NATIONAL PARTY

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22112, 7 June 1937, Page 5

NATIONAL PARTY

♦ MR W. A. BODKIN TO ADDRESS MEETINGS The public is invited to a series of meetings arranged by the New Zealand National Party, at which Mr W. A. Bodkin, M.P., will sueak. The meetings will be held as follows: To-day. at the Rialto Theatre. Kaiapoi. June 8, at the Methodist Schoolrocm, Shirley (corner New Brighton road and North parade}. June 9, at Sheffield Hall.

RUGBY FOOTBALL

SURPRISES IN FIRST GRADE GAMES UNIVERSITY AND OLD BOYS BEATEN BUN'NYSIDE AGAIN EXTENDED Results at a glance:— Sydenham 3, University o. Sunnyside 16, Technical 13. Llnwood 11, Old Boys 9. Albion 10, Christchurch 6. Merivale 16, Athletic 12. The defeat of University and Old Boys, two of the three leading teams, at the hands of Sydenham and Linwood respectively, and the narrow escape of Sunnyside, winner of the 1936 championship, in Its match with Technical College Old Boys, were the outstanding features of Saturday's play in the Canterbury Rugby Union's first-grade competition. This round, the ninth, marked the end of the first series of matches, and University and Sunnyside lead the competition by one point from Old Boys, with Sydenham half a point further back. It was not an ideal day for football, heavy rain overnight having made the grounds soft and slippery, and a strong and bitterly cold southerly wind militating against accuracy of handling and kicking. Nevertheless, there were large attendances of the public at all Wounds. Interest in the senior championship has livened considerably since recent matches have left four, or even five, teams with chances of winning the honours for the season. , Students' First Defeat University suffered its first defeat of the season when it met Sydenham on the Lancaster Park Oval. Twice previously the students had been held to a draw, tout they had beaten both of their closest rivals, Sunnyside and Old Boys, in earlyseason matches. Exponents of the open game, the University fifteen have not found conditions to their liking in more recent games, but on Saturday it appeared also as if the forward 3 have lost a little of their early aggressiveness. They were outplayed by the Sydenham pack in nearly all departments of the game. Excellent defence by Sydenham upset University's plans In the first spell, •when the students had the advantage of the wind, but even so University was a little unlucky not to score on several occasions. Old Boys, who htfve shown fine form In recent games and who have Impressed as likely championship winners, appeared to be taken by surprise by the dashing play of the Linwood forwards, whose good work was rounded off with some neat back movements. Old Boys made far too many mistakes In handling—the back line appeared to be disorganised by the absence of the regular first fiveeighths—and the Linwood forwards gave them no time to cover up. Even when Old Boys began to work better in the second spell they could not pierce a solid defence, and the only points came from two penalty goals. Excellent attack by the Linwood inside backs, led to two tries, the team's remaining points coming from a conversion and a penalty goal by L. K. Heazlewood, full-back, who was in fine form. Technlcal's Opportunism In a very good game at Sunnyside the home team came very near to losing to mf bottom team in the competition. Technical College Old Boys. Sunnyside led bv 16 points to 0 at half-time, but Jr£ brilliant opportunism of the forwards and inside backs almost enabled Technical to draw level and provided a great finish, witn the 1836 champion team grimly defending Its line. The clashing pf two teams whose for* w «rd9 have given fine displays on the Lancaster Park Oval in,, recent fames, Merivale and, Athletic, provided the Rugby Park crowd with some thrills. Mertvale and Athletic have both improved remarkably since the early part of the season, and they have extended the competition leaders. The Merivale pack showed rather the more dash and mobility in the „ loose and made the most of Its opportunities in the first spell, which ended with Merivale leading by 16 points to 6. Athletic attacked strongly In the second spell, but resolute defence limited the scores to two unconverted On the south ground at Lancaster Park, Albion at last found some of the form which earned the team the position of runner-up last year, and gained its second win of the season at the expense of Christchurch. The Christchurch backs failed to make the best use of the many opportunities provided by the forwards, and their defence was occasionally not equal to the thrustful running of Albion's inside men. The Championship The position for the championship is as follows:

SYDENHAM (3) V. UNIVERSITY (0) For the fairly large crowd at the Lancaster Park oval there was more Interest in the result than In the play. Constructive attacking movements were rare In the Sydenham-University game, and though there Were compensations in the way of some splendid defensive work by both sides and much vigorous and effective forward play there was little to excite the crowd beyond the fact, obvious after the first 20 minutes, that the leading team in the competition was going to be hard put to it to avoid defeat. It was a disappointing exhibition for University supporters, for the students started off particularly well and it seemed likely to be only a matter of time before they overcame the handling mistakes that prevented early .back movements being pressed home. But those mistakes proved costly, for after the first 20 minutes the University backs were given neither so great a share of the ball nor so much room in which to work. The Sydenham breakaway forwards harried J. J. McAuliffe, the University half-back, unmercifully, and the flve-eighths generally had one or two men on top of them as soon as they received the ball. Sydenham quickly pounced on the mistakes and turned them to advantage. Neither in combined movements nor in the several possible chances from penalties could University open its score in the first spell, even though assisted by the strong southerly. Sydenham Holds its Lead Sydenham scored early in the second half, and except for brief periods dominated the remainder of the game, although from then onwards University's defence proved as tenacious and as efficient as had Sydenham's when under strong pressure. The Sydenham forwards took most of the honours. They were well led by W. Fright and O. Hattersley in the loose. These two forwards were always on the ball, ready to assist their backs or to turn a University attack into defence with a timely dribbling rush after the ball had gone astray. Fright, particularly, played a valuable spoiling game for his side, although sometimes he came round the scrum well ahead of the ball. R. Dunlop and W. McCammon were two hard toilers whose work in the tight made itself felt. The Sydenham backs attempted nothing ambitnous on attack and their defence was uniformly good, with S. Coote and W. J. Brown making some spectacular tackles of the fast University wingers, W. V. Hadfleld and J. D. Carmtchael. L. Brown played one of his best games behind the scrum, varying his play well and often making ground on his own. On the day he was better than McAuliffe, but the Canterbury representative was playing behind a beaten pack and was, unlike Brown, always under pressure from ' the breakaways. Handling Errors Mistakes in handling marred the play Of A. Ellis and P. B. Overton, the University fl.ve-eigh.ths, and the ball seldom ' came cleanly to A. G. Hunter, who waß well marked. Cool almost to the point of casualness. Hunter made some good • individualistic efforts, but sometimes tried to d» too much on his own. Carmichael had only one scoring chance. In the first spell he received the ball yards clear of the field and with only the full-back to pass, but instead of using Ms speed in an attempt to run round Mi man am elected to short-kick, and the

ball rebounded from the full-back to safety. L. Martin. G. Walter, and C. W. Williams were University's best forwards on the day. The teams were:— Sydenham—T. Preston; W. J. Brown, S. Coote. R. Gillespie; W. Bedelph. W. G. Brooks; L. Brown; K. Dunlop, W. McCammon, K. Brown, O. Hatteraley, J. Vivian, R. Pearce. W. Fright, W. Sargison. University—N. B. Manssen; J. D. Carmichael. A. G. Hunter, W. V. Hadfield; P. B. Overton, A. L. Ellis; J. J. McAuliffe; J. N. Matson, P. Bridges, E. Wilson, L. Martin, C. W. Williams, P. G. Roberts, G. Walter, I. O. Stace. University Attacks Early Sydenham kicked off against the brisk southerly breeze and University immediately attacked. Ellis short-kicked in a passing rush and gathered in again. A great chance was lost when he in-passed to his forwards instead of to his outside supports. Shortly after McAuliffe missed, a penalty from the 25 yards mark on the side-line. Play was scrambling for a long time and neither team could make headway in passing rushes. Preston got a bad knock when he went down on the ball to save brilliantly in face of a threatening University forward rush. He was

replaced by Sutherland. McAultfle jailed narrowly with a penalty from hallway and at half-time there was no score The Sydenham forwards attacked with fire on the resumption and a rush was held up inches from the line. From a scrum L. Brown dived over on the blind side. _ ~ , •* /. Sydenham 3, University 0. University, the forwards showing more dash, attacked for a spell, but the passing rushes met very solid defence. N. T* Manssen, University full-back, came up to join in a "do-or-die" passing rush irom the students' twenty-five, but after he. McAulifre. Ellis, and. Carmichael had gained 50 yards the moveroe-t was stopped. McAuliffe again missed narrowly with a penalty kick from an acute angle. Sydenham attacked for the last five minutes of the game, which ended with the scores still: Sydenham 3, University 0. j Referee: Mr S. Hollander. SUNNYSIDE (16) v. TECHNICAL OLD BOYS (13) Matches between the teams in first and last place in any Rugby football competition are seldom expected to prove either even or exciting. Yet the match between Sunnyside and Technical Old Boys, at Sunnyside on Saturday, was one of the closest and most interesting games seen ni the senior Rugby football competition so far this season. Although leading by 16 points to 0 at halftime, Sunnyside did not prove its superiority until the later stages of the first spell—until then the Technical team had a slight advantage territorially in a game which ranged constantly up ana down the field. This superiority .was due chiefly to a brilliant burst by the Sunnyside backs—especially P. A. Hart and J. A. Hooper—who showed good combination to score three tries in quick succession. The Sunnyside team was much heavier in both the forwards and backs than its opponents, and with the backs combining well and the forwards winning most of the scrums, it appeared as though it would have an easy win. In the second half, however, Technical Old Boys .was definitely the better side. R. Burke, the Sunnyside hooker, was still winning the ball from most of the scrums, and the backs, standing far apart, were trying to open up play still further with long high passes. Bad handling, however, gave the fast-breaking Technical forwards many chances, and led by p. Herman and A. McMillan, they swept the field in brilliant opportunist rushes which often ended in tries. The Technical backs too, were playing 1 much better, and the five-eighths, R. Tolputt and G. Parlane, were consistently breaking through the Sunnyside defence and passing infield again to .the forwards. With the score at 16-13 in favour of Sunnyside, and with Technical appearing likely to score at any moment, the spectators applauded enthusiastically as Sunnyside were compelled to force three times in quick succession, following dangerous rushes by the Technical forwards and penetrating runs by Parlane and the centre threequarters, E. Lunn. Towards the end of the game the play among the forwards was becoming very willing, and stoppages were frequent; but the terrific pace at which the game was played and the intense excitement of both spectators and players was the chief cause of any unduly hard play. Although the game ended with Sunnyside attacking, the team only narrowly averted defeat. Had the result of the match beeen different, Sunnyside would* have had only itself to blame—at times many of the players took their opponents toa cheaply. The following were the teams:— Sunnyside—L. Moran; R. Chinnery, P. A. Hart, W. Greer; J. A. Hooper, J. Masters; W, H. Oliver; W. Aitken, R. Burke, A. Young. W. R. Duncan, C. Pablecheque, H. Milllken, H. Ferguson, L. Grant. Technical Old Boys—L. Sewers; R. Harvey E. Lunn, E. Todd; G. Parlane, R. Tolputt; J. Black; H. Yates, J. Brown, H. Ainsley, D. Herman, A. McMillan, V. Smith, D. Hayles, M. Price. Technical Old Boys attacked strongly for the first few minutes and kept Sunnyside on the defensive. This position was reversed after a good loose rush by the Sunnyside forwards, who swept the length of the field with the ball at their feet. Yates, one of the Technical forwards, was injured and was replaced by McLeish. From a scrum in Technical territory, W. Oliver, the Sunnyside half-back, received the ball and sent his backs away in a rush in which the whole line handled. Hart ran round outside Chinnery to form the extra man and scored in the corner. Greer missed with the kick. Herman made a sensational break from a lineout deep in Technical territory, but after running the length of the field his pass infield went astray. Play swung from one end of the field to the other with Technical getting perhaps the better of the exchanges. Chinnery fielded a loose kick by Tolputt and ran strongly before passing infield to Hart. Hart's try was converted, making the score Sunnyside 8, Technical Old Boys 0. A minute later Sunnyside again scored when Duncan dashed across in the corner after a good run by Hart. Greer converted with an excellent kick. A few minutes later Hooper cut clean through the defence to score near the posts. Sunnyside were still attacking at half-time with the score: Sunnyside 16, Technical Old Boys 0. Technical attacked immediately on the resumption of play. From a scrum deep in Sunnyside territory. Tolputt dashed round the blind side and cleverly drew the defence before passing to Parlane, who scored. Herman converted with a good kick. Sunnyside retaliated but good play by the Technical backs and forwards gave them another turn on attack. Sunnyside was penalised for shepherding, and Herman was successful with a good kick. Sunnyside 16, Technical Old Boys 8. Bad handling by the Sunnyside backs gave the fast-breaking Technical forwards many chances and from one of these McMillan scored. The try was again converted by Herman. Sunnyside 16, Technical Old Boys 13. Technical kept up the pressure and seriously threatened to score. Lunn broke through and after a good run passed to Parlane, but he was forced out in the corner. Sunnyside forced three times in rapid succession, following dangerous forward rushes in which Herman was again prominent. Offside play by the over-eager-Technical forwards brought relief, and the game ended with Sunnyside attacking. Sunnyside 16, Technical Old Boys 13. Referee: Mr R. Newton. LINWOOD (11) v. HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS (9) Their backs finding good form only well on in the second spell, High School Old Boys could not overtake a lead of 11-3 established by Linwood and suffered their third defeat of the season by 11 points to 9, at the Addlngton Show Grounds. Linwood's victory was a surprise, but it was far the sounder team, making few mistakes and covering them up in a workmanlike manner. Old Boys, however, with the advantage of weight in the scrums and with ample opportunities, played badly. Their backs, disorganised by the absence of J. K. Gaskin at first five-eighths, lacked understanding, particularly near the scrum, and could not outwit the speedy Linwood forwards, who gave them little room in which to work and were on to mistakes—and there were many—like a flash. For most of the game Linwood was definitely on top, and only in the last half of the second spell did Old Boys play consistently with enough spirit and cleverness to test the defence severely. Old Boys filled Gaskin's place with a third-grade player, G. p. Orchard, but be

was not a success, and before the first spell ended K. S. Mortlock had come in to that position from centre three-quar-ters. Orchard going to second five-eighths and R. P. Round to centre; but even then there was no appreciable improvement, back movements breaking down monotonously. For most of the game there was no back on the Old Boys' side who gave any indication that he could break through the solid defence. Old Boys were in their best form when the score was 11-6. From then the game was keenly exciting, the Old Boys' forwards showing more spirit and the backs for about five to 10 minutes combining in a succession of thrusts that were held up close to the line. But Linwood was always ready with a counter, and the forwards repeatedly broke away to take their side out of danger and threaten the Old Boys' line. Linwood's Forwards Unflagging ! The Linwood forwards must take most I of the credit for the victory. They were unflagging and outplayed Old Boys in the loose. They had to give the honours to Old Boys in hooking, but saw to it that this advantage was not used to the best effect. H. J. Revell was outstanding among the Linwood forwards, giving his weight to the scrums and leading many rushes as well as taking the ball cleanly in lineouts. B. Bradley was another of the Linwood forwards who was always up with play, and equally sound were C. Wilton. L. McKenzie, and G. Matterson. F. T. J. Foley was excellent in the line-out for Old Boys, and was tireless in the tight. N. T. Leckie and S. G. Henry were also hard workers in the tight, and were prominent in the loose when Old Boys were making their bid for victory in the 1 second spell. There was little between the I full-backs, L. K. Heazlewood and G. l. I Nolan. Both made very few mistakes, and ! their kicking was powerful and well directed. They were called on for a lot of work, and each was thoroughly satisfactory. The strength o£ the Linwood backs was in the inside men—D. Quaid, M. Gray, and M. Collett. Gray made the openings for both of Linwood's tries, and the accuracy of handling of these three was in marked contrast to that of their opponents. > The teams were:— Linwood—L. K. Heazlewood: R. Empson, R. Pengelly, K. Mason: M. Collett, M. Gray; D. Quaid, C. Wilton. F. Agassiz, J. Lawler, H. J. Revell, K. Armour, G. Matterson, L. McKenzie. B. Bradley. High School Old Boys—G. T. Nolan; E. B. Kerr, K. S. Mortlock, D. G. Cobden; R. P. Round, G. P. Orchard; E. H. Vincent; S. G. Henry, W. A. Hearn, N. T. Leckie, N. J. McPhail, O. G. Wood, J. G. Rankin, F. T. J. Roley, G. Rich. The Scoring Described Heazlewood opened the scoring for Linwood, kicking a penalty from a yard inside the half-way line directly in front. Linwood 3, Old Boys 0. Old Boys drew level after Rankin had made an opening by catching a Linwood back with the ball. The ball was kicked over the line and Mortlock just beat Heazlewood in the race. Nolan's kick failed. Linwood 3, Old Boys 3. A cut-in by Gray beat Orchard and gave Linwood an easy try, Bradley taking the ball from the five-eighths and running over under the posts. Heazlewood converted, and the score at half-time was: Linwood 8, Old Boys 3. \ rearrangement in the Old Boys' backs, with Mortlock at first five-eighths, made little difference to their efficiency on attack Linwood added another three points after a thrust down the line by Gray and a pass to Mason, who forced his way across by the corner. Heazlewood missed the kick. Linwood 11. Old Boysi 3. Old Boys began to play with more dash, but the Linwood forwards continued to come through with slashing rushes that bustled the defence into mistakes. Linwood had an excellent opportunity to score when Empson intercepted and ran through to Nolan. With three men outside him, however, he attempted to beat Nolan. The movement broke down. Hearn. Rankin, and Leckie were prominent in loose rushes, but the defence was always in position. A penalty taken by Nolan brought the score to Linwood 11, Old Boys 6. For the first time in the match the Old Boys' backs went away in a movement typical of their play at its best. but Cobden was well stopped a yard from the line. The movement swung to the other side of the field, and Mortlock was brought down just in time. Nolan kicked another penalty goal a minute or two later. Linwood 11, Old Boys 9. Linwood nearly scored again when a kick by Nolan failed to find the line, but a dribbling rush by Leckie took-Old Boys out of danger. The game ended with the score unchanged:— Linwood 11. Old Boys 9. Referee: Mr D. F. Johnson. MERIVALE (16) V. ATHLETIC (12) Defending strongly all the second spell, Merivale beat Athletic at Rugby Park by 16 points to 12, in a fast and exciting game. Ten points ahead at half-time, the Merivale men did little attacking in the second spell, in which they did not score, but they defended the r line successfully from the many attacks launched by the fast and heavy Athletic forwards. Two tries rewarded the Athletic men in the second spell, but they were not enough to cover the deficit from the first half, and Merivale's win was a deserved reward for an excellent forward disP Although little combined back play j was seen, the struggle between two keen] sets of forwards ensured excitement, and some splendid loose forward attacking was shown. Merivale, aided by the wind, had all the best of the first spell. Athletic's backs were not quickly enough away most times to get clear of the fastbreaking forwards, and when they did get away, solid tackling by the opposing inside backs and their own dropped passes spoiled many promising chanCes. A tendency existed in the beginning of the game, and grew more marked as play progressed, for the Athletic backs to run cross-field too much. An exception to this was D. P. White, the Athletic fiveeighths, who played well up to his form of the previous Saturday, and was a force to be reckoned with when the ball came his way. His kicking was not as good as usual, and he failed with several shots at goal that might have been described as well within his powers. Athletics score was made up of four unconverted tries. If two of them had been converted the result would have been a draw. Mahoney, on the wing for Athletic, played dashing football. He was hard to tackle, and his determined running gained his side much ground. G. King, Merivale's half, came through a hard day with honours. He saw to it that few of the chances Merivale s forwards gave their backs were wasted, and he kept a wary defensive eye on the Athletic breakaways. In the second spell King went down time and again, to stem the flowing forward tide, and did his work courageously and well. The Inside backs, Jarman. Johnston, and Maxwell, were in most of the many Merivale attacks in the first spell, and defended with fighting spirit in the second. Their tackling v/as good, and when they saw a chance they turned defence into attack. The forwards of both sides gave an excellent exhibition of hard rucking. The first half was Merivale's, and the series of dribbling rushes in which all the pack shared found many gaps In the Athletic defence. All the men played hard games, with Roberts, Grant, Stanley, and Bourne prominent. Wesley defended splendidly in the second spell, when the Merivale pack was hard put to it to check the many determined rushes launched by the Athletic men. Of Athletic's forwards. Coll was again the best, with O'Gorman and Kingston ably seconding all his work. The side did not offend so frequently against the offside rule as it had earlier in the season. The teams were:— Merivale —H. Forbes; W. Downie, J. Maxwell, E. Drake; E. W. Jarman, A. Johnston; G. King; B. Roberts, Grant, Wesley, R. Sneddon, M. O. Stanley, N. Forward, M. Sellars, A. Bourne. Athletic—T. Roach; B. Mahoney, J. Crisp, V. O'Connell; D. P. White, J. Morel; W. Clarke; P. Noonan, T. O'Gorman, G. Glubb, D. Whillans, W. Coll, E. Kingston, G. Salisbury, B. Constable. Beginning with a headlong attack. Athletic scored in the first two minutes. The forwards took play to well within Merivale's twenty-five, and then the backs took command, O'Connell finishing a passing rush with a flashing try in the corner. White failed to goal. Athletic 3, Merivale 0. Inside a minute, the Merivale forwards had turned the tables. The forwards broke through, ball at their feet, to Athletic's line, and Maxwell following them fast, received a good pass from King, and went over close u- King goaled. Merivale 5, Athletic -. Athletics forwards took next turn at attacking, and White scored a clever try, cutting in through the Merivale backs with a dodging run. He missed the kick. Athletic 6, Merivale 5. Good kicking and clever use of the high wind, gained much ground for Merivale, and King finished off a strong attack when he cut through under the posts. His kick hit one of the uprights and bounced infield. Merivale 8, Athletic 6. Merivale attacked again, and a rush for the line started by Jarman was ended by Stanley, who fell on the ball for a good try. King converted with a splendid kick. Merivale 13, Athletic 6. Just before half-time th= Merivale forwards broke through again. Roberts going over to score wide out. Half-time came with the score, Merivale 16, Athletic 6. Athletic wasted no time when the second spell began, trying hard to reduce the 10 point deficit. The forward play became very willing, but Merivale held its own. White took advantage of the wind to try a long pot, but the whistle had blown before he kicked it. The first try of the half went to Coll—the reward of a battling day's play. He followed up a free kick fast and beat the Merivale full-back, Forbes, in the jump for the bounce. White missed the kick. Merivale 16, Athletic 9. The Athletic forwards maintained the bustling pressure and several times forced their way to the line, only to be repulsed by solid defence and accurate line-kicking against the wind. Salisbury finally scored the

last try for Athletic, going over wide out for an unconverted try. Merivale 16. Athletic 12. Athletic almost equalised when White tried to drop a goal, and missed narrowly. The game ended. Merivale 16, Athletic 12. Eeferee: Mr H. T. Coulter. ALBION (10) v. CHRISTCHURCH (6). By a well-deserved win. Albion, the unlucky team of this season, moved up a P S fro™ the bottom of the senior com; petition when " °utplayed Christchurch on Lancaster Park south. Althougn Christchurch was at full strength with the advantage of a fairly strong wind this side was only one point to the good at half-time, and after the spe 1 Albion attacked repeatedly, and only lack of finish and combination prevented a bl SSev maTSin in the result. There was, with one or two exceptions, little of the spectacular in this game, both sets of forwards settling doWto hard, and solid play, and spoiling tactics by the loose forwards of tooth sides, kept the inside backs very quiet Because of its superior weight, the Cfinstchurch pack had the advantage of the set scrum work, and although the Albion hooker often beat his opponent for the ball the Christchurch pack eventually gained possession by pushing its opponents off the ball after it had been hooked. In the tight work, however, and in the loose play, to counteract its disadvantage in weight. Albion showed its mettle for hard work and keenness. Led by W. Sweeney and E. Wellman, in the second half particularly, Albion cut through the Christchurch side with rush after rush. Albion lacked only the finish to its movements, which would have made the margin even greater in its favour. For Albion, Ron Garrett, playing at first five-eighths, was sound, and saved his team much ground by well-directed snap kicks to touch. With his brother, J. Garrett, he made the finest back opening of the day early in the first half, which resulted in a try between the posts. Another promising player is H. Dyne, who was full-back. He is a young, player, and although sound i 3 wasted in that position. He is very fast, and his height, weight, and stride make him a hard man to bring down. Rhind, Walker, and Hogg worked hard in the Christchurch pack, and Pawson at second five-eighths was the strong link in a rather indecisive back line. The teams were:— Albion—H. Dyne; G. Smith, F. W. Wickham, Hav; J. Garrett. R. Garrett; O. Scott; G.'Hadfleld, J. Wilson, S. Boyd, R. Dasler. W. Sweeney, J. Weatherhead, E. Wellman. and K. Oakley. Christchurch—J. S. D. Morton; R. C. Murray, F. W. Porteous. G. J. Busfield: J. Pawson. C. O. Field; A. H. Black; G. Mills. W. G. Stonehouse, P. Rhind. J. Hogg, R. Kesr. B. Walker, W. Fleming, and H. Lee. Five minutes after the start, Albion scored. From practically halfway, the two Garretts combined beautifully to cut through the Christchurch team, for J. Garrett to score between the posts. Sweeney converted. Albion 5, Christchurch 0. Christchurch then made attack after attack, trying to press the advantage of the strong wind, and from a melee on the Albion line Fleming dived over. Porteous's kick missed. Albion 5. Christchurch 3. The Christchurch pack again swept downfield and Stonehouse finished off the movement by scoring wide out. Porteous again failed to convert. The score at half-time was; Christchurch 6, Albion 5. With the change of ends Albion played with a new vigour. Dyne attempted a penalty which narrowly missed. R. Garrett cut his way through, but although within inches of the line failed to complete the movement. Repeated attacks by Albion were eventually rewarded when Dasler. securing from a forward rush, dived over, Sweeney converting. The final score was: Albion 10, Christchurch 6. Referee: Mr K. H. Ferrin. SECOND GRADE At North Park, Training College A 25 beat High School Old Boys 6. Referee: Mr F. Sinclair. At Elmwood Park, Collegians 13 beat Sydenham 6. Referee: Mr G. C. Salt. At North Park, Sunnyside 12 beat University 4. Referee: Mr S. C. Murray. At Lancaster Park oval. Christchurch 9 beat Linwood 3. Referee: Mr C. McCallum. At South Park. Technical Old Boys 10 beat Training College 86. Referee: Mr L. E. Clemens. At Malvern Park, Merivale 19 beat Athletic 6. Referee: Mr H. Todd. At Richmond Park. Albion 9 beat Richmond 5. Referee: Mr W. H. Smith. THIRD GRADE Section A West Old Boys'A 13 beat Training College AC. Christchurch 13 beat Albion 9. Bromley 15 beat University 13. High School Old Boys 16 beat Kalapoi 12. Linwood 3 drew with Sydenham 3. Section B Technical Old Boys 12 beat University 6. St. Andrew's College 12 beat Training College 6. West Old Boys 3 beat St. Bede s ColBoys' High School 11 beat Collegians 0. FOURTH GRADE New Brighton 17 beat Christchurch 0. Merivale 34 beat Ninth Battery 0. Linwood 27 beat Aranui 0. High School Old Boys 16 beat Athletic 8. FIFTH GRADE Albion 39 beat Collegians 0. Beckenham 22 beat Linwood 12. Technical Old Boys 28 beat Christchurch 3. High School Old Boys 3 drew with Sydenham 3. ■.,,,„ New Brighton 6 drew with Kaiapoi 6. SIXTH GRADE Linwood 21 beat Merivale 5. UNDER 18 GRADE High School Old Boys 6 beat Technical Old Boys A 0. Sydenham 9 beat Boys' High School 0. Technical Old Boys B 3 beat Belfast 0. Albion 49 beat Kaiapoi 0. Athletic 14 beat Merivale 6. Christchurch 31 beat Linwood 3. UNDER 9 STONE Albion 11 beat Sydenham 6. . Technical Old Boys A 15 beat Technical °Boys° y Hi!h 4 School 12 beat Aranui 3. Richmond 25 beat Beckenham; 3. UNDER 8 STONE Technical Old Boys 24 beat Merivale 0. Linwood 28 beat New Brighton 0. UNDER t STONE Technical Old Boys 61 beat Sydenham Merivale 9 beat Sydenham A 3. Linwood 15 beat Aranui 0. Richmod 17 beat Athletic 0. Beckenham 55 beat Christchurch 0. NORTH CANTERBURY SUB-UNION Results of matches in the North Canterbury Rugby Football Sub-Umons competitions on Saturday were as follows.— Senior Grade Glenmark 16, Oxford 0. Kowal 3, Woodend 3. North Canterbury a bye. Junior Grade Ohoka 24, Glenmark 0. I Loburn 5, North Canterbury o. Under 18 Grade Rangiora High School 11. North Canterbury 6. Woodend 11. Amberley 6. NcTmatches will be played in the subunion's competitions next Saturday, when a representative senior team will meet one from the Malvern Sub-Union at Oxford. On the following Saturday, North Canterbury will play the Hurunui Sub-Union in the Delargey Shield competition and sub-union competitions will again be postponed. . _ Representative Team Following is the North Canterbury Rugby Football Sub-Union's senior representative team to play Malvern Sub-Union at Oxford on Saturday:— Full-back, J. Jack (Cust); three-quar-ters, N. Aitken (North Canterbury), I. Boyce (Amberley). and Stringer (Kowai); five-eighths, F. Jones (North Canterbury) and Southen (Woodend); half-back, A. Mitchell (Glenmark); Forwards, A. Brown (North Canterbury). D. Ford (Kowai), K. Doody (Oxford), H. Bury (North Canterbury). J. McConaghey (Woodend), H. Vette (Kowai), N. Maxwell (Glenmark), R. Hann (Cust). Emergencies: Backs, M. Rueben (Woodend), R. Gardiner (Glenmark), and L. Roberts (Woodend); forwards, J. Whitham (Cust). L. Fletcher (Kowai) and S. Rossiter (Oxford). MATCHES AT WELLINGTON (PKESS ASSOCIATION TBLROIIAM.) WELLINGTON, June 5. Athletic 6, Johnsonville 3; Petone 14. Wellington 3; Poneke 19. Hutt 6; Eastbourne 17, University 3; Wellington College Old Boys 14, Marist Bros. Old Boys 3. TRIAL GAME ON WEST COAST LTHE PRESS Special Service.] GREYMOUTH, June 6. The combined Greymouth-Westland Rugby team beat South Westland at Harihart to-day by 16- points to 3 in a trial match to assist the selectors in choosing I the West Coast team to .play Canterbury j at Greymouth on Wednesday. The comI bined tram won by superior play among I the backs, G. Gilbert (combined team) ' playing an outstanding game at centre three-quarters. Scorers for the combined team were Wilson (2) and Connolly. Gilbert kicked a penalty and converted two triea,

CANTERBURY TEAM WEAKENED FIFTEEN TO MEET WEST COAST Several defections have weakened the Canterbury Rugby team which will visit the West Coast* to play matches against the West Coast at Greymouth on Wednesday and against Buller at Westport on Saturday. Twenty players will make the trip, and the team and emergencies for the first match have been named by the sole selector (Mr W. J. Whitham) as follows; Full-back—G. T. Nolan (Old Boys). Three-quarters —R. P. Round (Old Boys), K. S. Mortlock (Old Boys), R. Chinnery (Sunnyside). ,„ ... Five-eighths—J. A. Hooper (Sunnyside), W. G. Brooks (Sydenham). Half-back—J. J. McAulifie (University). Forwards—O. Hattersley (Sydenham), W. Fleming (Christchurch), R- Burke (Sunnyside). C. W. Williams (University), W. Coll (Athletic), H. Milliken (Sunnyside), C. Pablecheque (Sunnyside), J. G. Rankin (Old Boys). Emergencies—R. Garrett (Albion) L. Brown (Sydenham), D. Whillans (Athletic). D. Herman (Technical), P. K Rhind (Christchurch). The following men were not available. D. G. Cobden (Old Boys), G. B. Eathorne (Albion), J. C. Pawson (Christchurch), A. G. Hunter (University), P. B. Overton (University). J. D. Carmichael (University), W. V. Hadfield (University), and k. Brown (Sydenham). RUGBY LEAGUE HORNBY AND LINWOOD WIN BRIGHT SECOND HALF BY SYDENHAM Results: Hornby 17, Sydenham 13. Linwood 21, Waimairi 6. Addlngton a bye. The biting southerly wind which chilled any players standing still for a minute Considerably detracted from the back play in Saturday's Rugby League At Sydenham Park Hornby. . «h° wm f Pj?"$ y hj atf dash, put on 17 points in the first half against Sydenham, and looked an easy winner. * After . the Interval, Sydenham showed a big improvement and using the wind well, made Hornby defend hard. Hornby's win by 17 points to 13 seemed likeb y to be turned into defeat near the end Linwood and Waimairi disappointed Linwood was far too strong in the first half and although Waimairi rallied late in the game, it did not look winner Linwood's win by 21 points to 6 being 8 The lf f o o r ilowfng° n table shows the positions

HORNBY (17) v. SYDENHAM (13) After its excellent showing against Linwood? the competition leader, last week, Sydenham slumped against Hornby on Saturday, when playing against the wind From the drop-out Hornby forced the nace and kept its attack going strongly all the spell, Sydenham having no chance to rally and get together m those fast forward rushes which have so troubled oppositions in former games. Hornby s backs stood fairly deep, arid used fast passing rushes for most of the attack, kicking effectively to big gaps when the Svdenham defence was not in position, which was often. When, after the interval, the country team relied on the same tactics—not good against the wina— Sydenham soon consolidated and began to gain the upper hand. An early try. cleverly done, gave it heart, so that from then on it made the pace and, towards the end, was playing so vigorously that its supporters were expecting it to win. Back again in his old place in the Hornby three-quarter line, after b long absence, W. Palamountain soon made ms presence felt. He kicked two long penalty goals and scored his side's first two tries—an auspicious opening. The teams were as follows: — Hornby—M. Standeven; K. Bannan, W. Palamountain, R. Timms; E. Hendry, C. Taylor; S. McGarry: W. Vivian. J. Airey, W. Woodgate, F. McKenzie, J. Forster, W. Dunn. , __ ,„,-*■• Sydenham—H. Blackler: J. Duke, M, Davis, R. Rothwell; F. le Cornpte, H. Davis; W. Raistrick; V. Blackler, F. Jones, E. Hamburger, W. Wakefield, E. Grimes, E. Wilson. Palamountain kicked two long penalty goals for Hornby but missed a third. Hornby 4, Sydenham 0. A long hard run by Bannan had Sydenham in trouble. Ho quickly passed infield to Palamountain. who crossed in a corner. Standeven's long angle shot hit an upright and bounced over. Hornby 9, Sydenham 0. Breaking from his supports, Palamountain raced for a corner and scored after some loose play. His kick missed. Hornby 12. Sydenham 0. Scooping up nicely from a ruck Taylor went on hfs own from the twenty-five line for a try near the posts. Standeven converted, leaving Hornby ahead 17-0 at the Interval. Quickly repulsing a Hornby rush, Sydenham went in to attack with a long kick to a corner, following which H. Davis cut in very nicely to score and convert. Hornby 17. Sydenham 5. Going well together, the Sydenham pack took a loose rush to Hornby's line, where the elusive Wilson scrambled over and H. Davis converted. Hornby 17, Sydenham 10. When a Hornby passing rush reached Bannan he made a magnificent break across field, beating the defence badly. Then, with unmarked men waiting tor a pass, he endeavoured to score by himself and was dumped. With Raistrick and H Davis prominent Sydenham again attacked, Davis giving to Duke for a try. The kick failed, leaving the final score. Referee: Mr G. E. Falgar. Hornby 17, Sydenham 13. ... LINWOOD (21) v. WAIMAIRI (6) ... Linwood easily beat Waimairi at Linwood Park, but the losing team Put up a game fight considering that it took the field three short. H. Shirley, H. Smallbone, and 6 K. Merrin, who h£ Buffered injuries in previous matches, went on before the interval. The Linwood team's display was far from impressive, mainly because of the bustling tactics of the opposing forwards, who wasted no time in getting among the Linwood backs. Whitley and Stevens were the most impressive, both making several brilliant solo dashes, from one of which the latter scored a Spectacular try. D. Smith was again the pick of the Waimairi backs, being strong on defence. The forward packs were evenly matched, and some hard and willing play was seen-. The following were the teams:— Linwood—F. J. Stevens; F. Roach, L. Beri, R. Whitley, A. Lawrence, C. Saunders; C. Fairman; M. H. Smith, H. Stevens, L. Evans, R. Falgar, A. Stewart, G. Stu3rt Waimairi—H. Kett; C. Brimble, H. Smallbone, G. Kirk; E. McCann, D. Smith; J. Kirwan; H. Hopa. F. Warren, J. Clarke. E Tavendale, H. Shirley, K. Merrin. From the kick-off, Waimairi (three short) scored first when F. Warren picked up near half-way and outpaced the Linwood side to score near the posts. Smith missed an easy goal. Waimairi 3, Linwood 0. Fairman then set the backs going, Beri going over for an unconverted try. Waimairi 3. Linwood 3. After* the Linwood forwards looked likely to score, D. Smith turned defence into attack and was almost over after a good run. Linwood assumed the offensive, Whitley picking up near half-way to pass to Lawrence, who threw out a long pass for R. Falgar to take and score. Stewart goaled. Linwood 8, Waimairi 3. Soon after F. Stevens (full-back) picked up near halfway and outpaced the Waimairi side easily and scored at the corner. Linwood 11, Waimairi 3. A. Stewart then emerged from a scramble on the Waimairi line and scored. He also converted the try. as the half-time whistle sounded with the score: Linwood 16, Waimairi 3. The Linwood forwards tried to burst through, but the Waimairi tackling was deadly. The home team's backs made several rushes, but dropped passes spoilt many promising movements. Waimairi now took a turn, and from tight play on the Linwood line Smith dived over near the posts, but missed the easy goal. Linwood 16, Waimairi 6. Almost on time Whitley changed direction cleverly and scored near the posts for Beri to goal. Linwood was still attacking when the final whistle sounded with the score: Linwood 21, Waimairi 6. Referee: Mr H. Wright. LOWER GRADE RESULTS The following were the results in the lower grades:— JUNIOR GRADE Addington 11, Hornby 8. Linwood 16, Sydenham 6. THIRD GRADE Linwood A 10, St. Joseph's 5. Sydenham 5, Waimairi 3.

W. la. D. F. A. Pts. University ,. 6 1 2 114 55 7 Sunnyside ,. 7 2 0 US 80 7 Old Boys ,. 6 3 0 100 50 6 Sydenham ,. 5 3 1 112 67 5} Merivale ■ .. 4 3 2 86 104 5 Linwood ,. 4 5 0 04 129 4 Athletic .. 3 5 1 70 88 3J Christchurch . .. 3 a 1 90 100 3J Albion .. 2 7 0 77 127 2 Technical .. 1 7. 1 84 152 11

of the tean is to da ite:- — p. W. D. L. F. A. Pts. Linwood Addington Hornby Sydenham Waimairi .. 7 .. 6 .. 6 .. 7 .. 6 5 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 5 5 118 112 89 80 34 77 11 54 8 55 8 154 4 95 1