SPORTING GOSSIP.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 132, 5 June 1923, Page 7

SPORTING GOSSIP.

RUGBY FOOTBALL. NOTES AND COMMENTS. "The points in tne senior championship now stand :—Grammar 11, Marists 11 University 10, Grafton i), I'onsonhy o. North Shore 4, College Kifles 4, Newton 4, Suburbs ■1, Eden 0. The results and character of the games played to date have developed the keenest of Interest in the meeting of Marlst Old Boys and Grammar Old Boys. It is n question whether the former, with their havd-playin" forwards and improved rearguard, will be able to lower the colours of Grammar, who demonstrated against Grafton that their strength does lie wholly with tlici • backs University is another team which, It' at full strength, will make an interessin" •-ame with Grammar. " " The Grammar Old Boys have lost the services of their lofty wing forward, Lintott, who, acting on medical advice, has retired from all forms of. seven; exercise '"or a few months, lie expects to be playing again next season. GRAMMAR V. GRAFTON. Grammar had nn unexpectedly comfortable win against lirafton on Saturday, the margin of lil points to 11 Lri'ig K.e Jesuit partly of improved forward play ov Glum mar and partly of weak iull-biek work on Urafton's side, when one of tile regular forwards was experimented ui'.h. The liinf ton forwards on this occasion were well matched by Grammar, with Hatty, Taylor Arnold, and ltridgens prominent, and their backs were just a little less nippy than the white rearguard. K. Ifweraen and V. Hadeley stood out on the game for live play for Grammar, and Thomas, at the mid of the three-quarter line, showed that his presence makes the combination of the white oacks a yet more formidable on* , . C'ooke was the outstanding back for Grafton, and if his shoulder injury should keen him long off the field it will be a greni loss for the team. Woolley, a newcomer. made a good impression as live-eighth. Generally the Grafton rearguard gives pro niise, once the fullback place is satisfactorily tilled, of making a strong scoring combination. Ilelander and Kcary were mc best of a good pack, that would be much more dangerous with more success in hooking. UNIVERSITY'S LUCKY ESCAPE. University were more than extended oj. Saturday by a good reorganised Norm short team, whlrn clearly demonstrated iiie va.i; of sure taekhug. The score !l —(i in fuiuu of the students, does not do Justice u> tuc home side, mid a 'iraw would nave lietie. retlc-fteil mc merits of the uind-li, uluri, was willing from the outset, though the leteree awarded the deciding try. 1'r0... the side-line Astley, who fell forward wit.me hall, did not seem to have readied iw. objective, and when ihe referee ilirheil a. tlie scene and allowed tue three point* some of the spectators were far from con vinc-,1. However, the players, lor the tinu being, took the matter like spoils, though the home team lost its dash, and were vii cue Ueleusivo lor lueir lougcct spill n> li.. i-ontest. Oil the general run of play, i. vantage points were given, t-°liore wi.ul. have tlie laurels. Tlie vigorous rackllng i> Speed and Wilson, the Hve-elßiiths. v.a> t.» principal factor in ihc dlsiirgiiuisn.iou o the visiting team, whirh dimply ii.uiri im. get Bo.ng. The e.\a:n|>:i' was emulated i>. ilie re*i of the green and wuites. who i.. variably turned (ictenee Into nttack liy hail. play and forwiird lushes. Tlie lioin.- paci. outplayed Cniverslty. though nor niway. hooking the ball. Klynn. at tin: for i;i, blues, played fairly well, thm-tth llami'.tnu Sinclair, lark ami Cash in ore were the pit-i of the roar division. Wlseninn w s not n good as usual. Keane, Aslley, Shore an. ivyllle were the outrunning iur\nir,is. ~., lirst-mentioned showing up in all depnn ments. Hon. I'ark. beside Ihe s.TUtU. v.m,with the keenness of a bloodhound. White, as last post tor Shore, did much nood h0.:.. but is Inclined to waste too much tlluiMillar frequently came to his rescue. Ouli:----water should learn to pass the ball. Bel:----nett linked Up well wilh the rive-eighths of whom Wilson Is a resourceful playei-. and Burkrklge was good at half. All the Shore forwards played well, and Jaßgs kepi his cn<l up creditably as wing-forward. MARIST V. POSSONBY. Those who looked forward to a spectacular game in Ihe Marlst I'on.-onby nun . were- disappointed, iiarlly because of (he nature of tlie game itself and pait.y be n>. < of the conditions, which militated n<iulii»i spectacular football. What was demon strated , however, was , that Hie Marst forwards are a formidable, hard-working and tenacious combination. Wit hum pSrrptlon. they worked strenuously from whlst.o to whistle, and this, to a large degree, irae responsible for their success. On Saturday, In the loose, they overshadowed the l'onsonby pack aud obtained the ball from ihe scrum Just when they wauled it. The baits as a whole played with few mistakes, but no particular brilliance. Marshall. ;>t hail, and Earrly at live-eighths, wwrked well together, while Ma Hoy and O'Connor were consistent. Ponsonhy were handicapped >>> the absence of Itighton and Donovan. JlciMnnus stood out as the best delensne biica on the ground, and it was largely to his efforts that Marlst's score was only 11. Gregory has played more brilliant games, but he is undoubtedly the best fun-oar* in Auckland. Under the present rules a full-back must be able lo join with his colleagues in opening up attacks, it is inevii able that he shoukl do this, for powseslon ievcrythlng in present-day Rugby, and a full-back is no longer the machine-like player who invariably punts the leather out among the spectators.. McWilllams and Shirley were the most prominent of the I'onsonby forwards. The ground was heavy and the ball slippery; one patch o£ the area was nothing but a quagmire. SUBURBS V. COLLEGE RIFLES. Although by no mean- an Interesting game in point of clever play, tbe tussle v: Avoadale between Suburbs and College lilllcs held the attention of tuose on inline by reason of the fait that the younger home team looked to be the winners till the last minute of play, when Goodwin scored for Hides and won the game for h:» side. Whereas the Suburbanites showed a distinct Improvement in torm aud were guile cheeky throughout the course of tsie same, the veteran team seemed to hav>lost a lot of their former dash, aud made n surprisingly poor stand agalrist Suburbs Sallies. They won the gnme more by lucst than anything else, and if enthusiasm an ■ reward, Suburbs should have carried off the honours. I'illing, Kltles' versatile player, who seems to have the ability to tit lv any where, was not wasted at full, but he wan a bit off colour, and did not show up to advantage, despite the fact that he notehei: three of Kifles' six points with a wendirected kick, allowed as the result o£ a foolish infringement. Suburbs will never improve so long :ib they persist in silly offside breaches. On numerous occasions the off-side rule was transgressed quite openly by the younger team, but the referee seliloni let anything go by on either side, and Tor once there were remarks on the line aneut the fairness of the control. Too often nobody is satisfied with tlie referee, Vm: Saturday at Avondale was a refreshing exception. There was one outstanding player on tne field—C. Grey—Suburbs' trusty full-bacs He played a stendy gnmc all the time, ant; another two or three years should see him providing he sticks to the game and makes steady progress. A little more weight ann a little more speed are. what he requires. The remainder of the Suburbanites worked hard, but did not show out individually. Their passing was appalling. On the whole. Rifles gave (heir poorest exhibition of this season, despite the fact that they pur their strongest team In the field. Their backs do not compare with those of the Grammar team. They lack organisation and spoil chances by a decree of orereagerness that is surprising in a team or experienced players. XEWTON V- EDEN. At Victoria Park the hope that Eden might come out of the season with one win to their credit was shattered. The game was very ragged, but >"ewton played the better football, winning by 21 to 3. Both teams were short, but Eden, playing six men in the scrum, received the ball as much as their opponents. Goodley. at first five-eighths, was the only back to play a decent attacking game for Eden. His try was the prettiest of the match. Eagleton got through some good -work at fullback, and the forwards played quite a fair game. Newton's backs were greatly superior to their opponents'. Earl played nis usual brilliant game at half. Hanes. at Uveeighths, gave a good exhibition, thoueh he had a tendency to cut in too much. Moyes did clever work on the wing, though his fielding was at times faulty. Howarth, at centre, was quite sound. "Offside" Kelly, at fire-eighths, played quite a good game. The red and white forwards were the better pack in the loose, but although they followed up well they did not very often bring their men down. Thomas and < 'ark were the most conspicuous of the vanguard.

DISPUTE AT BARGAVILLE. TEAM LEAVES THE FIELD. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) DAROAVILLE, this day. In the senior football mutch played on Saturday between Southern and Tango wauiuc, tho Southern captain took his team off the Qeld Just before half-time because he was not satisfied with tne referee's ruling. At the time Tangowahlne was leading by Sto 5. The referee awarded rhe match to Tangowahine. A special meetto deal with "tn"c dispute. TE PUKE V. TAURANGA. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) TAUKAXGA, this day. Despite wind and rain the Uugby match. Tβ ruke v. Tauranga, was played here yesterday. The result was a win for Tβ Puke ii.v 14 to 3. During the game McLean was injured and had to retire. RANFUKLY SHIELD MATCH. lIAWKE'S BAY BEATS WAIRARAPA. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) j NAPIER, Monday. Five thousand spectators, despite the uncballenge match this season for the Raiifurly Shield waged between Ilawke's Bay (holders) and Wairar.ipa. The result was that the home team remains in possession of tlu- shield, inflicting defeat on the challengers by 0 points to 0 after a doggedly fought contest. Heavy rain this morning made the playing fluid heavy and sloppy. W hen the game commenced rain Was tailing heavily, and continued almost without a break. Naturally the handling of tho leather in such miserable conditions was almost an impossible (ask. and in consequence the ball was kept largely on the ground, and the match consisted'chiefly of .;> strUKSIe among the forwards, who on both sides made creditable efforts, showing very good footwork. For practically tho whole of the first half the local forwards maintained a vigor"us.oiislaught on the visitors , goal line, but' fiil'ly defending until lialf-time. had one and the home team two attempts at goal with penalty kicks. On changing ends the visiting forwards put every ounce into the game, and for ten minutes or more the defenders of the shield were hemmed in ilieir own territory and Milled upon to exert the utmost effori. I Ilawkes Bay then completely altered the; aspect, the forwards pressing the defence > The local side was awarded a free kick i in the corner, and Nepia piloted a greasy! bah over. In the closing stages the ■Wairarapa team showed signs of weakening, and the game became more open, allowing the Lay hacks to attempt some handling. Ihree minutes before time a few short passes ended in a try. The kick failed. WANGANUI BEAT TARANAKI. EIGHT roiNTS TO THREE. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WAXGANCI, Monday. Today the Wanganul Rugby represeuta.ives aj.ain heal Tarnnaki in a hard fought .-ainc. which ended S—3. Last year Wan-_-amii won by iy_<i after a line contest, and though the homo team won to-day it ivas anybody's game until the last, the tw.i earns being very evenly matched, though. 1 anything, tin; Taranaki forwards played wilh greater dash, r.cllis did not show to iihantage today, and it was only now and again that he gave brief glimpses o£ his old form and attacking capabilities. In the second spell he threw himself at a ! Taranaki player who was getting away with the ball. He grassed his man. but iii doing so he sustained a kick on rhe head which necessitated his removal from further play. F. Packer was probably the I best forward on the ground nud he made i a nice try for Wangauui. Baddely at half, ! also gave a very fine exhibition behind Wanganuis pack, his resourcefulness gaining niany advances for his side. I'eina ami I'otaka. two Maori boys, also played brilliantly at live-eighths until the former was compelled to retire owing to an injured arm. Taranakls bark division, though lacking anything very special, were good and useful, whilst ill the forwards A. West. A Kevell and J. Kcrrisk shone out conspicuously. During the second half of the gam>; Greaves, at half, sustained an injury to his month, nnd he was compelled to leave the Held. Altogether the game was not up to the usual representative standard, though good solid work was done. Mr. Griffiths, one of the North Islanu selectors, was present^ ROTORUA V. MORRINSVII,I,E. (Ry Telegraph.—Tress Association.) ROTORUA, this day. Tho Rotorua T. Morrinsviile game was played nt Arawa lark yesterday in stormy weather. I'lay was fast, considering thp slate of the ground, but (ho home team were somewhat ln<-ky to win. the result being: ltotorua 6 points, Morrinsvllle 'J "■oints. ■ FORESTERS' MATCH. (By Telegraph—Own Correspondent) TE AROIIA. this day On Monday afternoon a team of Walbl Foresters tried conclusions with a team of Te Aroha Foresters, in competition for the Brokenshire Shield, presented for competition among the friendly societies The Walhi backs were a far sunerlor combination and won by 3 to 0. E. Williams, for Walhi, scored at the corner, but his kirk at goal failed. The game was not a spectacular one, being a hard tussle from start to finish. In the evening the shield was duly handed over amidst applause. Mr. J. G. Youiis had control of the whistle.