REPRESENTATIVE GAMES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 49, 27 August 1923, Page 2

REPRESENTATIVE GAMES

CANTERBURY NARROWLY DEFEAT

OTAGO

fBY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASEQCUTION.)

, CUMSTCHURCH, 25tJ,'August: At Lancaster Park, before an attends ance ranging between 6000 and 7000 spec* tutors, Canterbury beat Qtagq by 15 points to 13. The day waß perfeot, and the ground in good order, ' Otago's pack was exceptionally goptj, and the number of time? s Canterbury got the ball from the scrum could al■nl9st.be counted, on the. fingers pf one hand- Their footwork was beautiful 'to behold, and had they received the support they should have" from' thejr bScks the score would have been different. As. it-was, Canterbury' only won on the, call of time. :

Otago playing against wind and sun in the first half, opened very promis-

ingly, and very soon Gilberd crossed at the' corner after a nice" passing bout. Several other efforts were '"nullified through tlie wings being crowded and forced out. After twenty minutes' play Canterbury gained "the other end per medium of a speculator, and from v line-out the ball travelled across to Ford, who equalised the scores. Then Otago were penalised for a breach in a scrum, _and ■ Brown landed a goal: :■/ In tlie second spell Canterbury dominated the play till weir on towards the end, tries being scored by Brown and Ford. Otago then instituted „■ .a series of loose rushes, from which tries were scored by Morgan and Webb, both of which Harty converted. Just on time Watson (Otago's full-back) ,was hard pressed, and he passed to Wise; the latter fumbled, and Ford picked up and raced in unopposed; Brown failed to convert, and the whistle sounded with the score 15 points to 13 in .favour of Canterbury. / . ' • _„;. I • : ■ . _— — .. - ... ;' !;' ■. ■