FOOTBALL

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 521, 31 May 1909, Page 8

FOOTBALL

SATURDAY'S RUGBY GAMES. f ■./;•= H ; :V '' ■:.■■■ .. FINE WIN BY ORIENTAL. The feature of Saturday's senior Rugby ; matches .was undoubtedly tho match betweon : Oriontal and.Potono, at Athletic Park. About ■ 3COO spectators looked on, and tho ground was in good, hard condition, favouring fast • play. Of this tho Oriental baoks took fall 1 adv.vitaßc, and, as will bo" seen from tho ! detailed report, practically played all. over I their opponents. It was tho best exhibition of senior Rugby seen in Wellington this soa- ; son, but it'must be added that the forward [ showing -on ■ both 'sides was nothing, more than vordinary. club 'form. It : was backs who showed' up. In contrast' to tho * gamoj that on tho neighbouring ground, between .Melrose'and Athlotio,seemed "rather of the - tamo order. It ;.was y : however,' seriously affcctcd by tho wind,,which tended . to' coniino play to the southern, touch-line. ; \The other matches call for no'special comment.

; ORIENTAL (15) V. PETONE (3). ; 'jMounkir, ;tHo' genie of v.oriental; lore. who] ' is suppbsed to haunt unsuccessful people, may ; Park onSaturday tb'.'assbt' Onental friends- '(mtli, a capital 0), 'for, tie "black, .wings : of ; ;defeat •spread- a, .thick .-shadow; over tho. trainthattook Potono home, v But there was no; sus- , .piciou 0f..a1l to como Vvheii tho teams lined < out;; for a:thousand suburban voices ' : akmg'.thenorthern bank' wero telling'every- ' ' body,.that- ''there was only one team in it." Aiion'g'these.noisy confidences fell'the first Oriental blow—a goal-kicked by Yctcoq from t near. the outline.; 3 —rO. A scoro at the open-.' -ing is/ of; course,' Mither : hDrb\nor- there, and ■ perhaps its only effect was to; quicken; up the ; pxco.jjfjhe -play so .that tho match was soon running 'as. fast: as a ■ kinematgraph. \ The flicker.of jerseys l that came and went, sometimes in knots, somofcimes in ones and'fcwos, presently sorted itself out into a swift,: ;slinting : lino ■of definite attack—Manning, ; Roberts, U'Lcod, Sturrock each,: enjoyed' a brief ; ;moinont'as;the <»ntra.l' figure in the pic-. ' turo, ind tlien'.King thren'.out to fche-'re- ' doubta-blo Mafcheso-n, who capped.a long run witha - try near•' the S.W. corner.'; Tho , Petono". confehgeut oh the outhnbYnow become' \very ;quieti\idr';6ii, pbihta'.deficit in; twenty; ■minutes.; is not a very humorous; thing "for those: who hnd been confidently waiting for something difereot. V; As for Blacks them- • solves,, they how played the 'correct card. They .tried to take charge.'.with: theirforwards, and presently became lockedup in a. tangled' strug'glo with the ■.. Oriont.il ; ; ran.) Gaining a yard or.two at. a' time tho southern touch-line' (on which the/wind was •throwing all tho play) thoy 'gradually, got the opposition • back' into their own ground, '/their(draggles; there ; flew. ; aripes'- . '. santly . the. ;, long/exchanges - of; {the - backs. .IJh-Pct-ono, however, they .at last' J becairio so docked ;.up" in.; this '.manoeuvro that' they. forgot ,to .watch 'other.' portions of 'the field;.and;tho Roberts• '.trouble' presently broke, out:-' Shaping a telling, oblique, course,; the,.clew Oriental jilayer '.'cut off" .enough of his"line of/backs:into, /thb.Y'tnrcfi-tb-one < position.; \ Sturrock,:. & 'he approached:tho goal-lino made'certaiiity moro surb; by/.passing ont, oyer , Kenvig'shead,; 1 so that when;Matheson;"got the ball thero was no ono to stop him. •: 9—o.' ;.Sco-rpidn-like,' tho Colours' combination had now;.twice disclosed, the sting/in its' tail,, but 'balf-tiirio; thby. • varied'.', their /style of.attack,/.-and'H'Mahon, I 'one;,bf their for-, warfs,, battledv.over ,in. tl)9. : .familiar I .southT. . west : : cornor,. where Matheson- had:: already /scored'.; tTOe.v;. : l2-rO/''The;;battle' is;'jlost, ; Sire," said Dessaix to Napoleon at Marengo, '..'Jbutithere is rtill timeito.gain another, 1 ' arid; possibly with some ; sucH > feeling' Hardliam and his men now faced about to take/advantage of tho -wind; 'which 'was' sweeping- .-the 'gr,ound.;'.dii^orially', , ..frbm to'"corner. •They .soon had/the. Colours snugly/cooped' up; in' their; twenty-five; but.—those! Oriental backs!—thdre was no: reckoning them. "They're little but thoy'ro . wise, and ,they're'' '. .terrors/for their size," and once more the "scorpion sting, was thrust into time in/heart-breaking fashion. Tho usual .quartbt began-the passing not far from their own. line,-arid then ensued '■& swifty-changing dittle : scene-ini'which' an Oriental .flier, fruitlessly pursued .by two or three Blades, crossed the field from end to end; and scored.. Hun- . dredsof' hats,; sticks, and umbrellas .roso in approval o'n ths terrace,'arid Welltheymight, for..Math'eson "had .bnce more-touched, the .gairib : with':the hand l of a giant. 15—0. The'; . pent-up .feeling of the Black supporters now ■burst, its:dam,:and there .were pathetic cries ; of "Play up, Potono!" Petono did, and 1 eventually, as; the outcome of a sledge-ham--j jiierfotiyard attack;: Nankeville, dis'ontangled himself from a willing Ene-out . near goal, • threw himself: across and soored. .It was Pctone's first and last effort in a game in which they had not onco used their backs, and tho match thus closed:' . . ' .j' , Oriontal ... ■ 16 points. . ■ Petonc • ... ... : ... ,3 points., : . . As 'tlio ;*crp f wd sorted itself . clear.of 'the itself; fairly..in the /street be sayifig thing;. v/^My' wore}; : a ; walk-over it: was!'.', It. i ; waa,'alli'that. t-The; winter: wind seemed to be , singing;! dirgo for poor Petono, /'(■ and the ' of' Mounkirjfanaed thoitiiin that • : took them: home. > Som'e'o.f. them .found fault ; w'ithiMh; Qvunn's refereeing, bu't jio impar-•fcialjspectator-'.took ,that^seriouslyi ,''; .'. ! n ATHLETIC (5) V. MELROSE (3), . ."•f scramble—ono long, dreary scramble," is. the only description which fits the Mel- " rose-Athletic.; match.: It had , been .expected that tho contest would .-be hard and exciting, but those who. were unable to- be .present ■. nnsse'd nothing,"in;.the r way; ofgood-'football.'' • Owine : .to.,the- strong "northerly," play worked ! oJosg, to tb© southern toQcb-linc. Jjino-out. bnpf. forward .rush, and ..then - a scrum or another line^'out—such -;. was ; the . stylo. 01 , eamp; Thero. was : never, any.' real ' attempt ■to open vup the game •in : fact, ;'passing ; •seemed .to;be : a forgotten' art.'; iMelrose had practically its best -.team;-in. -the ' field, '.but ■ .Athletic did not/secure; the:.sorvices of. ex- ' Manawatu representativeEinsett (as they had : i 'hoped); ' and, : in the , second , spell,, were one player short, owing to .G; ;Wlsbn being disabled./:; During the-first' ' Melrose ; : made'; several . incursions ' into: the Athletic territory i. without result. Theirinability to score was . due not so .much to the sound- : ness of,'the defence, as to the lack of:, ability : on- .tho-part ono or - two dashing playors : 'toTsheet/'the'"Advantage, home; "Oh for ■ an-' other Jack Spencer I" one fancied one could '■ hear tho ,Melrose, barrackprs saving to them- ; selves, and they were, right. Then Athletic ! (who., had forccd play 'back to the ; Mclrose twenty-five encn. or, twice before) got well • within.the Melroso borders.,', From a scrum ' not far from the line, tho 'Athletic backs ' attempted a passing rush,but it. was promptly smothered. ; Melrose again rallied, but tho Athletic pack responded to such ,'i purpose that it almost got. through. After- " wards play; ; gravitated wearily up and down the; field.;-:.. Within a minuto of halfrtime the Athletic pack -carried a scruin, and, in tin xushvonvthe Melroso line, Evcnson:got', over). '' :with two or three bppbnents' clirigihg'.to him, and taking tho-lock: himself,: landed a fins coal. ;. At the:, outset ,of the seeond -spell, ■ Melroso made a sustained attack. For' a scrum' infringement, ..Athletio were 'penal- ' ised. r and R. Greeks,: kicking against tho ■wind, ; registered a;.fino goal, the ball just ' gbing.ovor'.the; bar.No further, score was added; the' resul-,.being: : ; Athletio ■'... ... ... 5 points. Melroso: i ... ... ... 3 points. : Mr, ,\V. O'ConEell was tho roforeo,

t VICTORIA COLLEGE (6), OLD BOYS (5). t .Old Hoys 1 kick-off was folWcd by a sortie by. tho College forwards, tho high wind in.tcrfering with Old Boys' handling of tho ball and kicking. An unsuccessful shot at goal by O'Loary was followed by a passing movement among tho College backs.' In this; O'Loary by a smart dash had completely penetrated tho Old; Boys defence when ho transferred to Berondson,. who' touched down near tho corner. Victoria College 3, Old Boys 0. Old Boys now livened up, but thoy did not long havo charge of-affairs,- Do la .-Mara prcsontly surging down tho field at the hond of the Collego forwards, of .whom Amodeo and Duncan ; seemed especially anxious to. hew their way to victory. This fresh cloud of Old Boys', trouble' was lifted by. Avery,,who smartly secured on a line-out and had a clear run in,' but a speedy Collegian overhauled him in time.' Victoria Collego continued to bo aggressive, till' the .'end: of tho spell, which ended without further score. ■■.'With tho wind ? in their favour in the t second spoil, Old Boys began very well. - Play was taken into the Collego twenty-five; wliero Avery picked i up and ran through the' whole of tho opposition, touching down be-' hind th 6 posts. Marchant converted. Old Boys 5, Victoria College 3. Victoria ,Collego rushes now characterised tlio' play to the ond of the spell. O'Leary instituted a passing rush towards tho closo of tho game, the oval going to Duncan, to Do la Maro, and then on to Borendson, who scored Opllege's second try.:.' The game thus ended with the scores: ■ Victoria Collego 6 . Old Boys ... , ...' ... ... 5 Mr. T. H. Jones was tho roferee.

PONEKE (10) V. ST. J AMES (6). 'St., James took with them to Petono more' serviceable equipment than! mero good . resolutions. The Poneko team were compelled to play up to their full capacity,' and-. this victory, with a four-point-margin, was one of :tho hardest-games which the Bed and Blacks have yet experienced. St. James forwere the superior power,' but greater experience told\when .the Red backs made off: They possessed ; more resourcefulness, and; made better use, of their well-knowr 'speediTho; game, .which St.. jaines made lively, in the' early stages, evened up inorb as. tho second ■ spell. wore on, and Poijeke had a. distinct, advantage at'the.last, .when tho sun" bad: gone down. Tho last try, .which raised tho Poneko -record, from' seven .to tan points (against six for. St.-James) was obtained in semi-d'arkriess, and .thereafter .both teams; 'scrambled about, without much regard' for ,tho rules.: The • three-, quarter line was tho main-guard of the Red stronghold, all three —Ryan, C; Mitchinson, and F. Mitchinson—doing a fair share. Treziso had a- rib: fractured near the end of, the first-spell; and Whiting relieved. Later, Calcinai. injured a too badly, but was ablo to keep -to: the field (going 1 back .to .wing) until; time" ;was called: Flanagan ' again dodged ojeverly, but Walshe was off-colour. Roberts; half for'-'St.: Jamtes,...played' ;with his, head, and. his;' brother, Hairy, backed him up,-with.some success, ' prewes; (centre), was .tfift only mail .in', the.'.three-quarter., line, and Thomas micht bo'recommended by some full-backs to take a ball .occasionally .before it bouncos. Mr. J. Francis was referee.

SOUTHERN (5) V. WELLINGTON (3.) , Tho defects of their opponents caused Southern to score an- unexpected'., victory against Wellington. "Misfortune dogged tho favourities froin'tho first five;minutes,'when a penalty kick at goal, awarded Wellington from , easy 'range, proved fruitless.,. iOter somo central play, Southern became aggressive,' and , their, forwards, 'among ..whom , L.' Campbell' ..was conspicuous, : iriade things very warm. for, tho Wellington defenders, a ibrqe-dotraHsMtiiig; / Southeru's : tfy; Tvh'ich-was converted,'. was -gained practically through a misunderstanding. &me ono 'blbwi : a.;:.yhistlo,' and', while ; tbe, Wellington ■men 'ceased v -tljeir exertions, thinking it was the rcfereo, L. Campbell, scored without,opposition. V; Wellington forwards •;. made; the pace hot in tho second spell, but wore not too well supported by the backs. Two opportunities of scoring wero just lost, ' arid when M'Kellar "afterwards got; home the .- kick at goal, from easy range, proved unsuccessful. •Towards the" end ,of .' the .gamo: Wellington were generally on the offensive, but the good , collaring of--- their' opponents and occasional 'fumbling on .their Awn.-.part;.a'i-pritical•'mo-ments - neutralised their efforts, and the game , concluded:. Southern,'. 5 ; Wellington, 3.

JUNIOR MATCHES. • St., Patrick's College -Old Boys,- who-have been' playing very well lately, had; an easy victory i over Southern, notching 20 points against their opponents' -3. :"Tries'.'for -the winners were secured by Sullivan (2), R. W. Lavery (2), Ryan, and Cameron.; Ryan converted ono try... . s-,. ;■ ...; ■- ,1' - ■ Athletio: defeated St. James by 19 pointf to nil. Mowatt was responsible tor of tho winners' tries. ■ ,-, ■ .' Oriental-.were defeated by Wellington by 6 points", to nil.',;.. Powor was: responsible . for tho~two tries- which made- up' the■ Wellington"total; -; ; •.- • The contest between Old Boys arid Melrose was. : a very even one' auririg the first spell, but./in-the second' half, B. C. Freyberg kicked . a penalty goal, and .then .further, '.increased, the. ,score : for Old Boys by secur-. inE' a try, which waß not converted,-, so that the final result was, Old Boys' , 6 points, Xlelrose nil. "r; ; had-.' a ."runaway , 'victbiy - over Porieke,.. registering '27 points to nil. The, score was made, up of tries, secured; by Flack (2), King, Osborne, Luke, Buckeridge; and Sullivan, two being converted by M'Donald, and ono by Waugh. ' ,- ■' *';, , Tho match between Kia Ora and Potone,' which was played at Lower Hutt, furnished a. capital .contest.- .Fine as was, the back -piay, it did, not come lip- to the display given by forward Eventually Kia , Ora .won by 11. points. .to 9." Of-the twenty points registered, seventeen'were'obtained „as .a result "of goal-kicking.. Only, one shot at, goal 'throughout; the match proved a, failure. Epum, defeated Victoria Collego by 19 points to nil. .-. • . ';. '. - ; ; ' THIRD CLASS. Polhill had ' an "easy, win over Exchange by 32 points, to 3. Tho gamo was played at Miramar,. on East's No. 1. ■ Oriental , and Selwyn played a drawn game, each,'side, scoring, 6 points., Leydoit andi Robertsooa scored for Oriental, and Taylor and Williariison for Selwyn. ■ 1 ' ■ 'St.. James '.drew: with. Petone, each,side scoring ;3; points.;- The . game /was played at Petono. on No. 2 ground. ; Potone (3) drew with St. Jamos, at Petono. Kia Ora (6) defeated Wellington (3) at the Hutt. : ~ • Epuni (19) defoated Victoria Collego, nil, at Young's Ground, Lower Hutt. WANCANUI REPRESENTATIVE TEAM. (BI TILEGEAPn—ritESS ASSOCIATION.J Wanganui, May 30. : The following team has been selected to represent Wanganui in their match against Wellington:, at' AVellingtonFull-back, L. Meuli; three-quarters, Abbott, Bignell, M'lntyrc; five-eighths, Campion, II." Mitchol' ; half, D. Dowej.wing, A. Takarangi; forwards, P. Murrey, Gill, Lambert, Milno, O'Donnel], Ross, , Irvine. , V Emergencies—Back, , Southcombe; forward, Fowier.

POSITION OF THE TEAMS. V'V ;: ' ■ ] 'i ■' >'■* 'y ? s .<-w a +>. .•'§•• .,gg ; - fl.S • .g § P £a ; ®0 'Ponoko • • 6 C: r - — . 129 ,1 9 12 Oriental < • 6 5 1 — 106 30 10 Potono 6 4 2 105 .48 8 Athletic 1 :' / 4 1- — • .60: •. 26 . , & Melrose . 6 -. 3* 3 — , 50.i<-.<-66 . 6 ■' £ StV'Jaihe3 : - f; ;*:6 3.3 ;: i 52 38 , ft Vic. College...' 6 1 ■ i 1. 13 115. . .3 Southern . ... -.6' 1-> 4 . ;1 . 18 .116 .3; 'Wellington.i.' .6 >. 1 '' 5 * —r ' 32> .;'56. ; •• ; 2" Old Boys ... 5 0 x 5 - 28 79 . 0 ;v .•;< — 1