FORM VARIED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 228, 27 September 1938, Page 17

FORM VARIED.

THE RUGBY REPS.

PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES.

T£AM WEAKENED

ON SOUTHERN TOUR.

■ ■>tur.l..j s match will, the Barbarians " , '" k "' l tilc '•'"' ">' tli.. playing aeason tor ii- Rugby lepicsciit.uives. It was a .-.i.-,,n that 5ta11,.,! well, but tailed off ' ■■"">■ towaids tin- end. Until the s j dc • ••it ~u it;, souther,, tour, it held an in.beaten record of six mat, ]~•« played ••"<1 "'on; then followed defeats at the

""" ls of Manawatu. Wellington and lUvvmjh lia.i, and on Ssaturuay came the beating liy the Barbarians.

It- must be admitted, however, that in 11... liter stages ot the season the team was handicapped On tour injuries and the inability ot several star plavcix t„ ti.ivel affected the team's per.ormances and on Sh unlay tour ot the 1,, v plavers in the biickliuc were missing. Altogether Auckland scored 216 points and had SI, ««. 01 -rd ..gainst it. The in.itches played resulted as follows: — , v , ;'; l ';; ,K,nu - »•"•»". ~v ' , lk,u" W»n it, :i •iianakl W,, M ~. ~ IS.Till Auckland Won lg || King c'..uut|.y Won ;« 17 >/• »=""•!» Won u ,; Min.-iwatii Lost 11 NHiliitttiui |a, st ,; ,1 \\mr.ir.-iri. Won ;;.y ■■:! \]™**'< "ay Ix>rt 11 r<7 liarbanuus lyOSt al 4 - McLean a Fine Captain. One of the outstanding features of the representative season was the captainship ot M. r. McLean, who led the pack untiringly in every match. Taken all round. the tor-wards showed better form than fhe backs, who were inclined to potchinea* Bond stood out as a first class hooker, who gave his hacks an excellent share of the ball in every match.

Chilians, who unwed several of the tiirly mutches, Hull and Pepper were other consistently good forward*. Lange

and Drake, who also missed some of the early games, stood out towards the end 0[ the season. Lange played some fine games on the tour, and Eden Park crowds Saw on Saturday what a sound forward the team possessed in Drake.

Find of the season was J. Pile, the Training College half, who proved himself a sounder all-rounder thi\n Cooney, the youthful Marist half. Cooney was tried out by the selector at the beginning of the season, and showed after a few games that he deserved his place. When given his chance, however, Pile showed greater confidence and more enterprise. If available next season he will probably beat Cooney for the half-back position. ,

Most improvement was shown by the 'Varsity three-quarter, D. L. M. Martin, whose strong running proved a great asset to the team u* he gained confidence and experience. Dave Solomon's work at fullback wae outstanding, but his elusivcneaa against his team-mates when he appeared for the Barbarians on Saturday again raieed the contention - that' Solomon'* place ia nearer the scrum. However, Auckland was well served in the fiveeighths line by Pearman and Brady, whose understanding waa the key to all the victories. Veteran* Hill Have "Klek." The display of the Barbarians on Saturday was a lesson in cohesion. The back line and the forwards threw the bnll about daringly, and a atring of trie* resulted. Every unit in the veterans' line functioned splendidly, particularly the three-quarters. Hart, Caughey and Bulloek-Douglaa all showed that they have plenty of good football left in them. Caughey delighted the crowd by his spectacular swerving bursts. Dave Solomon, first five-eighth, was one of the youngest players in the side, and hie fitness after a aeason'a hard football stood him in good stead. He opened the way for many of the Barbarians' most spectncular movements •nd scored two splendid tries on his own.

Bush never made a mistake. His game reminded one of the exhibition he turned on against the Australian Universities side a few years back. He fielded and kicked as well as ever he had done at Eden Park, and he showed all his old ability to Join the line in its attack*. Behind the scrum Corner was a model of solidity. "He ■ still the best half-back in Auckland," declared many of the spectators. _ And, on Saturday's form, they were right.

The best of the Bwbarlans' forwa/ds ■were McLean,' F. Solomon, Fraser and Webb, all of whom nre still plMring active football. The other* warn inclined to be spasmodic in their work. McNeil, the Taranaki and Wellington rep., Who replaced Swin Hadley, waa an exception. He played excellent football throughout.

Xext Saturday's champion of champions match Will end the season. Ponsonby, winners of the Gallahcr Shield competition, will play Ma'rist for the right to -hold the Rujrby Union's Jubilee trophy. The handsome trophy, donated on the occasion- of the union'a diamond jubilee in 1093. in » fit reward for the champions of the season. Though the ground seems certain to be briclc-hard, it should be » fast game.