RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 3, 3 July 1926, Page 22

RUGBY

■v "DnopKittKPROSPECTS IMPROVING

WELLINGTON AND THE SHIELD

PROMISING FORM AGAINST NEW

ZEALAND,

REPRESENTATIVE FIXTURES.

21s* July—WellhJgton v. Maori team, at Wellington. JlU> August.—Wellington v. Watrarapa, at Walrarapa. 14th AuguGt.—Wellington v. Hawlces Bay (Kanfurly Shield), at Napier. 28th August.—Wellington v. Auckland, at Wel- '. llngton. Wellington v. Manawatu-Ho-whenua, at Jlanawatu (provisional). Wellington v. Marlborough, at Blenheim (provisional). Jit September.—'Wellington v. Kelson, at Neleod (provisional). 4th September.—Wellington r. Golden Bay, at Motueks (provisional). JBth September.—Wellington v. Otago, at Dunedin. Wellington v. Taranakl, at Wel\lington. 22nd September.—Wellington v. Southland, at Invercarglll. 25th September.—Wellington v. Canterbury, at Chrlstchurch. Wellington v. Seddon Shield district team, at Wellington. 2nd October.—Wellington v. Hawkes Bay, at Wellington.

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLES. Sinlor A Grade.

When a .Wellington, team, admittedly not at full strength, recently perform ed well enough against Canterbury to be credited with a moral victory, them was considerable jubilation among local enthusiasts, as it gave them cause to look more hopefully to the all-important match with Hawkes Bay for possession of • the Ranfurly Shield. On Wednesday; of this week, Wellington, again minus some of the best players, took the field against the New Zealand representatives, and performed so well as to further improve prospects for the match with , the. Shield holders. The local team on paper looked to-be nothing out of the ordinary, but. in action it gave a splendid performance. There wore weaknesses, as there were in the New Zealand team, and it was evident that the tourists -were not "all out" from start to finish of the game. Evori bo, Wellington played up to a standard that was hardly anticipated, and in some, departments there was the efficiency which it was thought would be hard to obtain. From form in Wellington's two representative matches to date, the chances of getting a really good team together for the Shield match . are much improved, though :'t is still apparent that some players who have so • far been passed T>ver by thu selector! must, be jeriously considero.il for places which have not yet been filled in accordance with requirement"

A Decisive Win.

Wellington's victory on Wednesday was clear cut; the'home team was th» better on the day, and that,part contributed by the local forwards ito tho successful result was distinctly surprising. The match, however, could not betaken as a guide to the New Zealand team's form in Sydney. Close touch ■with the team and the match was sufficient to:suggest that the tourists diet not treat the event with anything like the seriousness that the games in Aus-, fralia will be treated, but it was not, and could not be looked upon as a joke. The New Zealanders were bound to make an impression, and there' were occasions, not a few, when the best that was in them was called out in order that their, status might bo preserved to ■ome extent at least. Doubtless the tourists, or some of them at any rate, gave due consideration to the risk of injury that might mean cancellation of the passage to Sydney; in fact, some •were spelled to save the risk. / M. Brownlic was missing in order that no further trouble might be caused to a •weakened in3tep; Mark Nicholls was rot completely recovered from injuries to his back received in the North-South match; E. Stewart was nursing an injured knee; and Brown was trying to shake off a cold. Irvine and Cooke gave other reasons for absence from this match. Early in the game Sheen receivod a leg injury, not serious, and Svenson retired at half-time, while Stevenson, though he played throughput, had some hard knocks, from one &t which ht developed a limp.' It was evident, therefore, that the team as an effective combination was very much upset, and moreover, some of the members ■were receiving their initiation as internationals.

It was not the team for the Test* m Sydney, nor is it likely that.the team &3 made Tip iot Wednesday will take the field in any of the games in Sydney. Giving due account to the precautionary measures, the team was far from being up to requirements; it was really a scratch New Zealand team, with its •worst feature a badly-balanced Bcrum. This may have hampered the hookers; if it did not, then- Lomas and Kirkpatrick are not the first-class front row men that they have been made out to be. Time and again they were beaten for the'ball, an event that came1 as a very pleasant surprise to those who are in search of the Wellington players to meet Hawkes.Bay,. for the opinion has been held that. Wellington' is weak in hookers. Wellington's scrum, giving a good' deal away in weight packed well and worked well under the guidance of J. Moffitt, still a fine lock and one of tho best forwards on the field to-day. In the loosei.the local forwards more often than not played all over the hefty touring set, and generally showed better control of the ball. Two of thn New Zealand forwards who did work ■with a wilL from start to finish worr Harvey and Lomas. Out in the open Finlaysoh wa» a prominent figure, and others seemed more at home in this department of the play.

la some respects the tourists' form wa» splendid, and there was enough of it, with that shown by Wellington, to make the game attractive andk entertaining. Although a keen southerly prevailed, and the ground and ball were greasy, the conditions were not bad enough to reduce tho opportunities for first-class play to any extent. The AllBlack rearguard shone out in somo excellent play, with Elvy usually supply: ing extra colour-to movements by his dodging anil side-stepping. Blake wa3 the weak point in the back line, and Stevenson at full-back was not up to standard. On more lhan on occasion he xnado no effort to field the leather, and his injury wai no excuse for this. J>iexfc to Elvy the best New Zealand backs were Porter and. Mill, tho captain demonstrating his versatility by playing as second five-eighth in the second spell. Mill played as first five-eighth when Dalley came on early in the game, showing up to better advantage than at half-back. Sheen was shaping well until injured, and Svenson played headily for a spell. Cyril Brownlio as wing forward in the second Bpell was quite out of place, but with Alley as the only

emergency little else couid be done than bring Brownlie out. Alley made the third lock in the pack, the other two boing Harvey and Knight. Finding the Eight Team. From Wellington's point of view, the match had a good deal of importance. It was a test for players receiving consideration in the selection of the team to meet, and, if possible, beat Hawkes Bay. Wellington V stock has advanced with the result. The performance of the team, without the services of sucli strong men as Porter, M. Nicholl3, and Svenson, augurs well for coming events. There were weak points, but the representative centre three-quarter has been found- in the young member of the Old Boys team, Grenfell, whose performance on Wednesday was meritorious. The centre three-quarter position has evidently provided one of the problems for the selectors. It is now solved. Svenson, of course, is to be one of the wing three-quarters in the Wellington team. Tait is now heading well for the other wing position, and his form in recent matches indicates that he will get it. In Wednesday's match Malfroy was a long way below his form of the past two seasons. Mark Nicholls will most certainly be one of the five- I eighths in Wellington's rep. team, and it seems that Corner is most likely to be the other—and he has fully justified his selection to date. M'Kenzie has come forward as a. likely aspirant, and impressed very favourably by his perfarmance against New ' Zealand. At half-back Bramwell replaced H. E. Nicholls, and never let his backs down. He was nippy, sent his passes out well, showed cleverness in picking the ball up and whipping it out from opposing rushes, and played well on defence. By the manner in which he came right across the field and caught Finlayson by the ankles when the big forward ' was on the way for his try, Bramwell showed a point that many players might note. His effort was ju3t too late, but ho did well to get as far as he did, particularly when it is considered that Finlayson actually gained ground on Malfroy, who chased the North Aucklander. There seems to be a little doubt about H. E. Nicholls being available for the Hawkes Bay match. He, of course, would have the advantage of being directly in front of two elub-matesj and his bag of tricks might be useful. Then there is Warwick. It is difficult to say which of the three the selectors will prefer.

The Local Torwargs,

Two things aro certain about the selection of the Wellington forwards for the match with Hawkes Bay. Porter will be.the wing forward and Mofiitt the lock. The form that Moffitt is displaying this season is surprising. He was one of the best forwards on the ground on Wednesday, and he has no equal as. a lock. The hookers in Wednesday's match, Wilson and O'Regan, acquitted themselveo admirably against a pair that has had much experience— Kirkpatrick and Lomas. The two latter were members of last year' 3 New Zealand team in Australia, and were the front-row men against Wellington in last year's match. Wilson on that occasion was hooking . for Wellington. Tho playing of O'Began in the front row on Wednesday was probably as a try-out. It has been suggested to tho writer that Martin-Smith might be trained as a hooker. There are others also capable of being developed. But perhaps the selectors may now be satisfied."

For other positions in. tho pack there is any amount of material, much still untried this season. Those in Wednesday 'a match went exceptionally well, as also did those who played against Canterbury. Tyree was always in the picture, and Pringlo was a ''star" in line-out work. Thomas was a solid battler, and .at times created opportunities for ;tho backs by breaking from the tight and letting 'the rearguard have play with the leather. Taylor was on trial, and went quite well, while Jessup made a good fist of the wing-forward position. The Wellington pack to meet Hawkes Bay will need to bo as strong and as hefty as possible, able to use its weight effectively and exhibit powerful driving force. The material is here, and, as was previously stated by the writer, Wellington's forwards are of better class than many people were inclined to believe. No time should bo lost in getting Wellington's team in order for the Shield match, and the fact that Porter, Svenson,_ and M. Nicholls will be in Australia for a few weeks should not present any difficulties.

A Splendid Game.

By their win over Petbne last Saturday, Athletic 'have obtained a clear lead of four points in the senior '■ A grade championship, and the change from the old order is refreshing It has been a case of Petonq or Poneke for a number of years, and just as those teams have been at the top of the-tree on their merits so Athletic are present leaders by reason of superior -performance. Athletics claim to superiority was put to the test last Saturday, and it proved to be well founded. On the day they were the better team. - .

The game, attracted much interest, and in what' it offered the spectators, whether their fayouw were with winners or losers, had their money 'a worth. From start to finish fhe play was full of, dash, each team being fully alivo to the importance of the fixture. The clashes between the forwards were stirring, the contestants making matters very willing at times, particularly at that stage of the game when tho score was 10 all. Athletic-'s set rose to the occasion in fine style, their play indicating that the pack has been moulded into very line shape. Earlier iv the season Athletics forward pTay was not impressive. Petonc's forwards were in good fettle, but they were just overshadowed. It was by no means a forward game; the backs had any amount of play, and each set played ag well as possible on attack against the very effective spoiling and defensive methods which were employed. There were few players on cither aide who did not render some useful service; in fact, the majority showed the form expected of them in such a match. There was one player on Pctone's side, however, who was not at his best. Tins was Mark Nicholls, not yet properly recovered from injuries .received during the North-South matck Instead of taking up his usual position, the Petone captain played as centre-threequarter. Fitzgerald being associated ' with Corner. This change was to no advantage, and a reversal to the familiar order was made in the second spell. It was unfortunate for Petone that Mark Nicholls was unsound, and also unfortunate that his goal-kicking boot was not at its best, though it produced one very fine goal from the half-way line. Ono glaring piece of misjudgment cost Petone a converted try early in the gama, but otherwise tho suburbanites played' as well as the opposition would let them. King as wing-forward was a very busy body, and he needed to.be with Porter opposing him. Thomas, Corner, and "Ginger" Nicholls were always in the picture for Petone.

On Athletics side, the forwards wont better than ever. They were of material assistance in obtaining the decisive win, and while they all pleased, Edgar was one of them deserving of a special word of mention. Porter played one of those games which prompted a southerner to term him a "will-o'-the-wisp?' player. Svensou was in-and-out, sometimes splendid and sometimes uncertain. M'Kay showed a glimpse of his best form. Taylor (full-back) and Tait (wing-threequar-ter) were two players who delighted the spectators, each playing a very important part in making Athletics tally

so good, and each doing something of the sensational order.

Although Athletic have a lead of four points, they cannot consider themselves in the safety zone. For the next few weeks they will have to strive harder than- ever to hold the leading position, as they will be without Porter and Svenson. .Petone, too, will be feeling the loss of their principal. 'Varsity v. Selwyn. The 'Varsity-Sehvyn game was aji exhibition of Rugby pleasant to watch, aud by no means so one-sided a game, as the scores might indicate. Both sides1 cracked on the pace, but 'Varsity : stood it best, and ran their opponents off their feet at the finish. ■ ■ •■.

M'Kenzie was once again the best of the 'Varsity backs, and justified,his selection for the Wellington "reps" against the touring All Blacks. He is the best exponent of the art of "selling the dummy" in Wellington football to-day, but is rather apt to exploit' this facility. of deluding an opponent to excess by trying to beat half a team. South did not shine specially, but did what he had to do competently. Malfroy played a fine game as the galloping winger, and worked extra well in conjunction with M'Kenzie. Mason was solid, but far from brilliant at full-back. His display bore out the impression of earlier games— that there are very few good full-backs in Wellington to-day. Walters is the pick of what there are. 'Varsity made it a back game, so the forwards did not get much chance. They are all a hard-going lot on the ball, when they elect that form of tactics. The goal-kicking was very poor throughout, only one try out of six being converted. Three of the tries, at least, were in good positions. 'Varsity should watch this or they will lose some games they ought otherwise to win. !'

Selwyn were, without do Clifton, Scadden and W. Churchill, but they made a good showing. Many a time they got inside the 'Varsity 25, and frequently were hard on the line. They do not seem to have anybody who can improve these opportunities. "V. Mitchell again played well, and would do ' well with more support. The forwards displayed their usual vim in the loose, but lost chances through foolish off:side infringements. Sewell was the worst offender. He tried to make amends by long pots at goal, but while getting direction right, failed to secure elevation.

The'refereeiug in this game was particularly good, and one was glad to notice the quick way Mr. Scott checked a momentary disposition to question decisions. The referee is not a mere oracle in Eugby; he should take an active part in keeping the game in order and moving. A referee can do a good deal towards putting a keen edge on football, just as he can spoil an otherwise promising game.

Berhampore and Oriental,

In making a drawn game of their fixture at the Petbne Oval, Oriental and Berhainpore did not provide the kind of football which appeals most to spectators. The forwards battled solidly throughout, but there was little attractive back play, and few sparkling incidents. Berhampore were handicapped to some extent through not being able to' put their regular team in the field. Four men, who usually don the Blue jersey, were not available, and in order to fill two vacancies juniors had to be called upon. This, nd doubt, upset tho combination of the team somewhat. In the first spell. Berhampore did ■ extremely well and were on the offensive for the greater part of the time. The position changed in the second period, however, and except in the concluding stages Oriental held the upper hand. Tho big Black and White forwards kept hard at it, but they found Berhampore offering stout resistance.

Breaches were rather frequent, and a number of free kicks were awarded both teams. The goal-kickers were not in form, however, and several'good opportunities of putting.on points went begging. Walterß had particularly hard luck with a free kick given to Berhampore. He made,a great effort from a difficult angle, only to see the ball strike the cross-bar and rebound into play.

What bright play there was in the game was provided by Darby, the Oriontal full-back. Undoubtedly Darby is more suited W tho full-back position than the three-quarter line. He gave a capital display as full-back in the seven-a-side tournament early iv the season, and he repeated the performance on Saturday. He kicked and fielded the ball with splendid judgment, and showed plenty of initiative in getting out of tight corners. Darby was without doubt the most conspicuous player on the field. ' ' : . . .

M'Nicol and Wynam, the Oriental five-eighths, were sound on defence.

Moflit, Pringle, and Sly Jed tho Orientar forwards, who, however appeared unable to settle down to their game. • Laing and Walters were reliable among the Berhampore back division, arid J. Kelly, who was brought up from junior to fill the half-back position, gave plenty of support. Among the Berhampore forwards Pickering, L. Brown, and Goodall were noticeable. Pickering, although a young player, has weight, face, and determination, and should develop into a first-class forward. >

Old Boys and Wellington.

In meeting Old Boys last Saturday, Wellington seomed to lose the form which was previously bringing them into favour as a team likely to bring off a surprise. They were outclassed, in spite of the fact that Old Boys were not playing at their best. Wellington's play was very loose, and the attempts at combination did • not reach any degree of efficiency. It was an off-day, for the Yellow-and-Blacks. Perhaps • they will see that it does not occur again. ; •

Old Boys made a slight rearrangement of their.back division, and by bringing Mansfield out to wing-three-quarter they made' a wise move. Mansfield, was'better there than at fiveeighths., •.'••■

Barclay, one of the most consistent forwards in Wellington, had a field day. Of tho five tries placed to the account of Old Boys, he scored four. Malcolm, as goal-kicker, supplied nine points. In play, Malcolm is not at present showing the form of a representative fullback. Marist v. Hutt. Marist and Hutt, on the Lower Hutt Recreation Ground, did not provide a particularly good demonstration of football, the game being rather ragged until the last few minutes, when Hutt made desperate endeavours to catch up on their opponents' laad of si:c points.

Marist back division at times combined well, the one and only try being the result of clever work between G-. Barry, Murphy, and Donovan. Faulty passing on both sides marred several chances.

In matches with New Zealand representative teams, Wellington have scored five wins and have been beaten on four occasions. The wins were registered against the 1903, 1905, 1914, 1925, and 1926 teams. ,

P. W. L. D. T. A. l'ts. Athletic .... 7 7 0 0 123 45 14 'VarsltJ ..„.. 8 5 3 0' 121 70 10 Peton 1 5 V2 0 150 59 10 Oriental ..... 7 4 2 1 83 39 9 Old Boy« .... 7 4 .3 0 121 54 8 Marist ...... 7 4 3 0 49 53 8 Berhampore . 8 3 3 2 70 85 8 Poneke 7 3 4 O 73 79 « Wellington .. '8 2 5 1 63 125 5 Hutt 7 1 6 0 45 155 2 Belwyn ...... 7 0 7 0 21 184 0 8«nl»r B Grtds. Ch. P. W. L. D. P. A. Pta. Sastbourna ..8 6 1 " 1 " 82 49 13 Porirua .... 7 5 2 0 63 63 10 University .. 7 4 '8 0 80 77 8 Jobnsonvllle . 7 4 3 0 81 54 8 Training Col. 8 4 4 0 117 57 8 Athletic .... 7 2 4 1 57 104 5 Old Boyi ... 8 0 8 0 60 136 0