DUTDOOR SPORTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 187, 7 August 1917, Page 3

DUTDOOR SPORTS.

(By ACTAEON.I I FOOTBALL. \ RTIGBY. J CLOSER THAN IT LOOKED. < Although Railway beat Grammar Old £ Boys on Saturday by 11 points to 5, the 1 game was a close and interesting one, < ior, after having allowed their opponents s to get a big break of 11 points in the i first 25 minutes, Grammar played up, s and gave promise of overtaking the ban- i dicap. During the early part of the i game Grammar played without combina- ] tion. the backs showing a want of confi- i dence. of which the more experienced among the Railway rearguard took full 1 advantage. This kept Railway always j within shooting range of Grammar's goal, ; and before the latter had got; together • Daly had scored a try, while Stewart had , converted and had "kicked a couple ot , penalty goals. The game from that . point to the finish was fast and even, first one side and then the other threatening , to score. Grammar got in one score, a ■ try by Hardy, which Badeley converted, and on two other occasions were baulked of a score only by an unlucky bounce of , the ball; while Railway missed another try only by the narrowest oi margins. It was "strenuous, but by no means classy football. There was more life and snap" in the Railway passing bouts than in those of Grammar, though the latter improved greatly in the second spell, when Wilson was moved in to five-eighths and Grierson took Ms place as wingthreeqtiarter. During the game Hing, Stewart. Barclay and Burns were the life and soul of the Railway vanguard, Hing's nippy work at half being an invaluable asset to his side, while Birnie, at fullback, gave his best display of the season. Lason was the king-pin of the Grammar defence and attack, while he was well supported by Badeley, Hardy and Wilson, though the" Grammar passing generally was their weak spot. Among the forwards Railway showed greater evenness and combination, the Grammar pack being slow to get together. "'Casey, Rasmussen and Courtney were generally to the fore of the Railway rushes. In the j second spell the Grammar forwards showed .more dash, McLean, Bagnall Rose and J. Grierson showing out frequently from the ruck. I In a game where each side scored a try, ! the deciding factor in points was the place-kicking, and in this respect Stewart unexpectedly out-matched McLean. :

n THE UNTVERSITT-GKAFTON v FIXTURE. t University's showing against Grafton on Saturday, on the 8 Showground | area, frilled -with, a larger number of c spectators tlian is usually seen around a this field, was apparently a day off for r the -winners. The early stages of the - t game gave promise oi a continuance of -| spectacular rearguard action on the part f of University, but from about the middle j o£ the first quarter, when Lewis notched , his.. brilliant goal, the play degenerated. . " The bines appeared to take matters quite , philosophically, and once or twice nearly U to their costJ It may be said that the I \ students won comfortably., and Grafton, > put up a better fight than they expected to. Except for several passing caprices, I the second half was largely confined to forward combats, with, the whites ext celling in scrum work, and their opponents holding the upper hand in the loose. It was due to the strength of the white ' pack probably that the blue backs failed to have freer use o£ the leather. Peace gave a good exhibition at full for University. The three-quarter line was safe. Robinson putting plent oi dash j into his play. Inglis, however, threw j away two certain scores by fumbling at j I critical moments on attack, but compen- i > sated for those mistakes by his general < - usefulness. Lewis was in fair form, and | - used his toe to distinct advantage. The j : first five-eighths, Goldwater, was the - most reliable back on the ground, execut- j j his work with judgment. His nippy i f tactics were very troublesome to the j opposition. Boucher also played thor-1 I oughly. and always had his men well , - ! marshalled and ready. INlolloy, Gibbons, i c , Towers (Grammar), and Thomas were • the pick of a hard-working pack. For Grafton Rewiti was ever servicei able at full, though sometimes bustled " on the defence. Paull and Ghent ' I were easily the best of the back division, j sharing the large proportion of the restricted attacking operations, and spoiling the combination of University. Xixon j gave a very erratic display. Grafton forwards did yeoman work. Eankin (wins-forward) was always busy. Nairn, Sheehan. Hansen and Kendall were formidable in the open, and all co-operated well in pack work. SECO:ST>ARY SCHOOLS. tt y The secondary schools' match Sacred ! " ! Heart v. Grammar School B was not a i jj very interesting game, and the former d team were lucky in scoring a 3-point vieII tory. Several times Grammar were in a *" scoring position, but the necessary dash c " to put on the finishing touches was j, absent, and it is noteworthy that the 3. team have not gained a single point this ■* season. Sacred Heart played a long way ~j below expectations, but it was their first ;t game since the vacation, while they were s- without their best forward, HcLaughlin, J1 j and Goldwater was not up to the mark, *' j only taking the field to prevent the team being shorthanded. The game was an even one, the Grammar forwards doing some good work, and in this department of the game they had, if anything, the I better of the exchanges. Their rear diviG sion was altogether too slow, and in this ai I respect compared unfavourably with their opponents, who, however, handled badly, losing several chances through •). ;this fault. There was nothing in the I'■ individual play callins for special men>r, . Owing to a diffictilty in regard to the c- 'dates, the proposed match between Te re Aute College and the Grammar School a ' may have to be abandoned. If such a step ie is necessary it will be a great pity, for the contest was being keenly looked forward to by all followers of Rugby, who anticipated a fine exhibition of the code. &- THE BARRACKING XUISANCE. of A correspondent. "One of the Victims," 61 writes complaining of the barracking nuisance at the Railway v. Grammar lg School Old BoyV match on Saturday, ag j referring particularly to the youths who II I kept up a ceaseless liov. - ! throughout the J* game, to "the great annoyance of the n i adult spectators. I quite agree with my s. I correspondent as to the e*"il, but the ■ trouble i≤ to supply a remedy. It is hard to curb the spirit of youth, and the ■> I excitable temperament of older speota- ■*" I tors, and I am afraid that unless some i extraordinary change concj ovor tho ri>j ing generation tap only way out of the B I trouble is to grin and bear it.

SOUTHERN , TTNIOH. | NEWTON OVERRUNS SHORE. The first of the Roope Eooeter games, rewton v. Shore, was terribly disapointing as an exhibition of the Northm (League same. Shore took the field t the last minute with a scratch tean\ rhieh was remarkable for its lack of onrbination, and Newton, being put to 0 trouble to gain a verdict, were eo| onspicuous for their great play. During the desultory game, rather iring to watch, Newton scored time and , gain, and it was not till the second spell hat Shore showed colour at all. One if their two tries, scored by Nicholson. itex a rua down almost the whol» ield, was one of the best tries of the eason. but. apart from this, and a leapng exhibition by a heavy forward— rhich. provoked the crowd to continued aughter—the match was wofully lackng in interest. Matthews, the Shore full, played a>. )etter-than-average game, Nicholson was )rominent with hie individual TFork, and Smerali, a junior, showed traces of het;er things. Stewart, at first five■ighth, played his usual sound game, rood on the attack and very sure on ;he defence, and Boon, his companion, played well. Seagar, a forward, deserves mention, but occasionally lazes a ittle, and Neighbour, with plenty of weight, showed himself to be a good, iearty packman, though a trifle cumbersome. !McSweeney, the Newton full, made use of most opportunities coming fciis way. Thomas, the 'wing threeruarter, showed up as a very good man in this place. He is a strong runner, md has the knack of getting past moeto nen. The crowd showed dawning interest whenever he held the leather, Cloke, on the other wing, is another jood man, and G. lies, centre, completes 1 line that makes a solid barrier, offensive or otherwise. Tobin and A. lies, the five-eighths, were good, and Lang well up to the average lialf-bact. Williams and Castles, of the pack, showed best, Ivil doing fair work. Potier was remarkable for his solid going and kicking. CITY V. WATERSIDERS. This game was rather a surprise for, ;ne Watersiders, wiho, not expected! so put up any great resistance, played a ;ood game against the heavier and more Tried combination. City, playing well ndividually, ran up 13 points before ;heir opponents began to get at aH iggresßive. Throughout the whole of the 3rst spell City hooked the ball from the icrum and gave the alert City half-back, Davidson, a chance of opening up tha rame to the advantage of his side. iVorking the 'blind side more often than not he was -well supported by Paid, who used to come up from full. Eustace, in the red and black vanguard, is a player with a fair turn of speed, and rur» straight, but he has a serious fault of (raving the ball in his possession when collared. Rukutai and tUcKnbrey were amongst the very willing workers in the red and blacks, and Asher landed two beautiful goals. While the play of the Watersiders was spasmodic, their rear division put in some brilliant straight passing, Farrant, in particular, played, a great game, and it was due to bis altrtness that the maroons- made euch a> good showing. Hastedt, Avery, Tierney, and Henning also put in some good -work. The.senior members of the City ; Club will practise at Victoria Park on luesday and Thursday next at 4.30 pan. HOCKEY. The senior competition dvncead another stage last Saturday. Tne interesting feature <was the contest between Areta and University. In the first spell play was fairly even, but in the second half Areta were much, j superior, and wound up with a seven to I three margin. The game was fast and ' open, despite the nature of the turf, and lalthouah short passing was not much in the play was not devoid of comibination. The attacks on both sides I were mostly the outcome of work along the wings, followed by cross-hitting, still I this was not overdone, for more than one Igoal was the result of the centre dashing (through. In the back play Areta had the advantage, both in attack and defence. Amongst the forwards Univer- • sitv displayed the most combination, yet their line has been seen to much greater advantage. It was in the circle that opportunities did not work out as dej sired. Areta, on the other hand, were

■ far more successful in goal-hunting, and the score'was more the result of clever work that vigorous shooting. Areta have a strong trio in Sloman, Horepool, and Baker, and on Saturday I nil acquitted themselves well. Brinsden, too. also did good things. Thomas was the cleverest forward, but did not cater sufficiently for the_ rest of the line. lYorke attacked in good style, and sent in some hot shots, though, not quite in. the desired, direction. "Westwood, though, not so much in the picture as on the previous Saturday, stopped well. The students' line was re-arranged, Garrard soing to inner right, Hannan taking the formers place on the right wing, while i■\Va.ddingha.m replaced Hannan on the [left. The latter certanly did good work, ! but neither Garrard nor Harman were so ■effective in their new positions, although jthev were by no means failures. Somers , was the best of the line, and worked like ■ a Trojan from start to finish. Carr also 'rendered good service. At half-back •! Garland was very -useful, and stopped I many onslaughts, although, he was in- .! clined to wander. Keynolds proved the j pick of the defence, and his reverse stick \ j extricated the side from dangerous t ', positions. I 1 A splendid pace was maintained in the r opening half of the game hetween Mount - Eden and Edendale. There could be no [ ■ doubt that Mount Eden displayed the . j superior tactics, and they played with. 11 the better combination, and some of the I ! Edendale back division seemed almost j' helpless at times. University had a f ourj I goal leau at half-time, bit there was a , I general improvement in Edendale's form in the second spell. They worked to the wings, and then a fast centre was served up. which gave the rest of the line a. - chance of breaking through many times. - The opposing circle was reached, and ' opportunities taken, but not one member 1 of the front rank seemed able to shoot r straight. Mount Eden by no means " played up to the standard of the first J spell, and were more often on the defen- • sive. Certainly they won "oy five goals to nil, but taking the two spells into consideration the margin could easily have been less had Edendale made the most of their opportunities. In the first ? -pell Jarman was the best of the Mount r Eden backs. Hunt did not meet with > his usual success in tricking opponents, 3 nevertheless accomplished good work. 2 The forwards were a very even lot on the a day, and in the first half Whittaker f worked the line well, b,ut it was a g9.m» a when the whole team did well at times. 1 Emery, at half-back .for Edendale. was c consistent. Phillips worked hard al=o 5 - but was inclined to £et into trouble. 2 forward, Barton, was prominpnt. and - Montcith was good also, while Beekma.il, I 1 jin izoul. saved some ?hot= with speculator-.