FOOTBALL. VARIOUS RUGBY MATCHES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 115, 17 May 1909, Page 3

FOOTBALL. VARIOUS RUGBY MATCHES.

SOME GOOD GAMES. Saturday's weather conditions were unfavourable for players and spectators also, but to c marked degree the contestants triumphed over the unfavourable elements, and rewarded those patrons of sport who braved the chilly winds with some good expositions of the Rugby game. The chief set-te took place on the Athletic Parkj where the hitherto unbeaten Athletics were defeated by Fetone, by a. difference »t 6 t» 3 This result gires a very interesting aspect to the championship contest, for while it establishes the unbeaten Ponekes two points ahead of *11 others, it leaves three or four teams bracketed equal as runner.vup, with enlj one-half of the games in the first round eerapleted. Results of Saturday's games were as follow : — Petone 6 v. Athletic 3. Oriental 25 v. Southern 3. Poneke 27 v. Old Boys 0. Melrose 18 v. St. James 3. Wellington 18 v. Victoria College 0. ORIENTAL V. SOUTHERN. Greatly improved form was shown by Southern, though in the final reckoning Oriental were returned with a 22 points •advantage. The first cpell ended with only a bare advantage to Oriental — i.e., one try to nil. The excellent passing of Oriental's retrgutrd made Southern's task a diJßcnlt one in the seeemd half, and the failure of the Southern defenders to "line across" with promptitude resulted in the Oriental attack proving irresistible on a number of eceesions. None the less, Southern showed themselves us % really good team, both forward and back, by comparison with what they were in the earlier matches, and Saturday's game was not nearly as one-sided as the score suggest*. Tries for the Orientals were gained by Mathes>on (3), Perry, Bunckenourg (2), and Tyrell. Varcoe converted two of the tries. Jack Campbell scored a. try for Southern. MELROSE (18) V. ST. JAMES (3). This game, played at the Lower Hutt, was more evenly contested than the scores indicate, the St. James threequarters, while doing a lot of excellent ■work, failing at the crucial moment. The Whites mado the pae© faat, the soft ground suiting them besfc, and ifc must be said that they held their heavier opponents for quite a, time, notwithstanding sun and wind. But when the Melrose forwards got going they were too strong for the other pack, who were overpowered. Despite some clever work by tho St. James defence, Melrose got over four times. In the second spell the pace told on the teams, although Sfc. Games still toiled hard, and a try wa« eventually registered for them. Then the Melrose team scored twice, no goals being kicked. Scores : Melrose 18, St. James 3. The try-getters for Melrose were Twomev (2), Greeks, J. Murphy, Sullivan, andl M'lnnis. Hill scored for Sfc. James. Mr. Roberts refereed. PONEKE (27) v. OLD BOYS (0). Poneke, with an efficient team of forwards and a rare back division, inflicted a severe defeat on Old Boys, who are a. team of forwards par excellence and little else. The ground at Athletic Park was rather wet and sticky, and consequently there wm not very much back play until near the close ot the second spell, when the Old Boys' forward* tired. Then Poneke went through the defence, and scored again and again. Old Boys had more et the game than, the score lrould indicate, but the weakness of tkeir btcke was fatel. Walsh was probably the most conspicuous player on the field with a series of awernng runs, come of -which he carried through successfully on his own. Tries were scored by Shadbolt, Tiiyard, Elliott, Reed, Ryan, Walsh (2), and Gardiner converted three tries. Mir. Bell was referee. PETONE (6) v. ATHLETIC (3). A desperate struggle accompanied the meeting of the undefeated team Athletic, and the strenuous Petone at the Athletic Park. Each side scored a penalty goal, and Petone \with a hard-earned try established the necessary lead to victory. That was about the margin of an extremely hard-foaght game, in which the better all-round team won. Athletic are not quite, somehow or other, the team they were at the outset. Petone got their three points in the first spell. breaking through strongly, eqoalised in «- similar manner, and then Petone, not to be dented, simply benieged Athlefcie's base until the try came, from Clem Greea. Th»t was the last. Mr. H. Card vras referee. WELLINGTON (18) v. VICTORIA COLLEGE (0). A strong cress breeze confined play to one side ef the ground, and helped to keep the game close. The Wellington forwards, whose play in recent matches has been marked by great improvement, proved too strong for the opposition, and had the Wellington backs handled more surely than they did, a bigger total of points would have been compiled. Victoria College, none the less, displayed some offensive ability, and made their opponents show their best defensive abilities on occasions. Only one try was registered against College in the first half, but in the second five more were added. No goals were kicked. The try -getters were Bridge (2), Hill (2), L. Bridge, and Malfroy.