ATHLETIC SPORTS LEAGUE TEST

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 233, 2 October 1945, Page 3

ATHLETIC SPORTS LEAGUE TEST

NORTH VERSUS SOUTH

STRONG TEAMS CHOSEN

Fresh in memory is the representative League match played at Carlaw Park this season between the West Goast and Auckland teams, the latter winnmg a. keenlycontested game by 8 points to 7. It was a prelude to the North v. South match which will be played at Carlaw Park next Saturday. On this occasion there will be 10 Auckland players in the North team and nine West Coast players in the South team. It is not an inter-Island fixture because the South team includes two Wellington players. The surprise of the South selection is that Ord, the West Coast half-back, who gave a convincing display in the match against Auckland, was pot chosen, the selectors' choice, being Mallinder, of Wellington, a bright little player who can give a good scrum service. Again Aucklanders will see the West Coast inside back combination of J. McNaughton, C. Mountford- and W. Mountford, and on that trio much may depend. The veteran of the South team is C. Davison, of Canterbury, who was a member of the New Zealand team which went to England in the 1939 season. He is now 35 years of age. The South forwards include K. Mountford C. Mcßride and J. . Newton, three West Coasters, who showed all-round skill in the Auckland match. In past North v. South matches the South have been represented by heavy forwards who have been a match for a northern six, but the northern backs have generally been able to beat their opponents in tactics, mobility and positional play. On this occasion, however, if the South backs make a point of retaining possession of the ball they may hold their own. North Selection The North selectors have chosen a team in which youth and experience is well blended. There is little element of surprise in the personnel, but it is evident that the four three-quarter game is to be tried. As was expected, the South Auckland player, Allen, who represented North last season, is again the scrum half, and his ability to deliver sharp, well-directed passes should speed up the northern attack. R. 'Jlarke, of North Shore, is in the pivotal position of stand-off half, while Murray, of Manukau, and the Ponsonby trio, .Nordgren, Kay and Kelly, should make an attractive attacking line. Nordgren is rated as the outstanding scoring back of the game. Kay is now a veteran as players go, but he holds his form in a remarkable manner. On one match, as far as the selectors were concerned, J. Smith, of North Shore, was selected as full-back. He is a New Zealand representative of the 1938 and 1939 seasons, and now, back from war service overseas, appears to be playing as well as ever. There was general expectation that the choice would have been W. S. Clarke, the Auckland representative full-back, one of the most polished players in the code. Solidity has been given to the North pack by the inclusion of G. Moyes and A. Hambleton, two of the best of a rugged South Auckland pack, and the massive Peter Ririnui, of the Manukau team. J. Rutherford has on sheer merit been selected as hooker. The other forwards are D. Ryan, of Richmond, whose good all-round play has carried him to the front in his first season of League football, and T. Hardwick, of Ponsonby, an exceptionally clever loose forward, who handles the ball flawlessly and is always up with the play.