RUGBY FOOTBALL

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 297, 14 September 1927, Page 8

RUGBY FOOTBALL

CANTERBURY’S GREAT PERFORMANCE

CAN WELLINGTON BEAT AUCKLAND?

(Notes by “

"Five-Eighths.”)

There have been interesting happen- ; lugs on the Kugoy held during the past week. To commence with, Canterbury, for the hrst tune in the history of this , famous province, made themselves Kugj by champions ot the uominiou by wresting the rtaniurly Shield irom Manawhenua at Palmerston in or th last Wednesday by 17 points to 11. Canterbury came north with tho reputation of being a great side, and their dofeat by Hawke's Bay at Napier last Saturday week by 11 points to 8 camo as a rude shock to then- supporters However, the Red and Black fifteen went well enough at Palmerston North to quite outplay the Shield holders. The forwards were well matched, but the Canterbury backs were much superior to' the Manawhenua rearguard, and, throwing the ball about freely, they had no difficulty in taking tho Shield. Canterbury are to be heartily congratulated upon at last attaining the proud position of premier Rugby pro- , vince of tho Dominion. Ever since Lord Ranfurly donated the Shield for competition, Canterbury have made a bid ’ for it, and have come back smiling after each defeat to have another tilt for the coveted bauble. Their ambition has at last been achieved, and there was great joy in the Canterbury camp last week. North Islanders are heartily pleased that the Shield has for the second time in its history gone to the South Island. Southland won the trophy from Wellington in 1920, but lost it to the same province the following season. Up till last Wednesday, this was the only occasion upon which the Ranfurly Shield has been iron by a South Island union. It is good for the game that the honour should go round. Tho better the South Islanders play the better the North Islanders will have to shape®Canterbury are now the champions, and it is probable that they will hold the Shield next year, as it is problematical • whether any contests for the Shield will be played while the New Zealand team are in South Africa. A Memorable Tussle. The forty-first meeting between Canteibury and Wellington at . Athletic Dark on Saturday last proved one of the most exciting and closely-contested of the long series between tho provinces. The fact that Canterbury had just non the Ranfurly Shield lent interest to the contest, and this was proved by the great crowd of seventeen thousand spectators who followed the thrilling contest with lively’ interest. Canterbury were favourites in public opinion, but a largo number of Wellington supporters retained their faith in the home side. Fresh life and confidence had been put into the players by the wise appointment of a solo selector. Changes in the - Teams. When it was known that Elvy (wing-three-quarter) and Malcolm (full-back) were not available through -leg injuries, many Wellington supporters were con- > ceined that these important positions should be filled by men accustomed to playing in other positions. Grenfell, the Old Boys’ centre-three-quarter, was entrusted to fill Malcolm’s place at fullback, and Rushbrook, the Old Boys* five-eighth, took Elvy’s place at wing-three-quarter. All who knew these two players were confident that they would give a good account of themselves in any position. On the Canterbury side, Lilburno (five-eighth) was unable to play, Carleton taking his place and Payne filling the centre-three-quarter position. From the kick-off, it was seen that the game was going to bo fast and open. Both teams were confident in their ability to win by playing an open game, and in this connection Canterbury from the jump started to throw the ball far in on the line-outs. If all teams would play the game ns Canterbury and Wellington did on Saturday there would be no need for the cry that Rugby needs speeding up. It was quite fast enough to please anyone, and- certainly fast enough for the players, who had to keep moving at top pace for ninety minutes. It was one of tho best displays ever .seen in an interprovincial contest here, and the open style of play affected by both sides made for spectacular movements. There was not much in point_ of merit between the two sides, but Wellington had the speedier and clever inside backs, and this gave them the advantage. A Great Little Half-back. The outstanding player on the day was unquestionably Kilby, who gave a firstclass' display behind the Wellington scrum. Not only did he get.the ball away smartly, but his defensive work was soundness personified. It is clear that a worthy successor to Jimmy Mill has arisen, who possesses all the attributes required by a half-back— celerity, Bpeed, defence, kicking ability, and a quick-acting brain. When Canterbury were coming strongly at Wellington in the closing stages of the match, Kilby kept his head when all about him were losing theirs, and did prodigious deeds of valour on defence which went far to prevent the resolute Canterbury men from turning defeat into victory. A Clever Centre. The surprise packet on the Wellington ‘•ide was South, the Training College centre, who nonplussed the Canterbury backs by his amazing turn of speed. The try he scored, when he sold the dummy to Rayne, and raced clean through the Red and Blacks to score, was as brilliant an individual effort as has been seen at the Park. On two occasions South left even such a speedy player as Steel standing. South has such pace that none of the Wellington backs”'appeared fast enough to keep up with him. What a great mate he would make for A. E. Cooke! It was not on'» on attack that South shone. The save he made when he raced across and brought Sfbbilliard down a yard from the line, was ‘a brilliant effort, which only a player of such pace could accomplish. As Robilliard raced for the open line, a try appeared certain, but South came like a loolt from the blue, and achieved the seemingly impossible. Two Good lingers. Rush brook was a pronounced success Bs wing-three-quarter. 11c played coolly throughout, and was equally good on defence as on attack. Ho gave Steel no chance whatever to get going, and not only scored a bright try himself, but made the' opening which let Jack Shearer over tor his second try. Svenson showed all his old cleverness on the opposite wing, centring with judgment several times. He marked Robilliard well, bjit was caught napping through going for an interception on one occasion, which allowed Robilliard, Carleton, and Payne to get away down the line with a brilliant burst of reverse passing, which took play over 50 yards, and was only stopped by South taking Robilliard low a yard from tho Johnson and JI. Nicholls worked well together at five-eighths, handling well and‘running straight. Porter did valuable service at wingforward, and the forwards gave their best display of the season, moving fast and infusing dash into their work. Emerson gave a -greatly improved showing, moving his big last. 101 b. frame at a brisk pace and using his feet cleverly. Jack Shearer was on the ball continually, as was proved by two tries coming bis way. Pringle, as usual, was a tower of strength on the line-outs. O’Regan. Taylor, and Olliver also did their share. The Wellington pack did better at scrum work, but the ball. occasionally hung instead of going straight through to Kilby,

Grenfell gave a creditable display at full-back. He was a trifle uncertain in gathering the high kicks at first, but gained confidence as the game progressed, and kicked well. His pace enabled him occasionally to follow up and smother Harris’s returns. Wrong Tactics.

Canterbury lost the match through the weakness of their inside backs. With such wingers as Steel and Robilliard, and a dry ball to -handle, the aim of the Canterbury backs should have been to get the leather out t o their speedy wingers as fast as possible. Instead of doing this McGregor too frequently exploited kick-aud-follow tactics, with tho result that Canterbury lost possession. The Canterbury five-eighths, McGregor and Carleton, did not show any initiative in making openings, and ran too much across field.

Robilliard gave a good display at wing-three-quarter. He was dangerous everytime he got the ball, and showed cleverness in passing infield whenever blocked on the line. Steel did not show to advantage on the other wing. True, he did not get many openings, but allowed South to beat* him a couple of times. Dailey was responsible for much sound defensive work, but was too slow in getting the ball out, which allowed the Wellington inside backs to smother the passing movements. Harris did not give nearly such a sound display at full-back as lie did against Manawhenua on the previous Wednesday. True, the ball bounced unkindly for him once or twice. The Canterbury goalkeeper is a sturdy fellow, who takes the ball surely, and kicks powerfully. He* is cool and collected, and if he does happen to make a mistake at once sots about, repairing. Though not a George Nepia, he is a good full-back, and any side which fields him need' have no misgivings. Of the Canterbury forwards, who bustled hard all tho time, Alley stood out as a really good man. His height made him of service on the line-outs, and he moved fast in the open for a lock. He is quite up to New Zealand standard. ; Pickering, the tall North Canterbury representative, is another good stamp of forward, while Burrows, Godfrey, and Gray are hefty men. who can move fast. Canterbury were beaten, but some defeats are as glorious as victories, It was inspiring to watch tho resolute manner in which the Canterbury men kept going to tho bitter end. Thev made a splendid fight of it. and gave Wellington supporters an exceedingly anxious time of it during the last twenty minutes. Two Fine Wins.

Wellington has had the unique distinction of beating the Ranfurly Shield holders twice in the one season. They defeated Manawhenua by 23 to 14. and havo now added Canterbury’s scalp to their belt. Their record stands as follows : — v. Taranaki, won by 15 to 11. v. South Canteibury. won 22 to 3. v. Southland, won 21 io 9. v. Manawhenua. won 23 to 14. v. Otago, won 24 to .16. ▼. Canterbury, won 20 to 17. Now Comes tho Tug-o’-War. Tho question everybody is asking is, "Can Wellington beat Auckland?’’ Roth sides have an unbeaten record this season, and tho game at Auckland on Saturday next should bo worth going all the way up to see. . Auckland was considered to havo a great team this year, but the northerners’ stock dropped a point or two on Saturday when they had to go all out to beat Otago by 11 points to 9. Wellington beat Otago here by 21 points to 16 and tho game was a good one. Tho Otago men should havo drawn with Auckland on Saturday, as Mitchell scored between the posts, and Lindsay foolishly allowed his kick at goal to be charged dow : n. . If Wellington can got their full strength away this week, they should beat Auckland on Saturday. The northerners, good as they are reported to be, will not bo able to field inside bad® rf the calibre of Kilby, Johnson, JI. .Scholls, and South. If the Wellington forwards only infuse as much dash into their play as they did last Saturday, the Blacks should maintain their unbeaten record for the season. It is questionable if Auckland havo as good a side this year as Canterbury possesses.

Wellington v. Marlborough. The Marlborough fifteen will bo seen in action agasnst the Wellington B team at Athletic Park on Saturday. The Wellington second fifteen defeated Marlborough rather easily at Blenheim a fortnight ago, and it can bo taken for granted that the Marlborough men will be out for their revenge. An interesting game should be witnessed.

The Trials. The first of the trial matches to find the team for South Africa next year will be played at Napier this afternoon, • when a team from the Hawke’s Bay, Poverty Bay, and East Coast districts will meet a fifteen picked from the combined Wairarapa and Bush Unions. The Seddon Shield districts trial will be played at Westport on Saturday, and on Wednesday next a fifteen from Wel-lington-Jlanawhenua will play a team representing Taranaki and Wanganui, at Wanganui. Triril matches will be played at Auckland and Dunedin on September 24, and the North v. South match at Wellington on October 1.