LEAGUE REP. MATCHES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 177, 29 July 1929, Page 15

LEAGUE REP. MATCHES.

DUAL WIN FOR AUCKLAND

NORTHERN UNION CUP

HOME BACKS SUPERIOR

SOLID FORWARD EXHIBITION.

The hold that the League game has , in Auckland was reflected by an attend- .1 ance of 10,000 at Carlaw Park on Satur- j day afternoon, when a Waikato thirteen , lived up to their reputation and put in a stout challenge for the Northern Union \ Cup. The elect of the city retained the trophy by the narrow margin of 11 points to 8, after a game that possessed much incident, but was not brilliant. The Southerners played the traditional Ruo-by wet-weather game, ana with close dribbling harassed the town players 'all the way, but their backs lacked polish and finish. Individualism was the outstanding feature of the Auckland bteeksplav and appreciation o? the finer points of the code badly shattered the Waikato defence on several occasions. The tackling of both sides was deadly. Hie curtain-raiser was supplied by thirteeus representing the same unions, and again, victory rested with the city players., though they were down in the initial spell-. The only alteration to the teams scheduled to eii2?.ge in the cup game was that Melntyre. the Fonsonby half, replaced W. Shortland, ex-Maori All Blae*. behind the scrum, because of the stipulation in the cup rules that a player must have appeared in at least three club matches. Shortland has represented City in only two games. The teams were:— South Auckland (red, white and blue).—Full-back. Geo. Raynor; threequarters, B. Paki, B. Jackways, E. littleton- five-eighths,' J. Farrell, D Whorsky; half, E. Abbott; forwards, J. Jones, J. Hogan, T. Timme, J. Menzies, R. Stephenson, E. Trautvetter. Auckland (red and white).—Full-back, L Simons; three-quarters, C. List, H. Brisbane, L. Scott; ftTe-eighths, F. Del*roasd, L. Seagar; half-back. Melntyre; forwards. A. Scott, Skelton, S. Ruby, \\. Moisley, N. Pascoe. W. Hamilton. Referee: Mr. L. Bull. Waikato looked a formidable lot when they exchanged breetings with Auckland on a ground that was sloppy in parts and not conducive to the fast, open game. They early demonstrated that it was on -their forwards that they relied primarily for victory, and, with Timms, Menzies, Stephonson, Trautvetter and Jones in the van, penned Auckland up in their own twenty-five for a quarter of an hour. Then Tjttleton, the visitors , speedy little winger, who was always in the picture, showed a flash of his genius by receiving in the left corner and threading his way through the defence for an unconverted try. It was a revitalised Auckland team that, with loosoi raking forward tactics swept, with: Hamilton, Ruby and Skelton prominent. 1 to the attack for Seagar to let the brilliant Brisbane in near the posts. Delgrosso put the home side in frontwith a neat kick, but could not repeat his performance when Len Scott flew across wide out from a movement cleverly engineered by Brisbane. The scores—B points to 3—at half-time were ■ ■ indicative of the

merits of the teams, who varied fast forward play -with flashes of brilliancy among the backs. The Auckland chain were collectively more brilliant than the opposition^and were continuously aided by their forwards "opening up play from the loose. Changing over the Waikatoites held the upper hand for

a considerable period, and it was only solid tackling that resisted their batter-ing-ram attacks. Auckland augmented their score by a, beautiful try by Brisbane, and then Timms took advantage of a misunderstanding between Delgrosso and Moisley to gather in and sail away for a-gift try. On this occasion the defenders we found hopelessly out of position, and relying on the usually infallible Delgrosso to put them on side. Before hostilities ceasd TittletJn turned a penalty to good account for the provincial players, who gave one ot their best displays in Auckland, and fell only three points short of their old rivals. As a spectacle the game was not brilliant, but it served to demonstrate that the Waikato has talent the equal of that in the city, and a set of forwards that bears favourable comparison with those of any other, part of the Dominion. Had it not been for the southern forwards, one hesitates to think what the result of the match would have been, though individually the visitors' backs played well. The latter's lack of finish in the finer points of the game, however, lost them many scoring chances. In tho tight the visitors' pack were superior to the opposition—a fiery, daredevil sextet that received a fair share of the ball, tackled with a purpose, and were tenacious on defence —but they failed to combine -with th& backs in the approved style. On the other hand the Auckland scrummagers at every opportunity sought to open up the play, and by fast following up and supporting play achieved this object. Probably the best forward on the ground was Menzies, the All Black, who has never been seen in Auckland in such fine form. He was the inspiration of the Waikato pack, which was conspicuously successful in breaking up from the scrums and raiding Auckland's inside backs. His best supports were Timms, Stevenson, Trautvetter and Jones. The latter, an ex-Pemberton Rover player, gave flashes of his English form, and considerably aided his backs. For Auckland, Ruby! was the outstanding forward, and his fast following up and resolute tackling were perplexing to the opposition. Pascoe raked the ball from the scrums very successfully, while .others who shone were Hamilton and Moisley. A. Scott, the Shore captain, was probably the weakest forward on the ground, and did not appear to relish in the tight. Frequently he was standing off when his weight would have been decidedly useful. The balance of power was held by the Auckland backs, who, as a combination, were more brilliant than their opponents, though/owing to the heavy going, neither rearguai'd was seen to good advantage. Opportunism was a feature of the city men's play, Seagar and Brisbane excelling in this department. The latter was at the height of his form, and showed an excellent appreciation of ' Sea gars

particular style of play. Twice he finished off movements engineered by J the seasides' brilliant five-eighth. His attacks would have been more devastating had it not been for the fact that his handling at times was erratic —an old fault of his. On defence Seagar was superb, only being excelled by the veteran Delgrosso. who was shifted to full-back when Simons retired injured earlv in the game. It was an unfortunate incident that compelled the. Devonport full-back's retirement, for he was shaping well, and everyone was anxious to see how he weathered the test of his first rep. game. Melntyre. who replaced Shortland be-1 hind the scrum, was hardly as impressive as usual, but allowance has to be made for the strength of the opposing pack. Len Scott showed pace in the three-; quarter line, but Mincham scarcely demonstrated that he is sufficiently experienced for rep. honours as ydt. Delgrosso was just Delgrosso, though a trifle slow on one occasion, when he let the opposition in. Abbott and Whorsky, half-back and five-eighth respectively, were the two shining lights of the visitors' scoring machine, whilo Tittle-ton on the wing proved paey and dangerous whenI ever in possession. Opportunities rarely came the letter's way, however, but he greatly pleased the spectators with some : beautiful runs and his vim. B. Paki played safely on the opposite wing, and the intermediate line was well served by Farrell. and to a more limited extent by Jackways, who was overshadowed by his vis-a-vis. List. The Kingsland Athletic man was at hi« best in the first half, and his defensive play was excellent. Raynor, the Waikato custodian, performed reliably, but was deficient in the speed necessary in a full-back who appreciates his backs.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER

Tlie South Auckland team and officials after the nmteii, were guesis at a diunc.r jit the Commercial Hotel, over 100 bi'ijii; in attendance. Mr. George Rbodes, president of the Auckland League, executive members and officers of tho New Zealand Council, were present. A brief toast list followed tho repnst. and the Soutii Auckland toani was congratulated upon it strong bid for the Northern Union Shield, which was formally presented to the winnjrs liy Mr. Cyrii Sneddon, chairman of the New Zealand League. Mr. J. Joues. captain of the South Auckland team, acknowledged the tribute and hospitality, aacl proposed the toat-t of the referee, Mr. L. 3uii, who. in responding, snid the game that day provided tine sportsmanship that reflected creditably upon the code.

JUNIOR RESULTS

THIRD INTERMEDIATE GRADE. Devonport 5, beat Akarana 0. FOURTH GRADE. Klngsland li, bent Ponsonby 0. FIFTH GRADE. Richmond 15. beat Pt Chevalier 2. Newmarket -, beat Kingsland 0.. .SIXTH GRADE. Marist 10, beat Northcote t!. Marist 3, boat Richmond A 0. Northcote 13, beat Glenn Lynn 0. PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Onehunga Convent S, boat Richmond 0. Dcvonpdrt 2, drew with Otahuhu li. Newmarket 14, beat Maugcre 0.

GAMES IN THE SOUTH.

CHRISTCHURCH. Addington 21, beat Marists 13. Hornby -S, beat Waimairi 0. Sydenham 14, beat Woolston 0: DUNEDIX. Christian Brothers 10, beat Pacific 6. City 31, bent Athletic 10.