Papakura Army Team Takes Clear Rugby Lead

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 187, 9 August 1941, Page 2 (Supplement)

Papakura Army Team Takes Clear Rugby Lead

TAKAPUNA DOWNED

Day For Big Forwards: Army Too Rugged For Suburbs: Rain Helps Grammar: Otahuhu Defeats Marists

j Jwe Rugby championship, es were played in two phases mis afternoon, the early games being favoured by dry ground and ball, with a consequent brightness of play and scoring, | while the later games were turned largely into a trial of the forwards j by heavy rain that subdued the work of the flying brigades. In the early games at Eden Park, Training College beat Ponsonby 32—12 and Grafton defeated Technical Old Boys 15—0. In the following games on wet grounds there was a predominance of forward play, the Army going to top place by beating Suburbs 19—3, and Takapuna; sustaining its first loss of the round j to Grammar Old Boys, 14 8. j At Otahuhu the home side defeated Marist Old Boys 9—3. ★ GRAMMAR FORWARDS TOO TOUGH FOR TAKAPUNA The teams wore: — " Grammar.—Backs: Wickham, Metcalfe. 11. Mac Donald, Bridgens. Porter. Cato, Kidd. Forwards: </. "ring. Rceder, ; « Skyrine, Storey, Wilson.. Rogers, Noble, 1 AVarrcn. tl Takapuna.—Backs: Butler, Titclieuer, H. 1 Rogan, Busliill. R. Rogan. Brinsden. D. / Smith. Forwards: Kelly, Kissin, Brady, ;{ Sutherland. Blok, Gothard, Branch, Andcri son. ! Slogging forward play characterised tlie | 4 early stages of the game, with the Taka- . puna vanguard allowing as much solidity as their opponents. When the Grammar J backs opened up occasionally they looked J promising, but it was not until Porter * broke through that they looked really j 1 dangerous. Warren took bis in-pass and 'sent on to Cato, who scored beside the ] posts, for Wickham to add the goal points. » A little later a misfield by Titchener let q .Metcalfe kick the ball upfield and follow Jto recover it and send on to Rogers, who •'scored, to put Grammar 8 points up in the , first 10 minutes. * A monopoly of the ball from tile scrum • by Grammar had Takapuna handicapped, jand the latter"s backs had to make opportunities from ruck play. Rain set in at Mhis stage and the game was affected. ; (.'ramniar's heavier pack enabling that ; team to dominate play, which was kept •in Takapuna's end. It was here when R. * Rogan kicked high and If. Rogan beat * Metcalfe for the ball and sent in to Kelly, to Smith, who scored between the posts a try that came out of the blue. Brady . converted, cutting Grammar's lead down i to three points. * Play settled down to exchanges of heavy " forward charges by Grammar, while the 'Takapuna backs countered with bouts in ■ which they handled the wet ball exceptionally •well. Takapuna had got well up- » field and Grammar forwards were breaking 'back when Butler fielded the ball at top > and cut through half a dozen opponents ' before passing to Branch, who transferred •at the line to Gothard. who scored. ."Sutherland failed to convert. When the • Grammar backs had trouble with the » slippery ball, the Takapuna forwards broke ! ' away with the ball at foot and IT. Rogan I . kicked over the line, but it went to the j ; dead-ball area. At half time the score | • was 8 all. I Grammar narrowly missed scoring from I a sweeping forward rush at the opening of | the second spell and. as in the first spell, j their forwards kept the pressure on. losing j ground only when the backs made fielding | errors. Slowly th.p Takapuna forwards worked unfield and then Brinsden opened [ up a passintr bout in which H. Rogan just missed scoring a try. and later Anderson went over from a cross-kick, but was offside. For a period Takanuna forwards held their own in loose rushes. Rogers led Grammar buck to the assault. Storey hail to go off injured, and was replaced by Lockington. Kidd made n nice open inn near tile serum when close to the line, and sont. an in-pass enabling Rogers to scor" a try wide out. that was not converted. , As the ball and field dried Takapuna brann j to put more sting and variety into their j play, but were driven back by line kicks, j Again they came back, but airabi Anderson was off-side. and . when a Takapuna handling bout biok" down the ball was kicked over Takapuna's line and Locking ton was just beaten for the touch. Again Grammar forwards came back and a free I kick was awarded them in front of th«> j goal, for Wickham to place a penalty toml > just two minutes before time was called. ] and til in game ended: — Grammar 14 Takapuna 8 j Mr. D. G. Kelly was referee. ! ★ GRAFTON'S WW * MARGIN OVER TECHNICAL TEAM Technical attacked in the early stages, but Grafton forwards and backs drove quickly to their opponents' twenty-five, where Sayers. wing, went close to scoring from a cross-kick. In soite of the absence of Don from the forwards —Don was playihg second flve-etehth—the Grafton pack was- holding the opposition well. Sutherland. Technicals second five-°Jghth, once made a line breakaway iti a back f only to lose a likely scoring chance through a bad ih-pass. With ! Johnson hcWking Technical was gettihg the ball I from the scrums. his Advantage being lost, how- ! ever, owing to the failure of the Technical rearguard to strike a combination. A podr clearing kick by Oswald, a Technical | forward, saw Grafton open the score, where ; Sayers. wing, gathered on the full and touched down at tn4 corner. Don failed to convert. Oraf- j ton continued to attack by adopting kick-and- i follow tactics, and had the better of the play j territoriallv. Don had a couple of chances to , increase the score from penalties, but his kick ! went wide. On half-tirhe Wfetheridge. the Grafton . half, secured from a scrum and potted a beau- : tiful angle goal from well out to give his side ; the lead. 7 —o. Quick covering by the Grafton forwards frustrated any efforts by the Technical backs. The j green and gold forwards were now putting more j dash into their play and McLean had a chance from a penalty, his kick from a handy position going wide. TochnJcal wjys trying t'.ie kick-and-follow tactics, but found the defence sound. Good play by Lakin. Grafton first five-e'.ghth. and Greathead, centre, gave Sayers a chpnce. and the wing went ov?r wide out for his second try. Don kickcd a fine goal. Try as it may. Technic® 1 could not settle through lack of a reliable goal kicker. The Grafton forwards went away in a strong rush, whicn eventually paved the way for a try between the posts for MclVeice. Don missed the easy kick. Technical made strong bids in the final stages, but the defence covered too Quickly, the game ending: Grafton 15 Technical Old Boys I!!!. 0 Mr. V. Mace was referee.

SUBURBS' ONLY SCORE i ONE PENALTY GOAL j With new players in their ranks. Suburbs having | several uniors, neither side could settle down in the i early stages. Once into their stride, however, the Army forwards rushed play to Suburbs' twentyfive, where McLean opened the score with a penalty goal from close range. Le Long equalised the score when he kicked a good goal from a penalty well out. Army quickly retaliated. Jordan, forward, making a good breakaway, and Harper scoring from his centre-kick fairly well out. | McLean's good kick added the goal points. Steady rain at this stage made the ball difficult to handle. Then Suburbs' backs, however, endeavoured to open up the game and Le Long missed an easy goal from a penalty in front of the posts. Close forward exchanges followed, both teams gaining ground with kick-and-follow tactics. Warner, the Army full-back, was doinß good , defensive work in the face of strong forward rushes ' by Suburbs. Le Long missed with two shots from 1 penalties, but still Suburbs kept Army defending in its twenty-five. Half-time came with the score: Army 8 i Suburbs 3 Soon after the resumption McLean missed a goal ! from a penalty to Army, close in. Armv forwards 1 were keeping the defence busy with loose rushes, penalties driving them back. Suburbs' forwards drove over half the length of the field in a powerful rush, which was splendidly stemmed bv Warner. The attack, however, was short-lived and Army was soon strong on the attack acain. Wild passing by the barks enabled Suburbs to clear, but • i i »» rr V y ba °ks improved an opening bv Bilkev I and Mclnnarney. the centre, scored well but McLean converted. J Ti'd C nM? n fho ro h ke n from a Hne-out at halfway j thp h! » ? 3 e to Eet to a few y ard s »fT Rifkev c^ ean 'hen picked up and sent to ' BUkej. \Uio dummied his way over well n:t M°Lean failed with the kirk. Army was row from = x y b° n e at,ack > Schubert Koing over on aC th/ U h£; but . an "W o * also had his i STtr ™ points 4& game' ended? 5 '" 6 Arms ' S lead lo 16 Army ] Suburbs 1 Mr. M. g. Parr is was referee. | ★ PACE OF TEACHERS TOO MUCH FQR PONSONBY fllHHMlttSl i skmnmjim £$ * ,r01 "" near "the j U O a Pen Vn" o Hve,! oa !v,th ß^ h nsrnb?\a l c e k r s = I -s %st n %Z y n Pa o S r/ -'tlVe 'Tn?'I s s' fut &«■ 1 to Fairt ie «-hn U CI r. sroke5 roke ,hrou - h and h-ndel en\bl ;P*B UteS SC^r a a ,r kick a \hro S u«h l i p"'?t HaSn t0 set5 et ~ first to the ball and kick Sd°KT' "~Shconi t ion * hc r C boi, nd from an opponent SI 1 ! i hrou * h 1° score between postr. Voiles goaled. in the last minute of the sppll score w-s 14 a i2 C in al f ty fr ° al Pon<s ° nbv °nd the score u,.s 14—12 in favour of Training College. Training College .... 14 Ponsonby 1!!!!!!'"' " 12 fm!i h h V Se T??"5 t SpeU s L artcd with a surprise potted Hon J gs i one * when a Training College attnc': bro^e n down. Bright incidents, with the 1 game moving at a lively pace, kept spectators keenly interested. A kick across by Wha*m«m ' giving McLean the ball wit if a clear run to' The I full-back led to another score by College as wMrh ai V-^ eat , hiS man to get a try a( thp corner. ' which Kinestone converted. College backs proved ! too fast for the opposition, and anotner score came when Kingstone cut into a passing bout to > ?x C rt ? corn f? , try - Toward the close of the game • Whatman kicked a penalty goal for College nr.n ' then Boggs made a fine run through a dozen ' opponents to get a try. the game endingTraining College 32 Ponsonby 12 Mr. J. Flett was referee. ★ MANUKAV ONLY UNBEATEN XV. j The match between Manukau and 'Varsity, at 1 Waikr raka. Park, resulted in the defeat of the mi dents by 24 points to 14. after they had led • 14—8 at the Interval. The scorers were:— j Manukau.—Harley, Angus. Patterson. Briiforld 1 and Boryer. The last-named also potted a goal, landed a penalty and converted one try. j University —'Trie:- by Turbott <2), Enwright and ' Cawkell. who also kicked a goal. i This result, left Manukau the only unbeaten club m cither the first or sc-ond section of the first division of 4he Gallaher Shield. Next week ManuTechnicaT Ponsonby - and Training College meets ★ OTAHUHV'S REVENGE , .Pi** 1 " 1 ™ avenged their firat round defeat by ' Marist at Sturges Park when they out-played the , visi-ing side, ana had a c*--,r-cut win by 9 points to 3. Kelly. Otahuhu full-back, was a deciding factor as he kicked two r.ne :ong-range penalty goals. Marist could score only three points, the result of a try early in the first spell, and from then on rarely looked like scoring, due to the VfiliF tactics of the Otahuhii pack. Playing with the speed of backs and breaking fast from I scrums the red and black forwards played right ?E~l op u an ™ ln the second soell had them badly rattled. Although there was only a margin of six poln:s in Otahuhu's favour, with greater luck> the score would have been th?n,!Ll a L through the second spell Moyle cut \2u & Till?, passed to Christian, who handed the H l n ° n ed J e ; u Hedge sold a dummy to the opposition and then sent on to Moyle who failed I a m?i 1 ♦ S a 2 s *r h< L n Poetically on the line, j Noii 1 1 y r Hedg , e had a pot at the goal, and the all Just skimmed under the bar. Marist's onlv I rcore came when Cooney secured from a scrum ! f"d slipping round the blind side fended off a I ffiprt n«h, b K '-'oyle and scored. The kick massed. Otahuhu equalised scores just before halfl™ e ' „.^l\ en K a v, Cl^a^J lg ,^ ick by Marist rebounded f, 00 ~ behind the line. Like a flash Grant was over and touched down. Half-time score wast I Marist j Otahuhu 3 _y? e ,. sec .°pd spell Otahuhu was always on top i T'Sb rnnfrt' x -iVk° M Very flne Penalty goals. 1 .me was callcd with the score Otahuhu q Marist 3 Mr. R. K. Hayhow was referee. ★ WIN FOR CANTERBURY (P A > DUNEDIN, this day. The representative match between Canterbury and Otago, played at Dunedin to-day, was disappointing. except for the last teh minutes. The forwards were too good almost throughout, and although Otago livened up tothe end. Canterbury deserved their win • J points to 10. It was a match not without incident, but was marred by mistakes. Canterbury ! attacking in the early stages, were dangerous on a number of occasions, but play became mo'e even later in the spell. For Canterbury. Herman broke through from a ruck to Hewitt had made a break from the base m the scrum Cart wright converted. Then Cart wright scored", ' brushing off two tackles in a determined run. On ; resumption play was brighter. Argus broke through and Cartwright went over to be called | back for a knock on. Then it was Otago s turn. 1 Mason kicking a penalty. Woodhouse then made a brea*: for Otago. Roach went away, but tackled 1 by Cartwright, he handed to Kerr, who scored. } After 40 minutes' Manion landed a field goal for Otago. One minute from time, Lanauze scored for 1 Canterbury, hut the kick missed, and the final ■ scor** was: Cail'erbury 11 O'.ago . ... 10 ★ PEACE CUP RETAINED Waihl successfully defended the Peace Cup ln a Rugby football match to-day, defeating the challenger. Paeroa. by 3 points to 0. It was Walhi's third consecutive victory this season.

COLLEGE GAMES An even secondary schools' championship ended to-day with Takapuna Grammar and Auckland Grammar bracketed for first position. It is the first time that the North Shore School has won the championship, and their team has played fine football this year. Auckland Grammar drew with Takapuna both times they met. TAKAPUXA'S CONVINCING WIN Takapuna first took play to Sacred Heart's twenty-five witn a dribbling rush, and from a line-out Roman secured and went over for a try. Sutcliffe converted. Midfield play followed until Sacred Heart pushed Takapuna back. Takapuna backs staged a fine passing rush, but Lees was brought down near the line. Play was keen. Takapuna getting most of the ball in spite of playing a loose forward. Chaplin and Wilkins displayed fine understanding. Sutcliffe kicked a penalty goal for Takapuna. From loose play in Sacred Hearts territory Chaplin passed to the full-back. Sutcliffe, who put over a field goal. A heavy shower made the ground and the ball slippery, and although both backs worked hard there was no further score, and the game ended. Takapuna Grammar 12 Sacred Heart 0 AUCKLAND GRAMMAR WINS Heavy rain made the ball slippery in this game, and forward play predominated. Auckland Grammar had slightly the better of the opening exchanges, the forwards being quicker in the loose, although Mount Albert played more as a i pack. Auckland forwards drove down and Rope dived over from a struggle near Mount Albert s line. Auckland held the advantage in hard forward struggles at the beginning of the second half. • Mount Albert tried to open up the play several times, but the boll was too greasy and the Auckland forwards too fast in the loose. Near the end of the spell the ball travelled out to Simpson, who had a clear run for a score in the corner. Auckland took charge of the play, and two tries were scored in rapid succession, one by Patterson, converird by Bowdcn. and one by McDiarmid. after Pratt had made an opening. Auckland Grammar 14 Mount Albert Grammar 0 TECHNICAL BEATS KING'S Technical forwards gained most of he ball and were also troubling Kine's in the loose. Three times the Technical tacks attacked in threatening ' passing rushes and eventually Stephens went over i in the corner. Determined tacking prevented the . King's rearguard from iunCiioning. and Rowe scored a good try. capping his effort with a fine converting kick. Play swept the length of the field and Darrow darted over to open King's score. Technical retained the advantage, however. until half time. ' Technical had the better of the early exchanges 1 of the second spell, although two breakaways by ; King's threatened their line. From loose play j near* King's line Wells ran over lor a try under | the bar. Rowe converted. King's backs attacked several times, striving hard to make up the deficit, but the defence held. Rowe now clinched i matters with a good field goal, and the game ' ended: 1 Technical Collcrc 17 ! King's College 3 ★ WAIKATO WINS AGAIN (0.C.) HAMILTON, this day. Exciting Rugby with very little between the teams was the lcature of the return match between Waikato and King Country at Hamilton. Waikato won by 9 points to 6. whereas in the first game it won by 14 points to 12. Crossman was the best back on the field, and was the , guidinp* thrust behind all the visitors' movements. | The Waikato inside backs again handled poorly, , and ruined many fine opportunities, neither ■ Phillips nor Perkins, the three-quarters, getting a chance. From a concerted movement. K. Jestrup 1 scored for King Country and Coffin kicked a penalty. Perkins. Everest and Thompson scored for Waikato.