LEAD HELD

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 257, 27 July 1936, Page 11

LEAD HELD

Athletic Still Top in Club Rugby BRIGHT PLAY AGAIN Poneke Too Strong For Petone Challenge OLD BOYS WIN Leading teams maintained their respective positions in the first division of the senior grade of the Wellington Rugby Union on Saturday. Athletic won 6-0 from Eastbourne in a hard game at Eastbourne, retaining a onepoint lead in the championship.. Poneke beat Petone 15-3 in a match which drew a standful of spectators to Athletic Park, and Wellington College Old Boys piled up a good first-half lead to win 22-11 from Wellington at Petone. Hutt beat St. Patricks College Old Boys 9-0, at Hutt, and Johnsonville headed Marist Brothers’ Old Boys 9-6 at Athletic Park. The positions of the teams are: — Athletic 21, Poneke 20. Wellington College Old Boys 20, Petone 15, Johnsonville 14, Eastbourne 12, St. Patrick’s College Old Boys 12, Hutt 10, Wellington 8, Marist Brothers’ Old Boys 4. Eastbourne Extends Athletic. Conditions were ideal at Eastbourne ■when Athletic met and beat the home side 6-0. The game was played at a fast pace, Athletic endeavouring to confine play to the forwards, while Eastbourne strived to open up the play and get the back line moving. The Athletic forwards, however, played an outstanding game and easily dominated the play in the first half. Securing the ball from practically every scrum and line-out, and with R. Khrsten exploiting the stab kick to advantage, the Athletic forwards were continually on the attack. The Eastbourne forwards defended gamely, and contested every meh of the way with their heavier opponents The only score in the first half was a try by Athletic. , ... After the change-over Eastbourne held the advantage, the forwards breaking away in some fine loose rushes, while the backs gained large trdets of territory with penetrating runs. It was only the fine defence of D. Mclntyre at full-back, who, gathering the ball remarkably well, made some fine dashes downfield to connect up with his forwards, that saved some awkward situations. In the concluding stages the Athletic forwards again dominated the play, and fast folio wing-uy by J. Wells enabled him to score a good try and place the issue beyond doubt. It was a fine exhibition of forward play throughout, with Athletic slightly superior. Athletic was without the sei" vices of E W. Tindill, and F. Berry was missing from Eastbourne. Teams: Eastbourne: W. Crisp: R. Common, I). Plank. J. Walling; J. Fleming, J. Plank; G. Orme: J. Robinson, J. H. Robertson. M. Griffiths, J. Dellabarca, FClark, C. Waite, W. Dellabarca, J. Girina ven. , T .. Athletic: D. Mclntyre; R. Forbes. D. Thomson, S. Dickey; T. McAuley, R. Karsten, K. Mack. M. Cooper, 1. Mollier, J. Wyeth. F. Bowling. L. Elwards, K. Guy. J. Wells, G. M ales. Poneke Finishes Too Strongly for Petone. Petone, playing against the sun, had much the better of the run of the first halt of the play at Athletic Park, but Poneke, as usual, finished strongly, adding two tries and a potted goal in the second game was mainly a battle between two strong forward packs, distinguished by fine all-round play by C. Pringle for Poneke and ceaseless activity by A. Abnm for Petone. Neither side was effective in concerted back play, though sparkling individualism brightened the game momentarily. .... r , , A Lambourn gave Ins backs a feast oi the ball from the set scrums, but the back line lacked the leadership and enterprise which would have been provided by 11. K. Pollock, who was out of the game with a shoulder injury. When C. O'Halloran, the half-back, had to go off with an injury in the second half, the combination was further disorganised. N. McGurk made several bright runs on the left wmg in the first half, and G. Thomas, the former Southland representative, gave a generally sound display at full-back. A. Upchurch had a field day for Lonoke, ©coring two tries, one with a very smart dash, and potting a goal on the run. J. I/. Griffiths was workmanlike without being brilliant, and J. Vartan again saved his forwards by powerful, if not always accurate, punting. The goal-kickers bad left their favourite boots at home, L. Martyn missing two ■penaltv kicks and two conversion shots as well as an attempted pot, and G. Thomas two penalty kicks. Teams■ Poneke: J. Vartan, A. Hill. L. Barrett, Jj. Martyn; A. Upchurch, J. L. Griffiths; A Greenbank; V. Calcinai, R. R. Hull, C. Pringle, Kean, O'Brien. H. Kirschberg, Crichton. C. M. Ongley. Hill ')' as injured in the first half, R. Culley going

Petone: I. Thomas, N. McGurk, C. Hudson, M. Patrick, A. Edwards, N. Edwards; C. O'Halloran; R. Cleland, M. Mitehell, J. Martin. A. Abrim, I. Carter, O Clayton. A. Lambourne, W. Sundgren, O'Halloran was hurt and replaced by J. Lambourn. Old Boys Too Enterprising for Wellington. Playing Wellington at Petone, Wellington College Old Boys proved adept at turning defence into attack. Many of the points came from faulty handling in the Wellington rearguard. Old Boys attacking less often than their opponents had the necessary co-operation and finish to register points. The Wellington pack outplayed the Old Boys forwards but the Wellington half and first five-eighth had a day. off. Play was fast and open, and if a. little ragged at times, the frequency with which it changed direction made the game interesting. Wellingtn spoilt many scoring chances through over-eagerness and Jack of support. Old Boys . started a passing rush from the Wellington kickoff. J. Lamason made a long run and punted ahead. B. S. Sadler won the race for the ball, and Old Boys had opened their account. The Wellington forwards, using slashing dribbling rushes, took play to Old Boys' line where an attempt to pick up lost a try. H. IL Trapp, Wellington's second fiveeighth, made some fine runs but lacked support. He opened his side s score with a beautiful penalty goal. L. Byddcr, who was prominent in the Old Boys’ pack, forced his way over the line. Old Boys leading 14-3. t „ In the second half Wellington could not catch Old Boys’ lead. The game was more even, however, each side adding eight points. L. H. Edwards, the Wellington wing, was very impressive but received few chances. Ao player could be sorted out of the Wellington pack. They were playing a great game. In the loose J. Bracken and F. H. Fraser Smith were prominent. The Old Boys backs, well fed by Sadler, combined well. N. Burns, three-quarter, outshone bin fellow winger. A. Wright, who is a bard man to tackle, but showed a tendency to always run infield. J. Lamason again proved a tireless leader. 0. Clandge and J. Hewitt got through a lot of wsrk m the tight. W. L. Cresswell, the Wellington full-back, gave a good display, gaming a lot of ground with powerful kicks. Teams: Wellington College 0.8..—K. Wright, N. Burns, W. Dustin, A. Wright; G. Reynolds, H. L. Baldwin; B. S. Sadler; J. Reynolds, M. Wright, L. Bydder, J. Hewitt, C. Clandge, J. Souness, A. Amies' J. Lamason. Wellington.—W. L. Cresswell; L. IL Edwards, E. Ullrich, J. A. Kelly; H. H. ffrapp, R. Veitch; A. L. Richardson

Clay, J. Bracken, R. Demes, W. G. McLean, F. H. Fraser Smith, ■■ V. Giles, A. E. Bell, R. J. Coupland. Hutt Backs Continue to Improve. Good cohesive efforts by a more clever set of backs enabled Hutt to score a win over St. Patrick’s Old Boy s by three tries to none, at Hutt. The game was fast and interesting, though a uttle patchy, especially in the second half, when fet. Patrick’s Old Boys played a fine, spoiling game. Although they met with an almost impregnable defence on the part oi sst. Patrick’s, the Hutt backs proved conclusively that their improvement in torm against Wellington the previous week was not merely spasmodic. They got through a lot of solid work in attack, and in the second half, when St. Patricks Old Boys set up some formidable onslaughts, they presented an impenetrable defence. Lhe half-back. G. W. Zane, continues to improve. The try he scored, by shooting round the blind side of the scrum on his own, and completely fooling K. O Connor the opposing full-back,, was a rea masterpiece. E. Manders, is still a little erratic, but as an offensive player he is Te The S °St.’ Patrick’s 0.8. backs received their fair share of the ball from the scrums, but failed to make much impression. The insides, J. Jeffries and L. O’Connor, lacked finish in their movements, and O’Connor, who had a penchant for kicking, did not give his three-quarter line a great deal of the ball. J. Wareham made one or two strong runs, but his efforts were fruitless. He was opposed by R. Nees, one of the best defensive players in the competition. Both packs of forwards played rugged football. M. W. Devine, E Barry and A. H. Andrews headed most of the Hutt movements as usual, while I. Mclntosh and J C. Saulbrey were always close at hand. J. McCarthy, A. Thurston, and T. Dennehy all played fine bustling football for St. Patrick’s. Teams:— Hutt: W. E. Jarman; R. Nees, A. H. Hansen, G. Phillips; E. Manders, E. Sargisson; G. W. Zane: J. Foster, D. Potter, J. 0. Saulbrey, I. Mclntosh. E. Barry, JI. W. Devine, T. Corkin, A. H. Andrews. „ St. Patrick’s Old Boys ■ K.O J. Wareham, J. Black, J. Twohill, P O’Connor, J. Jeffries; G. Marshall; J. McCarthy, K. Hogan, A. Thurston, J. Smith, J. Robinson, T. Dennehy, E. Todd, D. Cunningham.

Marist Bros. Old Boys Give a Scare to Johnsonville.

A vastly-improved Marist Brothers Old Boys team gave Johnsonville a scare in a bright game played at Athletic, Farh under ideal conditions. Marist Bros 0.8. fielded a fast and dangerous set of backs, who ran straight ana determinedly.. Outstanding was P. Kaua at first five-eighth. He directed the attack with a judicious mixture of passing and kicking, and many times beat the defence. This player has made a big difference to Marist Bros. After a wearisome interchange of kicks, Marist Bros.’ 0.8. settled down to play an open game, with the forwards hooking well and knocking back from lineouts. Kaua and M. Spillane had plenty of thrust, and some magnificent movements were seen. W. Hoy, wing threequarter, is a youthful-looking newcomer with pace to spare and the right idea. Johnsonville performed in mediocre fashion, the forwards carrying the backs, who were disorganised and rarely opened up. The two-three-two scrum was not effective. However, Johnsonville hooked the ball once near the line and Marist let 1. Chaney through for D. Grant to score. After a second expensive lapse, this time by I. Ericsson at full-back, the Marist Bros.’ 0.8. backs came again and a try resulted from a brilliant piercing run by M. Spillane, who was at the top of his f °ln' the second half Johnsonville rose to the occasion. The backs got into line and the game became fast and open. There were many exciting melees within striking distance, each side .showing sound defence. Even when 1. Kelly crossed after feinting to pass infield, Johnsonville’s lead was by no means secure. Kelly, the Johnsonville wing-threequar-ter, was the best of the blue backs, while Kaua, Spillane and P. Stiver were an excellent combination on the Marist side. Ericsson was safe. In the van D. Grant (Johnsonville) and F. C. Leahy (Marist Bros.’ O.B.) were always prominent. The Marist forwards screwed the scrum with effect. Teams:— Johnsonville: M. Kenny: J. Halliwell, W Welch, F. Kelly; G. Burns, E. Chaney; J. Burns; A. Hall, H. Hunter, A. Craig, A. Kenny, T. Bowler, D. Grant, J. Lee, 11. Trenchard. . Marist Brothers’ Old Boys: I. Ericsson ; J. Quinn, P. Stiver, W. Hoy; M. Spillane, P. Kaua; L. Brown; J. Ottawa}', F. Blatch, A. Hargreaves, F. Leahy, B. Ropata, P. Donoghue, J. Meadows, J. Teitjens.

SECOND DIVISION Athletic Gains Lead Athletic, beating Oriental 22-3, gained the lead in the second division, but the outstanding performance of the day was a 53-5 win by University over United. Wellington College 0.8. lost 8-12 to Wellington, dropping down to second place in the championship table. Miramar won 11-G from Pirates. The positions are:— Athletic 21, Wellington College Old Boys 19, Wellington 17, University 15, Oriental 8, Miramar 8, Pirates 6, United 2. A Fast. Hard and Clean Game Won by Athletic. Although beaten by 22-3 on Kilbirnie Reserve, Oriental was in no way disgraced. Had their backs handled as cleanly as their forwards battled hard, and had H. Fulford been played at fullback at the outset, the margin of Athletic's victory would have been considerably less. The Athletic backs were superior to Oriental, but there was little disparity in the forwards. The tackling of both teams was hard, clean and certain. R. Pelham, A. Badland and E. Cleverley were the outstanding players on the Athletic side, and H. Fulford, N. Murdoch and G. Harris for Oriental.

Athletic gained its tries by brilliant passing bouts, while Oriental made itself dangerous mainly by strong forward rushes. In the closing stages H. Fulford instilled additional excitement by powerful runs from full-back and starting passing rushes. 'Neither team carried a passenger, the game being played at a fast pace throughout. The defensive play of Athletic, of which Pelham was the pivot, was of a high order. In the last quarter of an hour Oriental, enthused by the activity of H. Fulford, handled the ball better, and did most of the attacking. Teams: — Athletic: T. Evans: A. Badland, R. Pelham, J. Pollock; G. Stott, L. Martlew ; V. Wilson; W. Elworthy, D. Pope. P. Christopher, E. Cleverley, J. Troy, J. Smith, T. Trott, M. Johnson. Oriental: M. Coxon; 11. McCann, K. Webster, J. W-akelin; D. Turnbull, 11. Davies; N. Murdoch; D. Rankin, 8. Searle, 11. Fulford, P. Sullivan, G. Harris, S. Sinclair, L. Humpherson, G. Baynes. Old Boys Beaten in Vigorous Game. ■ In a vigorous though scrappy game at Prince of 'Wales Park, Wellington managed to beat the leading team in this grade, Wellington College Old Boys. On the run of play Wellington was possibly a little lucky, as Old Boys gave the more finished display and made most of the attacking play. It was the last twenty minutes of play that decided the result, ae with the score at 5-3 in Old Boys’ favour, the Wellington forwards produced some good foot rushes, and ably backed by F. W. Hislop and the back line ae a whole, they added a converted try and when Old Boys equalised Wellington again attacked, and by a very well-judg-ed dropkick by 11. E. Taylor won the game. K. Sadler was in good form and repeatedly set his back line moving with good passes. D. Hurdley usually _ made pace when he received the ball, while M. Binning was always looking for an opening at centre. Neither wing was up to standard, and C. Hollis lost two or three good chances of scoring through indecision. The Goflieb brothers J and_J.Camp-

bell were three heavy and hard-working forwards, but Old Boys tired fairly early in the game after beginning with fine dash. J. O’Loughlin played as a straightout wing-forward. . The Wellington pack played up m the final stages, though J. Taylor was in the picture throughout. W. D. McKinley, D. J. Reid and J. Weir were good workers. Receiving more of the ball than previously, F. W. Hislop opened up play nicely in the final stages. H. E. Compton is a promising five-eighth, who made the try possible, while G. D. Barton was an elusive and good centre. Teams?— Wellington : C. S. Barron; R. M. Bibby, G. D. Barton, D. F. Patterson; H. E. Compton, P. J. Kane; F. W. Hislop; H E. Taylor, N. T. Jones, J. Weir, F. McTagget, D. J. Reid, R. W. Cross, IV. D. McKinley, J. L. Cragg. Wellington College Old Boys: N Sturrock; H. Andrews, M. Binning, C. Hollis; D. Hurdley, M. Gray; K. Sadler; O. Sando, P. Hollis, V. Gotlieb, J. Campbell, C. Gotlieb, V. Worboys, V. Morris J. O’Loughlin. During the second halt, Kane, Worboys and Cragg retired injured Dixon and Mark replacing the two former. University’s Big Win Over United. University registered another overwhelming victory at Kelburn Park by beating United by nearly half a century. United, at a disadvantage in having to take the field with one man short, met University playing at top form. Despite the heavy nature of the ground their backs threw the ball about m grand style, with both backs and forwards combining in some great rushes. At no time, except at the start ot the second half, did the defence of the United team worry the University attack, but this period of defence was short-lived and University soon began to pile on the points in quick succession. A feature of the game was the fine performance "put up by P. J. Reid, the University second five-eighth. He made some excellent solo runs which at times carried him right through the defence. G. Rae, at half, played his usual sound game, and like Reid, caused the opposition a lot of trouble. JI. Ekdahl, and R. Wild were also prominent in the backs, scoring two tries each, while S. G. Eade and R. B. Burke (who scored three tries) were the outstanding forwards. W Littler, the United half, was the pick 'of the United backs. He played a tireless game, while H. Still, and J. Capper were the best of the forwards. Teams: University: —W. Tricklebank; JI. Ekdahl, R. Wild, F. Fitzgerald; P. J. Reid, T. Larkin; G. Rae; G. Gibbons, S. G. Eade, R. Russell, E. Blacker, G. Wilson, W. Cunliffe, P. Jackson, R. B. Burke. United :—G. Gooch ;R. Boyce, L. Bartlett, M. Beaton; B. Hedges, J. Stevenson; W. Littler; O. Marks, R. Donnellson, H. SUII. K. Moynihan, J. Capper, J. Holmes, R. Holmes.

Disappointing Display at Wakefield Park.

Although conditions were ideal at Wakefield Park for the match between Miramar and Pirates, the game proved scrappy and disappointing; play was almost entirely between the forwards, and was anything but open. It was an excellent day for back-play, but practically every back movement initiated by eithei side was marred by bad handling and speculative passing. The two teams appeared very evenly matched. Throughout the first half play was concentrated around the the centreline, the Pirate forwards having a slight predominance. F. Kerrigan, C. Mcßae, R. Jliller, and H. Burkett were constantly on the ball, Kerrigan playing a particularly useful game. Mcßae created the opening through which R. Maisey scored just on the half-time whistle. R. Mason, who was taking the kicks for Piiatcs, was not in form. Jliramar backs began to show better style in the second half, J. Greenall and A. Fong playing well. Their handling improved rreatly toward the close of the game. 'rneir defence, however, was weak, and when the black forwards pressed them they lost the advantage they had ’gained. The run which ended in Greenall scoring was the best in the afternoon. Teams: Miramar: C. Mulholland; A. r ong, ii. Baird, R. Batchelor; J. Greenall, N. Simondsen ; J. Parfitt; A. James, S. Troy, J. Smith, J. Cody re, S. Catchpole, J. Blackwell, J. Dawson, G. Clarke. Pirates: C. Wyness; C. Johnson, P. Donnelly, A. Beale; J. Masters, R. Maisey, D Mitchell; G. Cameron, R. Mason, H. Johnson, C. Mcßae, F. Kerrigan, H. Burkett, R. Miller, H. Kofoed.

JUNIOR TEAMS Players to Train The selectors, Messrs. R. J. Morgan, A. Richardson and L. Wilson, have chosen the following Wellington junior team to play the Manawatu junior representatives at Palmerston North on Saturday UC Backs: Kenny (Johnsonville), Parker (Wellington), Wrigley (Seatoun, captain), Lamason (Old Boys), McGrath (Upper Hutt), Sim (University), Thomas (Technical College Old Boys), and J. Nolan (Poneke). . Forwards: Arnott (Poneke), Haig and Burgess (vice-captain, Hutt A) Fraser and Mitchell (Hutt B). Dunce and Hollis (Athletic), Barnao (Marist), Fitzsimmons (Petone), and Crawford (Petone) (one forward to be dropped). Manager: Mr. R. J. Morgan. Matches Against Colleges. Teams to represent Wellington in the annual representative, matches aS 3I ”® 1 the colleges next Saturday will be chosen from the following players: Fifth Grade. Selectors: Messrs. W. S. Keegan, S. G. Crawford, J. M. Cleland, and M. Lindfc3Backs: Symonds (Hutt), Logan (Wellington), Rowberry (Athletic), Battersby (Petone), Abbott (Onslow) Walker and Elton (Tetchnical Old Boys), Anderson (Pirates), and Thompson (KaiW£ Forwards: Hunter and Melbourne (Technical Old Boys), Sinclair (Pirates), Forbes and Jillett (Upper Hutt) Lawrence (Wellington). Morrison (Athletic), Haddy (Petone), Williams Onslow, Osbaldstone (Marist), May (Petone), and Quinn (Poneke). Manager: Mr. W. S. Keegan. Sixth Grade.

Selectors; Messrs. W. R. King and G. Parker. , _. , „ Backs: Stephen and Lingard (Poneke) Fea (Wellington), Mclntosh (Miramar), Pettigrew, Hansen (vice-captain), and Jones (Hutt). , , . T , Forwards: Dickie (Athletic), Bayliss and Te Puni (Petone), Mullett and Donnelly (captain, Poneke). Westbury, Smith and Parker (Hutt). Emergencies— Backs: Smith (Miramar) and O Connor (Petone); forwards: Miles (Wellington) and Henry (Miramar). Manager: Mr. W. R. King. Seventh Grade. Selectors: Messrs. W. S. Keegan, W. Brown, R. J. Bennett and A. J. Henderson. Backs: Routhey and Whiteman (Upper Hutt), Mcßride (Johnsonville), Flannagan ' (Miramar), Struthers . (Eastbourne). Quinn (Kaiwarra), Perntt (letone), Forbes (Seatoun), and Cunningham (Onslow). „ . , Forwards: Harland (Kaiwarra), Brown and Chamberlain (Miramar), Taplin, Boswell and Morrison (Petone), Lindsay and Thompson (Pirates) Robinson aiid Wilmshurst (Poneke). Woods and Molesworth (Onslow) Manager: Mr. C. M. Hester. The Wellington club is making its new gymnasium on Hataitai recreation ground available for training of the four teams. The seventh and sixth grade teams will practise there on Tuesday next and the fifth grade and juniors on Wednesday. All players are asked to be nt the gymnasium by 7.30 p.m., nnd full attendances will be appreciated. Any players who are unable to play in the matches should notify Mr. J. Thompson, telephone 41-915 (day), 53-300 (evening), before Tuesday evening.