RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 132, 5 June 1915, Page 12

RUGBY

—- — I (By "Dropkick.") j POSITION OF THE TEAMS. \ : '. ' ', • '. ■ ■ - ' ' i ! ' ! ! 1 '' '' ' i ' i l { ] 1 ( ! 1 ] ( ' ' ' ] j i j i ; j

St. James defaulted to Athletic and Trenthaai B, and withdrew from the competition. A GOOD GAME SPOILED. ,It was to be regretted that the Rugby ground at Trentham was not in a better state for the match between Petone and Trentham B. The going was decidedly heavy and slippery, and the sprinters of both teams had the utmost difficulty in keeping the perpendicular when there wag much ground to cover and little time to cover it in. Thus the , match was robbed of a good deal of the fast back work that would otherwise have been witnessed, and resolved itself largely into scrambles and loose rushes. The P.etone rearguard are a doughty lot, and know their business,. Certainly they had the advantage of the opposing backs, and it was largely due £o this that the suburban team secured a solid win over the soldiers. Their handling of the ball ■ was generally safe, and they refused to be bustled when the odds looked against their getting the ball away." Their line kicking, Hob, was, as a rule, accurate, and gained them ground time after time. The place-kicking, however, was a different story, for not one of their five tries was converted. On the few occasions when the Trentham backs attempted combined passing rushes they showed a lack of concertedness and — sometimes—judgment, with the result that they lost the ball and allowed the Petone men to cut in. Neither of the packs was noteworthy for weightiness, any. advantage in this direction going to Petone, who had included in their front division the hefty .veteran Reidy. In 1 the scrum" the pressure by the soldiers often wore down the opposing pack, which would have-considerably felt the, benefit of a i&watffifter men. The first • spell was .fairly even,- but in the second half the soldiers lost a lot of their dash., The fact that many of them had just returned /from strenuous manoeuvres before the match afforded an, explanation. _ Throughout the Trcnthamites never once ,<crossed Petone's goal line, .they-came very close to it more than once. Their only score was a penalty goal. TWO GOOD HALF-BACKS. Individually there were some good .players among the Trentliam backs. Houlihan, the last line of defence, play6d » fine game, rarely being in error, .Of the three-quarter line Stewart was conspicuous, being very fast on the attack and 'kicking well. Special mention must go to Ross, the dodgy little halfback, "who was activity personified, and often attempted to worm his way through the opposing pack when ther"e were none of his own backs to feed the ball to. The .two Andersons and Sexton ■worked well in the pack. Corson, .the Petone full-back, made few mistakes, and his tackling was as sound as his attack. He always 'managed to get in his kick even with the Trentham men swooping down on him, and his coolness saved the situation for his side time and time again. Eddie and/ Jo« Ryan were two other noticeable) members of the-rearguard, Eddie aspeci-' ally handling the ball safely and soundly. In Udy, the half-back, the Petone tea-ari have found an excellent substitute for Nunn, who did? such ( fine work behind ithe scrum last season. The newcomer Ihooked the ball away very quickly, ;j/jd knew where to place it when he tamed it. Dent and Ready were itodelatigable workers among the itront rankers. > > FORCE AND SKILL. Rugby football, when properly /played, combines force with skill. A big, bullocky forward team may win a/ game on occasion; but" the forward is merely heavy is at the same disadvantage as the man of weight fitted '^gainst . a boxer who understands the science of fighting. The ideal team, is one which has forwards of sufiicien i weight to hold their own in packed w b/rk j but yet are not too bulky to mov<» quickly \ in the loose, supported, of course, by 1 skilful backs. Occasionally si' team is L found which has both force <md skill, yet prefers to rely on bhK former. 1 Matched against a ■ team suijji as this, :an ordinarily clean -playing, fifteen'is I liable to depart,from the proper sporting code, .to retaliate with/-- roughness, and the game thus becomes/ an uninteresting test. The match lw.tween Athletic and Trentham A on Saturday did not go so far as- this, bht there was a decided tendency to w'teat is termed "scragging" and "dumping." It would be invidious to say whicli team started it. Before very long thiJr c were faults on both sides. ( The rt^eree (Mr. C. Fraser) had a difficult task in his first match at Athletic Pa'tfc. The noisy section of "barrackejfs" apparently thought he was too strict, and they expressed their disagreement with some of his decisions, as Wbarrackers" are wont to do. This conduct of spectators is by no means fair io the man with the whistle. Few' ci the outspoken critics are capable 'di controlling a match themselves : thjfiir bias is too evident, and the men -who are in' a posi-. tion to criticise do kjot, do so harshly, for they know the difficulties' a referee has to contend witli/. It is safe to 6ay .that if Mr. Fraser tbd used his whistle less there would hrwe been more rough play. FAST BUT UNINTERESTING. There was no d'fwjbt about the speed of the match; but* it was not generally that kind of speia/i whioh arouses the impartial spectatcir to iwithuaiasm. The forwards had mosfb of the work to do, and they did ifc 'jwy well. Wilson, Osborne, Cunningl»tm, and Paton were most prominent in the Athletic team. They worked splendidly, but .-i&fc -Tjeflth«9 jam VJUafred-tfaßffi- so,.

closely that they had few opportunities t for breaking away in the open and making those spectacular rushes which are so good to watch. Taylor was a specially keen "winger" for Trentham, a,nd his lightning rushes often stopped developing Athletic attacks. Paul, also, was seen much in the open, harrying the Athletic backs and assisting his own rear rank in the defensive work. ATHLETIC BACKS. There was need of assistance for the Trentham backs, for the Athletic rearguard found a particularly dangerous combination. Had they been allowed sufficient time to get moving, they would have scored on several occasions. M'Vey was rather slow behind the scrum ; and this meant much to the team, for the ball rarely came out cleanly. Generally the scrum was screwed and the ball came out at the side The five-eighths, especially S. Wil- I son, were lively, but not quick enough' j to give the three-quarter line a good ! start. When the ball reached the | wings there was a danger light showing , ; for Trentham, but the smother style of ' tackling was applied with auch effecti I that Heley had comparatively few' chances of showing, his speed. Occasionally he would take the ball himself v.\ the open and dash for the line, but }ie never scored from such a move as tbi.*,. SPLENDID DEFENCE. Trentham had not their best teaaja in the field. Lately there have been ijaany changes in the camp -fifteens. Fc/p one j reason or another men have been ■tu'.iable to take their places, so that th.it combination has not developed to t/lie extent that it otherwise would h&vk. One or two men have had to bear <ibe burden of defending. Roberts and- Lynch had most to do in this way on 1 Udturday. Roberts did it. particularly we/1. His tackling was fine to watch, and Vhe speed with which he got the ball frtt'm a forward rush and lound the line in a good position ~was delightful. ' Man;^i times he extricated his side from a position of extreme danger In this wc-rk of defending he was supported, uh has been stated, by Taylor Lynch 'fdso played his part His tackling was' very sure, and his' speed was most useful when Heley made one of his lightning dashes for the line. UNIVERSITY OUTCLASSED. Although the scoring W the PonekeTJniversity match at the .'cfutt was big, the match contained soo'ie bright and interesting flashes of pla-y, by both sides. University were outclass^ d both in back and forward divisions, ,but they played gamely right up to tie call of time. It was quite remartoible and characteristic of the 'Varsiii/y team that with 38 points up against 'uhem and within five minutes of the final whistle they played with great dw ,h and added two .tries in very quick fi/iccession. Although the Por^ke forwards easily held their opponents, the big score by the red-and-blacksi was chiefly attributable to the snj/tft and finished play of the back division. In the earlier stages of the gamci the backs showed a decided inclination/ to keep the ball too long and to rely tfiore upon solus efforts than upon combiHfid play. As the game advanced, however, they gained remarkable combination, the ball travelling from half to wiriSj in the orthodox Rugby !sfcyle. t 0. and'J. Tilyard, at .half and five-eighth res'S/ictively, played finished football, the Witter initiating most of i the passing rufc/jes. C. Tilyard appeared to play too nruch into his forwards instead of letti/ig out the* ball from the line-out. H«i was unfortunate in badly dislocating Mo thumb, which necessitated his retSremfcnt a£ a late,, stage of the, game. Itf l^Vtfa'l^ (i ]bW'_ilficuj]S..,to single 1 out any oi the backs as especially de- , serving cofcramendation. They are a, ! very even .'lot, speedy and clever, and they hamJJ.o the ball accurately and | neatly. A'lgar still displays a tendency ■ to run across and push the wings on to the line., Morris played in his usual finished 1 nanner and proved too speedy for the ,'. University backs. Prendeville jwas.plafyed at wing three-quarter and shaped ' very promisingly in that position. //Jhristopherson, at full-back, was a littye. weak. His taking of the ball was riot certain at times, and he is inclinecl to givo the man a little more attention than the ball. The forwards worl'W d better in the loose than in the tighb, and their following up shows room foe improvement. W. and J. King and Gir.ciers showed to advantage. All wingforfeards display more or less the tendeii/jy to play off-side, but Hedges, the Pc/cieke^ wing,, iB a particularly bad offender in this respect and was lucky to e:fixL-pe more frequent penalising. , The weakness of the University fifteen lies mainly in the forward division. In fhe loose they occasionally show up, but in the tight only one man — Beard — appeared to relish ifc. They do not pack round in true forward style, the result being that an extra amount of .work devolves upon the half and five-eighths. Bramwall and Crisp, half v and five-eighth respectively, play well, both together and individually. All the 'Varsity backs are very light, but they are very dodgy, and this characteristic saved them often. Cries of " go low " were frequently heard from the Poneke backs when a green man, would get going. The University team plays good football, but needs the inclusion of a few seasoned players to stiffen up both the backs and forwards, particularly the latter. WAR DEPREDATIONS. In one sense the "poor display in the Oriental- Wellington match should be to the glory of the two teams rather than to their shame, for no other clubs, perhaps, have suffered more than these two from the call to arms. They are, therefore, playing this year under disadvantages honourably incurred, and can claim indulgence. They are doing their best. The game opened brightly, and gave promise of good work. , Wellington moved down en masse "towards the Oriental goal, and here one of their two five-eighths nipped along ■ a few yards with the ball and. sent it on to Burrell, who dodged a little, and then forced his way through the remaining opposition and touched down. This really was the only piece of high-class football in the game, except, perhaps, Goodbehere's try for the same team later on — a good passing rush ending in a sprint down the side line. The line-kicking of the Oriental backs, particularly of Cap- . per, the full-back, was certainly good, and it stood them in excellent stead in the second half of the game, when the wind began to blow. It kept the team in a position handy to the Yellow's line. Neither team shirked the battle. The game was hard-going from the start. Oriental secured a big share of the ball from the scrums, but otherwise the honours in the front rank work were about even, though now and again Oriental showed a superior dash in the open. Parker could claim credit for much of * that ; and Moffitt, until he* hurt his shoulder by tumbling his big weight upon it when he scored his try, and had j to retire. Parker, indeed, played an extremely hard and heady forward game. Shearer, Marshall, and M Pherson also deserve mention. ' HARD, HONEST TRYING. On the Wellington side, Meredith, at . half, though disadvantage*! by lack of , .weight, fcught gamely against tho ocUls, and sometimes brought off a nice pieoe of work With better support he will . prove a very useful back. He has re- j source in defence, and shows dash in . attack. Some o! the men behind him

more can be said about them later in the season. Miller, who shed sundry jerseys ill the course of the match, played h^s usual hard, honest game in the ru<ik. Francis seemed to feel the pace, und only flashed into prominence now ?/n/l then. But everybody, as has already; beon said, seemed to be trying to d<> 'his honest best, and they did it till tjlhe sun went down, and eemi-dark-ness descended over the field. The tries •whi<;ii Oriental secured were well eam«d, and their margin about indicates their superior attacking powers. , _____ / TRENTHAM C PLAY WELL. ffhe Trentham C team made its best showing so far this s°- ■ in the match w?\th Selwyn at Petone. At the outset the troopers displayed a keenness to get fKrints, but the forwards were apparently too keen, as many chances were lost through sending the ball too far ahead. ; This fault, however, was soon remedied, and then an even-working pack, supported by a rearguard never lacking in combination, made matters Very lively for Selwyn. The men from Trentham were superior in each department, the younger team finding it an exceedingly difficult task to upset the many combined rushes which were made for the line. Sometimes the forwards, headed by "General" French, would break away, and one by one the defenders would drop down in a bold effort to stop the oncoming pack, but it was seldom that this was done until the reds were on the point of scoring. Then some slight infringement or something else gave temporary relief to the greens. The Trentham backs were, however, always ready, and when the ball came back to them passing rushes would be indulged in, and these were genefally v more effective than those by the forwards. By the time the game was well advanced the rearguard play became very attractive. Immediately one of the backs received the ball he would set off, and when he could not safely proceed further the leather was sent on to another player, and in tnis manner the ball was on several occasions carried nearly the whole length of the field. With such play as this, there is little wonder that Trentham C put up such a big score. Of the forwards, French (Auckland) was most prominent, 1 and he was ably supported by J. , Barber (late of Melrose, Wellington), Watson (Auckland), and all the others. S. Cameron (Taranalri), Weston- (Auckland a/nd New Zealand rep.), and Wilson (Auckland and New Zealand rep.)', were the pick of the back division, while Israel (Wellington) and Bater (Auckland) were never slow in making the best use of opportunities. SELWYN FARE BADLY. Hl-luck is Btill following the young Selwyn team, which made such an' excellent start im the senior competition b^ defeating tw6 stirbng teams— Trentham A and Oriental. Two notable absentees last Saturday were M'Phee and Flack, who had suffered slight injuries id the previous match. Their" places were well filled- by A. Thomas (late of St. James) and MTnness (from the West Coast). There were times during the game with Trentham C that these placers made bright flashes, but the absence of the usual players seemed to disorganise the work of the greens, work which in the first two games was full of combination. They had a very strong team against t/hem, and did very well to prevent a larger score (though quite large enough) being rattled' up. Thomas, at full-back, was the beet of the rearguard, his liriekicking being quite as good as in previous years. Williamson, the half-back, .battled hard throughout the game, and never- tfailedl to get" down* to the forward rushes. M 'Donald and the others did some good work, but it lacked combination. There was one piece of play, however, by the skipper which is worthy Sf commendation, and that was when he ' made the beet use of an opening and enabldd Beck to score. The wing-for-ward, Roberts, was the best of an, even pack, which Was quite unequal' to the opposing force. Selwyn, it might be stated, have had a fair share- of travelling, and it is pleasing to see that they are again set down to play in town. This will, no doubt, go a long way to I bringing them back to previoxis form. SCHOOL COMPETITION. Only one game was played in the senior A competition. Petone West v. Mt. Cook. As on previous occasions, the strength of the Mt. Cook team was chiefly in the forwards. Westwood 'and Humphries again doing most of the work. Hanson had much of the back work to do, and saved well on many occasions. The Petone team deserved their win, and are improving fiach week. Raurangi is\ their star player. Besides being fast, he handles the ball neatly and knowß how to score a try. In the senior B competition. Clydequay and Kilbirnie were very evenly matched, but their display was disappointing. Neither team played with enough energy, and players ran too much across the field to do any good passing. Le Compte was the best of the Clydequay forwards, and played a very good game. In the backs Wright was again prominent, and Abel put in some sound work., Among the Kilbirni© forwards Innes showed up well. In the backs Griffin, Sherwood, and Rankine were the most promising. Johnstone plays well at times. He is fairly fast and dodgy, but- is too slow in getting off the mark. Eastern Hutt had their first victory against Te Aro, after a very close game. Baumber was again the chief support of the Hutt team, and besides scoring the only tiy converted it, arid also a penalty. In the junior competition all the games were played, and with the exception of the South Wellington-Mt. Cook game were evenly contested. Normal were again victorious. \ Nickless, the Normal half, played the best game on the field, and was ably supported by Brien, Cooke, and Herd. For Roseneath, Mitchell was the best of the forwards, and the two-five-eighths, Morrison and Renner, were the best in the backs. The Brooklyn team is on the improve, and drew with Newtown A. Newtown B put up a good fight against the heavier Terrace team. Terrace played very poor football, and on their previous showing should have had a much easier victory.

cd O •& t/i vi mi jr. .~ '. *«*•*„«« S 6 « £ £'5 ithlefcic ... 4 4 0 0 40 12 8 Potona 4 3 0 1 58 31 ' 6 ?onelce 4> 2 0 2 89 38 4 Frentham C ... 3 2 0 1 40 28 4 Frontham A ... 4 2' 0 2 38 38 4 Mental ... 4s4 s 2 0 2 34 36 4 rrentham B ... 4 2 0 2 20 29 4 3elwyn ,4202 39 61 4 Wellington ... 4 1 d 3 33-72 2 University' ■... 3 0 0 3 33 79 0