UNIVERSITY PLAY WELL.

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 22, 26 July 1919, Page 12

UNIVERSITY PLAY WELL.

University usually play well in wet weather, as, they have shown lately, and Monday was no exception, tho Green team being apparently absolutely at home with a 6lippery ball and adifficult field. From the outset it was evident that the Poneke forwards wouldsucceed in holding the opposing pack, and they showed their superiority in thei scrum, getting the ball out nicelyi University had considerable difficulty iii keeping the Poneke forwards in chec'fc, and had it not .been for their superior back play and excellent defence, tliey would have fared badly. As it was,; although the heavier pack forced /the game, they could not use their advantage, owing to the faulty handling c£ -the ball by their backs, who apparently could not settle down to the sta,-jr,e of the ground. Tho outstanding player in the Green team was Jackson, at flve-eight'nj, who was the mainstay of hie teaiu, being always on the ball,, and making absolutely sure- of his man every feme. His brilliant defensive play and /useful tactics aided his team to a degr&e. While mentioning tackling, it m&y' be as well to give University due praww for thet*

splendid work in that branch of the game. Hardly once was a man missed, and, what is more, every man with the ball was brought down with a. good, clean, low take" which was good to watch. At times the play near the Green line approached first-class representative football, the frequency arid neatness of the tackling being a noticeable point. Scott, behind the University scrum, was in good form, getting the ball away nicely, although he threw it low once, or twice. He still wants practice in his position, but is a hard man to pass. He was not given many kicks in this match, which was unfortunate, as he has been performing very well of late. One kick he had at goal was good, but was carried short by the gusty wind. There is no doubt that University has one of the most reliable and cool fullbacks in the senior grade; Chrisp excelled his former efforts on Monday, and saved the situation by brilliant play in. many a, dangerous position. His kicking is certainly improving, and his tackling leaves little to be desired. A word about the forwaids. A hard, fighting pack are the Green lot, not letting up once throughout the game, but battling their way admirably against a decidedly heavier bunch, and toeing the ball beautifully in the loose. Hutchison is still prominent, while Smith and Mar-tyn-Smith are playing well. Although they lo6t Tom Beard in the second spell, and missed his weight, they made up for the loss by added efforts to keep the play open, and succeeded in hooking the ball in much better fashion than previously. / It would be hard to find a more suitable centre than Barker, who possesses, and, what is more, uses, a remarkable turn of speed, supporting a break-away in good style. He can easily overtake any other player on the field, and helped Lusk by scoring a neat try. He is a' difficult man to follow, and is apparently not the easiest to go down to. . THE PONEKE TEAM. Poneke perhaps were wise in keeping the play close, as University were certainly handling the ball in better style than their opponents, and in the first spell were making good use of the gusty wind* The scrum was good, the ball coming away nicely, but it rarely' got past Algar at centre, who was not playing his usual sterling football. | Morris did not show the same form as he has previously, and perhaps his club selectors have not been entirely at fault in overlooking him in one or two matches. ' Fred Tilyard was playing good football' throughout the game, but found difficulty" in getting past Aitken and Jackson. He had very bad luck in not getting over the line once or twice. The Poneke half-back, C. Tilyard, was handling the ball neatly, but might have relinquished his attempts to run through the pack with the ball, as he was smothered practically every time he attempted it. His passing was at times not as good as it should have been. A rather pleasing game was played by M'Arthur, who seems to use his head well in conjunction with his pace. He was, unfortunately, crowded on to the touch-line on several occasions and could not run without getting out Jof play. His play is neat and workmanlike. That they should have the good fortune to get several marks in front of the posts was decidedly the saving of Poneke. A man like Malm is in such a case invaluable to a team. The Poneke backs were unable; to get going properly, and this was due to an evident- understanding on the part of their opponents. The two side men in the 'Varsity scrum broke. away very quickly. On* of them went for the opposing half, and the other made the first five-eighths his mark, while the 'Varsity half seemed to undertake the care of the Poneke second five-eightha. It was a clever manoeuvre, neatly executed on many occasions and highly successful in its object.