RUGBY FOOTBALL

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24371, 25 September 1944, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL LINWOOD-TECHNICAL and air FORCE DRAW The final of the Canterbury Rugby irnlon’s senior championship was played It Lancaster Park on Saturday, marking the conclusion of club football In Christ(hurch this season. Linwood-Technlcal and Air Force I, the finalists, met for the ihtrd time this year in an exciting game which ended in a draw, neither side scorJj,* Of the two previous games, the teams won one each. In the curtainraiser match between Unlversity-Trainlng College and Combined Clubs, some really eood play was produced by the backs of the former team, which thoroughly deserved its win. Results of Saturday’s games were as follows: Llnwood-Technical 0, Air Force I 0. University-Training College 14. Combined Clubs 11. COMPETITION FINAL In a game which, although not marked hy many spectacular movements, was keenly fought to the last minute ot play and held the interest of the crowd throughout, the two competition leaders, Air Force I and Linwood-Technical, clayed a scoreless draw in the championship final at Lancaster Park on Saturday. i The ground and the day were suited to ooen and fast football, and with the exception of a period of monotonous linefinding kicks by the Linwood-Technical backs In the second spell, both sides passed the ball in a manner that was to be expected of them. The passing and handling were not. however, as good as might be expected from senior teams at this stage of the season, and the habit of attempting to pick up the ball in a fast dribbling rush often called the play back to a scrummage when there was a chance of scoring. The line-kicking in general was of a high standard, there being practically no wind. There can be no doubt that the Air Force side had the better of the game in attacking Initiative, and in both spells it held a very decided territorial advantage Innumerable attacks by Its back line came very close to scores, but a most determined and capable defence by all the Linwood-Technical players, and on occasions, bad luck, prevented Air Force from crossing the line. The combination cl the Air Force backs and forwards on attack was better than that of the Lin-wood-Technical side, whose forwards concentrated, and not without effect, on spoiling the opposition's inside back play and taking the ball through at their feet In loose play. The Linwood-Technical backs, on the other hand, seldom Infused ■ any spirit into their attack at all. although they had much the better share of tiie ball, but In preference they stood up close on the Air Force line In order to give It as little chance as possible to get going. In short the entire match was a battle of wits between one side determined to let its wing three-quarters acore, and another equally determined to prevent them from doing so. Air Force Back Play From the decisive scrummages Air Force had by far the lesser share of the ball and as a consequence its three-quarters saw too little of it to be a continual source of trouble to their opponents. Plaving at centre instead of his usual position at second five-eighths, O’Callaghan was very closely marked by the man opposite him, Beri. as well as by several other players, but in spite of this he flashed into the limelight at times with some fine openings reminiscent of his form earlier In the season. It was really unfortunate for his side that he was not given more chances. His line-kicking also left nothing to be desired after he had found his direction early in the first spell. The Air Force full-back, L. Smith, gave a polished display. His line-kicking 'handling, and positional play were all of a high standard. On the right wing Guthrie, tall, well-built, and a fast runner made some determined bids for the line using his weight and speed to good effect Molloy at first five-eighths and Muir at half-back, both played the orthodox games of their positions effectively and keenly. As a combination the Air Force back line was fairly good and obvi- • ously better than Its opposition. Although well served from the scrummages by their forwards, the LinwoodTechnical backs very rarely showed the form expected of them. This may be explained by the fact that the ball did not come briskly from the scrum base, the five-eighths received it standing flatfooted. and as a consequence their rushes were invariably stopped by the time Bert, the centre-three-quarters, was In possession. Playing on the left wing outside Beri was McHugh, the West ■ Coaster, whose penetrative ability was seen at Lancaster Park the previous Saturday when he was in the South Island team. His defence In this game was praiseworthy, but he had only one slender chance on attack when, with but a few yards to work In. he made a fast run towards the corner flag and very nearly went over. Hewitt played excellent defensive football and occasionally was good on attack although his monotonous line-kicking in the second spell showed that there was no effective penetrating combination to drive his own backs. While it did not brighten the play. • however. It did have the desired effect of keeping the ball away from the centre of the field and from his own goal-line. Outside him, Williams at second fiveeighths, also showed up well, mainly on (tefcncs. The aim of the Linwood-Technical backs was to put up an Impenetrable defensive barrier against a strong attacking side, while their forwards made strong efforts to dominate play In the loose rucks and rushes. It is a style of football which although unspectacular from the point of view of spectators has often caused the defeat of a strong side concentrating on fast-moving five-eighths and three-quar-ters for their points. 1 Good Forward Play A keen struggle resulted between the two forward packs. In the loose play there was little to pick between them but In the scrums Linwood-Technical held the superiority which saved its backs a_ great deal of energy and trouble. As a, winging" forward, Fearnley showed himself to be fit and speedy, and he lost no time in running up on the Air Force fiveeighths whenever they obtained po.session. Ably supporting him were Fisher, Rothwell, and Lindstrom. all of whom were convincing from the start until the final whistle. For the Air Force forwards. Berman probably played his best game this season, and most certainly gave a better performance than In the inter' Island match. He was always on the ball and showed no sign of fatigue at any stage. Ensor, Lee, Knight, and Jacobs all plsycd well It may be said that this was one of the best forward battles seen In club football this season, the principal reason being that every player was on his mettle to give all he could for his side. In spite of their keenness, however, they realised that the first duty was to heel the ball ■to the half-backs, the result being that there was never a period of prolonged and fruitless scrummaging. TTle final whistle blew with no score. Mr R. W. Blazey was referee, COLLEGE TEAM WINS The curtain-raiser at Lancaster Park between a Canterbury University College and Training College side and Combined Clubs resulted In a win for the College side by 14 points to 11. It was a game that produced some very bright football, and as the defence of both sides was of a slightly lower pitch than that of the main match, there was more opportunity for opening up the back play. The main feature of the play was the performance of the College team’s backs who played some brilliant football, both through out' standing so Ip runs and through a wellplanned combination. Mitchell and Meates, the second fiveeighths and centre three-quarters of the College team, were the best performers and have both proved themselves to be ■worthy of selection in a Canterbury side. Against Otago next Saturday it is to be hoped that they will give as good an Indication of their talent as they gave In this game. The play of the College team was also greatly helped by the fact that they seemed to understand one another’s movements and to give eager support whenever It was necessary. Silcock. the light wing-three-quarters, • was the best M the other backs, and in one movement m which he figured in a passing run down the side-line with Mitchell, he showed himself capable of first-class play. In scoring the final and decisive try for the Ppjlege side. Meates gave the match its highlight. He and Mitchell took a prompart in most of the successful offends of the play and each of them used ms swerve and sudden burst of speed to ‘ n l, best advantage. me play of the opposing backs at the "shie time must not be discredited ForsWilson. Cochrane, and Callanan all P«yed well, the first-named especially Eying some creditable dash to the attack <}«»£ offensives lacked the understanding 2* the other side, although there was much fault with them Individually f-Mi “ le forwards the smaller but fitter lojiege pack put up a fine show against 2” weighty opposition. One of the best v?? Mullins, a player who has worked S2.- the whole season, and thoroughly oeseryes his Inclusion in the Canterbury Play Otago McKenzie, the South “land forward was also prominent as £2** Hughes and Veale. Stonehouse, ivnowles. and Blanchard were the pick-of Clubs’ pack. ..Play 'lie first try went to Mcoiii2. e ‘ file University left wing threefUrntS?’ , l rho received from Meates after * kink ~ r *i ad made an opening Meates’s adrni^f? s . sllccesß f u l- Callanan opened the aSh? 1 ?! 1 1*°£ Combined Clubs with a pen.u ,rom well out. Mitchell next sen-Ij ro . u sh ar| d passed to Meates. who (~5,, After the interval. Veale scored this S- e f e .. after a forward melee, and bv ran 8 flowed by another penalty goal an* Proctor was next to score .Jr~ lan converted from well out. ne scores were now level, but Meates

OTAGO MATCH REPRESENTATIVE TEAM CHOSEN The following team will represent Canterbury against Otago next Saturday:— P Callanan (Athletic); A. Cochrane (Christchurch) W. A. Meates (Training College). J. Mclntyre (University): M. B. Mitchell (Training College), R. Forscutt (Sydenham); G. Cullen (Albion); G. Lindstrom (Linwood-Technical), J. Veale (University), T. Knowles (Athletic). G. Paul (Navy), W. Stonehouse (Christchurch), J G. Mullins (Training College), A. P. Lee (Air Force), R. Rothwell (Lin-wood-Technical) The emergencies are M. Flynn (Linwood-Technical), A, E. Howley (Training College), W. G. Jacobs (Air Force) M Feamley (Linwood-Technical). C. Walklin (Athletic). The team will muster for training on Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30 p.m. at the lighted training ground. AUCKLAND BEATS WELLINGTON EXCITING RETURN MATCH (P.A.) AUCKLAND, September 24. Fast and exciting Rugby was seen at Eden Park on Saturday afternoon when the return match between Auckland and Wellington representatives was played. Auckland won by 12 points to 9, after Wellington had led 6 to 3 at half-time. This result was vastly different from that when the teams met a fortnight earlier at Athletic Park, Wellington, Auckland winning on that occasion by 27 points to 9. The weather on Saturday was fine and warm and the ground was dry and nard. The attendance was between 16.000 and 18,000. Territorially, Wellington had the better of the game and should actually have won The forwards were superior to Auckland in the scrums and on line-outs, but the five-eighths indulged in too much kicking Dunn, Auckland’s right wing-three-quarters. went off with a leg injury a few minutes before time, being replaced by Boggs. It was the latter who actually won the game for the home side, showing pace and great determination when he ran hard for the corner and forced his way past the nearest tackier to ground the ball for a really fine try. Auckland’s score consisted of tries by Deas and Boggs, and penalty goals by Gilmour and Edwards. Roberts scored lor Wellington and Morrison kicked two penalty goals. Mr W. D. Allen was referee. GREYMOUTH BEATS SYDENHAM Greymouth fourth grade representatives beat Sydenham by 15 points to 3 in a Rugby match played at Greymouth on Saturday. ASSOCIATION CODE THISTLE WINS CHARITY CUP DELTA BEATS CHRISTCHURCH AIR FORCE TEAM Two excellent matches were played at English park on Saturday for the Football Association’s patriotic day. In the first game Thistle beat Western in a very close match for the Charity Cup by the odd goal in three. The main attraction was between the visiting Delta Air Force team and a combined teanj from the Wigram and Harewood stations. In this match Delta was far too good for the local eleven, winning easily by 6 goals to 3. Air' Force Match Giving a brilliant exhibition of the finer points of the game, Delta overwhelmed the local Air Force team In the main game at English Park. On Saturday’s game not one of the club teams here could have held Delta, particularly the Air Force side, which has been weakened recently by new postings. Delta played as a team, with excellent positional play, ball control, and the ability to keep passes low and accurate. In this latter sphere the side gave one of the best exhibitions seen on the park, and this with the grass on the long side. Delta’s attack was particularly solid with both flanks and the centre carrying plenty of thrust. They were fortunate in being backed by a hard-working half line, and it was worthy of note that the wing halves directed the attack, instead of the centre-half. Wellington adopted similar tactics here earlier in the season, but without the same success. The only apparent weakness in the side may have been in the full-backs. Individually and collectively they were outstanding and reflected great credit on the coach- who prepared them for the trip Without reflecting on any of the other members ol a fine side, perhaps some mention should be made of Wilkinson, the former Aucklander, at centre-forward, Young at outside right, and Vaney (the captain), who played right half. The home side has been sorely hit with postings recently, there being four new players in the side that played in the English Cup recently. The most serious defection on Saturday was C. Richardson, who has been their outstanding back this season. As could be expected, the team showed little cohesive play and understanding, and this was reflected In the team's performance throughout. Of their three goals, one was secured from a penalty and the other two by entirely individual efforts Singly they gave all they had but any efforts at combined play lacked the accuracy of the trained movements of their opponents. The game, however, enhanced the reputations of two forwards who made a dual effort ol the centre forward position, Moyle and Hadyn. Each scored a well-earned goal by his own clever footwork. The halves worked hard, receiving little support from their inside forwards in attacks, but nevertheless making much additional work for themselves by poor passing. In ordinary defensive play the backs were sound, but too often were badly outmanoeuvred in forward sallies by the opposing van. Mallia, in goal, defended well. Goals were scored for Delta by A. Wilkinson (3), F. Nauman (2). and A. Souter. J. McNaughton. L Haydn, and F. Moyle netted for Air Force. Referee: Mr T. Mathie. THISTLE V. WESTERN In a game typical of the do or die spirit pervading it, Thistle beat Western by the odd goal in three in the early match at English Park. Both teams have been seen to far better advantage on attack, and only the closeness of the scoring kept the game interesting A feature was time oft for injuries, necessitating nearly 20 minutes’ extra time. Of the two teams, Western had the better combination, but the finish of the forwards was poor. Admittedly the defence was sound, but there can be little excuse for missing at point-blank range. Service from the half line was good, although the passes were inclined to be lobbed, and the flank forwards both showed plenty of thrust. Cawtheray gave a fine exhibition at full-back, and was unfortunate in being hurt in the exciting closing stages of the game. Thistle, though down, 1-0 at half-time, fought back in its usual style to even and finally win the match. The Thistle van, like Western's, found difficulty in piercing the defence, although unlike the latter the main trouble was lack of team work. Towards the finish the side went much better, with McMenamin. J. O’Rawe and Green prominent Full credit for Thistle’s win must go to A. Sutherland for a real captain’s display. A. Sutherland and B O'Rawe scored for Thistle and J. Druker for Western. Referee: Mr F. Cope. SHAMROCK v MARIST In their annual game. Shamrock defeated Marist (Wellington) for the Keeling Cup by 4 goals to 2 Play was very even, Shamrock owing its win to better finish and team work in the closing stages. Goals were scored for Shamrock by A. Laffey R. Hilton and Leicester Fleete. H. Bell and A. Irvine netted for Marist. Referee: Mr C. Sweeney, SIX-A-SIDE TOURNAMENT On Saturday morning the Shamrock Football Club held a six-a-slde tournament for Roman Catholic schools. The heavy-weight cup was won by St Mary’s A who beat St. Mair's B in the final by 2 points to 0. was: L Gribben. B. Sansom, B. Heath. E. Field. W Joyce, and W Hollows. St. Anne’s repeated last year’s success to win the light-weight cup. beatmg Loreto by 9 points to 0. The team was. T. Grice, J. Hopping, P Journee. R. Deakin. r TTawkins and R Courteney. At the conclusion Mr R. W. Fullen presented the teams with their trophies

put Training College in the lead again with a try in the corner. Mr D. B. Brown was referee. 19 LOWER GRADES Second Grade— Canterbury 20, Ellesmere Third Grade. —Merivale A 11, Merivale Under 18 Grade. —Technical Old Boys C 19. Petone (Wellington) 13. Under 17 Grade.— Sydenham 11. Sumner 0- High School Old Boys 14, Technical Old Boys 3; Albion beat Athletic by deIS Grade. —Albion 6, Technical presentatives 15, Sydenham 3.