RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1923, Page 16

RUGBY

Itv '"DROPKICK"!

A LEAF FROM THE PAST

WELLINGTON BACKS IN GREAT FORM

NEW SOUTH WALES TEAM WILL IMPROVE

REPRESENTATIVE FIXTURES

".' -iiigust'29— New Scrath vJ Southland. -;-'September I—New South 1 Wales v. New-'Zea- :::.,-, land;(second Test), at Christchurcn. „ September .s—New South Wales .v. . Hav.-kes 'v -Bajr.:'- ■'■•■-. - '■ ■'■ ■ -. ■ -"-"September B—T."O6as6. at Wellington.'" B—New South Wales -v. Auckland „ ..and. North, Auckland. - - . Sept-ember 12—v."W,anganui,"at Wangahui.' ' .' '••'-September-ia2—New-South-Wales v. Walkato, ."-■" Thames,-Bay of Plenty. - - ■■■ - --. ' "Beptember 15—New Zealand v. New South Wales (third Tost), at Wellington. ■ • ] . , September 1!*-%;. Auckland, 1 at- Auckland. : ( '". "September 19—vl"Waikatb,' at' Hamilton. 18—New South Wales v.Wairarapa -—; : and Bush Districts.- ■..'■■ ...Beptembac. 22—v. ..Manawatu, at Palmerston ■-'■\_. North. _ - . •■ ■ .

';" And great was the fall- thereof' In the preaence of thousands of. people who . had assembled in anticipation of seeing -■ .ifast ■ and- spectacular-football' from play-. "era -who"we're" reckoned' to'be' good ex- '!' ponentsi'of the open game,' this year's; ' New South Wales touring team suffered •"~ ■» ■ disastrous collapse in' opening the tour w•gainst -'the .combined Wellihgton-Mana-'"-"watu team." That happening, .however, ■did not--deprive the' crowd—the biggest ; -recorded, at Athletic Park so far thia Ci-'season-—of;"its s'desire '-'for ■'■:spectacular '■? |lugby.';-'For!Brice' the; clptd" of L doubt aa-about-Wellingtorfs ~ "capabilities-':aa ; ex-1 .i.ponents'of the real Rugby" passed."over; ■ and-- the local representatives, -with two players from the Manawatu, came forth ;• , ■_. in iheiivbest/xblours;", took "charge -of -' the. - game and sprang a big surprise on everybody—-opponents-., and ■, spectators jajike.v ■TKej'.assumedM'aVrolei/that was, rg>n|rally (&pM~s#rWpils'3>p .aa^jhed by ;*Mp^sitqrs,^and, frpmathe-locals backs ithere ; wasy a. display.; tfieVl»kego£: which 'Pi B.vnotlbqen"^^.sto;.;since?BSgl)yr'i)wSs hav-•-.AJ%;';%'":beit "days in Wemrtdiort- TilU-. yar4l n d-..MarT£ vNicEolls.-pnncipaily' and' v i,•J36c: ;^Nicbpl]s,' Brophy, a,, slightly ,4 e sjser*: degree,.' £ i shona oat-■^-.masters - o|>ilie 'game .in ';. pi ay' ■j:ithafeSyas''truly "exhili'arating •KHti'ey^^';,were" I''J°:®«^?a^;at th^p,:of-theii;^form, Sfl.ffiyt?**Mn>actipnj *i;eedy ih'i.mbvement'. i.;fclever^and, .headyj^fact, .itheyliwere all ;H^*<^ d'%:?*P<isfcea of firsttplass footj, baUers^an ■ esfraqrainary A'chanse : from •iwjiat Wellington's backs'have^been in W??nfe years:-:Thai/;':was^m-'?the firgf spell pf the game; but it was not ths -same after the -interval; durme which the visitors managed to revive from the ordeal they had boen through, and found the means to steady up the slashing attacks of the , opposition, which had taken them by such sui-prise that they seemed almost powerless to resist. So, brilliant was the performance of the Wel.lmgton bacis- that^all those people Jwho nave been.,hai3dingi,;6ut adversei.cnlfcisTri' might wel^ay.-'ple; take offgbur ' $15^ to them.' 1. . : :TJjg paid morejp^HaSlarly to MK'Nfyiolls* and F. Tilyard."" 'i:*: ' '? -lK' -:, ■ "■■■ An entire^ di|erent state opaffaii* existed m rttie;iflecpM spell, tackling anmtfst te-difScult task-in very determined fashion, and giving the local players few more of the opportunities which had enable them to practically' do as they liked. In the first place the visitors kept a closer watch on Porter, the Wellington wing-forward.- who had caused them no end; oK-bother.;i n the' first spell? and thej-'cbanged their'usual' scrum formation in''prdei'i to allow of a man b«ng played opposite Porter.- B: ElhotV was entrusted with the job, and whengjper he was not handy to'stop the dick Wellington wing-forward from' making good use of the position beside .the-scrum, one of the other forwards broke away quickly to attend fo Porter. Ihe affect of that action on the part of the; visitors was no doubt 'a Help. to them, even though there may have been »P|pe indications of the dislike that the visitors have for the wing-forward "■ not Porter particularly, but any wing-for-ward.- The blockage provided in that way, as. far as it'was successful in th'V second spell,:..tended to make the posi-' tajn easieri.fbr the* visitors, as also did tlie attention, giye_n to H. E. Nicholls bahindvthe local scrum. The experience ofjthe^first.spell had, evidently satisfied' th'fe vistors that if a repetition of the groat movements by the WellingtMi backs was to be avoided a closer watch ori.Porter and H. E.. Nicholls was necessary. And that watch was kept, though there werie plenty of occasions on which either of those.'two player* again managed.flo beat,the-oppoMtipn.- In scrum work the visitors"found 'that they were able to^idpv^ite^^ w.ell.wiyi"seven:for-waxdsi:':-';%v;i^-.>:: ir--r'-v:-;v-r i *.<.-■•■''•■. v .

AiothVv^ange'which had a beneficial effect 'upon^the^ame''.from, the; visitors' point of vievr was the presence : of LoudorK'inr 'thea;three-quartier line -for most of the secoHdvspellj Trousdale going to full-back. **Then, the visitors,: also seemed to go about their i work with [greater determinatidn.than in, .the .first'spell, and fhoir tackling-was:; much better, while the forwards appeared^/to -break up- from tight work more <|uickly^aind2srere':;thiiß of greater hmdrance^to^WeUingtoiryin; m3.fing attempts to repeat their ■. dating advances of the first spell. Theiwhol* result of the change of effort ."on., the part of New South Wales, made''the second spell of the game entirely,, different from the first spell, and though there was not much in' the way of spectacular play, the game still held'interest, by ijeasbhf^| the fact that the visitors sver»*-making a tetter show and doing equally aa well as Wellington, and a little better in the matter of obtaining

points. _ There was something more definite in their work,- and, while they could not manage to pick up the class of play which has usually accounted for victories to New South Wales, there was evidence that better things would be achieved by the team after a couple of matches. The forwards in particular showed up in better light and the way in which they contributed to the-,move-ments which resulted in tries indicated that once the opposition leaves any loopholes the visiting vanguard will be quick to be on the move, not only by way of dribbling rushes, but also, and more particularly, by short passing rushes. At the latter the visting forwards evidently know their game. As far as the probable improvement of the back division is concerned there is no doubt that" changes will .require to be made. Some of the inside backs seemed to-- lack a knowledge of.what best to do to assist those alongside them. With the arrival of Stanley and Sheehan that weakness will no doubt be removed, and from the back sin future. matches something infinitely better might beyiejepected, with a much, more reliable line of defence, as Nothling' and Crakahthorp will also be available; The line-out and scrum work should also show marked improvement with-Erby, -Marrott, and Taylor in fhe fpa'ck; '■ ■ ■;■■"■• ■''■"-• ' ■■ ■■:'- • ■': ■■■

'The visitors will require to show their very best football in order to cover up the poor exhibition last .Saturday, and they can be depended upon to their best, taking full benefit of the experience last Saturday, and in each of the coming matches; --By the time they. appear, on ;Athletic Park again, for the final Test with New Zealand-they should be a vastly different combination to that of last Saturday. The six players who arrived this week from Sydney, among them Sheehan (captain), will serve to build up the team in. strength, and the younger players are bound.to,improve with each' match. ..While it may.be possible in some measure to cover, up. the N.S.W. display;', of last Saturday, the fine per- ! lOrmance of the Wellington backs, will; Irqinain a vivid picture in the minds of all~who saw those backs in action. /, • ABOUT THE PLAYERS. On attack the Wellington' players .were superb in the first spell, as already stated, and they did well in the second spell when they met a stronger resistance. . Itt was then that the inside backs, mainly Tilyard and. M. Nicholls, often used the short punt y in preference to passing. That was done with' a knowledge that the wing-three-quarters, Brophy; (Manawatu) and Svenson, would lie on'their game and ready to make the best ; use of any chances: to follow through;;...Thus.'ion \many occasions,:the kick-by-the inside backs was far more useful than has been the case:. . Brophy stood, out as one of the best wing-three-quarters. seen in Wellington .'■ in recent years,- and Svenson showed'that he is likely to develop into a first-class winger. Malcolm', full-back, was not altogether oyerburdened with, work, but he always carried out his jluties efficiently, and showed coolness when the opposition .was-,-upon him; He was. also aware of what .possession'of the ball meant to the local Hacks.; In the;"second-spell Malcolm was tried at place-kicking, and he registered some" good efforts. "Doc" Xicholls was at his best, giving a splendid illustration of the value of a really good, centre three-quarter to a team. He was'excellent on defence and attack, ver- ■ satile and heady, always being a sure link when, the back line.. was on the move. The five-eighths, M, Nicholls and F; Tilyaid, were top-notchers, showing fine dash, . handling well, beating would-be tacklers in great style, and generally playing up to 'the best standard. _ On their display in the first spell, though the, opposition was 'weak, they were comparable :to New Zealand's >best in. Rugby's better days. H. E: .Nichplls was as a good as ever behind the scrum;, and his efforts to set the backs on? the move were very fine. A member of" tho New South Wales party remarked ,io, the writer. "We have seen Mills this season f and,.we didn't expect to find Nicholls so good as he was to™yV, • TiiG B^ectors have .'now" found Wellington's back combination, but it is a pity that Brophy is not' always available for the wing-three-quarter position. Of course,-, that combination depends largely upon how the players take the-game. For inkahc'e, Tilyaid and M. Nicholls have been together J be; fore, but their work has never been anything like as good. One'vthjn'g which helped the backs last Saturday was the excellent state of the weather, as well as the ground. On a good day with the ground in good order they 'can produce the goods. But the trouble has been that for moßt of the representa-: tive games the weather- conditions have been a.gamst good play.

The Wellington forwards played well right through, but they were often beaten by the opposing pack, and it was not often that the ball was hooked cleanly. That, however, was no doubt largely due to the difficulties with which the hookers were faced in going down to- a. set of forwards with three men in the. front rank. In the loose the local forwards served .tKeir side well, and also in the line-out, where Pringlo was very serviceable. One thing about the

Wellington scrum is that it is lacking in weight. Of Porter there is nothing | that need be said other than to repeat ■the opinion of the manager of the visiting team: "The wing-forward, Porter, is about the best I have seen." That Is a great compliment. Of the visiting backs, George (fiveeighth) grafted like a Trojan all through the piece, and Loudon rendered good service when he was in the three-quar-ter line. The lack of combination gave the wing-three-quarters no chance, although Erasmus displayed quality and dash that should be more evident with further play. The forwards on the New South Wales side had a hard task, but they stuck to it well and succeeded in the second spell in filling the bill' when the backs failed to come to light. It was not the best New South Wales pack, but it was good, and those memj bers of it Tvho appeared to be the pick were Elliott, Ferguson, Thorn, and Fowles. THE SHIELD—AND OTHER' MATTERS. Hawkes Bay are having Borne anxious times in holding fast to the Eanfurly Shield. After getting home from Wellington on goal-kicking, they managed " a win over Poverty Bay by 15 points to nil, but it is said by a Bay writer ("Old Tinier") that had it not been for the' backs coming out of their shell it is more than likely the Shield would have found a new home. That may be stretching matters somewhat, as Poverty Bay were wiihput four of their leading players—J. Heeney, Brown, Langlands, and T. Heeney. The lastnamed, by the way, was preparing to meet another well-known footballer, B. M'Cleary (Canterbury) for honours inboxing. Hawkes Bay were without M. Brownlie, Smith, and Kirwan. The Bay backs, on a sloppy ground, are said to have given a fine display. The material is of the right stuff in Hawkes Bay, and handled along riglit lines it would probably make up the best provincial side in the Dominion for.a year or two. But at present the best fifteen that the Bay can produce does not strike one as being better than the first pick of some other provinces, Auckland and Otago particularly, and if there were any Bay supporters in Wellington last Saturday they may have been inclined to think differently of Wellington than they did after Wellington went under to, the ! Bay. It is good, however, to find Hawkes Bay supporters of Rugby so enthusiastic about the quality of their players, and if that enthusiasm could be shown in some other centres the game and the players would be the better for it Wellington's Rugby followers, it might be mentioned in that connection, had a fine tribute paid to them by the manager of the N.S.W. team this week. They always have an eye for both teams, local and visiting. Reverting to. Hawkes. Bay's claims to retain possession of the Shield, there were some anxious moments for the keen Bay supporters while Canterbury were trying to lift the trophy.: The match was one of the most interesting witnessed in the Bay district. "Old Timer" made the following comment:— "It was essentially a battle between the forwards, and until the last ten or fifteen minutes, it was hard to say which was the better pack. Condition then told its tale, and when Hawkes Bay put on their final spurt, for which they are now becoming famous, Canterbury had no chance in the world to stem the rush. Canterbury's defence was so solid and as the clock ticked away the minutes it was an anxious period waiting to see if Hawkes Bay could beat Caterbury's lead of two points. How they succeeded has made history which is too well known to repeat in this column. There is a big difference of opinion as to which was the better team. In the writer's mind the result just about sums.up the merits. As the referee' said, it was fifty-fifty till the last ten minutes, when Hawkes Bay carried all before them. There are still many arguments as to the manner of the scoring. Spectators are not always in a position to judge, whereas the players often are. Several of the Hawkes Bay men are quite candid in their opinion that Daly scored a try for Canterbury which was not given, but these players are just as] positive, that,Nepia's'pot went over the goal. Others are as certain that Brown's penalty kick was not' a goal, but argu- ] nients Hike tlipse^ cannot alter the re- ] suit. It was in the back division that Canterbury put it over, Hawkes Bay, for they played with combination, whereas with Hawkes Bay it was more a case of individualism."

Canterbury have had.a run of ill-luck in connection with the Shield. More than once they have lost a Shield game by a point, as they did asainst Hawkes Bay last week. They will come- again, and;.if in the future they can get together a side just a little better than that which made the bid for the Shield this year, and have the side properly prepared, they should merit the success for which they have been striving since 1902, when the Shield was first awarded to Auckland.

Auckland are again in search of the sniela. They are late on the scene with a challenge, but it has come, and if Hawkes ay accepts, the trophy may find its former abode, where it remained in its younger days for a lengthy period of eight years. The prospects of Auckland lifting the shield from Hawkes Bay appear to" be bright, now that the Queen City representatives are running vp J big scores in matches with other provinces, but success against Hawkes Bay will depend upon whether Auckland's best team can make the trip. Playing on a' different ground against stronger opposition Auckland will have a more solid task than in recent matches. Auckland desired to play the Bay on Wednesday last, but that was not suitable to Hawkes Bay. The challenge was then made for any date in September, and Hawkea Bay have now suggested that the Bth September would be suitable.

The acceptance-of Auckland's challenge for the Ranfurly Shield has been received with gratification in Rugby circles (states "Scrum" in the "Napier Telegraph"). The Hawkes Bay representatives have triumphed up to the present, but they will have to be on their mettle when Auckland takes the field against them. The Auckland toam has met with great success against other centres, and the team to play'for'.the Shield will be a great combination. The match will probably be on Bth September, and that is to be a big day in Napier, as the game will be played^ on M'lienn Park. Auckland will also have to put their best foot forward as Hawkes Bay are ready and are confident that the "shield wili stay with them for the rest of the season. Bay are adhering strictly to the rules governing the competition, and are not prepared to adopt the same attitude as Wellington in playing shield matches on tour. Laßt Saturday Hawkes Bay defeated Buy of Plenty at Rotorua by 17 points to nil. The shield was

not concerned in the match, the Hawkes Bay Rugby Union having replied to a request from the Bay of Plenty Union L 1? ,match to be for the shield that no shield matches would be played on

THE INTERMEDIATES. The Intermediate Grade competition has been very popular among local clubs, and tlm season the entry of teams wai greater than that for any other grade. In the teams which have been taking part in the intermediate competition this Beason there are quite a numV of players who should make good progress to the senior^ grade and there gain much success. The outstanding team in the competition is Poneke. Although suffering a, diefeat a couple of week 6 ago, Poneke are leading by two pointe from Bernampore, who have played a match more than the leaders. Poneke's only defeat was at the hands of Welleeley College by 9 points to 6 (a potted goal and a converted try to two tries), and curiously enough it came about on t"Ke only occasion on which the coach (Mr J Leslie) was not able to be out with his boys, having another engagement in connection with the selection of the third grade representatives. A similar thing happened last season, the Poneke team, then playing in the fourth grade suffering its only defeat when Mr. Leslie was not present. The Poneke intermediates have a. particularly fine record, this season, having won eleven of the twelve matches played and having .scored an average of nearly 30. points per match. The total points for amount to just on 350, while only 30 points have been registered against, Poneke's line having been crossed only five times. The team is made up of the members of the Poneke fourth grade team, which won the championship last year, >under the coaching of Mr. Leslie. Practically all the players were eligible to play again in the fourth grade this season, but in the interest* of the club • and the younger players coming on, it was decided on the suggestion of the coach, to go up a step. That the advance was not an unwise move is shown by the record of the team in the intermediate grade, for which there is no age limit. Not one member of the Poneke •team is over the age of 20 yearn, and the form these young players are showing promises well for the Poneke seniors of the future. Mr. Leslie takes a very keen interest in the team, and proud though he may be at the euccess achieved last year and so far this year, he will be an exceedingly happy man when those players gain, prominence in bigger football later on. M. Russel, the wing-forward of the Poneke intermediates, is a coming senior representative, and the same may be said of L. Barker (lock) and J. Rouse (side of scrum). "I don't think there is a forward in the junior competition who could beat them," the coach remarked enthusiastically to the writer; and he considered that M. Turner and E. Jessop, the fiveeighths, were going a long way in football. Turner has a very fine scoring record, having helped his team to the extent of ...over 100 points this season, mostly by goal-kicking. In the first three matches of the season Turner scored 12, •16, and 22 point* by goal-kicking. He is 'able to kick successfully with both feet, and can play in any position in the backs, except that of half-back.. The mainstay of the team is the captain, Jessop, a born footballer, with a straight run and a deadly tackle. Wildermott, a back in the Karori intermediate team, is showing great promise. He is a versatile player, and has scored a lot of points for his team, i The Oriental intermediate team has a fine set of forwards, but the backs are not quite up to the requirements necessary to make the team a very fine, one all round. ',' •'

Berhampore have a well balanced team, and their good showing is due to ho small extent to the coaching of Mr. Murray. The team is not quite up to the mark in point of finish, but it is a good one. Mr. Murray, who is a very keen enthusiast, sustained a severe loss recently in the death of his son, a young footballer of promise, who fell a victim to the influenza epidemic. Followers of football will sympathise with Mr. Mur--ray in his sad bereavement. | CANTERBURY'S. HALF-BACKS." I "A Rugby correspondent of Wellington, writing to one of the Christchurch newspapers, commenting on the Welling-ton-Caterbury match, wants to know, after seeing C. St. George, the Canterbury half-back in the match, and having seen the Bey. Father'M'Cartliy, also of Canterbury, who played half-back for the South Island on the previous Saturday, how many' half-backs Canterbury possesses," writes a correspondent ("R. G. Taylor") from Christchurch. "I think it would not be out of • order to reply to that correspondent through the valuable" columns of your paper. The Rev. Father M'Carthy, of St. Bede's College, who has been selected as one of the All Blacks, is a member of the local Marist Broß.' team, but is perhaps better known as a member of the Marist team in Napier. He has represented Hawkes Bay. It may be mentioned here that Mill, the other selected half-back, was at one time second string to Father M'Carthy in Napier Club football. R. Kirwan, who was touring with the Canterbury B team, is also a member of the Marist team, and was their original half until he was injured in a match this season, when Father M'Carthy was shifted in from five-eign\hs to half. C. St. George hails from the Old Boys' Club in the Ashburton sub-union. Kennedy, of the B team, is considered to be very unlucky in not beating St. George for his place in the sub-union team. He i hails from the Cetlic Club, at Ashbur-1 ton. He also received his early 'training from the same coach as " Father M'Carthy. The last but not least of the good half-backs is G. Brodie, of the local 'Varsity team, who went to Australia with the 1923 Now Zealand, 'Varsity team. From the above it can be seen that Canterbury has plenty of half-backs for any engagement."

A correspondent (R. G. Taylor), writing from Christchurch, points out that the record of the Marist senior team; which has won the championship for five years in succession, has only been equalled by the Linwood Club. During the last five years Marist seniors have played 62 games, winning 59, losir^JJ, and drawing 1. They have scored 3bO points and 220 have been registered against them. The team includes five All Blacks —namely, Father M'Carthy, L. Peterson, c. Fitzgerald, F. Smyths, and B. M'Cleary—as well as E. Brosnahan, D. M'Cormick. and E. H. Ellis, who have played for the South Island only. The correspondent also states that the success of country players in the Canterbury team has been the cause of much comment in Christchurch. The successful country, players are: M. L. Page (MaJvern), C. St. George (Ashburton), and W. and H. Dalley (Ellesmere), of the A team, and J. Hogan (Malvevn), C. Barnes (Hurumii), D. Dennehy, Kennody, Maxwell, and D. Fitzgerald (all of Ashburtou), of the B team.

POSITIONS OF THE TEAMS. _, , Points. . Champ. „, . Played. Won. Lost. D'n. For. Ag'st. Points. ■retone -.1 13 12 0 1 228 77 25 Athletio .i... ; 13 n 2 0 169 52 22 Poneke 13 9 2 2 181 76 20 Marist- 13 8 4 1 102 81 17 .Berhampoiv 13 6 ' 7 0 113 133 12 Wellington 13 4 3 l 88 132 8 SECOND SECTION. Oriental ..1 ft 12 6 5 1 89 82 13 Old Boys '.. 12 5 7 0 130 126 10 'Varsity 13 3 10 0 114 175 6 Selwyn 12 2 9 1 56 122 5 Hutt 13 .0 12 .1 36 240 1