RUGBY IN THE MUD

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 232, 27 June 1932, Page 11

RUGBY IN THE MUD

Conditions Spoilt Play VERY CLOSE SCORING Petone’s Narrow Escape EASTBOURNE LOSE AGAIN Winter conditions prevailed on Saturday and spoiled to a large extent what promised to be first-class games in the Wellington Rugby competition. Sloppy grounds, a stiff northerly wind, and occasional showers, made playing conditions very difficult, and in consequence the scoring in all matches was small. The biggest winning margin was Poneke’s 11—6 defeat of Hutt, In the principal match at Athletic Park, Poneke gave further evidence that they are a hard team to beat. They adapted themselves well to the conditions and when the opportunity presented Itself they made commendable efforts to handle the greasy ball. The game was very even and an ounce of luck on one or two occasions would have seen Hutt in front. Eastbourne suffered their second successive defeat, going down to Weilington by 6 to 5 in a very dose game at Lower Hutt Eastbourne led by 5 to 8 until well on in the second spell, when Pryde scored the winning try for the city team. . This win moved Wellington up one place in the championship table. Petone, who still occupy second place in the competition, had a very close call with Wellington College Old Boys. Petone led by 8 to 0 at the Interval, but Old Boys went ahead with a field goal and a converted try, gaining a onepoint advantage, which they held until right on time, when Lind scored the winning try for Petone. Marist and Oriental engaged in a very close contest at Newtown Park. The scores were even, 6-aIl, until well on in the game, when Stiver scored cleverlv, giving Marist a 9—G win. A brilliant field goal by Ruru was the only score in the University-Ber-hampore match at Prince of Wales Park and at the Polo Ground Miramar ruined their chance of scoring their first win of the season when they incurred a penaty which gave Jolly a chance to kick the winning points for Athletic after Miramar bad held an B—6 lead. RESULTS AT A GLANCE Poneke ......’ll Hutt 6 Petone 11 Old Boys .... 9 Wellington .. 6 Eastbourne 5 Marist ...... 9 Oriental ,<> Athletic ..... 9 Miramar ... 8 University .. 4 Berhampore .. 0 STILL UNBEATEN Poneke. Better Than Hutt in the Mud ' Poneke and Hutt met on Athletic Park before a small attendance. The turf was in a treacherous state. Foothold was uncertain, and mistakes in handling and kicking were very difficult to retrieve. In addition to Jessep, who is in Australia, Poneke were without Barrett and Par.v loe, while Hutt fielded fe reorganised team due to their contribution of three to the All Blacks. Poneke played a game more suited to the conditions than their opponents, but there was little between the teams. Foot rushes were the order of the day. Progress by any other, means was very uncertain, though on isolated occasions the Poneke backs handled the greasy ball cleverly. Any luck that was going refused to smile on Hutt, who, with an ounce of good fortune would have bridged the gap of five points. However, their all-round play did not measure up to Pouekc’s for reliability. The teams were;— Poneke.— Payne: Edgar, Ohesterman, Mincham; Griffiths, Neal, Julian; stone, Shearer, S. Neal, McPherson, Gower, Ross, Quaid, Dickson. Hutt.—Carman; Nees, . Hansen, Ball, Killeen, Stevenson ; Feoney ; Hooker, Henderson. Peck, Smith, Saulbrey, Sutherland, Coulston, Wilson. Poneke played with the wind behind them in the first spell, and for the opening fifteen minutes were mainly attacking, Hutt having to force down three times in that period. Hutt, however, ■were first to score. Wilson smothered a clearing kick outside the Poneke twentyfive, and the ball was dribbled to the line, where Stevenson fell on it. No goal resulted. Poneke retaliated soon,after with a fine -passing rush. E. Neal . came through and cut out the Hutt five-eighths. He sent the ball on to Chesterman, who ran Mincham into position for a try, but the movement was negatived, for Chesterman, who juggled with the ball, had a knock-on ruled against him. Poneke were not. to be denied, and from a free-kick near Hutt’s line Shearer tricked the opposition by recovering his own kick and dribbling the ball over in the corner for a clever solo try, which made the scores even. Both sides preferred to keep the greasy ball on the ground, and not a great deal of progress was made. The drabness of the game was lifted by two fine passing rushes. In the first, which was without result, Shearer, Julian, Neal, Griffiths, Chesterman, and Edgar each handled the greasy ball well. In the second Julian»started a rush and Neal passed to Griffiths, who scored by the posts. Neal goaled, and Poneke led at the interval by 8 to 3. Hutt were more on the attack.in the second spell, when they got the wind behind them. Killeen broke through and started a promising movement which looked like a try, but he had juggled with the ball instead of taking it cleanly, and was penalised similarly to Chesterman. A section of the crowd seemed upset over this decision, but the referee was quite consistent in his ruling on this particular breach. Stoue,.Griffiths, Neal. Mincham, and Julian gave, a good display of handling the sloppy ball in a rush which gained much ground. Hutt returned with a foot rush started by Killeen, who gathered up the ball and centred it right to the Poneke goal. Nees had only to tap it over the line and fall on it, but he sent it speedily to the dead ball line, and a certain try was lost. Saulbrey and Peck were responsible for keeping Hutt on the attack, and from a loose scramble several men dived for the ball. A force down for Poneke was ruled, a decision which was roundly hooted. It appeared from the stand that a Hutt man had the ball on the ground in goal, but the referee was in a good position to sec what was happening. Poneke worked back to the Hutt quarter, where Edgar dribbled the ball over, and Chesterman and two Hutt men dived for it. Chesterman was awarded a try. and this raised further hooting. Eight minutes from time Hutt increased their score when Peck finished off a loose rush by touching down. There was no further score, the game finishing in semi-darkness and rain. Me. G. R&thboa was referee.

ONE-POINT MARGIN

Wellington Scrape Home Against Eastbourne

After a hard-fought tussle. Wellington defeated Eastbojurne by 6 points to 5 at Hutt Recreation Ground. The ground was very slippery, and the ball heavy and greasy, and in consequence little back play was seen. Both teams were striving to get their backs away, and many movements were foiled by the uncertain footing. The last stages of the game were played in a failing light The teams were: —

Wellington.—Cresswell, Ball, Newman, Pryde, Johnson, Royel, Hislop, Nicol, Sheldon, Foil, Howatson, McLean, Giles, McGregor. Carlyon. „ Eastbourne, —Dingle, Hamilton, Fuller, Diamond, Flemming, Coman, Price, Butterworth, Clayton, J. Dellabarca, Sleep, Gibbens, M. Dellaibarca, Dra-der, Read.

Wellington were soon hammering on the Eastbourne line, but Fuller with a nice kick cleared. Wellington kept attacking, and were rewarded when Pryde scored after a concerted back movement. Newman’s kick missed. Kicking from one territory to the other characterised the play for a time until Coman gathered in from a line-out on the Wellington line and dived over. Fuller converted. Wellington carried the play to the Eastbourne line, but Coman kicked through and returned play to the Wellington territory. At this stage Ball, who had been injured previously, was compelled to retire, and was replaced by McLaughlin. Eastbourne kept attacking, and. a long kick went over the dead-ball line, but another movement resulted in the ball travelling through their backs and Hamilton going into touch right on the corner. Wellington cleared and . half-time was called with Eastbourne still attacking- / Play brightened considerably in the second spell. From a scrum on the Eastbourne twenty-five Wellington secured, and Royel went over the line with two or three Eastbourne men on top of him. The score was disallowed and Eastbourne cleared. Wellington attacked strongly, but Eastbourne cleared from a scrum and carried the ball down in a dribbling rush to the Wellington twenty-five. Play was taken to the Eastbourne line, where a clearing kick was taken by Cresswell, who ran up. passed to Johnson, who handed on to Pryde to score in the corner. Newman’s kick missed. Time was called with the score: Wellington 6, Eastbourne 5. Mr. J. Gilchrist was referee. A HARD STRUGGLE Stiver Took Honours in Marist’s Win Newtown Park was tiie scene of . a strenuous forward battle in which Marist beat Oriental by 9 points to 6. The slushy ground and Oriental s policy ot keeping play largely to their forwards combined to produce a game tn which the backs of both teams saw little of the baU, but one that was hard and evenly fought from start to finish. The half-time score was 3—o in favour of Oriental, hut Marist met their bustling attacks well. Although territorially they were at a disadvantage for the . greater part of the second spell, when they did manage to struggle near, the opposing goal-hne their backs got going in some fast movements which eventually gave them their three points’ victory. The teama were;— ’VTarißt’ * Cumins« EvillOj Macdouul<Ji Ja®V Robins! Vanglonl! Mills; Keegan. Ottoway. Gill. Stiver, Hanrahan, O Connor, B QrientaG Ch ritchle: Fulford, Faring Baldwin; Davies, Dawson: Wiggs; Wilkinson, Lang, I. Ramsay, Mcllraith, Shepherd, Miles. McMillan. ColUnge, ’ Marist opened play with a fast rush, almost all the backs taking part, but Macdonald knocked on. Baldwin returned play with a solo dribbling rush that took the ball right down to the corner. He picked up and was tackled just as he dived over the line, and landed on his back while the ball was forced. Oriental kept up the pressure and play surged about the Marist twenty-five in rucking and line-outs. Ritchie made a good attempt at a pot at goal, but missed. A few minutes later Ramsay failed with a penalty kick, and Marist, in clearing, sent the ball into the bands of Dawson, who passed to Wilkinson, Who scored attei a nippy run. The kick missed. Marist attacked on opening the second spell, and during a ruck Orientals line a free-kick was awarded the attackers, Robins kicked an easy goal, bringing the scores even. A long forward strugg e followed, Oriental attacking and . Mai mt resisting strongly. Packnatz dribbled the ball from the ruck a short distance and scored. The kick failed. The Marist backs swung into action at this stage, and tne movement ended in a clever in-passing run between Eville and Macdonald, in which Eville scored. The kick again failed. The scores were now even. Oriental pressed hotly and stormed the Marist line. Stiver broke away the length of the field, but was brought down near the line and the-ball went dead. Marist were, opening up the game as much as possible. From a line-out in the Oriental corner Stiver secured, and with a quick dash P as gd at least four opponents before he fell over the line and scored. Once more the kick failed. Marist were now three up on their opponents. Oriental gave their backs the ball in an effort to retrieve the game, but sure tackling met every attempt to get going. The tupe-wtaistle sounded a few minutes later with Oriental still attacking. , Mr- J. Moffitt was referee. SCORED ON TIME Petone Narrowly Avert Defeat A lucky try scored in the last minute of the game enabled Petone to snatc,i victory from Wellington College Old Boys by a narrow margin of two points. It was a poor game to watch with the exception of the closing stages, winch were full of excitiment. Although thej proved an equal match for Petone both in the loose’ and tight, Old Boys did nor open their account until about halfway through the second spell. Their score of nine points was made up ot a converted try. and a potted goal. Petone secured three tries, converting one. Ti e ground was heavy and. there were scattered showers of rain. The -teams were:— Petone.—Ryan; Valle, Hudson, Lavr, Peterson, Huxtable; O Halloran, 1 otts, Lind, Lambourne, Martin, Retd, Solwood, Pickard, Wilson. Old Bovs.—-Masters; Wylie; Hawker Field; Atkins, Patrick; Sadler: Laruason McWhannel, Bydder, T. Reynolds J., Bey nobis Wright, Williams, Grenfell. Petone’s first try was a gift. From a scrum Peterson cross-kicked and valk gained possession and kicked over tha line. An Old Boys forward in attempting to clear dropped the ball and Carr fell on it. About ten minutes later there was a fine piece of play. Peterson eiit through brilliantly and passed to Huxtable, who scored a merited try. Seiwood converted. From a scrum Patrick. broke away and passed to Atkins, who put in a good run before being forced out. Patrick came into the picture when he dribbled the ball from halfway to he Petone line. Old Boys had an excellent chance, to score, but. .Bydder knocked on when crossing tile line. The second spell, which was played In driving rain, resolved itself into a scramble. Piny had been in progress about twenty minutes when Atkins dronkicked a fine goal. O’d Boys improved their position when Patrick scored n try well out. The kick, which wns taken suecesfully by Masters, gave Old Boys a lead of one point. Petone made desperate attempts to overtake this. . They succeeded in the last minute, Reid scoring from a forward scramble on the line. Mr. D. Caldaal was gstors*.

RURU’S GREAT GOAL

“Pot” Wins Match for University

Due to a fine drop-kick by Ruru from well downfield, University beat Berhampore by four points to nil in a fairly uneventful game played at Prince of Wales Park. The ground was very soft and muddy, which slowed up the play. The game throughout was confined mostly to the forwards, who attacked continuously with vigour. University held territorial advantage in both spells and undoubtedly put up the better performance.

The teams were:— University .—Cormack; Dickinson, Ruru, Hislop; Kane, Leitch; Clifford-Jones, Wood, Edwards, Beaumont, Dixon, Blacker, Diederieh, Hope, Hart. Berbampore.—Mailman; Blakeway,, King, Jackman; Love, Charles; McAuley; Mason, McWhirter, Martin, Bognuda, Cameron, Fraser, Powell, Macauley. Both the University forwards and backs played a fine game, but Berhampore by uo means let them have it all their own way. Dickinson and Hislop, the two wingers, were in good form, showing at times great bursts of speed. Cormack was exceptionally sure at full-back, while Leitch, at first five-eighths, was responsible for some good openings. Realising the extreme difficulty in handling the ball, the forwards of both teams fell back on the dribbling rush. The outstanding player in the Berhampore team was Love. Berhampore forwards proved a stiff proposition, but on the whole were beaten by the students’ open play. The first and only score came about ten minutes after starting, when Ruru, University’s centre, picked up well down the field to kick a perfect field goal. Following that play was uninteresting for a while, until Berhampore attacked hotly. From a line-out in University s twenty-five Berhampore forwards earned the ball at their feet, but Cormack fell on it, a penalty being awarded to Berhampore for holding. The kick, however! failed. University nearly scored a little later when Leiteh charged through the Berhampore backs, followed through over the line, but was beaten to the force-down by a Berhampore forward. University continued the pressure, and a try appeared to be .scored by Wood, but it was disallowed by the M The*' second spell was devoid of interest. The heaviness of the ground and ball slowed up things, and neither side roistered n score. Strenuous efforts were made by Berhampore in the closing WON BY KICKING Miramar and Athletic in Even Game Although all their points were scored by penalty kicks, Athletic had rather the better of the match The ss s a. S«. ra Ukil the ball. to. many of which were withm striking dis tance of the Miramar line. DUek, Cabell, Pritchard; Andrews, Jolly; Ttadali Adams, Lamberg, Cbrlrtsen, Boyd, Watson, M °Mlram«■More; Parfitt, Marie, DaviKk Ataea; CondWe. Hull. Jones. F, fe Jackson, Pinkerton, Jenner, Rae, Welsh, A *The l4 Miramar backs opened with a passing rush, and Athletic were ed, but Pinkertons kick was fiuitless. Shortly afterward Thomson put in a short run and scored for Miramar, Smith converting. Miramar were penalised, and with a great kick Jolly goaled. Welsh touched down shortly afterward, Smith_s kick being disallowed. A rush by the Athletic forwards followed, and Miramar forced. A promising Athletic passing bout ended when the ball was dropped, and F. Jackson cleared, sending play to.the Athletic twenty-five. A penalty allowed Jolly to kick a second penalty goal. A long series of scrums on the Mira mar line marked the commencement of the second spell, and although Athletic hooked the ball with regularity, they were unable ta score. The .. eluded when Davidge threw the ball out and was pe nalised \ allo y in AJ l p 1 t M h/tae his third goal and put Ata etic in the lead. Davidge saved a certain try I®®® diately afterward, .when a I ,a ® s ‘ n = found Parfitt out of b ?oke in taeir own territory Miramar broke away with a good forward rush. Athletic were penalised, but Smith missed. In t closing stages Athletic were attacking. Mr. D. Paris was referee. SENIOR B GAMES St. Patrick’s College Old Boys beat OrtAntal hv 16 Doln'ts to 0. With the winu beMnU them in the first ®peU the forwards stacked strongly, but met With solid defence. Both packs of forwards worked hard, but there was no ecoro. In the second spell, Old Boys , weae ?. (a^ e game up, and their front-rankers obtaining a fair share of the ball enabled tho backs to combine in a number of passing bouts. The wet ball was handled with precision, and, considering the state of tao ground, extraordinary pace was displayed, especially by the wing three-quarters, Goodson and Phillips. Tries were scored by Goodson, Phillips, and Dennehy. MoGuiuess converted two tries and kicked a penalty goal. „ x , Poneke defeated Marist at Rongotai by 13 points to nil. after a fast and interesting game. Poneke held the advantage both in the tight and the loose, this being reflected in the play of their backs. Many promising movements, however, failed at critical moments, owing to faulty handling. The play of: the Marist team was characterised by fl, general uncertainty, and their backs were too often caught in possession to be ever really dangerous. Tries were scored for Poneke by Hayman (2) and Martin, while Cookson potted a goal. After a fairly even forward game, Upper Hutt beat Onslow by 14 points to H at Maidstone Park. The home team was In better condition than Onslow, and forged to the front in the second spell. Harding « try for Onslow was brilliant. Scorers for Upper Hutt were Charles (2), Danby, and Anderson, the latter converting his own try. Scorers for Onslow were Webb (penalty and conversion), and tries by Jack and Harding- • Hutt 6 drew with Training College 6. Old Boys 8 defeated Varsity 3. For the winners Blakely and Dustin ecored tries, Baldwin converting one. Black kicked a penalty for Varsity. Johnsonville beat Wellington by 12 points to nil. . For the winners, Eagel, . Moore, Golding, and C-taney scored tries. Petone 21, Porirua 5. PLAY IN OTHER CENTRES By Telegraph—Press Association. Results ot Saturday’s games in other centres are as follow:— Auckland; Training College 10, Grafton 8; Technical 0, Ronsouby 9; University 18. College lliiles 0; Grammar Old Boys 9, Marist 0; Manukau 19, Otahuhu 3. Clirlstohurch: Sydenham 8, Albion 6; Merlvale 15, Old Boys 0; Linwood 21, Varsity 12: Christchurch 23, Athletic 11. Dunedin: Kalkoral 11, Alhambra 11; Pirates 11, Zlngarl 3; Varsity A 22, Taierl 6; Dunedin 6, Varsity B 0; Southern 19, Union G. Wanganui: Pirates 9, Marist O; Kalerau 12, Technical 0; Wanganui Old Boys 27. Rntana 0. -South Taranaki: Okalawa 32, Waimato 3; Bitham 11, Hawera 3; Opuunke 6, Athletic 0: Patea 12, Knponga 10. 1 Wuii’aritpnt Red Star 0, Old Boys 0; Groytown 18. Masterton 9; Carterton 18. Featherston 9; Gladstone 10, Dnlefleld North Taranaki: Star 0, Stratford 0; Tukapa 11. Inglewood 6; Old Boys 14, Celtic 8. Some promoted juniors were prominent in both Wellington and Eastbourne teams. Reid for Eastbourne has been referred to, and Newman for Wellington was similarly responsible for a good game. Lower grade results will be found on