RICHMOND OUTPLAYED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 127, 1 June 1931, Page 13

RICHMOND OUTPLAYED.

On their performance Devonport deservod their victory over Richmond by 13 points to 5, although the actual points are not an accurate indication of the trend of the play. The sea aiders were Riven as much as tliey gave and but for two bad slips. the city suburb might easily have emerged the victors. The mistakes which spelt ti.air defeat singularly enough were made by a man who otherwise played an excellent -fame, and one who probablv was the most hard-worked man on the 'Richmond side. His name is Lee. Shore were three up when Len Scott intercepted in his own tweuty-five and n bolted away like a [ deer to leave all but l.ee of the defenders •standing. He feinted, indicating a cut in [ which would have : been fatal in view of ! the treacherous state |of the turf. Lee I his move i "hook, line and i slnkc r," and a I moment's hesitancy I on his part let the fleet winger through for a try. His other HTor was in attempt- ; ing the spectacular with forwards charging down on him. He

missed a short punt through and Casey darted in to gather and stroll over as he liked. Both tres were converted. A try by Prentice and a conversion left Richmond with a deficit of eight points—eight points which meant defeat in a game which might easily have ended with honours even. It was Richmond's unlucky day. Nevertheless, all credit is due to the "mariners" for the splendid defence they conjured up in face of tactics which would have resulted In the devastation of many another team in the competition. The Richmond forwards, with Lawless. Ragg, Telford and Lennie in the van, worked like Trojans and gave their hacks plenty of the hall. They followed up hard and tackled .without ceremony, but only once could thev force a passage through the defence. The Shore sestet likewise gave of their best, and men who shone as being tireless in their efforts to cripple the defence were E. Scott, Casey, Ruby and Simpson. The same resolved itself largely into a battle of the forwards, and it cannot be said that there was a single loafer in either pack. As usual the generalship of A. Scott, the Devonport skipper, did much to hold his scrum together, and to establish contact with the backs. The same was outstanding for a fine duel between Simons, the Shore custodian, and Lee. While the latter, apart from the few mistakes that he made, plaved splendidly, he was overshadowed by the man from across the water. Simons was cool, calm and collected at all times, fielded the ball cleanly even in the face of the greatest pressure, and kicked with exceptionally fine range. Indeed, he plaved one of his best games to date, and 'he has played some clinking good ones this season. His consistency is likely to win him a place in the reps. There was not a great deal of concerted play among the backs, firstly because the conditions were not conducive to handling, but primarily because the tackling of the insides was so incisive, and men bowled over almost as soon as they got the ball. Seagar and Prentice, two of the finest, tacklers in the code, were opposed to each other in the rive-eighths line, and both did their job on demence thoroughly. Len Scott was the ljnst of the three-quarters and gave his vis-a-vis Pell plenty to do. The latter, however, was gameness personified, and only once was taken unawares—namely, when Scott scored his runaway try. While Lee finally let the latter slip past him. a good deal of the blame for the winger's try must be attributed to lob passing by Dunne, (lie Richmond five-eighths. Dunne, who has been playing well throughout the season, was the weak link in the Richmond chain, and undoubtedly was sorely troubled by the conditions.