THE RUGBY GAME

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 224, 9 June 1923, Page 18

THE RUGBY GAME

MATCHES AND PLAYERS

notes and news FROM ALL SOURCES'

(By

“Five-Eighths.”)

r How history repeats itself! On the ' Saturday preceding Kings Birthday last year, Petone and Poneke met, and played » draw, the scores and the method of scoring being ~ precisely , the same as last Saturday. The coincidence goes still further, for the game was played in much the same, way as , - last Saturday’s. : An extract from the writer’s review last year’s match reads:— the tome was devoid of combination or concerted skill, being almost exclusively confined to the forwards, who ■played a hard, gruelling game, m a fine and manly spirit ” Every word .’ of what was written then may be reSeated in connection with the latest t'”match. Last year, in a gale that was -.' -reminiscent of the Third lest against '' ~tho Springboks, four quarters wore ’ played. Calcinai, Poneke wing fpr- " ‘Ward, who was m tho same position -'•'last Saturday, fell on tho hall m a scramble, and was awarded a try.. - “Nicholls, for Petone, evened the scores by kicking a goal from a penalty. Last ' Saturday, it was Poneke’s turn tb get a goal, and Petone scored a try. A ,AOne does not look for combination ' In the clashes between Poneke and ■ t , Petone. Why? There ate many reasons. In tho first place, there is too much at stake, from rhe players point of View. No matter how either team ft . - fares against others, Poneke and Pe tone are determined to pniy their hard.test game against each other ; it is tho .v, same year after year. Only the repult matters. It 'is the one game of , the year when it might be -said that every individual, as such, does his c ,.>-boßt. ■: I .■“‘sl If the coaches of Petone and Poneke were to cast a glance back over the games of the past, they would see that, perhaps in this more than any ' : other of their matches, concerted work iiciong the backs is missing. Let us look over Saturday’s game. Poneke ..got to Petone’s line six times, and Petone reached their opponents line -seven times. In the majority of these instances, backs, swinging in to tne ’ attack in any sort of , combination, Should have secured a try. Poneke backs got the ball often enough, es- ,. pecially before their half, Hall, was jjijured. but, after the “insides had handled it, tho wingers, notably Tunnington, who had an off day, could not improve the situation. It was the sama with Petone. Ryan was just short of the finishing touch to his worn that Would have made his an outstanding performance. In that rush where Hall was knocked out on the corner, a pass from Ryan, when a tackle was certain, would have meant a try. Why did not Petone use Cornaga more? He was on the right wing, and one would . have liked to have seen. him properly tested, as to speed and tosourcefulness. But the “blind” side had a fatal attraction for Petone’s inside backs,

Just as we said last year that Poneke should have won, so now w« reverse the position. Petone should have Won. One of the Parkers knocked on over Poneke’s linq: Love kicked a spectacular goal, but the ball touched an opponent in its flight. After Petone’s big rush, already referral to, they spent too much timg appealing to the umpire on Poneke’s line, instead / of trying to scrash .through. Ashton and Cornaga knocked on when a score seemed certain. On the other hand, Tilyard Inulled and Algar knocked on when Petone were hard pressed in-goal. When Jack Shearer and Calcinai dribbled through the twenty-five to the line, a hard kick spoiled a fine effort. F. Tilyard could have marked right in ' front of goal, instead of passing, on that occasion when the ball subsequently’ went astray and Algar marked. Wright hit the bar from a dropkick at goal, but Mark Nicholls, on the other hand, missed a goal that should have been his.

~’z Jack Shearer’s form improves' with (joe match. On Saturday, besides repeating his deadly tackling and fast -- following, ho came out in a new role. -.-.--He mingled with the backs at tboir ■ --.-top speed on three occasions, and on . M another gave what was aptly described v by a spectator as “a sly pass” to Til- . yard. , Shearer did not look in tho .direction he was passing, but he judged that a man should be there, and Tilyard was on the spot and gathered It cleanly. Thia i* tho second time we have seen Shearer do the double tacklo fn the same rush. It is-an example " that ail forwards should enjulate. . Everyone was genuinely pleased to see M. Nicholls, home-from Auckland, take the field again. With Cornaga, another Aucklander, among the Petone backs, one expected to see a typical exhibition of the value claimed by its Auckland devotees for the amended .i kick-into-touch rule, in sb far as skill In “lobbing” the line was concerned. X But one confesses to a feeling of disappointment.' Nicholls is still as danY gerous as ever as a kicker, but, beyond a few instances thnt did not advertise X the new rule, his line-findinf; was not such as would inspire belief in the effl- ;; cacy of the rule. He . played a hard T game as inside five-eighth, tackled When there was tackling to be done, - and once cut in finely. But there was Z lacking that sense of mutual understanding between him and his brother. H. E. Nicholls, at the scrum, that 7. obmes of/ regular association.

“ ■ The duels between the Poneke ftillS. back, Wright, and his vis-a-vis, Cowie, . of Petone, were nt all times interesting. ~ Each followed with great pace, and euX deavoured to clew up the advantage X gained by their long kicks. Neither failed in "tackling; in fact, it was diffiX cult to separate th«m in the relative T value of their individual performance.

One back who earned special comZ inendation from the spectators and criZ. ties was F- Tilyard, Poneke five-eighth. "■ In the early part of the season ho was charged with being selfish, ■ but the most exacting centre three-quarter X could not have found fault with him A in this regard. He was the most coniK Bistent follower Ponoko had, and one Z. of their best defenders. But, although Gibson did many fine things, the bnll did not speed through the hands of the £ \hacks as it should on such a day. TunJ nington could not hold it, and Algar, on ■* the other wing, had few opportunities ■“ from passing bouts. Hall was working the scrum very well until his accident, - and Poneke are fortunate in having such a good understudy as Baumber proves to be. Among their forwards, J. Shearer, Brown, Rogers and Parsloe wore always prominent m the fiislfe*.

Cowie, Petone’s full-back, though damaged in the later stages of the game, stood up to his task well. Ihe defect in combination among the Petone backs was in weak handling and faulty passing. Perhaps it is needless to refer to it more particularly, for apparently no concerted work may be expected in this series, as plawers are too highly pitched to it* Call it excitement, nervousness, trepidation, or fear of something upsetting their arrangements, Petone seem to rely on the individual, rather than on the group of backs, when they meet Poneke. Nicholls, judged- from the standard one expects from him, has a lot more to show in form. H. Nicholls plugged along with his work at the scrum, and did not hesitate to to down to the rushes, but his passing was not always clean. Corner was fair, but improved greatly in the second spell “Doc” Nicholls was the really sound back on the side. He passed and re-passed, tackled with great determination, and played a high-class game, although neglecting - Cornaga on the wing frequently. Among the forwards, all of whom, like Poneke, worked hard, the Parkers, Thomas, Ashton and Love were always useful.

By defeating Varsity, Selwyn did more than register a' mere win. They broke the round figure in their championship tally, and lessened their chances of, winning the “wooden spoon.” In this respect, Varsity and Hutt are in imminent danger, and it will be interesting to note which of the teams breaks the proverbial “duck.” The standard of the Varsity football in Wellington at the present time is at a low ebb, and the mistakes of tho fifteen are numerous and glaring. Half the team aro promoted juniors who have not tho stamina and tho dash characteristic of college football. When the rep. players return from Australia, there may bo a revival. Selwyn’s victory last Saturday might be attributed to tho fact that they played the sate, orthodox game, while their opponents took risks. that, although pardonable to a team with no weak links, were absolutely inexcusable for a team of the uneven individual strength of Varsity. And there was another fault that should not fall to a Varsity team. They were not as fit as were their adversaries. Playing with the wind in the first half, Selwyn gained three points. During the inter vat the hopes of Varsity supporters were naturally bright, and in the second spell, with everything in their favour, tho Varsity team compiled two points less than their opponents. And all the points of Varsity were secured by one player—Jackson—against great odds, because he did not receive tho support lie deserved from the other backs.

Jackson, tho Varsity winger, was the best man on tho field in the Var-sity-Selwyn game. He made use of every chance ho was given—and they were very few. Apart from urging on his team, he-scored two splendid tries, converting one. Time and again, Marks, the centre, broke through, only to send an impossible pass to Jackson. There was more enthusiasm from the spectators over Jackson’s first try, when he hurdled Chadwick, than in all the rest of the game. Christie, on the other wing, made one good run—the only notable piece of work from this player. Smart and Mackay, the five-eighths, ran into trouble on almost cvqry occasion. Sutherland, the full-back, runs when he should kick. This fault cost his side a try.’ The forwards all seemed to tire towards the end. McKenzie, however, was an exception. The Selwyn backs were very sound. Harrington, Wogan and McBrearty were persistently troublesome to the opposing side. All the Selwyn forwards played well, but O’Connor and Batchelor were outstanding. It was noticeable that a great many of the Varsity players were without' numbers, and their jerseys represented all shades of green. 'l’his should be remedied.

Wellington by their defeat of Old Boys, after a game full of interest, proved themselves a combination possessing. great possibilities. If Old Boys displayed a greater knowledge of team work, Wellington played a more open game, and at times the passing among the backs was of a very high order. The game was outstanding, not for the unexpected defeat of Old Boys, but for the fact that all the finer points of Rugby were brought into operation during the progress ot the game. Spectators must have reflected on the best of the College matches, while witnessing the brilliant collaring indulged in by both teams — hard, low, deadly, and above all clean., Both teams showed that they could defend with the same determination with which they could attack. It was rather a pity that the sun in the first spell should have affected Old Boys and marred what would otherwise have been a contest under absolutely equal conditions. Malcolm once more demonstrated what a fine full-back he is, while Mansfield did a tremendous •.mount of work in the five-eighths line, <nd did it well. Beddell was as prominent as ever. Faber had an off day, •nd his failure to accept reasonably good passes lost his side opportunities of. scoring. Hicks’s endeavour to run behind the posts after crossing the line, and so better his position, was in excusable, and lost his team a certain draw and the chances of a possible win. Fra ter, who was’always well in the hunt for Wellington, deserves credit for his pot Ambler was a decided acquisition, his kicking being a feature. The Wellington tnree-quai-ters were always to be depended upon to. make y the game fast and open, and this initiated some particularly good passing rushes.

The Canterbury Ruby Union’s competitions were continued on Saturday under ideal weathpr conditions, though the various grounds were .on the heavy side. Tne following table shows the positions of the various teams:—■ Ch. Pts.

’Varsity .. 5 Marists ... 5 Christchurch .. 5 Slerivale .. 4| Linwood Old Bovs ... Hi Svd.-Lyttelton .. u Albion ... H North Cantorburv ...... ... 0