimendons amount of work, and were tbe jpick of the backet. Tbe others did not make many mistakes, their defence in I particular being fairly sound. The forwards worki-,1 very hard, and i though they got the worst of the scrum' work a* a whole showed up well in the fast open stuff. Tailor. Hawkins, and 'Heard (IlLl were probably ni"st prominent of an even lot. KOBTEERN UNION.

NEWTON V. NORTH SHORE. 'Ihe mooting between Newton Rangers ami North Shore .\H>ions on Saturday | was not eharaeteris«-d by any excepting-1 ally good play whatever. file weather was .lull ami tlie turf heavy, the rain which came on before the game conclude I rendering a poor exhibition doubly po ir. Neither team seemed ahle to make any particular strike at combination, and individual efforts of a high standard were sparse. Choppy, loose rashes nnd excessive footwork developed from the outset into constant long fielding that served t.i outweigh any eon cert. I play. It was really the type of game in which the duties of the referee would not be envied. Both thirteen? indulged in reprehensible tactics, and on occasion- the referee might ha\c been within his tijrhts in adopting more drastic action against the offenders. North Shore must lie credited with the larger share of honours for the first half, although the scores were 10 points ii'l. The form of the blacks did not hold nut. however, and Newton easily held the fort and earned a victory. The Albion*, it may be mentioned, probably had their best team on the field.

The Newton pack was not the more effective, but it worked together well, and the pressure told in the end. Simpson played a rattling game, and Williams also was in good scoring form. The red forwards, it wap noticeable, handled the bail well at times.

Neighbour. Pullen, and Seager were a strong trio f..r the home side. Kailey and (irifTen showing to advantage in the open. The shore pack ufc.l its weight thoroughly, and gave an all round good display.

Newton's strength lay in its rear division, of which McSweeney and ( loke were the pick. lies brothers, Lovett. I.ang. and l'otier also gate glimpses of stability, but co-operation was lacking to a dire extent. There was no vim in the operations, and a marked tendency on the part of some players to attempt too much. Another stumbling block was tlie smart tackling of the opposition.

Nicholson, on tlie whole, gave the best exhibition on the ground. From first t.i last he was reliable in offensive or defensive tactics. He has a tine turn of pace, which he appears to make the best use of. He intereepled passing bouts invariably, and knew what to do when the leather did come his way. Cameron, at full, ateo had plenty to do. and -Matthews brothers and Nelson showed up. Stewart and Boon were apparently off-colour. rON.SONBV V. CITY. \\ itnesscd l.y name 0000 people, the game was fast, and interesting, the score of l.i joints to 11 in favour of the C'ityites being a good indication of how the game went a- a whole. City pet the ball rolling i>y attacking solidly, hut the Ponsiuiliy defence was equal to tbe occasion. and play settled down amongst, the forwards, fluctuating between the rcsj.eetiv. t .v.-niy (im-s. The first score went to I'l.iiMiiiby'. For an infringement of the ortVide Ulle a led and black player nas pi-nali-eil. and I roee piloted the ball between the p<*.ts. I'roui this on until the beginning of the second spell Ponsonhy added an additional in points. while 1 it.\ was running up .1 points.

I I h<- -t,-,,n.| spell wiif, more cheering to I the «'.i|i|iorlei> of the City team. In a determined effort to makeup the leeway j the, ihrjr si-ore by S points. I'.'hilr- the I'onsonhyitcs could only add an additional -I point* t.i their s. ore. With .'i very fair share vi the hnll from th. si-rum. the l'on*onby van<ruard had a !-.-tt. i opportunity than their oppojncnU tv thine, an. their good combina-

tion stood to them well. Their forwards I alike played weii. but honours in thi- ' direction in the second spell went easily to (. ity's forwards. Lunn. at half for j City, played a most unselfish game, i never losing sight of the back division when occasion arose to l.enelit thereby, j Davidson, who is ic.gainiiig his old form fast, is a great worker. One point that ' must have been considerably disconcerting to the Cit.vites 'nas the continual infringement of the olf-fido rule hy Kukutai. who could as.-i.-t his side im- I measurably by not getting over-anxious, i OTAHU'HU'.S DEFECTION. IT., the Sporting Killtor.i Sir.—l would like to say a few words I in reply to your contributor of the 13th j littet. re withdrawal of the Otahuhu j .senior team. The selectors have worked I very hard to muster a senior team each ■ Saturday, but owing to tsonie players re- j fusing to play because the club would i not grant thorn transfers, and some i being unable to play because of injuries j 'received i n previous matches, it was de- ! eided to withdraw the team in fairness .to the. remaining players. The raising of the team hat, never been hindered by! .any one or two members, nor are there , any juniors put out of the team, or play- ! ling in junior grades who should replace I ' older men. The fourth grade team is | the nearest to seniors, and it is abso-, lutely absurd to state that they should j play senior. Had the League done a.5 the club understood it was going to do. I that was. to equalise all senior teams by transferring players from strong teams | Ito weak ones, the great possibilities I might have existed, and had your correspondent understood matters a little .more he would have written in a dillcrent strain.—l am. etc., (IATS.