Football. RUGBY. [By Dropkick.]

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue LXIV, 13 September 1902, Page 6 (Supplement)

Football. RUGBY. [By Dropkick.]

The South Island team selected to piny tho North Island representatives to-day was much us anticipated. Having no conspicuously brilliant full-back in the Otago and Canterbury representatives, tho selectors have picked booth out of the Otago three-quarter line for the position. Duncan being unable to play, Wood (Canterbury) was pretty well n certainty for five-eighths, as was Harper (Canterbury) for centre-three-quarter, and Harvey (Canterbury) for half. Porteous nnd Given, both ot Otago, were a wellHOlected pair, of wings, and tho Canterbury trio Drake, Fanning, and Cooke, and the Olago forward and place-kicker Roddick, all had prime claims for positions in tho pack. Purdue was unable to play. The surprise is that Brunsden was not one of the earliest picked, instead of being put in only when Given could not !ilay. Tho inclusion of M'Nie (Southand) was not generally expeclod locally, as this player did not happen to shino particularly in the Southland-Wellington match. Another surprise was the exclusion of J. J. Taylor, who did yeoman service for Southland in that contest. Duggan (Canterbury) and Fen wick (Otaeo) are said to bo reliable men. It

is probably to be presumed lhat Cross (Canterbury) was unable to play. It was alsp somewhat unexpected thaU M'Qregor as a winger should bo pivferr«(T to Jacobs, for though the latter doe-; not .seem to find himself at home among tho Southland backs, he is a better allround back than M'Gregor, who is weak in defence. On tho other hand it must not bo forgotten that the Canterbury man is as smait a, try-gottcr as has been seen hero this season, that lie scoied ono of Canterbury's tries against Wellington, the only try against Auckland and Olago, and sundry tries against Taranaki, Wairarapa, and South Canterbury — in fuct, has scored in every representative match he has played in this season. Tho other wing-three-quarter, Smith, of Nelson, is, like Trogear, of Wanganui, little known because hii province is not j exactly in tho first flight. An annual inter-Island match will be valuable if only for giving players liko these a show. Tho expected pieponderance of Auckland players in the Northern team, and of Canterbury players in the Southern team, should on each side make for greater combination in to-day's play. It is to be hoped that the efforts of the New Zealand Union's Management Committee to foster this engagement and make it an annual fixture, will be completely successful, financially and otherwise. Only one inter-Island match has been played, and was won by the North, by 16 points to 3. There are few men play- . ing to-day who took part in that match on Athletic Park, Wellington, on 26th June, 1897. Here are the .team-; : — North Island — Laws, .Allen, Roberts, Smith, Bayly . (captain), Humphries, ( Mills, M'Kenzie, Blair, Hancock, Pauling, Calnan, Wilson, Hardcastle, and Murray. South Island — Benjamin, Orchard, Annit, Woods, Duncan (captain), Glennie, M'Laren, Johnstone, Harris, Fanning, Brooker, Smith, Stewart, Rhodes, and Priest. The Otago team proved itself last Saturday a bit better in all departments than the Wellington representatives. The visiting forwards were more vigorous and resolute and combined ; the backs passed better. In almost, all circumstances, one could feel from the play that the blues had tho upper hand, and with ordinary luck could maintain it. ' Bupli's weakness in taking and giving passes, and Roberts's lack of initiative at half, fatally handicapped tho attack of the Wellington backs, who showed up far better in defence. Wallace was the only one who added to his reputation, anii Claridge was about the only other back who did not lose a little of it. There was nothing in the (Wellington ■ pack except Dodd and Joyce.- Dodd's recent games have fully justified his inclusion in tho North Island team. Joyce has vastly improved his line work. Given, Roddick,, and Porteous, ly Given, wero the pjck of a gooa even Jot of Otngo forwards. Knowles as a half is very little behind Harvey, but his punts are not so long and not so accurate. '■ James Duncan was übiquitous as usual in his five-eighths or roving commissioner billet, aud as a back was second only to Wallace. James got a number of knocks, and his claret wus tapped so badly that ho had at one stage to carry, about a gory handkerchief — "sort of perambulating butcher's shop," as one unsymputheUc critic remarked. Bennett, as understudy called on to take Booth's place at centre-three-quar-ter, was eminently successful, his talcing being clean, and his running both fast and straight. Played a very attractive centre game. Stalker fully vindicated his reputation as a brilliant scoring wing-threc-quartw, but Baxter did not do justice to himself. Mention must not be omitted of a very consistent nnd exceedingly useful worker, Munro, the second five-oighths. Starting with the half, thence to Duncan, Munro, Bennett, and Stalker, Otago In securing its first try got to work the full advantage of its chain of back 9, the links of which outnumbered the opponents. Stalker still had to b"eat G. Spencer at full-back, nnd this he did handsomely ; though Spencer grassed him decisively in n subsequent effort. Apropos of Duncan's knocks, the writer has .-since noted tho following par in "Pull-back's" column : . — "During the match against Canterbury Duncan had a bono in his nose broken. The injury was so painful and bled so profusely that the Otago •■baptnin sought the aid of Dr. Thackor, who dressed it, and set the bone in place again." borne scribo rises to explain: — "The result of tho Can,terbury-Otago match is known to most people, but it is not so generally known that this province did not get a run for the other two points that wero to be obtained if tho try had been converted, owing to some misunderstanding between v the kicker and the placer. The try was scored midway between the corner flag and the goal post. The ball was token out and placed for Roddick, who is, when it is his day, equal to kicking goals from much more awkward positions, but the Alhambra player was caught between two minds, and probably received too much advice from the other members of the team, for, after hesitating for a second or two, ho ran up to the ball, but put no force into his kick, with the" result that not only did it fail to rise but a few feet off tho ground, but it felt ahort." Close on ten thousand spectators wero present to sco the match between the two leading Sydney teams, University and Glebe. The game was a very fast one, and up to the last few minutes Glebe were in lh« lead by one point, but University camo with a rattle and scored a try which gave them victory amidst: immense exoiteraont. The sum of £272 9s was taken at the gates. The retirement of Mr. F, Murray as selector of • the Auckland teams is announced. It is hoped' that he will be persuaded to toko on the duties ■ again next year. Tho programme selling on Saturday of tho Otago-Wellington match tallied with the plaj r ers in respect of names and numbering, and therefore enabled purchasers to follow the players correctly. This is as it should be, for a. programme that is not correct is worse than useless. Tho compiler and vendor of the programmes, which are unofficial, states that ho does not know how tho Wairarapa card got so far wroug, but that, in respect of the two Southland flve-oightlva, he printed tho numbers as they were written out by tho team's secretary for him ; so that apparently the mistake occurred in stitching tho numbers on tho jerseys. The position is that no mistako should be made on either side ; and compilers and secretaries should, and no doubt will, prevent a repetition of such misleading errors.