GALLAHER SHIELD

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 115, 18 May 1942, Page 7

GALLAHER SHIELD

SERVICES SUPERIOR

AIR FORCE FIGHTS BACK

• The Services competition of the Auckou , , Rugby Union, for the Gallaher . hiekl (held by Army), had a most successful openin- on Saturday, fast and exclting play being witnessed. A strong -southerly wind proved troublesome, but the ground conditions were good. In the principal attraction Air Force (No 2) took he honours from C.R.0., after being six second tnp'n at half : tini °- A fast and keen cfsiv-p tpv i! u aw Au " Force gain the denoi n? Tn u ay u throu Sh to win by a ASP anJ! -5 h| g h -scoring curtain-raiser (fame' W thl f ll fought out an even skle -J2L » most P art - bllt the shmv«l good aII r °und. M.T.P. Ponsonhv oyeinent. to defeat Graftoni onsonp>, which harl beaten thp q-i iPposition in the final preliminary series, ahvavs hcirf d i . Dev °nport Garrison Boys? 6 load over Technical Old Ihe matches resulted. Air Force (Xo. 2) lj, beat C.R.O. 14. A.S.C. 2'J, beat Manukau 16. G-S 0 14 ,- beat Grafton-Ponsonby 6; ah lechnical Old Boys, 3. season h with e wins! thlIS ° r ' ene ' :J tho Air°Fniv*o ° 1 ' ? t £K? , ;T The same between into -i developed mostly ancl the ll L. C f ween f he f °i'"iei-s backs ana the loser s forwards. The CR O van. Mpiv! 1 " as goocl in tho 'oose, arid in this department was well led by D Mill ponom A H^ a .? f '- Mn . rlst back l-ow'exl an lonip ' „ V the r ," cturc throughout s k css Ti,,t , w ,' ork <,cs orved more butcher, Laurent and Mass«v • . /T t(> pluy w ° n - bl| t the r iio ■inv / ould not combine to advantage at i. avc< a hv' Ho I H ' IC :lt half back was V- !o ; sklngs for Ail " Puree. Quicken,?", h,s fc : ot e ""hIo<l him to make a for which paved the wav »oi the w inning try, and earlier in tho fsimihr y shoi . ,lfl have been scored from McAHmS'i"' ~G- H " lr ewitt and eighths ivhfio at together at fivecentre h lOrr i s showed promise at t i lr » . * • tt, who scored 1G points 'ho c-m l l^ U 'r- <^' rf ,'2 V ' not< ' ,lofl nine of tedni s l.» on this occasion with n Farrnr S 'umi aw!?' g °. al an<i P enalt y goal, wards! A, °' san shone among the for-

mti P "SL C "!" U r The experience of N. Pearleadintr the AS c S captain, who is now Ihe team in iio « ' meant a <tood deal to ue leam in Its success over Manukau a«; nn form Pr nnd° U 'hp S l f turda , y ' Pearman was' in fine He scored 11 nnin? J 2 Booa klckinc mood, scorea 13 points uith five conversions anh n fine se J. f l nd .. flve ' ei R h ths. made some at centre Chatham did excellent work

betwr'eT? U t S i-!! n s[r F ! , £ Wi, £ ds 'T Hard and vigorous play thi the heaviest sets of forwards in ihp vtd J was. th e chief characteristic of hVistiVn'T Orafton-Ponsonby game, in which , h r , us , hos by ,he Grafton pack save nf territorial advantage for the greater part hr "iu This was more than offset, however. nf tioA^o 1 " co , mbi nation and play penerally b , acks - together with effective sup£2 L of th ® ba cks by Zimmerman and Mitchell. Rn?,^l a 0 iT Pn „ nBS by their forwards, with Bourke. Hull and Edwards prominent, the Grafton backs had a number of excellent scoring chances tnat were lost through several individual weaknesses in the matter of pushing the attack home. Much the better balanced side, M.T.P. gave promise of effMtive Rugby once the forwards get the knack of hard dribbling. On the day Riley an *« i , leßoryl eßory , were m °st dangerous backs, and are entitled to the lion's share of the credit for the soldiers eight-points victory.

Soldier Personalities.—Returned from the Middle East some months ago. W. E. Smith, Manukau and Auckland side-row forward, played a solid game for Manukau. Prior to going overseas he played for the Army team which won the Ctallaher Shield last year at Eden Park. Among * 1 ?^ C j* a *°i rs v ' as Dunn, the dashing South Auckland wing three-quarter. E. G. Boggs, the Training College wing three-quarter, who gained his Auckland iep. cap last. year, played a fast *nd thorough game for C.R.O. Viewing the game from a passive angle was Lieutenant Charles Passex"^*raft.on forward for a number of years, and Auckland representative. Wrestling fanswill remember him as light-heavyweieht champion of Auckland and New Zealand in 1937. He drew twice with Ken Kenneth, who wrestled professionally in Australia as "Snowy" Schiska. Fassmoro returned from the Middle East for special service in the Dominion. HIGH SCORING High scoring marker! the soronrt scries of the Awklanrl Hupbv Leacruo's senior rhnmnionship at Carlnw Park on Snttirclay. The genera! playing standard fell below anlirMpations. rtesnlts were:— Richmond 27. v. Ponsonby 4. fitv-Otahuhu 27, v. Mount Albert-New-ton 7. Manukau 33, v. fCortn Shore-Marist 5. Mi cham as Five-Eighth.—One Richmond experiment in its match against Ponsonby was the playing of E. Mincham at five-eighth. The result was improvement in the Richmond back play, as Mincham was sure-handed and steadv and showed good judgment in the way he sent the ball on to McGregor in the centre, the latter showing speed and initiative in attack. Donovan's Six Goals.—The value of having a reliable place-kicker in a team was demonstrated in the match between CityOtahuhu and Mount Albert-Newton. Donovan for the former team kicking six goals. Some of the shots were from difficult angles. In addition, he played well all-round. Fine Forward PlaT.—The City-Otahuhu forwards put up a fine display airainst Mount Albert-New-ton, and dominated the game. Although H. Mataira handled faultily on a couple of occasions, he was a irreat leader, and had good support from Findlater and I. Johnson.

Nlwa's New Bole.—As Clements was available for the half-back position in the Mount Albert-New-ton team in its match against City-Otahuhu, the former played Niwa at wing three-quarter. In earlier matches this season Niwa. who comes from the Taranaki district, played in with the inside backs. He is a -tnercurial type of player, quick to seize a chance and move, and in addition is a fine place-kick.

OH THE SOCCER FRONT Comrades' vanguard had a large say I in the side's easy victory, by 10 goals to 2, over an Army XI in a championship game which was the curtain-raiser at headquarters to the Leo Munro Services Cup contest. Fleet led the line in masterly fashion and distributed the ball with excellent judgment. The pivot was successful in netting three goals. Prohl, on the right wing, made some fine dashes down the line whilst his crosses were always well placed. Prohl has a good turn of speed. He also scored three nice goals. Honshaw on the left wing played splendidly and scored a nice goal Evans and Kcegan, the insides, completed an excellent front line. Fincham, at centre half, played his usual solid game, and also scored on three occasions, whilst Matthews did well at left half. Warrington was the pick of the Army forwards and scored a goal, whilst Alder notched the olhcr Army point. A Good Custodian.—Tucker, an Air Force goalkeeper, played a brilliant game in the main match at Blandford Park, which resulted in a 4—l victory to Air Force (■-!) over a Camp XI. (one goal) in the Leo Munro Cup competition. Latimer and Peebles proved an excellent pair of hacks and broke up several dangerous Camj) raids. K verson played well at centre half, but had to leave the field with a leg injury in the closing stages oi the gaine. Hopkinson and Patterson were the pick of the Air Force forwards, and each scored two good goals. The Camp side was unlucky to lose Hannam in the first half, with a cut which necessitated going to hospital for a couple of stitches. Leonard scored the Camp goal and Archer had hard luck with one or two good first-time shots. Boddy played excellently at centre half, and McKenna was in fine form at left back. On the run of t lie play the Air Force team thoroughly deserved its victory. Mark Bell's Farewell.—When Eastern Suburbs tinned out on the field at St. Heller's on Saturdav Rn,- jsamst ' Mount Albert Grammar Old ....... ../ hrKt imnression gained from a comparison of the weight of the respective teams was that. I hey were In for a stiff fight. Even their lead of two goals to nil in the first, half did no', dispel the impression, for they had a strong tollowing wind which assisted them in their lona: 5. iot.s and completely upset their opponents' calculations, in the second half, however, when lacin'? the breeze, the superiority of Eastern. Suburbs was clenrl.v manifested. The combination i was oetter than that of the visitors. Mount Albert was unfortunate in not bringing some good efforts to a successful conclusion, but. generally speaking. I team work was lacking. Three of the five goals' by which Suburbs won 5 —2 were scored bv the iR-year-okl left winger. Mark Bell. This made his tally eight in a total of 21 in three games. „. e ,' s leaving this week for special war work in Wellington. „, A . n Interesting Contest.—The match between Metio (4) and C.R.O. (1) provided a fast and interesting game, in spite of gusty conditions. e , soldiers put up a good showing against the w :nd in the first spell, but failed to change tactics with the wind—the inside men in the forward line playing too deep and so isolating Masters in ine centre for the defence to concentrate on ni-Yvnrf ,? 1 u W ~£ er & n sj Ludgate. on the wings. highlight of the match was S D p I re^! t di^P lav . in goal for the losers, o * j anc * Wricht in the backs, pre- • a tl s V? front to Metro, attacks. Speed \ n *5® hmelight for some nicc constructive Ei J P Mef rn s forward line, and had rood sup-Hop?-Ede. Wiseman and McMurchie snared the honours in the Metro rearguard. ON THE HOCKEY FIELD St. Luke's win over Owai Rovers <~>—3) and Somerville's draw with Wesley (1 1) brought the three first-named teams level at the head of the hockey championship table. A.S.C. recorded its first win of the season by defeating Grammar Old Hoys (4—University also improved, us position by accounting for Mount Lden 4—l. doling Players* Surprise.—Calculations ■were upset by Wesley playing a drawn game with Somerville. The latest recruits to the senior division set and maintained a great pace, although territorially Somerville had the better of the play." It was K. Slaney, the Wesley goalkeeper who played such a big part in the team's success. The Somerville forwards could not complain about the number of shots at goal they had, but Slaney was equal to every assault except one. Wesley also had many chances to score, but weak and slow hitting spoilt them. Hedges, fullback. stopped well and cleared with good hitting. Miller and Potts were best of the half line, while O. Slanev and Miles were most conspicuous of the forwards. Somerville have in Wade a young full-back full of promise, and he should profit with a player of Stanton's experience and ability alongside him. Scott, who scored the goal, and McLeskey. bore the brunt of the forward work, while Honeycomb, on the wmpr. made some fine openings.

Speight In Scoring Mood.—University, regardless or Its chances of gaining championship honours, appears to be adopting the practice of creating vacancies for any of its old members who hanpen to be on leave from the forces. Two such members— R. Devereaux and M. Spcisrht—made their appearance on Saturday against Mount Eden, and ooth gave creditable performances. Murray Speight, was seen in a new role at inside left instead of his usual position at centre half. In sco-ing the first three goals of his side's tally he proved that he was always on hand and ready to snap rip any chances that were going. Another 'Varritv iorwnrd who greatly impressed was B. Nutsford. tne ex-Grammar School student., who is r>lnvin<? his iirst season in the seniors. The masterly it neatly trapped and controlled trip bnll without, slackening pare, and his unselfish pipy in or near the circle, showed that with p little more coachinir he would prove a decided acquisition to the team.

. 5 S Forwards Exrel—The hiehliKht of the * ?•' Grammar Old Boys' match was the understanding arid cohesion of the soldiers' forward 1 , five really deserve mention for their positional nlav. especially in the first spell, when they repeatedly moved downhill in almost nerfect formation, and hit the ball about to such purpose that they had the Grammar backs unable to cop<» with their thrusts. In the second spell. ?r he l?, £r ammar was fiphtinp back hard, it was H. McKinney — the ex-Franklin nlayer — who bore t-he brunt of stomminer ihose attacks, and his powerful clearances enabled A.S.C. to turn defence into attack.

W omen s Contests, at Melville Park. — Results of Saturday's matches were:—Senior: Mount Eden 6. North Shore 0: Technical Past Students 5. Wesley 1. Intermediate: Technical Past Students 3, Berlei 0; Wesley 4. Hobsonville 1. Junior: Mount Albert 5. Wesley 0; Technical Past Students 4. Mount Eden 3.