TECHNICAL AND OLD BOYS DRAW

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27375, 14 June 1954, Page 5

TECHNICAL AND OLD BOYS DRAW

[IIGBY FOOTBALE

Exciting Game Between Unbeaten Teams

eighth round of matches in the Rugby Union's first grade Wonship was played on Saturfine weather, although a strong ■„ east Wind made handling diffi-

n ’h'he game between the two un- „ teams, Old Boys and Technical, - spd the biggest crowd for a club h this season, and it resulted in the it exciting game played on the oval rear A drawn game left both teams the position they occupied before match, unbeaten and having LJ two drawn games. Snical has yet to play Albion. Jcnod and Sydenham. Old Boys’ nes will be against Christchurch, mvside-Spreydon and University, fter being 3-11 down against Lind at half-time, Marist made a good were to score 24 points in the -nd spell. University had a runIV win against Sunnyside-Spreydon, idehurch easily beat New Brighton, in dose games Belfast beat Syden- , and Albion accounted for Air lowing are the results of Saturs games:— Sd. Boys 3, Technical 3. jlnon 11, Air Force 3. brtstcharch 20, New Brighton 6. Mist 25, Linwood 11. rfrasity 43, Sunnyside-Spreydon 5. dfast 5, Sydenham 3. ie following table shows the posi-

S 0 8 0 32 190 0 A GAME TO REMEMBER Hr unbeaten teams in Old Boys and K played a game worthy of the they occupy on the champions’, and the score—a try to each -gives an indication of the tenseness he struggle. Though there was little rett the two teams it seemed that mieal with a semblance of luck id have gained a narrow victory. It i thrilling game in which two packs rifle, hard-toiling forwards did their from start to finish to give the s the chances to score the winning Kset of backs saw enough of the have won nine games out of 10, straight hard running was met by •fr tackling by forwards and backs on ; sides, and so the most promising a on attack were countered by the smlid defence. There were many inks of poor handling and dropped sa, but be it said to the credit of : man, that once he dropped a pass did his best to atone for his shortaap by making a bold bid to neve tae position. Much of the footwas a delight to see, for while no ue risks were taken by either side, ■ had enough confidence in its backfr, toss the ball about and trust to reak through in the centre or on the 3 side suffered a casualty, D. DepB’. a speedy wing three-quarters for ~nkai. and R. Hern, the Old Boys L having to leave the field be--1 injuries suffered in the first balf game. was a game to remember. is firi-t incident of note in a bright : .came early in the first spell when Technical full-back, T. Jackson, made ! appeared to be a very ambitious -pt to kick a penalty goal from long K He missed very narrowly for a kick hit an upright and rebounded :e field of play, a big relief to Old l-A few minutes later Jackson had □Be in trouble when he attempted to Backling Old Boys forwards cal position was not im- . Nunan, a forward, was forwards were getting line-outs and M. Logan, im, set his backs going 1 effort, the ball passing to D. Spencer to D. Tay- ?. Logan, who raced past :o be well taken by the seek, M. Poore, who was substitutiar D. Mayo. sing rushes by each side in turn Bdown, and Poore made a weak ; to kick a goal from 25 yards out. ys forced twice in a few minutes ng Technical kicks, and after mistag by Blick, Waine made a bril- ; burst which nearly brought results, i Boys returned to a hard offensive sacks and forwards threw the ball lin whirlwind fashion, play passing cue side of the field to the other lightning speed, and after a great Jfced effort N. Roberts, a forward, 1 pass from the centre, S. Henderto score an excellent try. At the st the first spell Old Boys, attacked. by 3 points to 0. The Second Spell * second spell had not going before L Rathgen evened the score good try which he scored after “tog from a line-out. Fierce tackling sides showed the folly of trying 3* too far with the ball, and splendid ■sicking by Jackson, Waine. and M. heavy toll from Old Boys, towards on both sides were workRflendidly, Technical holding an adage in the line-outs from which the marked superiority over Boys. P. Vincent and D. Wilson mot working with their accustomed and the work of Logan and Waine the ball along the Technical line, ftoes the big centre. Taylor, fended Bnderson only to be lowered by a fthree-quarters or forwards who ejdoing greht work on cover defence, last quarter-hour’s football was fast toious, with Technical having the of the game and the Old Boys *»ds following fast and tackling the ■acai backs. All efforts to break Mh were frustrated by the excellent toe an A two very tired teams left the Satisfied that they had done their • « a great game. j Jackson at his Best «ckson. at full-back, for Technical, to his very best form and a ball -came his way was taken with to* confidence and for accuracy and his line-kicking was the best seen “•ncaster Park this season. His for■f must have felt pleased with the full-back for saving them a lot Btotecessary work. At centre threeTaylor showed what a great an be on his day. A fast, inner, he used a fend that k memories of great players who could produce a fend effect. Three times he almost hard straight runs to the line. t jpfofaAtion between the half-back, ‘flWn, and J. Waine, five-eighths, was Complete as it could be and 7? 8 job was made the easier by the *?accurate passes he received. SevWaine beat the opposition with * changes of pace and it seems after s display the Canterbury seleckave think seriously about ' ttan one Technical back. usion of D. Herman gave the ®ca]i scrum much needed solidity ®ough he did not show his old-time —9® ln the loose his great strength Sth • ke P* the Old Boys forwards Wortc - N - Teague, Herman’s played his usual solid game [L pa £P cular! y well in the line-out. As Tl"- Young again secured a fair he. i the b* ll in the set-scrums and n- goy and in cover defence there forward on the field than L He did splendid work all the game. i **2 ve mu ch to thank their forB . e , cause of the very certain wt\.J s , ckl,^ g the Old Boys’ backs w ? th the cohesion that has re *? f Previous games. Vincent, £ attempted several solo breaks tnth *u Ot a go far an d his combina- %^ vc ; eighths ’ D - D Wilson. =« Cogs J.°° se - Wilson appeared fcs *. difficulty in collecting ‘for h e was a “sitting Ad technical breakaways. Willed him \ show the brilliance which :robah?v pla fi?J n th e All Blacks and Snf jaded b y the vast in . tPaI ! and travelling he has Jehr,. ’ -aS I 12 mon ths. Henderson hart tk 4 second five-eighths and Work moments and did splenr nL n drfence while deprived of iCfoT Rjl^ nces , on attack because of B service from inside. G. Pilkb^ gam the best of the three““suse of his sound defence, full K v gan L e was not with M. So a ? k ’,, who had to field some Jgng balls with fiery forwards S h™ ys forwards are entitled to they Ootweighted in the put up a great fight in the

soled tn D rk stiU had enough lEa a mong the Technical backs defeSfi the iL°^ vn side with clever coverdefence. Their tackling and handling Thlro features of a first-class There were none better than E. Hern, E Bullmore, N. Roberts and G. Roberts in a good, game pack. Mr S. Whiteford was referee.

UNIVERSITY’S DAY OUT the h e d a re L al day out against whinb ® ak Sunnyside-Spreydon team , however, made a move forward by scoring its first try of the season. The at Sunnyside on a good ground which gave the fast University backs every chance to show their skill, opened the scoring shortly Star l °f 1116 S am e when fast follow mg-up of a long kick gave the wing three-quarters, J. Tapsell, a try. Next K ?°H S r.’ i hK l , fell on the ban after a dribbling rush had taken it over the line and from loose play, A. Keenan, a rnXt ’ el mS ths ’ P ot l ed a goal from 35 yards c!?’ J he only try scored by Sunnysider«?.^on was credited to the five-eighths, M. XVilson, at the end of a forward rush. R. Barnes added to his record by kicking a ver y good g° a L Before half-time Tapand W. Thomson added tries for UniVe^* ty whi ch le d by 15 points to 5. After a short spell on defence in the second half Ross scored his second trv after G. Falloon had broken through. The converted the try and J. Croucher added to the total with a penalty goal. Falloon converted a try scored by V. Herries and Tapsell went over for his third C^°Y Ch I r converting. A try scored Oy z -, yalzell was improved on by Falloon, who kicked a goal, and then Herries converted a try scored by Keenan. University won by 43 points (5 goals from tries. 4 tries, a potted goal and a tnT) alty goal > to 5 P° ints < a goal from a Mr W. J. Brown was referee.

CHRISTCHURCH BACKS IN FORM Surer handling and much speedier runthan their opponents made the Christchurch backs mainly instrumental L n te ?m’s defeat of New Brighton o y points to 6, at Lancaster Park South. The Christchurch forwards played well but did not have the marked superiority that the backs had. For the New Brighton pack, by keeping play loose, was able to pin Christchurch in its own half for quite long periods, which included many chances with penalty kicks. Although the New Brighton forwards gave their backs an adequate share of the ball their efforts went unrewarded, for only a * e w individual runs were ever formidable.

On the other hand, all the Christchurch backs looked potential scorers, there not being a weak link in the line. Handling and passing reliably, they swung into attack with speed and determination and, assisted by weak tackling, cut holes in the defence. Much of the credit for this must go to the first five-eighths, P. Moir, who, as well as making some dazzling runs himself, was the pivot of many attacks, giving his outside men many chances and varying his play with well-

Outside Moir, I. McDonald, second fiveeighths. J. Osborne, centre three-quarters, and N. Sharpe and A. Cochrane—the team’s coach, who replaced the representative player, R. Smith—wing threequarters, made the most of all the opportunities they were given. Osborne especially, who scored two tries, was very fast and enterprising, once taking a pass brilliantly one-handed and behind his back. The full-back, M. Gold, also showed his ability on attack when he cut through the opposition in a spectacular run which led to the first try. Few of the New Brighton backs were able to resist the speed of the opposition or to retaliate in a similar manner. One exception was, however, the full-back, M. Hadley, who was again, as in last week’s match, the side’s best attacking back. He made several good breaks, especially towards the end. Although his fielding was safe, his kicking both for the line and for goal suffered through the strong crossfield wind. The first five-eighths, K. Logan, looked the best of the other backs but was seldom allowed the latitude to show his ability. A. Jemmett, at second fiveeighths, who dribbled well and played energetically, marred his display by mistakes and missed tackles. The New Brighton forwards did well to hold the Christchurch pack as well as they did for the representatives, A. Bellamore and R. Wells, were playing to their usual high standard, especially in rucking, and J. Watkins was jumping high in the lineouts. J. Staines played an excellent all-round game, putting surprising force in the kicks at goal he took when Gold was found to be failing in this respect. New Brighton shone in the loose, carrying the ball far up the field at their toes or with short passing. Foremost in these rushes were R. Hockley, A. Moore, and J. Hector, and O. Hill in a determined way came to the aid of the backs in tackling. Sharpe scored first for Christchurch after a run from one twenty-five to the other by Gold. The next try resulted from a cut-through by McDonald, who passed for J. Osborne to score. A penalty goal by Staines made the half-time score 9-0. Hadley kicked a penalty goal for New Brighton when G. Bolton and N. Wakefield carried play the length of the field. Christchurch further increased its lead when K. Osborne followed up after a New Brighton player had kicked towards his own line. J. Osborne scored his second try with a run down the sideline in which he fended off several opponents. A penalty by Hadley was followed by a try by‘Bellamore, who forced from a kick by McDonald. Staines converted. Christchurch won by 20 points (one goal from a try, four tries and a penalty goal) to 6 (two penalty goals). Mr R. Condliffe was referee. BELFAST BEATS SYDENHAM Belfast gained its third win for the season when, through determined defence, it prevented the more experienced Sydenham team from scoring once, and won by 6 points to 3, at Lancaster Park West. Sydenham failed to take advantage of the strong wind behind it in the first half, the scores being equal at half-time. In the second half it was hard pressed to keep Belfast, which was throwing the ball about, from scoring more than three points. First points came from a beautiful penalty goal kicked by the Sydenham fullback, M. Gowans, from almost on the half-way mark and two yards in from touch. Belfast scored the only try of the match a few minutes later when E. Brown, at centre three-quarters, gathered the ball to break through and score after W. Guilford (first five-eighths) had grubber kicked.

For the rest of the half Sydenham strove desperately to pierce the strong Belfast defence with M. Dixon, at second five-eighths, directing play. Movements were somewhat slowed up, through R. Cotton, first five-eighths, holding the ball too long. He did his best work by backing up outside the/ wing three-quarters and centre-kicking to his forwards. Belfast gained its margin early in the second half with a penalty goal kicked by Brown. The side began to stage attack after attack on the Sydenham line with a wing three-quarters, W. Radford, narrowly missing tries several times. Good work by Gowans and by D. Bryson. A. Couling and C. Rhodes prevented further scores by Belfast, which thoroughly deserved its win. Belfast won by 6 points (a try and a penalty goal) to 3 (a penalty goal). Mr D. H. Park was referee.

MARIST BEATS LINWOOD Scoring 24 points in the second half. Marist overwhelmed Linwood, to score a 27-11 win. Marist was down 11-3 at halftime, but in the second spell Marist, like Linwood in the first spell, used a very fresh wind to advantage. On only two or three occ'sions during the second half was Marist in its own territory. Given more than their share of the ball from scrums and line-outs, the Marist backs were given plenty of opportunities to score, but not until the second spell did they combine with any effectiveness. Then, in spite of solid tackling, they had the Linwood defence baffled with lightning changes of direction and tactics. The match provided sparkling Rugby in the second half.

K. C. Stuart, at full-back, after one or two minor handling lapses, settled down and played another grand game. His linekicking and some of his goal kicking was exceptionally good. M. Hurley, on the left wing, a player who has had comparatively little senior football, shows improvement with every game. With great bursts of speed off the mark, he outpaced his opposite number on several occasions. He scored txVo excellent tries. He was the best of the four wings. C. A. McDonald played another excellent game, paving the way for at least two tries. He and P. Hutchinson at second five-eighths, and B. J. McCormick at first five-eighths, formed a very effective combination. Hutchinson and McCormick, after shaky starts, produced some good football. McCormick is fast approaching his best form. It was P. J. Creedy, however, who played the most outstanding game among the backs. Whether it was passing, running, kicking, or stopping foot rushes, he did his work wonderfully well. His passing was fast and well-directed, and twice in jinky runs round the blind he came vfithin an ace of scoring. He scored a good try later in the second spell. The return of K. F. Meates to the Marist forwards has considerably strengthened the pack. He was in everything, tight and

loose. His best work was done in loose foot rushes, however, and in this department of play he stood out above all others. B. P. Lloyd. J. P. Ryan, and J. A. Purdie secured for Marist a large share of the ball from line-outs, and with R. P. Smith worked very hard in the tight.

In the first spell, when they were receiving a fair share of the ball, the Linwood backs, playing with the wind, used kick and chase methods on attack. C. Matson, at first five-eighths, combined very well with R. Waterland at half-back, and though he was called on at times to take some very low passes, he never faltered. His handling was excellent. M. Munnerly. at centre three-quarters, saw little of the ball—except for free kicks and conversions. He kicked two excellent penalty goals, and one conversion. M. Stoop on the left wing had little to do. although on one occasion he brought the crowd to its feet with a runaway try from half-way.

In A. Cameron. Linwood has a very safe full-back. His handling of the ball in tricky conditions was very good, and his line kicking was for most of the time of a high order. On other occasions, however. when bustled, his kicking was illdirected. When he can overcome this fault he should go a long way.

The Linwood forwards outplayed Marist in the loose in the first half, but wilted in the second spell. Although Marist was getting a good share of the ball from lineouts, on many occasions this advantage was nullified by two Linwood forwards. B. P. Eastgate and R. Tabb, coming through on to Creedy. Eastgate played a wonderful game. A fiery and hard worker, he led most of the Linwood Taids into Marist territory. Tabb was a tower of strength to Linwood in the line-outs. B. Case. B. Male and B. Travella were other hard workers for Linwood in the loose.

For Marist tries were scored by S. G. Douglas, Creedy. Hurley (2), McCormick (2), and McDonald. Stuart converted two tjies and Creedy one. For Linwood, Stoop scored a try and Munnerly kicked two penalty goals and a conversion. Marist won by 27 points (three goals from tries and four tries) to 11 (a goal from a try and two penalty goals). Mr S. A. Thorburn was referee.

ALBION BEATS AIR FORCE Albion proved too good for Air Force, winning by 11 points to 3. Albion scored all its points in the first half when it used the wind to good effect. A. E. G. Elsom, the All Black three-quarters, played his first game for Albion after injuring his knee several weeks ago.

Albion won because it took full advantage of the fresh wind which was in its favour during the first spell. Long line and up-and-under kicks gained ground on numerous occasions for Albion, and the speedy three-quarter line was given many opportunities to score. Only good defence kept Albion from increasing its winning margin.

Elsom. playing as a wing three-quarters, led many of the Albion attacks, and at times his shrewdly judged kicks had Air Force in trouble. E. Neave on the other wing made some good runs, one of which came within inches of bearing fruit. A fiery Albion pack was well led by B. Dempsey, B. Hopping, and W. Garlick. The Air Force backs saw plenty of the ball but the back line failed to penetrate. Passes taken flat-footed gave the Albion backs plenty of time to come up and tackle.

The best of the Air Force backs were Gibbins, before he was replaced by Wood, L’Eef and Smith, and the best of the forwards were O’Connor, Hutchins, and Rissetto.

Albion opened the scoring when Heath kicked a good penalty. Then the Albion forwards swept all before them in a dribbling rush and in a short passing rush Reeves secured and scored. Heath converted. Hamilton scored Albion’s other try when he gathered in a kick which Elsom had sent down to the goal line. Air Force obtained its points from a penalty goal kicked by Willetts during the second spell. Alpion won by 11 points (a goal from a try, a try and a penalty goal) to 3 (a penalty goal). Mr R. Empson was referee.

j of teams:— P. w. L. D. Pts. Mfcal 8 0 0 2 105 58 7 Soys 8 6 0 2 146 31 7 Lr ** X 5 2 1 95 66 5J 8 ■ 2 2 135 80 5 8 ■ 3 1 83 82 4J 8 4 A 0 87 106 2 8 3 3 2 82 63 4 rersity 8 3 3 2 135 75 4 rood S 3 3 2 83 97 A Force 8 2 0 5 7 1 53 31 93 126 2i 1