FLASHES FROM SATURDAY'S GAMES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 148, 24 June 1940, Page 10

FLASHES FROM SATURDAY'S GAMES

The feature of Rugby at Eden Park was the fine effort made by Training College to lower the colours of Marist, last season's champions, in the cui tain-raiser. It was a bright exhibition, and Ttaining College deserved at least a draw. Leading by nine points, three tries, at one stage they appeared likely to take the honours, until the Marist forwards rallied. Two quick tries were registered, and Hare converted one, leaving Marist one point in arrears at half-time. The only score in the second spell was a converted try. Thus Bill Hare again took his side to victory with his boot. Harist was minus the services of their clever half-back, F. Cooney, and his absence somewhat disorganised the rearguard as an offensive attacking unit.

Match-Winning Wing.—Hats off to Col-more-Williams, the Training College wing, who scored two fine tries on Saturday ujjainst Mariet. A fast and strong runner, iie ks a hard man to tackle when he has speed on, as has been mentioned previously in these columns. The merit of his efforts was much greater when it is realiwod that on neither occasion did he get the ball when going at top. Both times lie had to turn round and take the ball on the bounce and then set oil' again. In beating five opponents the second time he scored, he well deserved the applause from all parts of the field that greeted his effort. Molloy, who was marking him, is by no means a weak tackier—in fact, this is one of his strong points—but ColmoreWilliams just brushed aside his defence. C'olmore-Williams is definitely a matchwinning wing. The Brady's Shine.—Charlie Brady, the diminutive Suburbs half-back, played another fine all-round game 'Oil SaturdayWhether on attack or defence, he did all that came his way in a standard that suggests he is the best half-back in the province. His fine effort when he started an attack in Grafton's twenty-five which broke down and then chased Lilley half the length of the field and lowered th« wing witli a splendid tackle Was one of the highlights of the game. His brother, Denny Brady, who has not been up to his best form this season, came into hie own with some clever attacking work, in which he tore holes in the defence only to see mistakes by supports spoil it allDay of Lost Chances.—The principal attraction between Grafton and Suburbs could well he summed up as one of lost chances, especially by Suburbs. The latter had enough opportunities to pile up a good score, but always failed to finish off movements either by bad . passing or mishandling. Although Grafton'e defence was sound, it was helped materially in' this department by the errors of the opposition. Grafton's forwards held the . tipper hand, and. although the rearsuard ltice "Suburbs, made errors, they were mor« Sound as a unit all round- Suburb* took the field without ite fine forward, K; Ladbrook, who was injured., on the previous Saturday. ' .;.. ■'■"■ ■'■-,-.' Hedge the Match Wlnner.-H^gV* versatile pluy was the feature of-Satur-day's game at St urges; Park and be was responsible for the victory of hw side, On numerous occasions he went through the opposition without a, hand; -being placed on him. Otahuhu's two ■• trie? were the result -of Hedge running right up to the full-back arid ithen passing to his support. Roeenfcldt, Technical Old Boye' full-back, gave Jt xery sound dieplay and wae a tower , of utre-ngth <io hit side. He exploited a long croes-field kick to the advantage of hie speedy wingers. Sutherland, who received a naety knock and had to retire, played good football. Secondary Schools.—After the -four*!, •erics of games in the Auckland secondary schools' Rugby championship, there' are lit ill two unbeaten teams, Sacred! Heart College and Takapuna Grammar School. The Richmond Road playern, however, have won all their games, but Takapuna drew with Auckland Grammar arid King's College, go that the two unbeaten teams will take the field next Saturday with Sacred Heart holding a two-point lead. Sacred HeaH beat Auckland Grammar on Saturday by 6 points to 3. Maxwell kicked a penalty goal and E. Enwright scored a try in the first epell, -while Stevens; for Auckland, kicked a penalty in, the.eeconi! spell. Although a heavier side Auckland lost .two men through injuries, the centre (Leach), and a forward, Frott, having to be replaced. Takapuna, thanks to a potted goal by R. Proctor late hi the game, beat Mount Albert Grammar School'ltf—O, while at Middlemore King's College overwhelmed Seddon Memorial Technical College 24—5. Promising Flve-el|hth.—Grafton has a promising fiiwt five-eighth in R. Clark. Solid, without any brilliance, lie did good work on attack and defence and made an effective connecting link in the back chain. He scored a fine .try when he got an opportunity in "the second spell, beat three men, and touched down by the posts. Hull In Form.—R. Hull, the sturdy Grafton forward, Auckland rep. and All Black tr ialjet, is at the top of his form and played a fine all round game. He led .the pack in great srtyle and was also well in the thick of the tight play. Nelson, the Suburbs forward, "t who has been prominent -throughout the season, spoiled • good game ogajnst Grafton by holding poeeeemon and being tackled when he had support. On one occasion at least thie cost the team a i certain try. - . • Artillery Just Fill.—Until the final quarter it. seemed that Artillery might break their duck in the senior Rugby competition. At half-time they led Shore by 8 plinte to' 6. Throughout the game they gave 'β-tfupepb exhibition of' eolid tackling. Time and again the nippy Shore backs would etart a dangerous passing rush, only to be brought one alter the other to earth. However, forwards .alone could not win the game, and the handling of their'ibacks was very poor, with a few exceptions, notalbly.Kelly and Duncan. A fast game found the soldiers unable to Jaet the distance, -and they faded away in t/h-e laet quarter. For Shore R. Stancidh was conspicuous witiha fine all-round display. . ; Halliwoll Near the Scrum. Halliwell, Ponwonby's 'full-buck, 'has been- keen to get e chance nearer the scrum,- and it was given him in the game with Grammar when he was moved to'fivg-eighths. Apart from fhe fu«t that' his kicks were often eetray lie wan well in tlie defensive picture, and woe to the fore in concerted manoeuvres. Halli well iias a fine refcord of Rugby behind hhn, ibobh in Auckland end South Auckland areas. Fraser's Try.—Mai Fraser, a Ponsonby dtaindby for "α-vhumber of years now, is playing aa well u* ever. Proof of this was hie game on Saturday against Grammar. He'played with an excellent pack, in which Bourke, and Booklans stood out. Towards the end of the game a loose rush ensued and after several had handled, F/raaer got the ball. From <the side line it appeared that he was going to pass ■infield, but he fooled the full-back and •went on to'score on his own 'in. the corner. Even Going—The drawn game between University and St. Luke's was a good indication of the trend of play. Cooper was outstanding in the University front-line, but the vanguard was inclined at times to bunch. The half-back line, Gash, Rouse,, •nd N , . Brown were an even trio and the forwards should have done better with the support tha half-line gave them. Bclehaw

again gave a sound goal-keeping display. Although very erratic at tlie start; A. Appleby retrieved his efforts ae the game progressed, and in the second half made gome clever saves. Brodie, left-half, while clever at stopping, was inclined to be slow in clearing. When ho did get the ball away it was always well placed. Carroll and Sell worked many splendid attacks, but also showed a tendency to over-run the ball. Cluttenden gave a very sound display ns right wing and drew the opposition well. Sequence Broken.—Once again it was the brilliance of Moir (who played as a kicking full-back, without pads) that eaved 'Varsity Whippets from an overwhelming defeat. Moir thought nothing of facing up to the determined onslaughts of the Albertian forwards, using hie feet to make his clearances in the most spectacular manner, and it was this factor that enabled the Whippets to hold Albertians to a two-goal draw. Incidentally, this is the fiiist match out of the seven in which McLiskey, the Albertian forward, has failed to score a goal. Contrast of Styles.— The hard-hitting tactics of Grammar Old Boys' hockey vanguard were in marked contrast to the short, tricky passing of the United front line. As usual, the hurricane methods of Grammar Rained the ascendancy at the start, bpt United's effort had its effect in the last half. Larsen was outstanding on the left of Grammar's front line, but the other forwards did not accept the chances he gave them. Roughton was dashing and continued in the goal-scoring. Lawry, centre-half, kept very close watch on the opposing centre-forward. He brought off some clevrr stick work, but nullified some efforts by going too far. Fer.ton was the best of United's forwards, although Heniott, orf the right wing, gave a sound display. Hedges, on the left, made many fine openings, but was inclined to over-run the ball at the critical moment. Bowden proved best of the full-backs and had a good understanding with the wing-half. Thornton. Especially in the eecond linlf their efforts caused the opposition trouble

Mount Eden's Recruit.—After having ; the better of the first spell, Training Col- [ lege had to give in to a surprise defeat ( at the hands of Mount Eden. The hard- > hitting tactics of the winners upset the ; calculations of the teachers. Mount Eden . made the •most of their opportunities in I tho second spell, eventually winning by > the odd goal. Outstanding in the Edeii team was F. Horspool, at centre half. Ills ! stopping was sound and his method of changing his tactics in initiating attacks gave plenty of ecopc for the wjngs to do ' their work. A new recruit to the Mount Eden ranks was R. Davies, the cx-Cnnter- . bury left wing. Judging by his exhibition ; on the day, he should be a decided acquisi- ; tion to hie side. Army's Good Start.—ln less than three minutes after starting the Papakur'a Army 'forwards, with a right-flank movement, had found the Somerville net. The soldi.-rs were going in great style when suddenly several good clearances by the 1 Somerville backs forced them on the defensive. Wyatt and D- Stewart were again a fine combination, but the whole of the Somerville line passed the ball about freely. Smith's experience stood well to him and many of his clparinp; hits were not only cleverly made, but the ball was always placed to advantage of the- Array forwards- Hayes and Camp claim first mention. Wellbourne was as dangerous •is ever and collected a good goal. Of the other backs, McKinnon, Lythgoe and Bone claim mention. Wellington Reps. Chosen. .— The sole selector, Mr. E. J. Gates, has chosen the following Soccer team to represent Wellington in the English Trophy match against Auckland at Auckland on Saturday week: — Goalkeeper. Turki-ngto'i (Marist); backs. Harris, Bolton (Waterside); halves, Calder (Waterside), A. Gates (Technical), C. Macgregor (Swifts); forwards, McCarthy (Waterside), ]'ater«on (Petone), Baker (Swifts). Hitehnrd (Marist), Hickmott (Swift*). Reserves: K. Yeoman (Seatoun). Tf Hatchard is , not available, Shankie (Swifts) will replace him.

Although they had tfie bye on Saturday North Shore still remain top of the Auckland Rugby League's senior competition. They have 12 points to their credit, and this is one more than the points notched by Richmond and Manukau, who have moved into second place equal by virtue of wins over Marist and Newton respectively. Newton slipped back still further when they bowed to defeat by Manukau—their second reverse in succession—and now occupy fourth place with 10 points. Lower down the rung of the ladder come City and Mount Albert with six points apiece, Marist with 4 points and Ponsonby and Papakura each with 2 points. All Saturday's games were well contested, and one of the largest crowds of the season thrilled to the main game between Newton and Manukau.

Marist's Fast Wing.—The speed revealed by .1. Matthews was a feature in the match i.et\voen Mariet and Richmond, 'but tho Mavisl Wiii@ was &i'arved for opportunities, and had little chance to show his uioiing ability. Matthews started 'hie football at Uhc Parn<! 11 Soiioo!, and after playing tor Akarana joined the fifth grade Marist team. He quickly reached the tap grade, and has been there for the past lour seaeonti. He is 21 years of age, and 10.5 in weight. Manukau Dreadnoughts.—Manukau'e big forwards wove a factor in their victory. Tho leader was Stephen Watene, 17.2 in weight, and there were handy men hi Martfh, a pood for ward from Hokianga, and I'elVr Kiriiiui, who the Sprinsfboks in 1937 declared was the best forward they met, both well over lti.O, to support them. Fourth man of the heavy-weight brigade, wae John Brodrick, the former Bay of Plenty player, and star of the Maori team of 1935, which went to Australia. But ae Brocleviok weighs only 14.7 he can be regarded as a lightweight'.

New Halt-back.—The mantle of.Peter Mah'ima, Manukau'e sturdy Ji a It-back*, who has joined the Armed Force*, has fallen on V. V. Selwyn, who made his first appearance in eenior League football againet Xewton. Sehvyn attracted attention when a schoolboy at' l'ukekohe. He played tor the Avondale fourth grade team this eeaeon, and the Manukau selectors 'had -tihe discernment to lift him to eenior btatue. Despite the fact that' lie is only 10.0 in weight, Sehvyn goes down to rushes in fearless way, and his speed often saves him. Ho is only eighteen years ot age.

Papakura's Undoing. — Victory vras snatched from tho 'battling l'apakura Leaguo team in flic last few minutes of their game with City, and the manner in which tihey met their undoing let! to a good deal of comment. K. llalsey pursued an opponent wJio wae chasing the ■ball with «i clear field aihead, anrl Jie tripped the opponent about 20yds from the line. The referee, Mr. K. Mclvor, promptly awarded an obstruction try to Oity, and when Silva converted Papakura were defeated by 11 points to 10. The manner of the tripping appeared to many of the spectators unintentional. Though the incident led to Papakura ibeing robbed of a win, which the./ deserved juet as much as City on the rim of the play, City would probably have scored in any case, as when the obstruction try wae awarded them the defence wae at eixes and sevens.

"The Heavies" Clash. —A good deal of the play in the Papakura-City game at C'arlaw Park was confined to the forwards and it was of the no-beg-pardons variety. The sextets broke fairly even on the day, and men who were always in the thick of the fray were Milliken, Buckcridge, Fogarty and Smith for Papakura, and H Mataira, Gillgren and Jackson for City. A Hooking Duel.—Much interest in the Ponsonby and Mt. Albeit League game centred in the hooking duel between Flanagan, the Ponsonby champion, and Leatheibairow, the Mount Albeit rake and New Zealand representative. There are those who will argue that one man is better than the other, and 011 Saturday those who lean in favour of Flanagan must have had slightly the befetei- <oi the argument. The referee, Mr. S. Billman, kept a watchul eye on the hookers, with the result that there was a good deal of really good scrummaging in the match. Both hookers were penalised for lifting, and in this respect Leatherbarrow incurred the displeasure of Mr. Billman more often than his rival. In view of these setbacks Leatherbariow ljjust have had a great deal of satisfaction in notching two tries, tries which were well-merited find topped off a sterling all round exhibition. Enterprising Backs. — The Ponsonby backs functioned splendidly at times in their match with Mount Albert, and for the most part they gave as good a-s they received, with Williams, the half-back, Kay and McManus, the five-eighths, and Nurse, the centre, usually exhibiting enterprise and understanding. Jn the opposition backs one of the most impressive was Cowley, the young centre, who ecored two tries and, generally speaking, gave a good account of himself. Cato in the five-eighths line was also well in the picture, and one of the best backs on the ground. One-goal Margin.—There wae very little between Thistle and Ponsonby, "and a draw would have been a fair result instead of the odd goal to Ponsonby. The game did not rise to any great heights, solid tackling by both sides preventing most of ' the movements 6tarted reaching fruition. The Thistle defence wae sound throughout, with Davis, Wiseman and Constable prominent, while Woods, Caisley and Brackenridge were the best of the van- , guard. Rouse deputised for Warren in j goal and gave a sound display, and with ! Haggett, C'leal and Blackie was prominent I in the defence. The forwards went well. Fowler and Callaghan being good on the wings. Grice proved himself an oppor-1 tuniet in the centre with two good goals. I

Onehunga's Gala Day.— Xext Saturday a! special Soccer display will be held at Wai- j karaka Park under the auspices of the Onehunga. Patriotic Committee, and the proceeds -will go to the, Onehunga Citizens" Soldiers' Farewell Fund. The games? havo been arranged by the Onehunffn Soccer Club and there will be six matches, occupying tw,o grounds. The main game will be between Onehunga and Eastern Suburbs, and the curtain-raiser will be a third intermediate game . between Qneiiunga. and X-M.CA, '

Shore Still Improves.— An interesting game was provided in the curtain-Taieer between Onehunga. and North Shore. Haydon made his reappearance for the Shore side after several -weeks' absence on the injured list and he made his presence felt by scoring an early goal. Pratt, the Shore goalie, gave a. great display, while his opponent, McGillivray, also let little go by that he should have saved. Agnew wae a tower of strength at centre half for OnehiMp, as also was James for the Shore. Tornquiet and Cooper both acquitted themselves well in their respective half lines. The pick of the forwards were Price, White and Haydon for Shore, and Brase, Jones and Bury for Onehunga. The goals scored by Haydon and Brass were both great efforts. Hopkinson Two Goals.—Hopkinson, in the pivoC position for Mount Albert Grammar Old Boys in the main game at Blandford Park, excelled .by scoring two of the three goals for the Old Boys, and also in keeping his forward line together. He was aibly supported by the left wingers Needham and Fyvie. both of whom played their usual solid game. Yeomans was safe as ever, and anything that passed him wae not his fault , . Yearbury, for Comrades, had little chance with any of the goals registered against him. McKenria was the pick of their backs, while Healy, until injured and replaced by Avery, played a eolid game at half. Masteiis, A. Francis, M. Francis and Walters made a great attack for Comrades, find it was through tfiieir efforts that the match resulted in a draw.

Three Brothers, Too!— The Rugby folk have been in the HmeEght with their trio of brothers, the Sheehans (North Shore) and the McDonalds (Parnell). Not to be outdone, one senior Soccer club, Abele, ie fielding three brothers named Ekman. They play at full-back, right half and inside left. Although playing in separated positions they fitted into the superior combination which enabled their side to defeat Y.M.C.A. by 8 goals to 1. E. Ekman, at inside left, ecored twice, while Robinson got three of the other goals. Homicide Henry's Way.— At Montreal on Friday, Armstrong successfully defended his world welter-weight boxing championship when the challenger, Paul Junior, was technically knocked-out in the third round. Armstrong once held ■three tiitles at the same time. He won the "feather" from Pete Sarron, k.o. in sixth round on October 30, 1937; skipped a class to outpoint Barney Rose (welter) on May 31, 1938; then went back to "clean up" Lou Ambers in the light weight on August 17, 1938 —another pointe decision. He relinquished the feather crown because of increasing avoirdupois, find on August 22 last Ambers regained his light-weigtht title only to be knocked out by Lew Jenkins in the third round a month ago. At one stage last October Armstrong repulsed four welter challengers in three weeks, and a few months ago to technically knock-out Pedro Montanez in the ninth round, after flooring th-e Puerto Rican three times.