THE PLAY.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7125, 23 July 1888, Page 6

THE PLAY.

THE FIRST SPELL. i' Allardyce won the toss, and elected to p lay with the wind, and against the sun. '£ he choice was judicious, as during the si :cond spell the sua being low, was likely t« > be more troublesome, whilst the wind j -J 1 id not appear as though it would increase, j \ Villiams kicked off for the Natives at a )t linute past three o'clock, and the visitors f allowing up well, the first scrum took < jp lace in the Canterbury quarters. The • o ill going into touch, the Reds were l( c -light napping in tbe line out, their oppo[i a eats not only securing possession from j -1 ie throw, . but, aided by a distinct piss forward and an equally distinct • k aock-on, scoring a try within four : i tinutes from the start. Bllison was the c jrtunate individual. Fortunate indeed 1 ie was, as two clear grounds of appeal had 1 -ecu afforded. Strange to say the Canter* 1 >ury men altogether failed to ask for their i ights, and the ball was taken out for the 'jlace. Evidently the Beds had not : warmed up to their duties. ; • owever, the i tick, s fairly easy one, taken by \V. War- ) nick, failed, and the score stood—Natives t mc point, Canterbury nothing. From the ] cick out Gage obtained possession, and : sent the ball into the Beds' twenty-five, ! he home team beina* forced down. The I '. Natives sti'l continued to press the CauterI i jury men, and several hard fought scrums ! : resulted near the latter's line. Even- , i jually the line was relieved by good for- ' ward play, aud the ball was taken nearly i ;o the centre of the ground. Here Gage i ame to the front with some fine dodgy ; running, and play was again in the home i jwenty-tive. From a scrum Donnelly re- . iieved the pressure by a good punt down •che field. W. "Warbrick picked up the ; ball when dead, and thus enabled the Can- , • terbury men to get a footing in the j '. Natives' twenty-five. Hard kicking in the li scrums, however, together with the fine I < defence of the Natives' half-backs, neu • tralised the advanage. Taiaroa and Eenne i showed up with a tine dribble, but Allar- > dyce was equal to the occasion, and play ■ did not move beyond the centre. Some well meant passing by the Natives was spoiled by Sutherland and Allardyce, and Donnelly gained ground by a smart spurt into touch. From tne throw out Lee had a chance jViven him, but spoilt it; and Adcock and Cresswell were instrumental in invading the visitors' twenty-five again. F. Warha'ck secured the ball and made a fine run, hn'ng stopped, nearly iv the Reds' twentyfire., by Sutherland, i he tackle winded the lattfe r player, and the game was stopped for a minute or two till he recovered. A hard ibuglti' scrum followed; and from it the 1 >all we nt to Madigan, who ran across the ■ {round, but gained very little distance, when tackled he lost the ball which - Liiardyoe secured, and punted well i nio touch. After the throw out fol--1 owed a series of scrums, which -•esvilied in the gain of a few yards by the jSec s. A run by Elliott was replied to by •j-ne by Hobl>s," the result being to bring play well into the Native half. Here ~W~. "Warbrick attempting a run, was caught ov Hobbs, who had followed up smartly, i' add thrown into touch. From the line- || out Taiaroa obtained a mark, but on being '! informed by his mates that he saw them [j "there, interpreted that to mean a short I Ilofty punt. Only half-a-dozen yards were i thus gamed. The ball going into touch, a ?!lot ot knocking on took place, the Natives j .all through offending very much iv this I: respect. Ellison next shone with a smart run, which Allardyce stopped, i The latter secured the ball, but j was at ouee tackled, and from the scrum {that followed G. \Vynyard and Taiaroa i • were to the fore with a fine dribble, j .'Donnelly came to the rescue with a smart j; punt, Allardyce next got the ball, but J passed rather wildlj* aud some fine play 5 by A. a-id W. Warbrick led to a scrum in J the Reds* quarters. The home team were now playing with only fourteen men. Adcock having retired some minutes earlier, owing to an injury to his ribs. Nevertheless they played up very well. .From the scrum the ball was sent* to one 'Of the Native backs, who kicked along the

ground. The ball struck the northern corner flag, but it had just previously crossed the Hue. From the throw out, a yard from rhe Reds' goal, the local men got the advantage and rushed play past the twenty-five ftog. Hobbs kicked down the field, Webster getting the ball and running it back again. When threatened, he passed to Elliott, who ran into touch at the Keds* twenty-five. Evans shone with a dodgy run, and finished by passing to Sutherland, who took play to the centre. Ellison obtained the ball from a line out, and pained twenty yards before being tackled. Riley, Evans and Dow dribbled back, and nearly readied the Natives' twenty-five. Ellison and G. Wynvard returned it, and were well supported by F. Warbrick, play being again about the centre. There Allardyce had the bail passed to him by Fuller, and after a short run passed to Cress well, who dropped at goal. The ball failed to rise, and the Natives were forced down. A kick by Cresswell, after the kick out, resulted in play being in the iniddleof the ground, between the tweury-iive flags. There the Black forwards overran the ball and it came to Allardyce, who, with only one man between himself and the line, and with Cress'vell close handy seemed certain to score. The sun was right in his eyes, however, and the ball unluckily bounded high, and was missed by him. W. Warbrick got it, a'»d ran it out of immediate danger. Scrums followed, and the Reds broke away with a rush, the ball going into touch near the Natives' twentylive. From the line out, the Blacks gained some ground, but Allardvce dribbled back, and, kicking past W. Warbrick, a rush took place for the ball. Evans secured it and passed out to Dow, the latter failing to take the pass, but kicking and following up smartly. W. Warbrick fumbled the balS, and Dow was at once on it, and the Reds had scored. Fuller placed a nice goal, the score then standing — Canterbury three points, Natives one point. Seven minutes to half time. At the kick-oif two of the Natives were in front of the ball, and the visual penalty followed, a scrum being formed in mid field. The Reds were rather slosv at getting their strength in, and the Natives carried it. The bull, however, was soon taken back, and had the Reds followed up better a lot of ground might have been gained. W. Warbrick, however, made a bad kick, and a mark was obtained by Allardyce. The ball was placed for Fuller, but his kick, an otherwise good one, was charged down. A fine rush by the Red forwards ended in a scrum being formed well in the Native half. Donnelly passed out smartly, and Cresswell took a long shoD at goal, the ball just missing the northern post. A great shout arose, as to many it looked like a goal. The Natives were" forced down, and shortly after the spell ended with the score unaltered. Canterbury, three points ; Natives, one.

SECOND SPELL. Bean kicked off for Canterbury against the wind, and the ball was well returned by W. Warbrick, with a good kick towards the northern touch line. The Natives followed up smartly, this indeed beiug one of the best features of their play throughout, and a scrum was formed beyond the centre. Here Madigan had the ball passed to him, and ran well along the touch line, being ultimately driven over by Fuller. The same player was immediately to the fore again with a similar strong run, and evading several would -be tacklers, he dashed over the line near the corner flag. Here he was tackled simultaneously by Fuller and Broughton, and a long maul followed. A claim for grounding the ball was disallowed, and Madigau was dragged out by his two opponents into play. A fierce scrum followed, and the ball came to Gage, who being wholly unmarked, simply walked over. Broughton getting him just too late. The kick at goai was a failure, although again at a fairly easy angle. Score—Canterbury, 3 points ; Natives, 2. The Reds followed the kick out well, and play was taken into the Natives' half, Sutherland and Sincock being conspicuous for their dashing play in the loose. The Natives, however, defended very well, although their tackling was a trifle on the rough side. Breaking through a scrummage in their own half, the Native forwards, led by Ellison, took the ball iuto touch near the centre fiag. From the throw out another scrum followed. The ball came to Donnelly, who passed to Allar- ! dyce. The latter ran a few yards, and was stopped by Elliott, but managed to send the ball on to Cresswell, who, from mid-field, dropped into touch at the Natives' twenty-five. In the rush from the line out Bean showed up with some smart tackling. The ball was continually being passed out to the backs by Fuller and Donnelly, but the Native backs, at times standing off-side, were too smartly down on Allardyce for the latter to get off. Madigan secured possession from a pass by Elliott, and gained a lot of ground before being collared by Allardyce. A tight scrum followed, carried by the Reds, aad from the loose play after it had broken up Allardyce again got the ball and ran across towards the northern touch line. On being tackled by Elliott, he passed once more to Cresswell, and after a gain of a few yards, the ball went into touch. From the line-out it was sent well out to Madigan, who made his best run of the day, beinj' at last caught by Allardyce near the Reds' southern Twentyfive Hag. Though tackled ho got the ball to Taiaroa, and the latter, ueing also caught by Allardyce, fell on it and made it dead. Notwithstanding this he threw to Elliott, who kicked hard and followed upsniartly, Cresswell and Broughton dashj ing up to save. Elliott, however, was first up, and touched down a little wide of the northern goal post. - There having been no appeal at the time the dead ball occurred, the try was of course allowed. Ellison just placed a goal, the ball having barely two inches to spare. Score—Natives five points, Canterbury three. With two points to wipe off the Reds went to work with a will. Donnelly was almost at once to the fore after the kick-off, making a flue dodgy run of some thirty jards. He had only W. Warbrick to pass, and might easily have dodsjed him, when he elected to drop at goal. His pace, however, was too great for accurate kicking, and only a force-down resulted. This was about the only mistake that Donnelly made during the game. From the kick-out, Bean, Dow and Sutherland came with a fine rush, and brought the ball nearly to the Blacks , live. Elliott, W. Warbrick, and Renne defended well, and a scrum was formed outside the twentyfive line. Fuller passed well to Hobbs, the latter, whose kicking throughout was very sound, landing the ball Into touch past the twenty-five flag. From the throwout Williams made an effort to get off, but was well stopped. Donnelly passed out to Allardyce, and the latter fended olf a couple of Blacks, butcould not get through. He therefore passed back to Cresswell, who kicked to W. Warorick. He made a fair iun, and sent the ball into touch between the twenty-five and centre flags. A lot of crooked throwing out by the Natives delayed play somewhat. At last Riley got fairly off, and seemed very dangerous. But intent on pa-sing to those of his side towards the middle of the ground, he neglected to notice those along the touchline, and stood a moment hesitating what to do. Three or four of his opponents brought him down, A rush of the Native forwards, marred by some off-side play, took the ball into the Reds' half. It did not stay there long, however. First Fuller startled the Blacks by a slashing run along the touch line, and later a fine lot of running and passing between Sincock, Dow and Sutherland brought play close up to the Natives' goal line. Again it was taken back to the centre, where Allhxdyce got the ball, and dodged or fended" off three or four opponents, gain ing thirty yards before passing to Sutherland. The latter seemed almost in, but was kept out by Madigan. For some time the Reds had bee.n showing the best play, but the defence was good enough to prevent a score. .A t last Hobbs, with a fine run, following akick of Eiliott's.tookplay to within ten yards of the line, and from a scrum the bail came to Fuller, who dashed over near the corner flag. An appeal was ina-e against- the try on the gronnd that the ball was taken out of the Bcrum,butdisallowed. Fuller took the place kick himself. The wind was dead against him, but he kicked splendidly, the ball all but hitting the outside of the northern goal post. The Natives heartily applauded the attempt. Score —Natives 5 poiuts, Canterbury 4. Only six minutes remained for play. At the kick out a Native was in front of the ball, and the penalty of a scrum in front of goal followed ; but the Reds let their opponents through, and play was rushed into the home quarters. Here a determined rush by the Reds' forwards took it back, and Donnelly getting the ball at the centre, ducked the arms of an opponent, and looked like doing something. But be was tackled before getting far, and although ttie Reds kept the Natives in their own half they failed to score further. When the whistle sounded play was near the centre. The Natives thus won a very even game by 5 points (a goal and two tries) to 4 (a goal and a try).

GENERAL REMARKS. The task of selecting Individual players for special mention is one fraught with a certain amount of difficulty, so far at least as the forwards are concerned; for most of

them did very good work. On the Native side Williams, Ellison, R. Taiaroa, G. Wynyard, and Renne seemed to be amongst the best. On the touch line and in the loose these were very smart. But in the scrums there did not appear to be anything like thopower that there ought to have been. When Adcoek was disabled the Natives had about 5 or 6 stone advantage in the packs, but they failed as a rule to carry them. Of the Canterbury forwards ail did well The best in the packs were Weekes, Bean, and Evans, whilst Riley on the touch line, and Sutherland, Sincock, Dow, and Hiddlestone there and in loose play, were conspicuous. The three first mentioned also did excellently iv the open, Evans bringing off several of his little dodges.

Amongst the backs honors were very fairly divided. The passing of the Natives was "the more brilliant, but their defence was not always so good. They tackled well, but with a tendency to roughness. Elliott and Madigan worked nicely together, and a fine run.by the latter really led up to the try from which a goal was kicked. Without these two the back division would have been weak. Lee fumbled a deal, as alio did W. Warbrick. The latter, however,. ran well at times. Gage at half-back was very smart, and of the dark - skinned players behind proved far and away the best. The two white Aucklanders undoubtedly not only saved their side from defeat, but won the victory. On the opposite side Fuller and Donnelly both played grandly, the former especially shining, his tackling being splendid. Allardyce on the whole did very well, but seemed a little slow in getting away. Both Hobbs and Cresswell deserved their places, beiug best, perhaps, in defence, though the latter endangered the enemy's goal more than once. Broughton only made one slip, and then it was more the fault of the three-quarters, who should have stopped Gage from scoring. His tackling and kicking were very effective. As will be seen from the above account, the game was very even, and, save for the first twenty minute 3, more in favor of the Canterbury men than their opponents. The luck was decidedly against them. Besides losing Adcoek, they had hard lines for goals on two occasions, the first being when Cresswell missed the post by only a couple of feet from a long drop kick; the second when Fuller failed by but a few inchee at the second try. Had the wind favored the first attempt as it hindered the second, or just dropped when Fuller kicked, the result of the game would have been different, or, again, had the Reds not been so unmindful of their due rights In regard to the first try, that would not have been registered. Their remissness lost the game. So far as the spirit in which the match was played is concerned there was a certain amount of fault to find. The Natives had a pronounced tendency to question the Umpires' decisions, and although in the majority of cases both flags were raised in answer to appeals, the murmuring wes none the less indulged in. F. Warbrick was especially conspicuous in this respect, and certainly needs to curb himself. As both the umpires are very able and fair gentlemen, as able and fair as any in New Zealand, the murmuring was altogether inexcusable. The fact that they were almost invariably agreed, thereby giving the referee no more to do than to blow his whistle at once, speaks volumes in favor of the opinion expressed above that the Natives need to play more according to the rules. It must not be supposed, however, that there was any unseemly wrangling in the field. The murmuring was of a comparatively subdued kind, and was chiefly annoying to officials and players. But, together with the talking often indulged in, it should be suppressed if the Natives would really make certain of pleasant games where they go. The attitude of the spectators was, as already stated, very impartial. But the larrikin element present went in, as usual, for hooting the visitors now and then. It was only the larrikin element, however, and hence the simple mention of it, with the opinion added that a silk purse cannot be made out of a sow's ear, is sufficient.

The Natives play at Timaru to-morrow, and at Dunedin on Saturday. The first match they should win, but Otago will probably prove too strong for them.

[PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM. 1 DUNEDIN, July 22. The following team have been selected to play against Wurbrick's Native team:— Full back, P. Thomas'; three-quarters, Lynch, Downes, J. B. Thomson; halves, Crawford and Keogh; forwards. Anderson, Diamond, Gibson, Hunter, Morris, Macfarlane, Morrison (captain), Stephenson, and Webb.