New Zealand Fifteen Beats North Island

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27985, 4 June 1956, Page 9

New Zealand Fifteen Beats North Island

RUGBY FOOTBALL

(New Zealand Press Association)

NEW PLYMOUTH. May 3. | Although not yet convincing as a Springbok-beating combination, a New Zealand fifteen, was not greatly troubled to beat a North Is and Rugby team. 17-8. at Rugby Park. New Plymouth. on Saturday. The New Zealand side scored four tries, converted one of them, and kicked a goal from a penalty. North Islands points came from a converted try and a try. i The game, played on a sodden , ground, was disappointing as a spec- | tac’.e after the high standard of play ! in earlier trial matches. Viewed as an ! aid to the selectors in choosing their I side for the first test, however, the match was valuable. It was a surprise to some of the | 17.000 spectators to see the New Zealand pack disorganised, especially in the first ha’f. by the less-fancied North Island forwards, but in the later stages of the match the New Zealand side made up any leeway lost earlier The chosen eight played as a pack throughout, while the North Islanders were more inclined to forget team work in what they might have regarded as a final effort to impress the selectors. Up to half-time, however, it was the North Islanders who were winning most of the ball, and giving their backs many attacking opportunities, but few* of these were fully exploited. The New Zealand back line, with fewer opportunities, made much more of its chances, and with W. N. Gray and R. H. Brown as the spearhead carved great holes in the North Island defences. Brown did not give his wings much room in which to move ; however, and generally was not as ! impressive as in earlier matches. Walsh Plays Well P. T. Walsh strengthened his claims i for the test full-back position with a ' fine display. The fastest man in the I team, he won the sprints during [ training. Walsh was able to choose ! just the right time to join in with his : backs, and tries were scored from I such breaks. Although he was twice caught out , of position. Walsh was still a much 1 more polished full-back than the North Island man. D. B. Clarke. How- ' ever. Clarke made amends for his ! showing in the inter-island game at Wellington.

Most impressive of the wings was the North Island right wing. W. S. S. Freebairn. who was marking R. A. Jarden. Freebairn broke past Jarden once but did not let the Wellington man get away at all. Apart from making two or three of his most accurate centre kicks from which tries could have resulted. Jarden did not participate in much of the play. On the other side T. Katene and G. Carrington ( Waikato) almost cancelled each other out. Katene had a slight superiority. The North Island centre, R. F. McMullen, was much inferior to R. H. Brown at centre, and did much good saving work. Most impressive of all the backs was Gray in the New Zealand side. With a fine eye for an opening. Gray was a constant menace. His mastery of J. T. Fitzgerald was one of the features of the match.

I J. M. Wallace (Wanganui), at first five-eighths for the North Island, did some good things for his side, but did not impress as likely to be chosen in a test side this year. He handled the : sometimes erratic passes from the half- i i I ack, R. J. Keepa, with assurance, and on the day was slightly ahead of Bremner. Although Bremner did noth- , mg really badly, his passes were the major weakness of the New Zealand ; back line play. Bremner’s defence was ' , first-class. ! t, B ®hind the New Zealand scrum, A. I R- Reid played well. His passes were I l° n S and accurate, and his breaks' | round the scrum invariably gained ground. Reid is also a determined tackier. | If one judges from the form and | team-work shown by the New Zealand pack on Saturday, it is unlikely that there will be any major change in the combination. Although they failed to win possession early in the match, mainly because of the bustling tactics of the North Island forwards. the New Zealand men were collectively the better unit, and individually at least the equal of the opposition. With R. A. White and S. F. Hill taking the ball more cleanly in the line-outs. New Zealand had a slight advantage. P. S. Burke and I. N. Mac Ewan were the best North Island line-out forwards. The most notable of all the North Island forwards was P. F. Jones. As a flanker, however, he was not able to catch the New Zealand pair. A. R. Pryor and J. B. Buxton. Pryor will return to the back row for the Christchurch match, with D. N. McI Intosh returning to the flank. Mc- | Intosh did not appear completely at home in his unaccustomed position on | Saturday, but played an intelligent ' game. ■ C. E. Meads. No. 8 for the North Island, was perhaps his side’s best forward, never being far away from I the ball, and doing his share of dej fence. Last year’s All Black capj tain, I. J. Clarke, returned to top form, I and with M. W. Irwin and Young, 1 formed a powerful front row for New i Zealand. Young and Hemi had a solid hooking duel, Hemi taking two I tight heads and Young one. Either ' could be the. All Black hooker. The Play The teams were:— New Zealand Fifteen: P. T. W’alsh; T. P. Katene, R. H. Brown, R. A. Jarden: W. N. Gray, S. G. Bremner; A. R. Reid: D. N. Mclntosh; R. A. White, S. F. Hill, J. B. Buxton, A. R. I Pryor; I. J. Clarke, D. Young, M. : W. Irwin. i North Island Fifteen: D. B. Clarke; | W. S. S. Freebairn. R. F. McMullen. ; G. Carrington; J. T. Fitzgerald. «. M. Wallace; R. J. Keepa; C. E. Meads; I. N. McEwan, P. S. Burke. P. F. Jones. W. H. Clark; I. M. Vodanai vich, R. C. Hemi. J. R. Hargreaves. I After a ragged opening, in which | both sides took time to settle down, I Gray received the ball and broke I past Fitzgerald before passing to Jarj den, who streaked down the line, i Then came the first of Jarden's centring kicks. The ball landed in i the goal mouth. The New Zealand forwards were there, but a North I Island defender was penalised, and

Walsh kicked an easy penalty goal. New Zealand 3. North Island 0. Gray again made the breaks for the side’s next score. He broke out of a tackle, kicked ahead, retrieved the ball again, and then sent Pryor away for a try midway between the posts and the touch line. New Zealand 6, North Island 0. North Island scored its first points with a try by McMullen. Walsh fumbled on the twenty-five yards line. The ball was kicked ahead by Fitzgerald to within a few yards of the corner. Jarden rushed back and took the ball, but the kick was charged down, and McMullen scored. Clarke converted with a magnificent kick from a mud pool on the side-line, making the half-time score: New Zealand 6, North Island 5. After five minutes of the second half. I. J. Clarke ran 40 yards for a try. The movement started on the New Zealand twenty-five. Gray went through and in-passed to Brown, who ran another 20 yards before giving the ball to his forwards. Most of the pack handled, and when Clarke broke away, there were three of his scrum mates still outside him. _ It was one of the best moments of the match. New Zealand 9. North Island 5. A try by Bremner and a conversion by Jarden took the New Zealand tally to 14. After broken mid-field play, the New Zealand side’s final points were scored by Katene with a try. The movement started when Walsh flashed in at first five-eighths, opened the defence, and passed to Gray. New Zealand 17, North Island 5. Three minutes from the end of the match. Mac Ewan scored in the cor-

ner, after a break by Fitzgerald on the blind side. New Zealand 17, North Island 8.