CLUB RUGBY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 106, 7 May 1929, Page 14

CLUB RUGBY.

EARLY SEASON HOPES. SATURDAY'S INTERESTING GAMES. TALENTED TEAM.-. Talented team? have lined out each Saturday this reason under the Auckland Rugby Union banner, and although it 13 very early in the season to make predictions, there is every indication that the club games of 1029 will be exceptional ind will make another most interesting page in the city's Rugby history. With such teams •as Pon.sonby, Grammar. Training College and 'Varsity, to say nothing of the surprises, that can be brought off by other sides in the senior competition, it ie possible that contests will be of a standard rarely reached nowadays among Dominion club?. The following table shows the present positions of the senior teams: —

BECAUSE THEY WERE FIT.

One of the biggest factors in the win of Training College over Grammar was because the students were the fitter team. .Although, perhaps, the fates were fiendish in committing Grammar to a dreadful chain of errors at one stage, the Training College win was a meri- * torious one, even if the fortunes did vie with them to some extent. Before the first spell had ended, it was plain that if the Training College pack were able to hold the Grammar forwards, and give their backs a reasonable share of the ball, they would win. And that was how the victory came about. Training College players are fit. One must have grave doubts whether they are not too fit so early in the season. It is possible that they will go'stale sooner than the other teams, which will be a misfortune, for they are a talented combination, fleet in pursuit and possession. On the other hand, Grammar have forwards of class, but some of them are inclined to direct their energies towards tactics which are hardly commendable. The referee, Mr. E. C. Stretton, pulled the Grammar van up on Saturday for breaches which some of the critics on the bank apparently failed to understand. In a concerted movement one of -the Grammar men~"wbuld over- , .run the ball, and, instead of attempting

to get back on side, he would wait offside, and then join in the movement. It was hard to understand, however, why he penalised Grammar when they wheeled the scrum. Infringements were -difficult to detect in this department, and it was disappointing to hear the whistle go when the Grammar pack were attempting to carry out a movement rarely seen in the forward play "of today. As a game the-match had many interesting points, and for the public it was thrilling. There was never a ,dull moment, with action all through, and altogether it was a fascinating spectacle. Borne eay that Grammar were unlucky. '. Up to a point they were, but they could have atoned for much if their forwards had gone about things in a" , workmanlike, way, instead. of hanging about as one or two of them were guilty of doing. Some of the. Grammar forwards would .do well to follow the example of the Batty brothers. Yet the Grammar forwards were the arresting phase in the policy which actuated the ■whole team. But they were faulty enough at crucial moments to sacrifice victory. The Training College defence was splendid enough to resist systematic and sustained preagure, and . their forwards were impulsive enough to ex- > ploit any chance that offered. Training College backs did good and grotesque things. The half, Eae, who was hurt near the end of the- game, got the mechanism moving decisively, yet at times the outside attack fumbled, and faltered. On other occasions they pranced through to the delight of the. crowd. The Training College try was pure unalloyed football, which left the crowd gasping. Along the line of hacks the 'ball travelled in the open, telling way, then infield it came from Abhott to his forwards, and after perfect collaboration Peacock finished off the movement with adept individualism. One must mention the splendid work of Stacey, Webb and Peacock, a trio of triers and toilers. Here and there the Training College pack 'rushed matters, much to the consternation of the Grammar backs, who> except for the sterling Corner, were often at sixes and sevens. But it was a good game from start to finish, thrilling, spectacular, and sparkling with lively incident.

SENIOR B SURPRISE

Parnell, the youngest team of the B prulc. brought off a surprise on Saturday by defeating Suburbs by 17 points to 3. In the second half of the game Parnell nhnwp.il excellent combination, with Franklin and S, Rhodes outstanding among the backs, and biking advantage of every opportunity. Mclntoah, Newiand and Iversoii were the moat prominent ami hard-working of the. for wards. Suburbs played a number of new men, nxxi their eombina,tiQn suffered, Hardman, potsytii and Greensmifch were the outjgtaJoding Suburbs forwards in a solid pack. ;/ Fhe home baeka were disappointfag ii,a4 jmA.& rns-ny mistakes, frequently getting out ot position.

BAY OF ISLANDS RESULTS.

in fciie B.ty of fckwU football oom{uitlUon'sia'tiij'/jjy, .OkariJja u, senifli'3 "ir. b&4 '•>■ Kgawiia Springs (J, ij ,hcja.t Wailiou 0. Olcaiiuiu 11, [ Kaikoiws 3,

STUDENTS' RUNAWAY WIN. As a. .-pectai.-le the curtain-raiser be- ': f.veen College Rifles and 'Varsity on Xα. ! 1 ground was unimpressive owing to too i much fumbling and wild passing. The S first quarter was even, but once the ! students started throwing the ball I about they met no serious opposition. j particularly in the last quarter, when j College were run off their feet. 'Varsity gave a better display than in their last appearance on No. 1 ground, but. aithough the score was exceptionally big they will have to improve a lot if they expect to retain the honours which were brilliantly captured last year. Bush, at full-back, did not have much to do, but got through ail that was asked of him. His hardest work seemed to be to convert the tries. Minna and Goodwin, receiving plenty of bail, had a day out. both showing plenty of pace and dash. Matheson looks to be coming back to his old form. He exploited

the short kick to advantage, and the try scored by Minns showed good judgment. Jenkins and Mackay overshadowed Gillespie and Mitchell, and once they settled down opened tip play for some very promising movements. The forwards, receiving about 50 per cent of the ball, were more dangerous in the loose, opening up play for the backs and combining in neat hand-to-hand passing. Anderson led them throughout and was the best forward on the ground. The forwards were a bit inclined to dodge .the tight work, preferring to be out in the open combining with the backs. Linton and Jenkin were two exceptions and did more than their share in the tight. Keene, at rover, started some good movements. His handling is still a bit faulty, but otherwise he is playing as well as ever. College Eifles did not come up to expectations, and though receiving e([n;>! share of the ball could make no use of it. Larsen was inclined to wander; twn of 'Varsity's tries were the outcome of his bad position. Webber and McGregor were overshadowed by the opposing wings and were never in the picture. Kirk went down on the ball, but was worried by the fast breaking 'Varsity forwards. * He is still very slow at getting the ball away, and never gave the five-eighths room to move in. Donald was the most impressive, and when he becomes used to his new position should play good football. He must, however, rid"himself of the habit of hanging on too long.

MANUKAU HARD PRESSED.

Manukau supporters were glad to hear the final whistle in their match against Marist at Onehunga on Saturday. Mari.-! were decidedly unlucky to lose, being persistently on the attack, but had no polish to finish off their movements". The back--passed the ball too quick, not waiting to draw their man, and when the wing received the ball two or three men were waiting for him. Both packs of forwards worked hard, there being some great scrummaging, and both set 3 used their weight to advantage. Marist forwards were always dangerous, when in possession, and some great saves were recorded by the Mannkau backs. "Watehe, at full for the winners, was the stumbling block of most, of the Marist attacks. Hβ played a very fine game, always cool and resourceful, and his line kicking was brilliant, gaining his side fifty yards on many occasions. Falwasser was right orr his form, play'ing a great defensive game, saving many tries. He was well watched, and when--ever the ball came his way, three or four of the opposing side were waiting for him, but for all that he broke away occasionally for a spirited run. He was responsible for Satherley's try, starting the passing rush. N. Lipscombe was very weak on the wing, but a bad knock early in the game may have affected lii? play. Lindrum was too well marked to be seen to advantage, he is very fast when in possession. The hero of the match, T. Brimble, first five-eight, gave a dashing display for his size, being brilliant on defence and tricky on attack. He fumbled his passes on a few occasions,, but .made up

for this, with a great field goal from almost an impossible position with Marist players all round him. He is very light' (9J .stone), hut is not afraid to go down on the ball in front of a pack of big forwards. Bryers, at half, once again was in great form, feeding his backs well, and. pulling up many attacks with his great defence. Golding, the rover, was caught many times off-side through coming round the scnini too soon. He has not yet produced last yeav's form. Satherly was easily the pick of the forwards till he retired in the second quarter with a dislocated finger. His try was a beauty. '"Baby" Kahu, who has reduced to Hi* stone, was right on his best form, showing remarkable agility for his weighty and was toiling hard till the last whistle. Two new forwards donned the Mamikan Jersey, namely French, a North Auckland rep., and McGulre, a Tarunnki rep. Both are heavy, and have made a decided improvement in the scrum. Jkith gave good dUploya while ftheir condition lasted. The rest worked well against a heavier pack, gaining the bull from the. scrum on many occasions, Wajiiho, till he retired hurt, at full far Tykes, proved himself a very useful defender. The three - quarter line Sfcoiine, Johnson. n nd Stuart, were always dangerous whon in possession, causing the Altiniikjui bam many anxious niowhen I hoy broke away., SUiaet: was the pick, Ijoltig vnry lianl to tnekli> and reversing his pass to gain a great deal of ground. Hinith and Mrtllett were

not drawing their tuan before passing, and on other occasions crowding their wins nien out. Wright, behind the serum. wa = risht on hi- form, feedin-j j his backs well and stopping ntany j Manukau thrusts The Tykes' pack are very heavy. and [gave o: tlitir he-*, hitkiins their own j throughout: the tJi'-'->.-- Their great ! ru-::e- were ahvoy- troublesome to the ' !jp:*;iii'.r side. Hcidley worked harti. bit:. bis not produced his best form. Cotter I was a great worker h; "he tighc playI Mallov gave a surprising display, alway? j being a shining light in any attacking I movement, but he has still the habit of p'avin? inn man at times. I " ' f ——^—_ A LAST-SPELL WIN. There was very, very little that was ! exhilarating in the Grafton-City game on I No. 2 ground at Eden Park. On both sides there was quite good football i material, but it sadly lacked welding, ! and the struggle suffered in comparison i with much of the bright sparkling Rugby i that has been displayed so early this : season. Still, if both teams get down to I solid training and tactics they are quite J capable of effecting startling surprises ere the first round ends. The first quari ter was all to the advantage of the redj and-blacks, who outplayed and outpaced j the slow-to-start Grafton fifteen, and set I their backs going in several dashes that j suggested promise of a fairly bright garne. Grafton were kept well on the defensive. Later their forwards began to assert themselves and use their weight and feet, but at half time City had eerj tainly the better of things, and looked I likely winners. At the close of the third quarter they were still one point up, but they failed to last out the final twenty. most of which they spent in their own twenty-five. Grafton adding two further tries, one finely converted by Langley.

Jhe Grafton pack performed fairly wel! a- individuals, with Finlay-jon as the outstanding grafter amongst them, sous they l&ekvl colte-io:;. Kaa showed : up at times, but Wanoa wa= anvthin o, i but up to his past form. McKay was j solid tl»e scrum, but the fiveeighth> line !> j *. th.Mr side clown badlv I at frequent intervals. rrile?n:ing theml selves somewhat in two good 'passing movements wh-jch showed the possibilities that lie in the rearguard. Liddle was ! the rno«t prominent of the three-quarter;, j At full Langley was patchy. Some of j his defence was splendid, but Ifwersen ! beat him to score, and Uia fielding was ; not always reliable. He is a fine^kick.

City's forwards started well, but failed 'to last. Among them Fletcher was . always prominent, but the finest display .of the whole game was given by the City rover. Holt. He i= certainly a player of promise. Berridge, at centre, was the best of the backs, and had he been closer to the scrum, might have made more of ; movements that broke down ere they reached him. Herewini, the full-back, kicks powerfully, fields well, and has bright pace. He tackling, however, leaves much to be desired. lie ho can develop defence he will make a good full. Otherwise he would do better in the thrcci quarter line.

PONSONBY ON TTP GRADE

! After an inauspicious commencement, [the famou= " Ponies" demonstrated i conclusively on -Saturday that tiiey are I well in trie running again for Auckland's ' Rugby crown. Up against a fine sturdy ! team of young players in Technical Old ! Boys. Ponsonby won fairly and square !y | on their merits, and for part of the | .same at "any rate gave a rattling exhibi* I iion of Rugby as it should be. I The game as a spectacle was highly I interesting. Both sides gave of their ) best, and each at times had their own j coteries bubbling over with excitement. 'Though the "Ponies" won comfortably at the finish by a big score it must not l)e forgotten that " Techs" held them down to a 12-point margin, this including a potted goal, until the last quarter. ! Then the ex-champions, having persistently battered away at the opposition for most of the second half, had them well beaten, and entered into a just reward in the shape of attractive passing among the backs and a big lilt up to the score. The blues had the lightest forward set i they have fielded for some time, but they started off with great vim, and lasted well to the end. Haywood worked well with Palmer as hooker, and i the pair sot the ball out well —in fact, J they practically monopolised it in the i final stages. McManus was a great success at half. He fed his backs assiduouslv, and himself made some strong runs", and generally did clever work in the loose. Jamieion was handicapped i by an injured hand, but gave a good display. C'ammick, too, was in good form, but the five-eighths are a trifle slow in closing up when on the defence. Lucas came "in for special attention from the opposing tacklers, but all their efforts could not prevent his making any amount of. openings for his team mate:?. Both Hooks were brilliant on the day, and R. Hook deserves a special " par."

for his success in drop-kicking. Three times he sent "the ball over the bar from the field, an iriringement by a Pon- ! -onby forward preventing the points being awarded in one instance. One of the " pots" was from well kick, proj bably 40 yards. Fraser was inclined to ibe weak, and let his side down occasionally, but. as he is a young player, will i probably show improvement as the sea- | son proceeds. Undcnbtcdiy the outstanding player on the Ponsouby side was Solomon, who i? proving a most useful addition to the old team. His display on Saturday was impressive both in defence and attack. His condition was wonderfully good and his resourcefulness remarkable. " Techs." fresh from a fine win the previous Saturday, found that a team is just as good as its opponents will permit. They played quite as well as before, but the superior football craft of the " Ponies " kept them on the run

until their condition gave out. and then the score mounted up. A weakness that requires attention was the slowness of Hogg, who otherwise played a fine game, in getting the ball out to his fellow backs. Had he passed quickly and accurately early in the game when his side was holding its own in other respects the game might have had a

different complexion. "Whitaker, as fullback, did all that could reasonably be expected of him. McWilliarns turned up for Ponsohby, but was not allowed to play. Tins was not due to any action of the " Techs," who would have welcomed the burly "' Mac" on the other side. It appears that the Ponies' big forward is doing some contracting work at Drury just now, and although he has never played for that union, and actually lives in Auckland at the week-ends, the Southern centre claim the right to his services.

NO AKNTJAX REPORT.

OTAGO UNION'S COMPLAINT. (Bγ Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) DUNEDIN, this day. The New Zealand Rugby Union was criticised at a meeting of the Otago Union for not forwarding the annual report and balance-sheet. Mr. Harris said that according to the New Zealand rules the report should be before them at least a fortnight before the annual meeting. On May 16 delegates to the meeting would not have had an opportunity of discussing the report if they did not receive a copy. The secretary was instructed to write and ask that the report be forwarded.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS' COMPETITIONS.

The Auckland Primary Schools' Hugby Union competitions will commence the week following the May vacation. Further entries will be received up to Friday next by the secretary, Mount Eden School. Footballs donated by the. Auckland Bugby Union -will be obtainable from last year's group secretaries after Monday, May 27, one ball for each team entered in the competitions. Team list, -with the headmaster's certificate as to weight should be forwarded as soon as possible.

KAIKOHE

(From Our Own Correspondent.) KATEOHE, Monday. A calm, sunny day, with a dry ground were the conditions for the mating of Okaihau and Kaikohe. at Kaikohe, on Saturday. After a strenuous pimp last year's champion. Okaihau. beat the runnerstip by S points to o. From'start to finish the pa>'f was on all the time, and the score is a true indox of tlie present state of tho teams. The goalI keepers were evenly matched, ami both wore kept busy throughout the gam i>, :hc play being up' and down the wholn time. The back division of the winters displayed more team work, anil it was only the effective tackling of Kaikohe that kept the scores so low. Cassidy. until having to retire, was an acquisition to Okaihau. O"Shea asid Stretton. Dargavillo. were tlifi outstanding forwards, although Tawhai, C. -Mariiio, and Leech did hard work. .Kaikohe played a strong individual ?ann>, plainly showing the lack of practice and combination. The forwards did nut s'.-em to pack their scrum right.-being completely outclassed by their opponents. Hira. at half, was a failure, not knowing what to do with the ball when it did come his way. This was altered when Amos went from ijv;>to his old position. I. Ileke was good at five-eighth, likewise W. Penury on* the three-quarter line. These two new players will be seen to advantage later on. Mdtene was a long way below standard. G. Hows gave a good exposition, and likewise Te Tai. Moses Maeru. R. Edmondg and Whin's bout of passing was pretty, ending in Whin crossing the line at Van post. The; two goals that were kicked both struck the bar. One bounded from the bar to hit the post and fall over the bar, while the other bounced into the air, spinning end over *nd. and the impetus caused it to fall into touch in goal. Ohaeawai journeyed to. ana were ooaten by, Kawakawa, <* —0, and Ngawha visited Waihou and defeated tho home team 6—o. In the second grade, Kawakawa defeated Ohaeawai 14 —0: Okaihau defeated Kaikohc, 11 —3 ; Waipapa, a bye.

THE GAME AT WHAKATANE.

The result* of Saturday's football were: Whakatnne City juniors 10, beat Wnimana, 3; Whakatane City seniors 5, beat Paroa o

Toint?. Ch. P. W. L. D. for. in:, pt*. Training Col... 1' 2 — — 28 17 4 Manukau .... 2 2 — — SO 15 4 ' Gnifton 2 'J — — SO 15 -I Grammar O.B. 2 1 1 — 25 If) 2 Ponaonby .... 2 1 1 —■ 37 22 2 l.'niveraity .... 2 1 l — Of; 2<; " Technical O.B. 2 1 1 — 21 32 2 • ■•i11p"(.- JCiflc:-!.. 2 — 2 — 12 5'J '> M.irlst 2 — 2 — 9 27 0 City 2 — 2 — IS 4>i 0