RUGBY FOOTBALL

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23350, 9 June 1941, Page 5

RUGBY FOOTBALL

ARMY BEATEN BY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND AIR FORCE IN KEEN MATCH The defeat, of the hitherto unbeaten Army team by Southern was the surprise of Saturday’s senior Rugby. ' Army now is level at the head of the competition with University, the champion team of 1940, which on Saturday met a strong challenge from Air Force. Both Army and University have been beaten only once. It was again perfect weather and there were fairly large attendances at all grounds. At Rugby Park, New Brighton maintained its improved form to beat Linwood in an exciting match, and in the curtain-raiser at Lancaster Park Albion played very solidly to beat, the strong Technical team. Results were:—Southern 16, Army 6; University 16, Air Force 9; Albion 9. Technical 6; New Brighton 11, Linwood 9; Christchurch 16, Sunnyside 11; Merivale 11, Old Boys 3; Wigram 20, Godley Head 9. Competition points are now as follows: Army, 5; ‘University, Air Force, Albion, New Brighton, and Southern, 4; Christchurch and Linwood 3; ‘Merivale and Sunnyside, 2J: ‘Athletic and ‘Technical, 2; •Wigram and Old Boys, 1; Godley Head 0. •Have had a bye. UNIVERSITY v. AIR FORCE The defence ,of both teams was better than the attack in the principal match on the Lancaster Park oval, and consequently the game lacked some of the spectacular movement which has marked most of the oval matches this season. University was the more resourceful in developing unorthodox movements, even though such attacks were often of a scrambling nature. University won the ball regularly for the first 10 minutes, but after that there was a long period of Air Force domination of scrums, lasting until the final quarter of the game. The Air Force backs tried hard to penetrate the defence, but the tackling of both the University backs and forwards was deadly, and passing rushes ended time after time in the winger being forced into touch Just short of the corner. Air Force, down 8-0 at half-time, seemed to be getting well on top when it had reduced the deficit to two points 10 minutes after the resumption. A rather lucky try to University’ changed the course of the game. Fountain surprisingly fielded his opponent’s kick at short range and broke through to the full-back, Walter taking the pass and staggering out of a tackle to score a fine try. Other scorers for University were Cartwright, Ryder, and Kennedy, Harper converting two. For Air Force McCormick scored a try and kicked .two penalties. The teams were:— University.—A. . W. Roberts: Fountain, Cartwright, Hudson; ,Kennedy, Dansey; Ryder; Wilson, Gordon, Tovey, Garrett, McKenzie. P. G. Roberts, Walter, Harper. Air Force.—Smith; Kerr, Thomson, Martin; McCormack, Cleaver; Abbott; Rothwell, Engel, Wilton, Rose, Palmer, Poison, Kemp, Sneddon. Referee: Mr H. T. Coulter. ALBION V. TECHNICAL In the best curtain-raiser of the season to date Albion surprised by beating Technical Old Boys by 9 points to 6. The Albion forwards played magnificently to subdue the much heavier and undoubtedly formidable Technical pack. and«the backs made quite good use of the chances that came their way. * Albion had the better of the game territorially, but it was not until the last 10 minutes that the winning try was scored, a fine opening by the reliable R. Garrett being carried on by the forwards for Clarke to cross. A notably good game was played by the young Albion halfback, Cullen, and the rest of the line was very sound. In the forwards. Bond and Weathdrhead were solid workers, but Clarke and Dasler were outstanding for their tireless work both In the open and the tight. There were times when the Technical backs and forwards passed the ball with refreshing freedom, and the weight and pace of the forwards always made such moves menacing. Roach and McCammon both did some neat work for Technical. Haylcs and Turner were the pick of the forwards. . The scorers for Albion were Keetley (a very determined try), Dasler. and Clarke, and for Technical Turner and Strong. The teams were;— Albion.—Dawkins: Stout, J. . Garrett, Keetley; H. Wilson, R. Garrett: Cullen; Slncock, Dasler, Clarke, Johnston,' Weatherhead, Willman, Bond, Gray. Technical.—Croy; Crequer, Blight. R. Taylor; McCammon, Roach; E. Taylor; Ansley, Harvey, Turner, Herman, Hayles. Bain. Lohrey, and Lake (replaced early by Strong). Referee: Mr H. R. Escott. , NEW BRIGHTON v, LINWOOD New Brighton’s defeat' of Linwood by 11-9 at Rugby Park was really achieved In the first spell, when New Brighton's clever backs piled on an eight-point lead. A willing second spell saw Linwood fighting hard for recovery, but It could, not quite overtake New Brighton’s early start. The game was remarkable for the number of stoppages for injury, but it was

not rough. In the second spell both sides tackled hard, and in spite of the wet ground the pace was fast. New Brighton was captained for the day by J. McKernan, a soldier member of the club playing his final game for it this season. He worked well all day in a good set of forwards, in which A. Long was also outstanding. New Brighton's main asset, however, was the cleverness of its back line; Back movements in which nearly every man handled were common, and there was some clever in«passing and dummying. At times the work of the threequarter line—W. McEwan (who went off hurt in the second spell), S. Rhodes, and T. Ryan—was brilliant. The positional play of the Linwood backs was not so good, but it improved in the second spell. The three-quarter line there was just as skilful as New Brighton, but was starved for the ball until well on 1 in the game. Fleming, Arps, and Burgess put in a solid afternoon in the forwards. Tries were scored for New Brighton by Ryan (2) and Rhodes, A. Long converting one, and Hewitt scored one remarkably good try for Linwood, running through the whole back line on his own. The other tries were scored by Burgess and Argus. The teams were:— New Brighton.—J. Long; W- McEwan, S. Rhodes, T. Ryan; L. Young, A. Geddes; P. Long; R. Wilkins. A. Layton, A. Long, H, Sturrock. E. McEwan, W. Wright, J. McKernan, and P. Knight. Linwood.—J. Sutherland: A. Mcßae, W. Argus, W, Maunder: Cameron, A. McHugh; Hewitt; Stewart, Coburn, Drower, Fleming, A. Arps, A. Burgess, J. Monk, and Smith. „ „ , Referee: Sergeant W. F. Falvey. WIGRAM v. GODLEY HEAD Wigram beat Godley Head at the Lancaster Park west ground on Saturday by 20 points to 9. The game was colourless, though the Wigram backs showed flashes of combined movement and attacked consistently. Wigram held a lead at all stages. For Wigram, Thomas, Tapley, and Robinson scored tries in the first half (ending 9-6), and Hay, Lucas, and McDonald in the second half. Robinson was off form with his kicking, Thomas scoring the only conversion. Fitzgerald, Kingsland, and Dench were prominent in forward work. , . Archibald, the outstanding forward for Godley Head, kicked two penalty goals, and Brown, after a 40-yard run with Simmonds, scored the team's only try (in the first half). Wall and Scoles were hard workers in the forwards. Archibald’s kicking under fairly difficult conditions proved to be the team’s best weapon on the day, as the defence against the Wigram backs was ragged. Wigram’s only lapse was towards the end of the first half, when its line was threatened repeatedly. The teams were;— _ Wigram.—Divers, Lucas, Robinson, Tapley, B. H. Hay, Freeborn, Jackson, S. Brown, Fitzgerald, Thomas. Kingsland, Lockington. McDonald. Scriven, Dench. Godley Head.—Dickson, Simmonds. Ayson, Brown, Stanley, Winter, Donaldson, Booth, Purcell (Injured, and replaced by Campbell in the first half), Scoles, Anderson, Wall. Archibald, Topping, Evans. Referee: Mr R. Morris. SOUTHERN v. ARMY Ability to convert opportunities into points, and the unflagging pace set by its big forwards, gave Southern • welldeserved win, 16-8, against the previously unbeaten Army team at the Shdw Grounds on Saturday. Army’s defeat came as a surprise to many, but on the day there .was less to separate the teams than the points might indicate. Actually Army scored two tries to Southern’s one; South, ern’s other points came from two excellent field goals and a penalty kick. Although Southern enjoyed a territorial advantage in the first spell, play was largely of an uninspiring quality. Just before half-time, however, Mahony made a thrilling dash along the wing and transferred infield to Forscutt, who changed direction' abruptly to score a brilliant try between the posts. Army infused more vigour into its play in the kecond spell, and its forwards were winning the majority of the scrums , Given a feast of the ball, the backs were able to turn it to little account, however, 1 deadly tackling smothering every movement In its incipient stages. Army scored its second try when the left wing put in a good run and threw a high pass to Forscutt, who flashed through the defence to gain another very fine try. Army did not score again, and with the score 7-6 in its favour. Southern put the , result beyond doubt with another field goal and a converted try. • • For Southern, Johnson scored one try. Sarglson and Armour each kicked a field goal, and Gilmore kicked a penalty and converted a try. For Army, Forscutt scored both tries. The teams were:— Southern—Reid; W. Brown, Symes? Hobson: Johnson. C. . Brown; Williamson; Watson, Clarke, Sargison, Mahoney. Armour, Butterworth, Gilmore, Barnes. Army—Gadd; Dobson,- Harvey. Mahony; Allen, Forscutt; McLean; Bolt, Finlay, Maskew, J. C. Ward. Holly. Stewart. R. H. Ward, Stenhouse. .Referee: Mr> S.’ S. Baird. ■ ■ ■ MERIVALE v. OLD3OYS The, Old Boys- fifteen,.,stub. suffering through gaps in its regular 'ranks, found the Merivale backs too fast and enterprising in the game on the Lancaster Park south ground. Merivale won by 11 points to 3, a fairly reasonable indication of the difference in performance between the two teams. Old Boys saw, a fair deal of the ball, particularly in the first half, but the backs failed to, function with any close combination and were easily pressed back or beaten for possession by the faster Merivale men. The first Merivale try was typical of many movements, although few of them were quite as successful. The five-eighths, Jarman, cut very neatly through the. Old Boys back line, handed on to Pimm when he was collared, and Pimm and Maxwell finished off the attack with one of the prettiest tries of the season. Maxwell, the centre-threequarter, who sedred the try, played soundly right through the game, particularly In the later stages, when Old Boys often had Merivale defending. Tibbotts scored a handy try by fast following-up for Merivale, J. Max-, well converting the try. At half-time the score was,Merivale 8, Old Boys 0. In the second half. Barker scored for Merivale, and Waterland kicked a penalty goal for Old Boys. The teams were:— • Old Boys—Eathorne: Annmg, Christmas, White; Jones, Maxwell: Waterland: Hall, Andrews. Agassiz. Trotter, Gillman, Leckie, Crawford, Percy. Merivale—Johnston: Brlen, Maxwell. Downie; Sutherland, Jarman; Kerr: West, Hegerty, Pimm, Stewart. Smith, Rudkin, Barker, Tibbotts. Referee; Dr D. McK. Dickson.

CHRISTCHURCH v. SUNNYSIDE Although Sunnyslde attacked spiritedly and defended solidly, Christchurch had no great difficulty in defeating It by 16 points to 11, in an interesting match at Sunnyside. Sunnyside had a weaker team than at the beginning of the season. Christchurch, a very light but fast side, has a promising back line, and the forwards did well in more than holding the heavier and more experienced Sunnyside pack. The teams were:— . , _ , Christchurch—Thacker; Bishop, Baker, Scott; Aspell, Black: Lawrence; Wilder, Taylor, Wright, Balnbrldge, R. Proctor, I. Proctor, Kotlowskl, Gregg. Sunnyside—Mackwell; Chinnery, Masters, McDermott: Hart, Perkins; Moran; Aitken, Burke, McLeod, McDonnell, Ireland, Chandler, Hartland, Kelly. From a loose scrum near the-goal-line, Hart sent a long pass out to McDermott, who scored for Sunnyside in the corner. After the Christchurch backs had brought the ball at their toes nearly the whole length of the field, Kotlowskl, who played an outstanding game In the Christchurch forwards, picked up neatly and scored unopposed. Thacker, converted Scott scored, but an easy kick was missed by Thacker. Thacker kicked a splendid penalty. Shortly afterwards, McDermott for Sunnyside, flashed over to score after a determined forward rush. Burke converted, and now Christchurch was only three points ahead. A few minutes later, Scott was over, very fast, to score. Shortly before time from a line-out almost on the Christchurch line. Burke' forced himself over to score for Sunnyside. A difficult kick missed. Referee; Private J. Armstrong. lower grades Second Grade.—Harewood Air Force 9, Southern 6; University 20, Athletic 16; Linwood 13, Merlvale 6; Beckenham 18. Old Boys 6; Technical 12. Collegians 9. Third Grade A.—Merivale A 6, Llnwood 0; Kalapoi 12, Merivale B 0; New Brighton 11, Athletic 4. , . „. Third Grade ■ B.—Christ’s College 25. Technical 3; Boys’ High School 24, University 14; St, Andrew’s College 16, Training, College 14; West Old Boys 22, St. Bede's College 6. Fourth Grade A.—New Brighton 17, Albion 12; Linwood 35, Merivale 0: Richmond 6. Southern 5; Technical 42, University 3. . . „ Fourth Grade B.—Technical 9, Christs College 3; West Christchurch High School 23. Collegians 0; , Technical College 17. Old Boys 16; Boys’ High School 34, Christchurch 6. Under 17.— Technical A 11, Techpicali B 0; Llnwood 31, Technical C 11; Richmond 11, Southern 3; Merivale 18, Albion 9; Kalapoi 27, New Brighton 0. Under Bst' 71b.—Albion 36, Kalapoi 0; Linwood 18, Merivale 6; Technical 11, Old B Under 7st.—Richmond 6, Athletic 3; Technical 3, Beckenham 0; Albion 9, Merivale 3; New Brighton 6, Southern 6; Sunnyside 6, Llnwood 6. Under sst 121b.— Linwood A 45, Southern 0; Albion 31. Llnwood B 0; New Brighton 6, Beckenham 3. IN OTHER CENTRES AUCKLAND, June 8. Rugby football faults are:— Grammar Ifc Suburb* 6; Papakura Camp 8, Otahuhu

3; Marist 26, University 0; Technical 13, Training College 12. WELLINGTON, June 8. Senior first division Rugby results are:— Hutt (Army) 8. Wellington 0: Marist■ Bros. Old Boys 11, Johnsonville 3; Athletic 14, St. Patrick’s Old Boys 3: Poneke 12, Oriental 10; University 11. Wellington College Old Boys 6: Petone 14, Air Force 3: Hutt 26, Eastbourne 9. T ,i DUNEDIN, June 8. Rugby football results are:—University A 21. Kaikorai 6: Taierl 3, Union 3; Pirates 25, Alhambra 6: Zlngari 24, Dunedin 3; Southern 14, University B 20.