RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP STILL UNDECIDED

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 259, 31 July 1939, Page 11

RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP STILL UNDECIDED

Wellington’s Lead Decreased; Athletic’s Success PETONE’S SPARKLING DISPLAY; MARIST BEAT JOHNSONVILLE One of the largest crowds of the season saw Athletic for the second time lower the colours of the Rugby senior championship leaders, Wellington, on Saturday. As a result, the championship still remains undecided. Strengthened by the return of key players who had recovered from injuries, Petone outclassed Poneke. Marist Bros. Old Boys won a very hard-fought game against Johnsonville because of the superiority of their backs. The surprise in the Hardham Cup competition was the defeat of College Old Boys by St. Patrick’s College Old Boys, who thus registered their first win of the season. The chief attraction next Saturday will be the meeting of Wellington and Petone, with Athletic and Johnsonville providing the curtain-raiser.

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP Following were the results of the senior championship games: Athletic 12, Wellington 8; Petone 19, Poneke 6; Marist Bros. Old Boys 6, Johnsonville 3. The positions of the teams

Athletic Repeat First Round Victory Athletic repeated their first round success in defeating Wellington 12-8. As on the previous occasion they came from behind late in the second spell to swing the , game in their favour. The deciding factor was Athletic’s superiority in the forwards, where they applied their weight effectively, winning the bail with almost monotonous regularity in the scrums. The Athletic backs figured in some bright movements, but. of the two back divisions, both of which had undergone changes because of injuries, Wellington impressed more. Both their tries came from first-class passing rushes. Athletic’s points came from two tries, one by a forward after Badland had knocked on, and two penalty goals. Somewhat colourless in the first spell, the play became very exciting in the second spell and roused the crowd to a high pitch of excitement. Athletic took the lead after a series of determined attacks, ■following which the Wellington backs swept into action in a grand movement, an almost sure try being lost when Shand passed wildly when Sherratt had a clear run. The issue was clinched when Cochrane fumbled a pot by Tindlll which went wide of the posts, Badland following up fast to score. Some high-class individual play was witnessed, with the All Blacks Taylor and Tindill accomplishing some brilliant work. Auld for once failed to reach his, usual goal kicking standard, but impressed by .his splendid fielding of the ball and his clearances. Sherratt had few opportunities, much to the disappointment .ot the crowd. Stott was the pick of the inside backs. Wales and Stevens were the two most prominent forwards on the Grant and Badland scored for Athletic and Auld kicked two penalty goals. Cochrane scored both "Wellington s tries, Taylor converting one. w w . The referee, Mr. J. S. King, retired m the first spell with a strained ligament, Mr. A. Hooper carrying the game through. Petone’s Greatly Improved Display Petone outclased Poneke, winning 19-6, in a match in which the losers seldom looked dangerous; certainly not at all in the second spell. It-was a day for individuals —P.' Dougan, Petone wing-three-quarter, H. R. Pollock, Petone second fiveeighth, T. Jones, Petone first five-eighth, P. Donoghue, Petone pack leader, J. Lambourn, Petone hooker, and W. Crisp, Peneke full-back. These were all outstanding. Though not having Had the experience of the others and slight in build, Dougan made, some great territory winning runs that had the crowd on tiptoes, revealing a natural swerve' and cleverness in cutting out a man. Jones played his best game this season. His knack of feinting a pass and then cutting out his opposing man was at times brilliant. Pollock was again a star, but some of the responsibility that has rested on him in past matches was lifted by the greatly improved displays of others. , Donoghue was always heading the pack in the thickest of the battle against such outstanding of the poneke forwards as Ongiey and Pringle (later retired hurt). Lambourn hardly let the Poneke scrum get possession once. McCarthy was tireless and rewarded by the try he scored in combination with R. Cleland, who was in good form. Crisp was on the day not inferior to any full-back in a competition which has not a poor one. His line kicks were magnificent. Poneke’s pack were at a disadvantage in that one forward was a passenger all the way. C. O’Halloran, Petone half, who has stood down with injuries, was back, playing better than earlier in the season. The rest has worked wonders with him. R. Knowles, the other Petone wing-three-quarter, did not get a run but tackled well. Johns, half Burgess and Reece, five-eighths, were the best Poneke backs. Crisp kicked two penalty goals for Poneke, Pollock kicked two penalty goals for Petone, McCarthy, O’Halloran _ and Jones scored tries, and O’Halloran kicked a fine goal from the field. Referee: Mr. J. A. Wilson. Marist .Backs In Brilliant Form Securing a major share of the ball, and with their back line handling very well, Marist Bros. Old Boys had the edge on Johnsonville, and fully deserved their win by six points to three. In addition, every effort by Johnsonville to score was met with a solid and often brilliant defence, Marist’s covering up, tackling and fielding being excellent. An important factor also was the consistent and accurate linekicking of G. Thomas, who at full-back for Marist was the outstanding plnyer on the field. The game was fast and exciting throughout, and the packs waged a solid struggle, Johnsonville, with S. Dean, A. Mcßride and D. Thomson prominent, holding the advantage in the loose. Marist were superior in the tight, both in hooking and in breaking through. M. Ingpen, I*. McKenzie and J. Fitzpatrick were particularly hard workers. The loss of J. Burns, who was twice injured, early in the game, affected the Johnsonville backs, and the passing lacked in snap. G. Burns played an outstanding game, specially on defence. B. Vile made several openings for the Marist backs. At half-time Marist led by three points to nil. B. O’Malley having placed a penalty goal just before the interval. Johnsonville failed with three penalty kicks from handy positions. In the second snell. Marist held the advantage, and B. Vile scored a good try. It was not till almost on time that M. Kenny kicked a penalty goal for Johnsonville. Referee: Mr. B. Matthews. 1 |

HARDHAM CUP Results of the Hardham Cup competition matches were: St. Patrick’s College Old Boys 12, College Old Boys 9; Hutt 15, Eastbourne S; University 10, Oriental 5. The positions of the teams are:—

Strong’ Finish By Hutt Against Eastbourne Flashes of spectacular play relieved what was otherwise a rather drab game between Hutt and Eastbourne at the Hutt Recreation Ground. Hutt won 15-8, finishing strongly after a period ot play during which it appeared that they might be beaten. Hutt began opening up play at the start, but after a few early successes, the forwards were, unable to win more than an occasional scrum, and the backs’ opportunities were limited. The play of the Eastbourne backs was not impressive. King, the half-back, gave quite a good service, but Gill was uncertain in taking the ball and his passes to Archer were too slow. Archer, in turn, gave poor passes to Cheyne. The best Eastbourne back was Posselt, who always looked dangerous when he had the ball. He made several determined dashes down the line and on one occasion went very close to scoring. ' The Hutt backs played well individually, and in the second spell, when they saw more of the ball, combined quite well in passing rushes. Pettigrew was inclined to fumble and some of his passes were wild, but his task was not an easy one as he was constantly harassed by Bellabarca’and Anderson, the Eastbourne breakaways. Sargisson and Burton both played soundly. Williams, who usually plays on the wing, went very well at centre and scored a fine try. The best of the Hutt forwards were Guy, Flanagan and Kemp. Clark, Berry, Dellabarca and Anderson all went well in the Eastbourne pack. Early in the game Phillips, Hutt’s left wing, sprained an ankle when trying to stop an Eastbourne rush, He was replaced by B. Fairbrother. For Hutt Williams, Guy and Whitcher scored tries. Duffy kicked two penalty goals. Berry and Cheyne scored tries for Eastbourne, one being converted by Sanson. Referee: Mr. A. R. Morice. Brilliant Last-Minute Try By Rae A brilliant try right on the call of time by Rae gave University a spectacular win over Oriental. Rae’s clever work was the feature of the game, which was a patchy one, much good work being spoilt by fumbling at critical moments. Oriental had the better of the play territorially, the forwards showing more enterprise and dash than their opponents, and it was not their fault that the result swung against them. On the other hand, the University backs were the more dangerous on the day, and bad Tricklebank not repeatedly run into trouble instead of letting t,he ball out smartly,* more tries may have resulted. Both sides, however, showed lack of finish, and a draw would have been a fair result. The outstanding players were Rae and Burke (University), both of whom figured in some sensational solo work. Rae made some electrifying runs, but was not adequately supported. Burke again demonstrated his ability as a hooker, and delighted the crowd with his control of the ball in dribbling rushes. Dow was the pick of the Oriental backs, handling and running strongly and also cover defending well. Buttress, Humpherson and Caulton were great workers in the forwards. Rae and Burke scored for University, Rae converting both tries. F«e Oriental, Morgan scored, Stevenson converting. Referee: Mr. J. N. Kitchen. First Win Of Season By St. Pat’s Old Boys Showing marked improvement in all departments, St. Patrick's College Old Boys had their first win of the season when they beat College Old Boys, 12-9, after a bright encounter at Prince of Wales Park. With honours even, 3-a 11, at half-time, the second spell was faster and more exciting than the first, with the result of the game.in doubt right up to tke final whistle. College Old Boys had the heavier forward pack and more enterprising backs, but St. Patrick’s worked tirelessly and tackled resolutely. Excellent kicking by Dance, St. Patrick’s full-back, gave his side many opportunities they were quick to grasp, and on several occasions relieved extremely tight situations. At one stage of the second spell St. Patrie, s had a lead of six points, and College Old Boys launched a succession of sharp attacks that culminated in two excellent tries, one by 'Wright and the other by Burns. St. Patrick’s clinched the issue with a last-minute try. On the day’s play College Old Boys were the better team, but hard work, perseverence and good team-work gave St. Patrick’s a victory they richly deserved. Rewai, Flynn and McDermott secured tries for St. Patrick’s, and Todd kicked a penalty goal. Wright and Burns were the scorers for College Old Boys, and Baldwin kicked a penalty goal. Neither side converted a try. Referee: Mr. T. E. Cole. AUCKLAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS By Telegraph—Press Association. AUCKLAND, July 30. The Auckland secondary schools’ senior Rugby championship has been won this season by Sacred Heart College, who with a five-point lead from Auckland Grammar and with only one more match to play are in an unbeatable position. Because of the representative game Auckland v. North Auckland no senior club matches were played in Auckland on Saturday.

are:— w. D. L. Points, For Ag. Ch. pts. Wellington 11 1 2 206 108 23 , 9 2 3 237 125 20 Petone .... 10 0 4 168 109 20 Johnsonville ... 7 Is 5 146 103 16 Marist Bros. O.B. 7 2 5 127 16 Poneke 7 1 6 154 148 15

College Old Boys .. W. D. L. Points Ch. pts. 14 14 F. 168 142 A. 143 169 6 6 2 2 6 6 6 1 7 126 169 13 Oriental 2 3 9 125 176 7 Eastbourne . 2 2 10 J05 201 6 St. Pat’s Coll. O.B. 1 2 11 118 239 4