SOUTH SPRING SURPRISE

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 213, 9 September 1929, Page 16

SOUTH SPRING SURPRISE

{TRIUMPH OF FORWARD PLAY. ,: / JTORTHERN VANGUARD . OUTCLASSED. .: v • BACKS HELD.IN SUBJECTION. , Tho generally accepted opinion that ihc League plane in the North is far superior to that of the South, was rudely 'shattered at Carlaw Park on Saturday, when the South Island representatives defeated the elect of the North Island to iho tune of 22 points to 13. The result should assist to stimulate interest in the game in the other island, for it is the first time on record that the Northerners have been vanquished. I The match proved a triumph for the Visiting forwards, who not only, swamped ihc North Island spearhead, but reduced the latter's backs to comparative impotence. Instead of an exposition of back play and pretty passing rushes, a surprised crowd of 8000 saw a rare exliibition of unalloyed, smashing forward jflay, with admirable ball control by the winners, and tigerish tackling by them ■when possession passed temporarily to the opposition. With their forwards liopelessly outclassed, it was a drab day ifor the Northern back division, and only rarely —mostly with individual effort— did they colour the picture.

' The teams were:— X North Island (Black).—Full-back, Gregory; three-quarters, Hamilton, Brisbane, Scott; live-eighths, Meyer, Delgrosso (captain); half-back, Shortland; forwards, Trautvettor, Stcphenson, Menzies, Timms, Berghan, Francis. South Island (White).—Full-back, Blazey; three-quarters, Bond, Sanders (captain), Mcllwee; " five-eighths, Spillane, Amos; half-back, McKewen; forwards, Calder, Townsend, Dobbs, Griffiths, O'Brien, Eckofl".

Hostilities opened with rapid exchanges, and within the space of three minutes Hamilton, the North Auckland winger, ]iad shown deer-like speed to notch the opening try. A conversion by Delgrosso put the North advantage in s—o. Fine kicking by Bond reduced the margin of difference to one point, and, then, with electrifying suddenness, Spillane dashed through to send Townsend in for a converted try. The visitors got the lead 9 —5, and at the interval had increased it to 20—8, tries by O'Brien, Griffiths and Dobbs, and a goal by Bond add; ing the extras. Late in the initial spell, Meyers slipped across for ~ the North, but it was

the latter's only

real effort, for they were overshadowed by quick, covering defence, and forward shock tactics that gave them few chances. From a scoring point of view the second spell was more evenly contested, though with the going rendered slippery by heavy rain just prior to the interval and suiting their particular style of play, the South Islanders were in the'ascendancy continually. The issue could never be said to have been in doubt. Before the game ended Bond kicked a penalty , for the wearers of the white jersey, and Delgrosso burst through in characteristic fashion for the North. Gregory goaled. ;

Machine-like Forwards. South pinned their faith to a burly sextet, who packed' their front three like a solid arch in order to get ball possession in the set scrums. In the open they moved like a machine, dribbling beautifully and backing up solidly. Their tackling was deadly, and they carried out their mission to get both man and ball with a will. So much did the South ruckmen transcend everything that little could be said .of other phases of the play. Only occasionally did the Northern backs, when they had fleeting possession, look impressive, but gonerally speaking their exhibition lacked lustre, and was not polished by some of the nice, tricky little things that the Auckland crowd raves over. There was a Hash of solo finesse now and again which the Southerners failed to match, but it availed nothing in the long run in the face of the tearing, bustling white barrage. What could a team that had played together for the first time, on' taking the field, do against easily the greatest pack seen in Auckland since the memorable inter-Island game of 1926, when the object of the players was to win a place in the national side to tour England ?. Buffeted Northerners. The Northern - pack, buffeted about foy a superior combination, lacked understanding with their backs, probably owing to the fact that, with one exception, they were drawn from either North or South Auckland. They did not seem to grasp the Auckland methods of collaboration, and the men from the Waikato were considerably troubled by the amended rule requiring the players to stand behind the player playing the ball. But, oven when they got possession, the Northern backs were unenterprising. Shortland behind the pack waa meteoric on the run, and defended excellently, but he offset a good exhibition by erratic passing, in many respects he was the North's be.it back. Delgrosso played his worst game for 'ages. He was utterly, selfish, giving his supports few chances, or cutting

them out when sending the ball through the chain would have served his side better. On defence he was solid as usual. Meyer, the North Auckland five-eighths, played well in the first half, but when shifted to the wing in the second stanza was not at home. Brisbane saw singularly little of the ball, and was consequently seen in a subdued light. Hamilton and Scott, the wingers, were starved for want of opportunities. The North Auckland man proved himself a winger of the forceful, scoring type by registering the first try of the day. He slumped somewhat afterwards, however, and was not often in the picture. Scott was not impressive up till the time ho was forced to retire. He has not proved himself the brilliant scoring winger that he was last season—a winger who held his own with the cream of England. His . handling lacks the surety that he used to possess. Fine Full-back Display. Gregory had the hardest time of any man on the field, and defended splendidly in the face of the towering rushes by the visiting forwards. His positional play at times was at fault, and his kicking lacked the range of the South Island custodian, Blazey, who has improved appreciably since his last appearance in Auckland. Blazey gave a wonderful exhibition of clean handling and clever fielding. He was always in position, and only made one mistake on the day when he failed to get Hamilton when he was racing for the opening try. Then he was caught oft" his balance, and seemed to be anticipating a cut-in that was not attempted. He has a kick with range the equal of that of Dufty, and though he rarely got the line, he invariably did the right thing. He has speed and enterprise, and frequently raced his backs into line. Spillane was the best back on the ground, and by playing right on top of Delgrosso, gave the skipper few chances to puncture the defence with straight running. Amos and Sanders were moderate on attack, and stout on defence, while McEwen,'behind a winning pack, was very reliable and continually engineering movements for his backs. Bond was the choice of the wingers, but was a trifle impetuous. McElwee, on the other wing, was not seen at his best. Every man of the southern pack played his part well, and never slackened up from start to finish. It is difficult to single out any of them for special mention, though Calder, Townsend, Dobbs and Eckhoff were probably most, in the limelight. Trautvettor was the only North Island forward who stood up against the battering ram-like attacks of the visitore. Menzies, Timms and Stephenson were his best supports.

STALLARD CUP FINAL. The final .of..the,.,Stallard. Cup series was won by Otahuhu who defeated Point Chevalier by 11 to. 0, after a very uninteresting display of football. Otahuhu, although not winning by a large margin, always held a territorial advantage, in fact for three-quarters of the game had Point Chevalier penned on defence, but their failure to handle the ball with accuracy, spoilt many promising movements. On the other hand Point Chevalier gave a most disappointing showing, but there was eoine excuse; as the team was badly depleted through injuries. The game opened very quietly, Otahuhu being the first to show combination, a passing rush commenced by Farrell placing Point on defence. A period of desultory play followed, but just before half-time, Matson placed Otahuhu in front with a nice try under the posts, for Eustace to convert. Further tries by Ellery and Eustace saw Otahuhu eleven points in front, and the game ended with no alteration. to the score. For tie winners, Phillips gave a safe display at full-back, kicking and fielding with judgment. Eustace, the best of the backs, made many brilliant openings, but he did not get much support. Farrell played a. brilliant game behind, feeding his backs to advantage, while also exploiting the short kick. The forwards all toiled hard, but White Conway and Jury stood out.

Point Chevalier's full-back Boswill, was not too safe, frequently bringing trouble to liis side with faulty handling. McLaren was the better of . the wings, making some nice dashes down the line. The backs failed to collaborate to much advantage, but Duncan and Slassenger made the most of any chances that came their way. Humphreys was playing behind a losing pack, and consequently was not as prominent ae usual. McMillan and Surtees were most prominent of the vanguard.

BENEFIT MATCH AT NORTHCOTE.

As a benefit to a deserving Nor.thcote case, a match has been arranged between senior B grade League teams representing Kiehinond and Northcote. This will be played at 3 o'clock next Saturday afternoon on the Northcote municipal ground. A collection will be taken up on the ground. AUSTRALIAN TOURISTS. FIRST MATCH IN ENGLAND. (Australian Press Assn. —United Service.) LONDON, Sept. 7. In a League football match the Australians beat Rochdale by 30 points to 3. This was the opening game of the toiir. The Australians play York to-morrow and Batley on Saturday. Their first Test is scheduled for Hull on October 5. . JUNIOR RESULTS. SECOND GRADE. Newton 10. beat .Dovonport Z. Mr. Albert 24, beat Jit. Wellington 3. SIXTH GRADE. Newton 47. beat Point Chevalier 0, Richmond B 37, beat Richmond A 0. Otahuhu G, drew with City G. HOUSE MATCHES. Smith and Smith 9, beat Woolmlng Window Co. 3. ' j Auckland Glass Co. 13, beat Hoards, Ltd., 3. ■ . PRIMA.RY SCHOOLS. Mount Albert 10. heat Otahulru 0. .Newton .3,- beat Onehunga 0. M'angere 0, drew with Akarana 0. GAMES IN THE PROVINCE. HAMILTON. Northeote S, drew with Hamilton 8. • niKURANGI. Auckland League schoolboy reps. 0, defeated Ilikurnngi 4. Munro and Phillips scored tries for Auckland, and Brown and Jones kicked a penaltv goal cacli for Ilikurangi. GAMES IN THE SOUTH. CHRISTCHTJRCH. Sydenham IC, beat Marist 15. DUNEDIN. A seven a-side tournament on Saturday was won by Christian Brothers.