SPORTING GOSSIP.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 174, 24 July 1923, Page 7

SPORTING GOSSIP.

(By "ACTAEON.")

RUGBY FObTBALL. NOTES AND COMMENTS. i The following is the order in which the | teams finished in the senior championship

Against strong competition the Marlst Old Boys have come back to something like their old form in winning the championship and the Gallagher Memorial Shield this year. It was in 1912 that the Marists first won (he championship, and they repeated the success in 1915, but after that I nlverslty (twice). College Rifles, I'.rauimar Ola Boys (twice), and Grafton took turns in the lead. The season has boon au extraordinarily wet one, and the wet conditions have militated against the play of some of the teams, but Saturday after Saturday the Marists have played the soundest game of the competition, and not ouly have they had the least number of points scored against them, but they have scored more points than any other side. Their solid vanguard has been bucked up by .1 sound team of backs, who arc not brilliant in attack, hut at times are bard to stop, and arc always hard to get past. At times when the Marlst forwards met- their match their backs have come to the rescue, and never was this more marked than in the tinal game, when the try which decided the championship was sr-ored with a muddy ball in as tine a flash of passing work as could be expected from even brilliant backs on a tine day.

The New South Wales team for the New Zealand tour was to have been selected yesterday. A Sydney critic has selected the following as being tbe most likely men to Set the trip:—Davis, Fowled! Krby. Thompson, Blackwood. Windeyer. Bnine'r, friend, Armstrong. Taylor, T. Smith, Tancred, Marrott. Elliott, Thorn, Doyle, Ferguson, Walker. Mingay. Shcenan. George, Raymond. Crossman." Erasmus, N. Smith, I"ym, Louden, Stanley, Wogan, Bowers, Wothling. It is considered probable that Mr. Harry Boeward wil 1 be the team's manager. Respecting an ex-player of the Auckland Sacred Heart College, a Sydney critic ■writes: —St. Joseph's College has a fine footballer and all-round athletic in Reid. This is his first year at tho college, and he has represented it tn the first fours in the G.P.S. Hend of the Rlvi'r championships. He was a novice at rowing, but his application ami enthusiasm carried him through. As a footballer his position Is ilve-elghtbs. Scaling 12 stone, and sft 10in in height, he takes a lot of stopping. Reid Is a Samoan, but learned his football in New Zealand and won also a boxing championship for territorials. Temperamentally he is well suited. He is a born athlete.

■ Rugby three-quarter am', former Xew Zealand representative, who has been nominated i for the South Island team, is suffering from .congestion of. tile lungs. Probably be will not play again this season.

During the Southland-Maori football match on Wednesday, Walter Barclay, of the Maori team, was injured and hud to leave the field. He was admitted to the Southland Hospital, where it wae found that a bone in the right log hnd been split. The injury will keep the player tn hospital for live or six weeks.

The 'North v. South match will be played nt Wellington on Saturday week. So far I lie exact personnel ot the Xortli Island team hax not been decided, though the South Island side lias been - definitely chosen. The only two Aucklanders who have a chance of playing in the game are l>. 'Wright, the Grammnr Old Boys' half, who has showu consistently solid form throughout the season, and 1,. Rlghton. the fast I'onsonby forward, both of whom havu been chosen In the nineteen from which'the si«'e will he selertc.l. It looks as if~T.ii.~as. the Ponsonby three-quarter, has been unlucky In not setting it chance in this game. The Southern forward team is a particularly line on*, l>ut the inclusion of Bell, the: Southland rover, as a five-eighth, does not indicate that the InMde backs down south tlilg year are- particularly brilliant. Bell played as substitute five-eighths here for the' Maoris, and was not Impressive In the position.

The local football on Saturday is to be the Charity Cnp gamp between the champions and the runnors-up of the season. This means another mutch between Marists and Grafton. and with both teams at full strength and the weather fine it should be a great game.

Southland will play Wellington at Wellington to-morrow, and on Saturday will meet' Hawke's Bay at Xapipr. There will be considerable local interest in these games, for on Saturday week Southland will lie pitted against Auckland. MARISTS WIN THE SHIELD. It. was quite uncertain until the final ctage of the cup final, Msrist v. Grafton. which Way the result would go. Orafton forwards played ;i surprisingly good game against their sturdy opponents, and the advantage Marlst got from hooking the ball was countered by the quick breaking away of the Grafton forwards, particularly Prentice at rover. In the last quarter Marlst broke away , from the line-out on several occasions and started attacks, while their hacks managed to put a little finish on their previous efforts and the try came at last. Both sides were unlucky at times,''but Marists were frostrated from registering imminent scores on more occasions than their opponents. Loft hi particular wag unlucky. McGinley made a fine burst through from,tbe line-out with the ball at toe and got as far as Findlay. Here Caeey came on the scene and nttemnted to dive over, falling a yard short. The ball came over to Loft, who got across, bnt wtR rushed out Just behind the flair. Of the individual players all the Marists backs did well under the conditions. FJarlly Toomey and Malloy being the West. Esrlly made several Jlnky runs and "was solid in defence, while Teeni«y played a consistently good came. Both the fullbacks did well with the greasy ball, but Findlay appeared to make a fatal mistake when E. O'Connor scored. The Grafton backs nuns off Mallov and the latter carried' the attack to within a few jards of the line, before they tackled him, and O'Connor slipped across.

The forwards were solid working combinations. McDonald and McGlnley were the most conspicuous of the Marists, the latter keeping more control of tbe ball than usual. This Inability to control the oval in drlhhllntr bouts lost Grafton many chances. Prentice, Keary. O'Brien and Helander were the pick of the Grafton forwards, tbe former in particular doing good work from the serums, and was penalised only once for his qnlck smotherIng.

Buckland, Cooke and Flndlaj- were the best of the rearguard. Biickland stood np to the opposition well, and several times countered attempts to break away from the line-out from deliberate knocking forward by marking.. Cloke did a great deal of defennlve work, his Soccer methods being sutable to the occasion. MAORI TOURING TEAM. , HOBOWHENUA DEFEATED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) LEVIN, Monday. The Maori touring team played the last match of its tour at Levin to-day, when they defeated Horowbenua representatives by 14 to 3. HAWKES BAT- FIFTEEN. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) NAPIER, Monday. The Hawke'H Bay team to meet Wellington on Saturday for the Ranfurly Shield challenge is as follows:—Full-back, Yates; three-quarters. Mapu, Klrwan, Grenslde; five-eighths, Nepla, Paere; half, Mill; wing. Smith; forwards, Gemmlll, Walker (back row), M. Brownlle and C. Brownlle (supporta), McNab (lock), Irvine Kirkpatrick (hookers).

CHARGES AT NJ.W. MATCHER.

(By Telegraph.—Preee AnoeUtion.) OCNEDIN, Monday. ; The Otafo Rugby TJaion decided to pro- ; teat against the decision of the Kew Zealand Union to adhere to its decision to charge 2/ admiulon to cround for the match. Now Zealand t. New South Wafog as, on tlie New Zealand Unions own enowing, the unenses of tho tour will not exccod £0300. nn«l at a charge of 1/ to the ground, with an oxirn charge to the stand. . recpiptH for the ten matches should total

REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS.

WELLINGTON V. SOUTHLAND. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. Monday. Teams for the Wellington versus Southland Rugby match on Wednesday are:— Wellington: Wright, Jackson, Sveneon, Faber, F. Tllyard, M. Nicholle, H. E. Nlcbolls, Porter, Swain, Osborne, Prlngle, Duncan, Rogers, Thomas (2). Southland: Agncw, R. Oughton, Brown, 3. Goakley, Bell, Hazlett, J. Oughton, Watson, Rice, Clark, White, Fraser, Richardson, Fraser, Bllck. Borman has a fluid knee. Richardson has a cold, but expects to play on Wednesday. The Wellington team is unlikely to undergo any change for the shield match with Hawke'a Bay at Napier next Saturday.

competition:— Pts. Pts. Chp. P W L D ForAgst. Pts. Mnrist O B 13 10 12 217 36 22 Grafton . . 13 9 13 146 75 19 Gram. O B 13 8 3 2 199 63 18 University. 12 6 4 2 116 61 14 Ponsonby .13 6 6 1 113 76 13 Col. Rifles 12 5 5 2 93 86 12 N. Shore .12 6 6 - 82 136 12 Newton .. 12 4 8 - 58 162 8 Suburbs ..12 3 9 - 55 169 6 Eden 12 — 12 - 9 224 0