PLAY AND PLAYERS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 131, 6 June 1925, Page 18

PLAY AND PLAYERS

New Zealand and Wellington. Defeat; as a, parting gift to the New Zealand' team whicli is; bound for j\Tcw South Wales: was not, on tho face of it, a very encouraging send-off to the ' tourists, but it happened under such circumstances' that the team's capabilities may not have been hhiy represented in the result. The defeat was inflicted by Wellington,, ami -fi-oni the local point of view tli'is was encoura"nig, thijiigll again if must I'.e said that under tin- circuinslyncp.s fair judgment vra.s liardiy possible. The im-iti-lt" was played at Athletic Park on Wednesday. Vvhon conditions were all acninst a good display, ft "was more or'less ,-j ■mud-sci-amble, aJthough tiierc were occasions when' players-brought off some particularly fine work for sue-li a. day The ffhinpses of duality play which caraV. from the New Zealimtl side-were sUch as to indicate that with aiiy degree cif combination on a fine tlay the tourists should be capable of treating, tlie crowds in Svd--ney to firM,cl !lss n^y. Anything is . liahle.to happen on a. day such, as nesday last, so that defeat by ;t Tew points should count, for little Talcing the players as they perfonmHl m, the day Wellington appeared to ] m ve a slight advantage in the barks, with the Mew /palandevs showing up- a little bettor than Wellington iv the forwards, but both sets of forwards were good. Walters, the Wellington fiill-bi.-l-riutplayed his-vis-a-vis Uan-is, ami Ih'o latter will lined ti» show far more -iccuracy in piloting (be 1,-atlii-t- wljen ho is on New South Wales ' iirj.ds. Svenson opposed blvy as wing-.t.livo'c-quarfer. ami while the latter" ongiigcd 'in aonir prellv work early in Ui's gaibc lip v,-;i-i l-ni,'l, fairly -wo!) ill uheck in the liUf.nr slajtr.-s. Here wwe-two splendirf

ters.? Gibson', the Wellington centre, justified his inclu'simv and Blake; the Hawkos' Bay "star" centre; indicated that" ho was in his' right' pl.ice as a New 'Zealand' represontalive: Of the other backs'on boih''sidcs^MiiltsoiV (New Zea'laiftl) -;uul': A Ticliol)s"- (Wellington) appealed most., the ■ latter ' Janding a couple' of pxcellenVgoals as conversioiw to tries. Warwick;- the' AVsimiglbri' lialf-back; quite-'outshbne^Wright 1 (Auckland), who, except Jor";r ucat piece of■■'- in-and-out-passing"with' 151 vy. appeared' to be right off'lns) game: Wright'wiis' interrupted', far more than Warwick 'by.'thV win"forward- 1 arid breakaways^ Wise and Johnsoiv (New Zealand) did-nothing.'out nvi]?,* wayj and'"Walpole'ai!<i'. Hawkins (VVeibngton)'were weak: Porter; the; ■Wellington 1 wing-forward, got- through far. more work-, than j: Donald (New Zealand),-but in these" two 'there- wasa l' fine' pair; of- wing r forwards'.on the field/ i^oth-sets of- forwards' impressed''as-com-binations' hkely. to do very well in' future engagements. With players'of such stamp as Finlayson, Knight; Archer; and: Walter among tlie forwards, jSiew Zealand- m the vanguard should bo-well represented on tour. Lomas; aY-was- the case last year, irfdicnted' that'he was'oiie of- the best hookers in N ew Zen]and: . It would be- hard, to- individualise' the Wellington- forwards' in-" order' of merit, but Wilson and Deere'might b^bracket-ed-ior first-place-on the' day, with: tho rest- closely ■ following. Tho result' of the game needi not be taken as'an'indication that the Wellington team, is'the best available'- ifisMidt-: The sanie'iV to bo said^of the New Zealand' teaniV " 'Varsity and Berhampore; . When 'Varsity : were" marshalling their ; or. ces a :f? r-the .matclr with, Berhampore last Saturday, the prospects of a repetitron of the bright displays- given by tliem in previous games seemed none too good. It was all that 'Varsity could do to rake up.a team, Marks, (injured .kneeJ.^Malfroy,, Martin-Smitli, Miickeii2ie, and O'Eegaij(iri ChrisfcHur'ch), being absentees, and Hart being.late in putting m an appearance. The team was-short on-taking the field, but soon filled up to make .things-more than merry—de-' tightful' for tlie' spectators, and" discoii'certing to Beriiainpore. Of the brightness of- the 'Varsity back play nu,ch°has already been written; arid it"was a. repetition of this" same'type of attractive play that, largely accounted- for victory oyei' Berbampore; Tlib' Collegians' at times handled perfectly,- and' the beauty ot their; movements was enhanced-by the action- of- the'- inside- backs in coming round to carry on when the wings needed assistance. -In this respect Kells and Wiilpole wero particularly, noticeable, white Love,: ati iirst; five-eight>, usually aid something good to make .the way eas--ler foi- those following, him in the mi-cliino-like movements. All' this made a most attractive first-spell show, on the part of 'Varsity. :It was- too much to expect them to repeat it in the second spell against a strong southerl}', but to an extent they did', and- the' Cry" scored •in this half was one of -the best. If the 'Varsity forwards were regarded :as weak without) their principals;, they did not. show it.- In- the second- spell particularly when the best that they could offer was necessary, they played a capable and vigorous pack, holdino- the ■ heavier vanguard to a far greater extent than . was generally, ■ anticipate*. What they did made-no small contribu- ; tion to^ the success of the side. For .most of the game' file .pack was- without' i Burns (another good forward), who 1 went ; off injured. i Berhampore were quite' outclassed in : the first spell, the backs appeariri.r as I ?'. very. weak defensive" set. Right at the ; start of the game fliey were unlucky in ;rio£ getting a try,. .Taylor '. spoiling a ! glorious' opportunity through' pushing I the only', man .he- had .to' evade. With j the wind, in their; favour; Berhampore, j as was to be expected, assumed' the role I of- aggressors', but- the backs, failed to j respond to. whatever opportunities were . placed' in: their way by solid graft on the ! part of the forwai-ds.- Halfway through | the spell .. the' .'■ whole' team seemied to' 'becoiire. • more or less i rattled, ■■ following incidents which ! gave the referee', cause to remind the ; players tHat they had played all right ipreviously. Steadied up once again' the I for\Va.rds. battled hard, but It was too I late, and, moreover, the team was out- ; played. : ■ ■ . . i Poriske arid Peto'ne. : After seeing practically all the teams .in the senior competition in operation one comes to the conclusion that c so far Poricke are' the n'i'ost promising fur the final issue. Their perforiiiance at Pcl.orip against j'otoiie placed, tlieiu iv a dillcrciit class from the siibflrbau tuam. Of all tho senior teams, i'oueko play with the most method, indicating, that 'definite coaching is being- followed with ; good. resa'lts.-- i Individually the Po'nekc. team is slrong, ! ■with hardly a, really \veak spot anywhere, i Though not, an all-star co'mbinatioii, the : team performs consistently. It quito ■ left Petoue out of the picture in their i first meeting of the season. The i'oneke. backs were quick to handle the hall, and displayed good jiidg-j ment and. sound tactics. Gibson, Til-! yard (2), aiid llickey were perhaps tho ' best of an effective rearguard. 11. i ' Tilyarcl made a success of his position at i half, and Gibson showed much resource! in (lillinclt situations. j Among the forwards the brothers Shearer were at the top of their form, with the Wilsons as good seconds. The Poneke pack..easily had the mastery of their opponents. . JVkine wore exceedingly unlucky -in ! losing tlip services of "Doc." Nieholls ! Fairly early in the game. Nieholls is rega.nleil by many competent, critics as the best of a famous footballing family lioth in defeiu-e and attack, and his retirement through injury was a severe loss to his side. Mark Nieholls was once more off hia game, and. apart from a good goal, did I little to maintain his reputation. :■ | King did well aiuon- a ]3ilck of battl-j j ing forwards ami. sliuulil ..receive some: credit for the try üblaiucd by Corner. I The game in the second spell'was need- ' lessly rough, though neither sicic could! rtfTord to throw any stones at Mm othei-. The referee was nob lo blimii-. Old Boys and Selwyn. Old Boys carried far (no many sums for Belwyn vii Halurday, and tlnniyh the losers novel- .ya.vc up ho|j<;, it was only j on very uureqiiunt occfisious that they wore in Che hunt, sit all. Selwyn finished very much stronger than (hey started, find it- can at least tic said for the members' of the unsiicccssfiil (ii'leoM that they are. iv gun.) |j|iv«H-al coiulilßm. r|-|-,' ( '. conil.ii(i.-(l Kink of 01.1 Buys was at l.imcs y cry pivil y" to wati.-h. anil oi:t:af-iun-ally ttiio or otlifir'of I lion away lunc.hamlvl winl .stiuwcd I hi; spectatorb koiiic good spcci.latniJar pla.y. Miijidk'li) was! well on his jjamr- 1. yjid bis jjuititukr eflui/ts txjn'cticutpd v,'vay

strong- factor in Old !Boys' success: He was novel' over-selfislV'w'itlr the ball, but Avlienl ho considered it tho- 1 correct play to get away on his.own h e did not hesitate-'.

.It- is quite easy' foVa- man to-b'o "'loo ■ imscJfislv." Cliiridge;- ono:of the- OldBoys' hookers, erred ■in this respect on: Saturday- when he missed a. sure try-by aUempting-to pass. Bedell sent him^a pass at the right moment -and-' all 'he had' to-do was to cross the; line" and- touch' down. Instead-of ■ doing, thisj however, he looked around forl' someone lo whom to pass the ball, and. of course, lost possession. Of 'course, 1 it was- only -an error :of judgment on his part, but:'it cost his side a- try—possibly, five points: : Lamason, who played - on the right : wing for Old Boys, was one of the best backs: on the field. He is-a good, fast thinker, and-he is also very fast on his feet. _ Time and time again'he'got away on his'own, and a feature of his sprints down the' line" was tlie effective manner in 'which' he" fended off'"'his attackers TJnderhill, Eramwell (the half), and Bedell also' worked well for Old' Boys.' As usual, ttio bulk of the "work as far as' Selwyn' were'concerned" fell'to SbadJ don" and; Wogan. They wero repeatedly called .-on', to save' fbr' their'side, and ' tlie'y roet'thesedeinandsas often asthey -were physically able" to. They are certainly the''strength of ■ the Selwyn team. 1 Athlotlc and/ Hutt. In paying, a visit!to Hutt to-play'the ! local team Athletic, were somewhat fortunate in-narrowly averting, another reverse.: Without Svenson the town; temft would' have come off; second' best ;.• he was tlio outstanding, player on the ground. Good- tackling, by. Hutt held up the Athletic- backs in most. of. their attacking: work. Cookson (ftill-back) was' somewhat weak, but the-others went well, with M'Dougall playing solidly and h. Gibson filling, the centre-three-quarter'position quite creditably. WarrriiVki ?'T Ye anotber good exhiljition of half-back play, having, much more room iii which to work than: the Hutt half (lusher):. Porter's defensive play especially when matters looked had- for Athletic, was first-class. Osborne was the best of the forwards,,though Duncan displayed usual'good form for a spell. A matter concerning wliich the referee had a; word to say was tlie ehar<'in- of. a-p'htyer"after getting rid- of tl?e ball: Cudby, the Hlitt ■ full-ffick, sufiered- to some" extent as: a. result' of tlie opposition coming' upon' him. He' had a hard-day's work, and'collapsed wlieu in the dressing-: shed after the mat'cli. 4't line-kicking' and gbaUkickiiig. Cudby's eftorts must have' been: heart-breaking: 'to- Athletic. •'"■'■ Of. the other: Hutt Backs, Mimro played- solidly on! attack-and defence, and J-. Hickhng: indicated'that lie was getting back Void form. Woods, a yofine member of the- team,. shows: promise' of developing;into a-Bpod-'scol-iilginan M''pougalh was aiiotlier shilling light- in fact,, all the' Hutt backs' played, exceedingly well,-with; tfishei- having; the hardest part at lialf-back. One movement which.lusher initiated* should have- improved' Butt's score by 3 points, but' at the critical moment there was ilobodv in support of Hickling. Hutt's forwards are developing, along the right lines,, and they may soon ap: pear as a pack capable' of putting" on scores. By ths way in which'he scored; Orotty may be looked- upon- as a dan'gerqus forward near the line. Now that Hutt have their backs' in ■working, order, they should be an- even harder proposition. Their work both'in attack_ and defence against Athletic- was ; quito impressive. Marist and Wellington. i In _ conditions exactly resembling those .obtaining when the- teams met twelve ; months ago- on' the' same ground', Wellington and Marist found the conditions :all against them last Saturday at Kil-ibii-nie and a rather straggling game re- | suited Both sides made the intial mistake of trying, to- keep' the play open. : despite the continual- dropping of" passes, ; and with conditions favouring forward 1 iplay • Each team has .a fine- pack of forwards but they failed to make the best' .use of them, and they generally looked 1 ,on whilst the backs juggled witli tho . ball, or else' were busy forming scrums .after a knock-on. With* the- strong wind that was blowing, Wellington- could 1 •ha.^ indulged in morfe . upße . m ]dck ,- M winch, backed np by good forward 1 rushes, is liable to upset an opposing defence under such conditions. Maristtook_ more advantage of the wind, For Alayist all the backs performed creditably - with \V;u-d and Cuming: most prom'*--ncnt, I hen- passing and quickness off tho-mark were first class. Of the- forwards, King (from the West Coast),. Hopkins, and Bell played well. "Fratcr was a- great improvement on Jarvie-af, fuUUick tor Wellington, and his defence i i.n the second spell stood up to the Mar'--j ist bursts very well. Morgan was a gain' j prominent as. an all-round player, but ; it young promoted junior in Cunfrinehain was tho -gta,--' player. His -AI lacking work was done-quickly and well »nd he worked in-very weir at second I've-etghth, though it was mainly his decnsive work that called forth praise ! '■°'" !i le st'eclutors. Christie wns sound ;»t hwf. Of the forwards, Joyce, Voice. . Mathesoii, and Frances all played good ; (fames, but the pack seemed to lack co- ; hesion.m the loose, and it was a. case of j every man for himself. Maxwell proved quite expert at wing-forward. Junior Championship. _ Some changes in the junior championsmp position have taken place with the results of -the games played last Satur- , 'lay, hut the competition still has a very o|wii appearance. Athletic, who were previously leading by .-,. po j,,(, f rom ller . liampore, lost to Porima, who were third equal, while Beriiamporo registered another win these results giving Berhampore the lead by a- point from Athletic and lorirua, who are now level on points with o iie loss each. Bprlwrnpore , are the only team rt-inaining uiulufeatef! j „',,, p"-"'? 1 Wb, n >vere Previously equal . will, lorirua, lost to Petonc A last Sat- | a.day, but_ are still ; u, lO ng t.| ie ]ca[iil , : four. As indicating the interestih.' nai t"r(T, of '''10, cdfiipetitiori. the no.xt oru,irT of the ladder-fiflh position—i« shnred by kix teams, all'beiiiß one point below Old Boys. Tho championship table is as lollutts :—

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