INTER-ISLAND MATCH

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25924, 3 October 1949, Page 9

INTER-ISLAND MATCH

RUGBY FOOTBALL

North Wins By 20 Points In Poor Game

J. B. SMITH AND R. A. ROPER SHOW BEST FORM

The 1949 Rugby season in Canterbury ended on Saturday with the annual North Island-South Island match, a game which promised to provide all the highlights of football but ended in one of the 'oorest displays in some years. In the first spell much of the play was below the standard set in the curtain-raiser between Canterbury Colts and Technical. The attendant 3, estimated at between 14.060 and 15,000. dwindled during the second spell and for the last quarter-hour of the game there was a steady stream of d:sa£pointed spectators making their way through the gates. North Island won by 23 points, 1 which included four tries, to 3 points, a penalty goal, and on the run of the play might well have won by a bigrer margin. The poor showin* by South Island made North look like a good team. Nearly all the bright movements of the game were provided by the North Island, a much superior team which appeared to have been selected with the idea of placing in the field the best players available. Bot,h back and forward North Island held a big advantage. The tall forwards, especially R. A. White and D. A. Cutler, had a monopoly of the ball in the line-outs and they' made things easy for the half-back. V. D. Bevan, when they handled cleanly and let him have the ball smartly. In line-out plav White showed up as one of the best forwards in this department of plav seen at Lancaster Park for years. Fie has height in his favour and, jumping for the ball, he takes it cleanly. During the game there were 37 line-outs, and of this number 23 were won bv the North, pie advantage in the line-out work was bigger than the figures indicate, for when Bevan revived the ball he was not molested by forwards breaking through. J. T. McKenzie, the South Island halfback. was not so lucky, for when his forwards sent the ball back to him the centre North Island forwards broke Hirough and the flank forwards, D. D. Beard and A. E. Rowan, converged on him or set out straight for the first fiveeighths. Bevan shot his passes awav from the scrum very smartly, and, while he varied his play with an elusive dash and solid defence, the two five-eighths. G. E. Beatty and T. R. O’Callaghan, seldom attempted anything but chain-passing, preferring to send the ball along the line to the brilliant centre. J. B. Smith, who provided all the fireworks needed. Smith was the tactician, a regular will-o’-the-wisp who slipped away from clutching high tackles, passed when collared low. and changed direction in a flash. Round Smith centred the North attack and thrust dnd with other men backing up all the time he had every chance to change the style and direction of the play. The Australian captain. Trevor Allan, with much experience against the best players in the world, described Smith as "the best centre I have ever played against.” This is high praise, but any student of Rugby who watched Smith on Saturday will not disagree with Allan. Allowing for the strength of his own side and the weakness of the opposition. there was artistry in everything done by the Maori centre. His coolness when under strain, the variety of his play, his sure and easy handling, his positional play, and his well judged kicks, all carried the brand of the master. All too little has been seen of Smith on South Island Rugby fields. A Fast Wing-three-quarters With sure and dependable handlers inside a champion centre any man would nave been pleased to play at wing-three-quarters. And in the fast Taranaki winger. R. A. Roper. Smith found the type of scoring man who gives a team confidence and results when tries are needed. Roper thrilled the crowd with his bursts of speed when the slightest opening was made for him, and sheer oace carried him past men and through tackles which would have stopped the average player. Roper picks up his stride in a flash, is always well balanced. and with his quick change of direction can often keep an opponent fiat-footed and indecisive while he selects his own stvle of scoring move. He crashed only once on Saturday when he ran straight into the full-back. R. W. Orr, instead of racing round him. He made amends for this with a brilliant tackle from behind when the Otago wing. G. J. Moore, appeared well on his way to the goal-line. Roper is a class player who appears to have been overlooked bv selectors for some years. The other wing. R. Keenan (Manaivatu), a Christchurch Training College player of a few years ago. substituting for J. K. McLean (Auckland), was denied any scoring chances. He held his end up quite well without being called on for anything out of the ordinary. The experience of playing in big companywill be of benefit to him. Behind a much superior team, A. D. Harkness had a comfortable job and was not greatly worried by the belated following up of the South Island forwards. He was given plenty of time to sight the line and kick in his own time, and towards the end. when he wanted a little action, he raced into attacking moves with a dash which suggested that the fullback position is not the only one he can fill. North Island Forwards Control Play While White and Cutler gave the North Island the advantage in the line-outs, there were others who played a big part in outclassing the South. Most effective, perhaps. was the tall Wanganui forward. D. D. Beard, who was as big a worry to the South as Heenie Muller, the South African wing-forward, was to the All Blacks in the Tests. He was with the scrum when it went down, but it was plain to all that his main job was to break with all speed on to the five- . eighths. He appeared to be allowed plentlv of latitude by the referee. Mr J. G. Fitzpatrick (Wellington), especially in the line-outs, where he frequently appeared to be making his way to the South five-eighths before McKenzie, the half-back, had the ball. D. H. O’Donnell (Wellington), A. M. Hughes (Auckland). and D. E. Grant (Wanganui) appeared to be the most consistent workers in hard rucking. In the set scrums statistics show the North winning 14 to 11 from South with the tables reversed. 4-7, in the rucks. Seven penalties were given against the South and 11 against the North. Not a Happy Combination It was plain after the first few scrums had been lost or won that the South inside backs were not going to be a happy combination. With the fast breaking North torwards, McKenzie was a very worried little half-back, and this was shown in his pass from one of the first set scrums when he sent to P. V. Kearney, his first five-eighths, a slow ball wnich struck the ground before Kearney could get his hands to it. It was a bad start, forgiven by many in the hope that the pair would _ettle down to a better understanding. McKenzie was not treated fairly by his forwards for, with the ball coming out slowly and the North wing-forwards almost on top of him before he got the ball, it was hardly to be expected that his passes would come With the zip expected from a provincial half-back. The confidence with which Kearney had collected all kinds of passes from P. B. Vincent in previous games was not there, and it -;eemed that he and McKenzie had not made the most of the practice run they had had together on the previous .day. Allowing for the close attention that was paid Kearney by the opposing wing-forw’ards, his play generally was disappointing and not what might have been expected after his fine efforts against Buller and Australia. He had certainly earned selection for the South Island, a selection which, like McKenzie, he did not justify cn the day. W. Dickson (Buller), who substituted for D. R. Wightman (Otago) did little right or wrong. He handled safely in the passing rushes, but showed no penetration against five-eighths not noted for a very stout defence. When Kearney was injured and had to leave the Feld Dickson moved into first position and his D'ace was taken by W. H. Taylor (G.n’den Bay). Tavlor soon showed that the defence was not impenetrable, for he made several breaks past O’Callaghan, in thrusts which, with better support and better handling, might have brought results. In the half hour that Tavlor was on the field he showed initiative and promise of better things to come. Three-quarters Neglected It is a pity the South Island threequarters line was not given more chances. The centre, D. Reeves, although opposed to a master-footballer in Smith, did not let his side down. The opposition was given every chance to “sit” for him because of the poor service from forwards and inside backs, and he was given hardly a chance to break through with the powerful burst that has .brought him so many tries. G. J. Moore, at wing-three-auarters. was the most impressive of the South Island backs, and it seemed that had he been given any reasonable chances he would have produced results. A fine type of wing-three-quarters, Moore has speed and weight to carry him over for* manv good tries. J. Tavlor (South Canterburv) saw very little of the ball either on attack or defence. His true form could pot be judged on the day’s plav. R. W. Orr (Otago) was safe and sound, yet far from brilliant at full-back. He fielded the

rolling ball very precisely and took many high punts with assurance and, while he usually found the line, he did not gain the ground that might be expected ot a champion full-back. South had more than its share of bad luck because of injuries. Of the backs Kearney had to leave the field in the second spell. The game had not been in progress many minutes when the front row forward, H. W. Wilson (Otago), went off, G. Bond (Canterbury) replacing him, while in the second spell T. A. Budd (Southland) retired, C. Hardie (Canterbury) taking his. place. South Forwards Disappoint Excepting in lucks, in which they worked consistently, the South forwards were inferior to the North in height, weight and speed, and in general play showed a sluggishness not expected in high-class football. Budd and Woolley enjoyed some little success at times in the line-out, but the loose forwards, R. Stuart (Canterbury) and G. Anderson (Buller), appeared much too slow to cause any worry to the opposing live-eighths when North hooked the ball in the scrums. The two best forwards in the South Island team were G. Bond and the hooker. D. Max (Nelson), who were in the thick of everything, especially Bond, whose experience enabled him to counter more than one clever opposing move in the line-out. It -vas not the fault of the hooker, Max, that the South Island backs did not see more of the ball. With a lighter scrum behind him Max secured the ball 11 times out of 25 scrums and the fault of the slow passage to the halfback was not one that could be laid at his door. The Buller front-ranker, W. Mumm. played a bit loose in the early part, but settled down to solid scrummaging later. J. R. Stuck, No. 8 forward, was outgeneralled by D. D. Beard in the line-outs. Scoring Moves North Island quickly took up the attack. and when the backs swung into action Reeves stopped Smith with a brilliant tackle. When South hooked the ball in a scrum a bad pass by McKenzie gave Kearney no chance and' Moore got his side out of trouble with a good line kick. Smith made an opening for Roper, who was stopped by Orr. From a lineout White scored a try when he- leaped high to take the ball and fall over the line. O'Callaghan failed to convert. Tne South forwards took a hand, and in a passing rush Orr joined in, but sent a wild pass which was snapped up by O’Callaghan, who centre-kicked. Beatty next cut in in a passing rush and sent Roper away. Kearney came over fast, but Roper cut inside nicely to score a try which O’Callaghan did not convert. A penalty kick was taken by Reeves which narrowly missed the posts. At half-time North led by 6 points to 0. The Second Spell • Reeves narrowed the margin early in the second spell, when from a penalty he kicked a goal from 35 yards out. A scrum infringement in the South twenty-five gave O'Callaghan an easy chance to kick a goal for North. North kept up the attack, and when Moore raced round his forwards in an attempt to clear, a South forward was penalised for obstruction. The referee's decision did not meet with the approval of many spectators on the embankment. O’Callaghan kicked another easy goal. Reeves had another shot at goal which narrowly missed, and in a passing rush by the North backs Smith switched direction and potted a goal. With South on defence Orr passed to Reeves, who dropped a simple ball which Roper snapped up for a "gift” try, which O'Callaghan converted. North was having all the better of the game, and in a passing rush Smith lobbed a pass over the heads of several Canterbury backs. It was well taken by Roper, and speed gave him his third try, which O’Callaghan failed to convert. North Island won by 23 points (a goal from a try, three tries, two penalty goals and a field goal) to 3 points (a penalty Following were the teams:— North Island Baeks—A. D. Harkness (Manawatu). R. A. Roper (Taranaki). J. B. Smith (North Auckland), R. Keenan (Manawatu), T. R. O’Callaghan (Wellington), G. E. Beatty (Taranaki), V. D. Bevan (Wellington). Forwards—A. E. Rowan (Waikato), A M. Hughes (Auckland). D. H. O’Donnell (Wellington), D. E. Grant (Wanganui). H. C. B. Rowley (Wanganui), R. A. White (Poverty Bay). D. A. Cutler (Auckland), D. D. Beard (Wanganui). South Island Backs—R. W. Orr (Otago), G. J. Moore (Otago). D. Reeves (Canterbury), J. Taylor (South Canterbury), W. Dickson (Buller). P. V. Kearney (Canterbury), J. T. McKenzie (Southland). Forwards—H. W. Wilson (Otago), D. Max (Nelson), W. Mumm (Buller), R. C. Stuart (Canterbury), T. A. Budd (Southland), S. W. Woolley (Marlborough), G. Anderson (Buller), J. R. Stuck (Southland). During the game Kearney, Wilson and Budd retired hurt, their places being taken by H. W. Taylor (Golden Bay). G. Bond (Canterbury), and C. Hardie (Canterbury). Mr J. G. Fitzpatrick (Wellington) was referee. CANTERBURY COLTS BEAT TECHNICAL Canterbury Colts beat Technical by 23 points to 16 in a bright game played as the main curtain-raiser to the NorthSouth Island match at Lancaster Park on Saturday. Tries were scored for Colts by Davidson (2). McDowell, Reid a’’d Bowick. Four tries were converted by McDowell. For Technical G. Bolton, Teague. Jackson and Gasgoyne scored tries, Jackson converting two. WANGANUI BEATEN BY TARANAKI (Neto Zealand Press Association.) NEW PLYMOUTH. October 2. More cohesion between backs and forwards and greater devil in the pack gave Taranaki a win by 16 points (four tries; two of which were converted) to 8 points (two tries, one of them converted) over Wanganui in a representative Rugbymatch at New Plymouth yesterday. With a number of its players absent. Wanganui was a disorganised side and did well to hold Taranaki to the eight-point margin, which was a good indication of the run of play. •HAWKE’S BAY BEATS AUCKLAND (New Zealand Press Association.) AUCKLAND, October 2. Some excellent kicking by the Hawke’s Bay full-back, F. Chapman, provided the bright spots of a representative Rugby match in which Hawke’s Bay beat Auckland by 12 points to 9 on Saturday. It was Auckland's seventh defeat this seaChapman landed a 50-yard penalty goal after shaving the upright with an attempt from live yards further out. On the first occasion the ball landed on the full 15 yaids past the posts. The Hawke's Bay' backline was ordinaryon attack, but stood up close on defence. Auckland almost pulled the game out of the fire when the backs and forwards combined in passing bouts in the last few minutes. For Hawke’s Bay' Dockary and B. Motley scored tries. Chapman kicked two penalty goals. H. McLaren and R. G. Sorenson scored tries for Auckland. Sorenson converted one try. WELLINGTON BEATS MANAWATU (New Zealand Press Association.) WELLINGTON, October 2. A care-free spring feeling went into the pla.y of the Wellington Rugby team which on Saturday beat Manawatu by 40 points to 17. Refreshingly enthusiastic and varied methods Drought the team its biggest win over Manawatu for 28 years, A warm, windless day' and a hard ground tested the fitness of the heavy forwards. The home forwards gave their backs every opportunity, and must claim more than an average share of the winning total. The backs did afi they were required to do. and a little more. Seldom were they at a loss for ideas if an attack broke down.