RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 22

RUGBY

Mr "Dmomximn-

ON THE RISE

SENIOR GRADE FORM

YOUWG PLAYERS SHAPING

WELL

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLES.

Conditions last Saturday were all that 'could be desired, and players of all grades were able to get down to serious . business. In tile senior competition the ■ play generally was a big improvement upon that of the opening day of-the competition when some of the teams did not get a game. Eight through the senior A grade many young players were to be seen, and for the most part their.performance was good enough, to support the "opinion that the right material is offering for building up the game to the pitch desired. These young players, or most of them, and a plentiful supply ,pf players of experience should, make for really good football this season, and if Wellington does not. happen to rise to any extent in the eyes of'other, provinces this' season it should not be very long before a return is made to its former place of prominence. Young players are now getting every chance. J 'Taking a line through performances to date this season, the senior'A teams seem to. be a fairly even,, lot, and the contest for championship honours is bound to be interesting all the way. Some, teams disappointed last Saturday, but it is safe to say that-the reverses they suffered will serve to spur them on to better deeds. Other teams shaped very well, Oriental and University in particular improving upon their opening day's form. Poneke, making their first appearance, gave an impressive performance against Old Boys, who took a long while to find their feet. Wellington also pleased by their , showing against Petone.

Matters took a very interesting turn in the senior B grade, the results leaving only one of the eight teams unbeaten. Last year's winners, • Eastbourne, have quickly jumped into the lead. ...-." /

Poneke and Old Boys. Good things are expected of Old Boys this season. vThe need of weight in their pack has been supplied, and, except for difficulty, in filling certain places in the back division, the team as a whole read? as one capable of making a bold showing. Against Poneke at Athletic Park Old Boys had the chance to show their worth, but it was ai long time before they satisfied their supporters, and when they finally did move in the manner expected it was too late. Poneke meanwhile had settled down to, good team work, and with capable leadership they outplayed the opposition. 'For a fitst effort Poneke's performance was impressive. .The^ game was^interesting from start to finish, with any amount of stirring episodes. There was excellent forward play, mainly by Poneke, as well as bright back play,, individual and collective. Excellent' kicking was also a feature. The Oia.Boys' three-quarter line was not served tq any extent. Poneke saw to that as much as possible, but when chances were offering to get this line into action they were generally mullecLV The half-back and the five-eighths were not up to the mark. On the other hand, the Poncke backs got plenty of, opportunities, H. Tilyard showing .up splendidly as halfback, and the heady forwards always being ready to serve the backs when the occasion demanded. The Poneke forwards knew too much for the Old Boys pack,' and they worked together in loose'and tight much betten Pope, J. Shearer, and B. "Wilson were in excellent form; and most of the others assisted capably. Among the Old Boys forwards Emerson was always a prominent figure; Meadows also showed up, as did most of the others at times. All rounds however, the pack was lacking in sting. young-set of backs got through its work in commendable fashion. Edgar, a player from Golden BayMotueka, showed much promise as a wing-three-quarter. G. Nichols, a member of the well-known Petone family, struck hi* best form, playing a game "out of the box." His goal-kicking was also hard on Old Boys, although J. Lamason and Malcolm each came to light with a very fine goal-kicking effort for Old Boys. v

Grenfell was easily the outstanding back for Old Boys. He made some brilliant dashes through the opposition, particularly in the : closing stages. With better inside backs ahead of Grenfell the Old Boys rearguard would bo a yery hot order. J

Wellington and Petone. Although Petone managed to win last Saturday it was only by a narrow margin after a well-contested game. The match, was characterised by hard play throughout, and the issue was in doubt till the final whistle. Petone had a territorial advantage through the good work of tneir backs,: but the yellow forwards were liable at any time to sweep play to the other end with a dashing forward rush. ;■ : Wellington, with a fair amount of new blood introduce*!, appear a greatly improved side on'past season's form. One or two weaknesses are apparent, especially among the backs, but a game or two should serve to improve these. The forwards are 1 a well-balanced lot, and include several lengthy members who proved ve^y; useful on the lineouts—in this department of the game Wellington were 'superior to their opponents. _ They were often beaten for the ball in the scrums, but easily held their own in the loose.

Donnelly, a late Southland representative, M'Lean, an' arrival from Hastings, and Voice put in a lot of good work in the Wellington pack. Chief interest inthe Wellington team centred around Kilby, the ex-South-lander. Good things were expected of him, and it is enough to. say that he ■exceeded expectations and played an excellent half-back game. On defence he was as steady as a rock and unflinchingly met all the hard stuff. On attack, ho was quick and elusive, and it is probable that if he had' received more from his five-eighths, Wellington would not have walked off the field defeated. As it was he scored,the Yellows' first try after a lightning 'duck round the side of the scrum and a dive for the line, which he reached with a couple of men hanging round hia legs. He made possible the second: score. Further he converted the first try, and sent the bill over,the bar after the second, but this kick was ruled put. .'■'.■

Their inside backs did not show to advantage, but their defence was generally sound, and with youth on their eide a iew. games should affect con.

siderable improvement. Tho wings, Morgan, who led the side, and Corliss, wore solid without being brilliant. The Petone team found the playing conditions more suitable than on the previous Saturday. The hookers, Warden and Potts, again showed their ability to get the ball. Albert Parker gave evidence that he is not finished with yet, and showed what an acquisition a heady forward is to a team. Dickens also played a good game, and appeals to be strMng form. King played well in tne open. The new men showed promise.

A. Thomas did not appear as he was suffering from an attack of influenza.

The Petone backs brought off some good movements, but the passing, especially outside the five-eighths, was often erratic. Coman got through his work well, but has a bad habit of throwing the ball back indiscriminately. Edwards, a promoted junior, gave a promising display, while Nicholls and Corner presented a stonewall on defence.

Mark Nicholls did not do much placekicking owing to a slight foot injnry, and Potts, who acted as substitute, was not a success.

'Varsity and Hutt.

'Varsity's backs r overshadowed Hutt's rear division list Saturday in the match played at the Hutt Recreation Ground. Playing to instructions, the Hutt fifteen kept play close, and it was some time before the 'Varsity backs really got moving. When they did, however, they gave trouble, and were responsible for some bright flashes of play. It appeared that Hutt, by endeavouring to keep the ball in, adopted wrong tactics. Had they made their play more open they may have fared better. Towards the end of the first half they threw the ball about more/ and it was then that 'Varsity were called upon to check several promising advances-

The game, from the spectators' point of view, was not a first-class one, but stilT it fully held the attention. Although 'Varsity obtained victory by a margin of 14 points, play was by no means .one-sided. Hutt certainly were not a s • strong as.'Varsity, but for all that they played with great determination, and once or twice were very unlucky in not putting on points. The Varsity hookers got more than their share of the ball from the scrums, but Hutt showed up well in the loose, and with a little more finish to their movements and more assistance and enterprise by the backs! they would have done better. Hutt commenced the second spell very well, and caught 'Varsity unawares. On other occasions they had opportunities of scoring. Good openings were made, but they were' not carried through. The Hutt backs probably would do better if they could show a little more dash and initiative, Munro, the centre three-quarter, was the outstanding player on Saturday. His play was quite bright;, and he was quick to seize any opportunities that came his way. M'Dougall also showed up to advantage at times, and Gibson, until he was injured, gave good assistance, especially on.defence.

The 'Varsity forwards, although not the regular pack, wore a solid lot. Cormack, Sceats, Guilds, Blakeney, and Claridge caught the' eye, and worked hard throughout. The two latter were I brought up from senior B ranks. Blakeney, in particular, did very well. Love and Noble-Adams worked well together as first and second five-eighths respectively, while Urwin, the ex-Train-ing College player, was also prominent. The two wingers, Eamson and Mackay, were in'great form, and showed plenty of pace. -Mackay played brilliantly. Whenever he received the leather he made a determined bid for the line, and his powerful runs often had Hutt in trouble. His first try was the result of a great effort. Mackay received the ball near the half-way lino and showing fine-;pace, ho was off in a flash for the line. He brushed off several would-be tacklers, oasily outpaced the opposition, and touched down under the posts. It was a fine piece of play, and the crowd showed its appreciation. Bamson made full use of the openings made for him, and with a little more experience he should dovelop into a fine three-quarter. He has the pace and weight, and as he demonstrated on Saturday, ho is a hard man to stop. Boom For Improvement. The form shown by Berhamporc and Oriental on Saturday left much to bo desired. At no time was there any definite plan of attack, and the haphazard methods made the game a dreary one to watch. Neither team seemed to have a leader. Tho packing of the scrums was bad, and there was too much jostling and scre%ving before the ball was in. On three or four occasions the referee had to intervene. In the passing rushes there was little straight running, and in consequence the wings were crowded out. A further fault was the tendency of players to pass to a man in a, worse position than themselves. The violation of this Rugby axiom invariably led to serious trouble. Berhampore has a heavy'pack, but they will have to be taught to get down in the scrum and to work in unison. On Saturday the Oriehtarpack was the lighter, but they were the harder workera, especially in the first spell. The Berhampore backs improved considerably in the second half, and it was obvious that Brettis is more useful at five-eighths-than on the wing. Allen, the Oriental. centre, was the outstanding back on the. field. He is a strong runner, and quickly sees an opening. His two tries on- Saturday were fine individual efforts. •'...-'■

Wellington and the Kick-into-Touch. Beporting to tho Wellington Bugby Union's Management Committee this week upon the proceedings at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Bigby Union, the chairman (Mr. J. Prendeville) stated that the notice of motion to revert to the old kick-into-touch rule in certain matches in view of the tour to South Africa had been defeated by 47 votes to 22. "I was present as a delegate-'of the Bay of Plenty Union," remarked Mr. A. J. Griffiths, "and I was very much impressed with the able manner in which the Wellington Union's case was stated. At one stage I thought the motion was a moral to be carried." Members agreed that 'hose who stat- ■ ed Wellington's case had left nothing much for the others to say. Nothing new had been put forward from the side of supporters of the amended rule. Mr. T. A. Fletcher: "It was the policy of running down present day players that killed the motion." ■ MrJ Prendeville added that various delegates from other unions had expressed to him their opinions that Wellington's case bad been stated in a very capable manner. Old-timer Passes. .. ■■ ■ One of the Dominion's most notable footballers, of earlier days passed away in Auckland last week. This was "Bob" Whiteside, a member of the Ponsonby Club and an Auckland representative from 1882 to 1888. He was a contemporary of Arneil,' Lcclcy, O'Connor, Madigan, Eyan, Elliott, the Warbricks, and other famous Aueklanders of the 'eighties. Whiteside was a member of the Auckland team that went South in 1883 under the captaincy of the late Tom Henderson, and against both Canterbury and Otago he scored the winning try for the Aucklanders. In 1886 he again got the winning try in tho historic match played against Wellington at Potter's Paddock (now Alexandra Park), Epsom. The next I season, after an injury in the game | against, Stoddart's British fifteen, Whiteside went across to Australia. ! Jack Arneil, president of the Auckland Bugby Union, who was Ponsonby's [captain in "a day, said that

SENIOR "A" GRADE. - „, . Points. Ch. AtheUic h *T « .:::::! : !-f.;S $ £X-::::j $. S j° ».■■;. Putt ........ 0 1 1 6 20 1 berhMUJore ... o 1 o 8 18 o Old Boys ..., 0 1 0 15 20 a U«rlat ..^..0 2 0 15 33 0 SENIOR "B" GRADE. Points. Ch: ■•,-„.■ W- D- F- A.- Pts. .. 2 0 o 54 3 4 f«Jwjn 1 1 0 19 14 2 .Johnsonvllle .. 1 1 0 12 13 •> Training Col. .. ,1 1 1 0 20 15 2 Porima ;....; 1 1 0 12 15 2 prtental >##< - 1 1 0 11 23 2 AthleUc 0 1 0 9 it 0 DnlTersity „0 1 0 3 41 0