RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 147, 25 June 1927, Page 22

RUGBY

~ *>• "Dmrisimx- | FOR TARANAKI JWHO WILL BE CHOSEN? ifiOSPECTS OF STRONG TEAM |r CHAMPIONSHIP TABLES. 2 BENIOK "I" GRADE. '

rr.lt ie probable that the Wellington' .4 j^Bpresentative team to' me«t Taranaki .•'ii*t- Hawera on Wednesday week -will ke announced by the sole selector (Mr. •«■ V, N. Millard) this .evening. Needless ip »ay, the first selection of representa„,..tires this season is being awaited with <4keen interest, particularly in view of the fact that_the sole selector system '{''ik being given a trial,, Mr. Millard ; i«* been doing his utmost to gain the „;, .eloßiat possible touch with play and 'vfJßj*3r'Bril« and he has covered a great m«l of ground, not only on Saturdays .-;.,, *nt also on week nights. Hia task ' pearlier in the/season appeared to be iivl U extremely difficult one, particularly ..,*•,» regard to the selection of'backs of ' the required standard, but it now seems to have been made somewhat easier by notable additions to the Tanks of local playerß as well as by some outstanding performances. Still, his task ia far ;-::" from easy. ;■■ '..' ;;. i Of claimants to the full-back position J; jMaleolm appears to be the strongest, 15 jritH Walters also in the running. Hen..■jr wood is on the light side. Unless the :f- selector has t ; discovered distinct; possi- ;*? fciKttes in some other, player in A or B gade teams the position, should go to alcolm or Walters. -Grenfell waa a |i fine ;full-back at Wellington College, f,i j*.u* " now a centre-three-quarter. Uri.fi til the rise of Bamson he appeared to *?■•**▼« most claims to the centre-three- *£ Sorter position, with South possibly 'vliex^ on. the list. Bainson, however, "cannot now be- overlooked, unless he is Jflayed on. the wing. Elvy's fine reputation should assure the Canterbury : three-quarter one.wing position, while Bvonson, in form, would, fly into the other place on the wing. Lang, a consistently good back, is also to be considered. There should be no doubt r ,j:Bbout the five-eighths—M. Nicholls and ,„ Johnson. In case of emergency the se.....Jeetor has some excellent talent offer;,fipg in Mackenzie, E. Foley, Wineera and M'Kay, as well as South *nd Lang, .^.^he half-back position rests between ; ,, Warwick and Kilty; Stee', is not men-' 1 ii.>V onedj for. the reason r j,at he is not ., >r epming to Wellington. 'With Porter out of action, Jeasup is >bout the best wing-forward on hand. Others with claims include Young (Selwyn), George," Mouat, and Matheson. «r}v lr? hy' (Marist>would be a source of ■^-.trouble to opposing teams in that posi- - turn, although he is on to the veteran rtage. One of the great needs is a pair of thoroughly efficient hookers. . The niost likely front-rankers appear to bo' Mason, Wilson, Warden, Childs, and •% Smith. The ; first., named ,was a junior -. representative "for. two.- v seasonsMahoney ■„■ and Mar.tin-Smith are locks of gome experience, but in Pope, Emerson ;and.Smith; there are three .players of excellent stamp for the position.. The two latter, however, cannot yet be regarded as efficient locks. For the other places in. thepack there is good material. Taylor . stands out as one of the hardest-working forwards in Wellington, and J. Shearer, an excellent leader, is playing at. the top of Ms form, •kdgar (Athletic) must bo well in tho Tunning for a place, and there are tried Representatives in, Thomas, Pringle, and Tyree:also: to be considered. Williams n*:M'Artney ; are "."tigers" for work,, then; .there; are, .Baiiy (Marist}, O'Began,: Burns,. Deere; King, Voice! ■Pbflhelly,: and;- Matheson.to be considerede among others. The job is to! Bdrfc'them out. The "goods" are there, ■ad Mr, Millard should find-a fine pack.

Athletic and Old Boys. : "Erdm the'display given by Old Boys £gmiEßt, Athletic sit was evident that they arc-not suited to wet conditions. STieir methods did not como up to those of Athletic, nor was there the concerted action and control of the leather so essential to sneeess under circumstances such ■•they ware last Saturday. True, Old Boy*-were beaten by. only three points, but Athletic had by far the better of the game. Old Boys, however, are not .^ut of the running by this defeat. haa to win last Saturday » .order to still hold some prospects tff ultimate success in the battle for the tfremiership. They played a really, good wet-weather game, but for all their efforts it was left to Warwick to win the day-for them by two particularly smart and successful attempts to score. ' "Warwick, despite,a troublesome knee played a very fine game;.he was ■Hie best: back on the ground, and it will take a- really good half-back to Beat him! for representative honours. , ' 'The-forwards monopolised the play but there were times when the backs supplied bright interludes by engaging lp. passing bouts. ;. Some of theso werl gpod for the day. Generally, however,the^ backs had to adopt much the same methods as the forwards to make progress. Old Boys lost their chance in the first spell, when they failed to drive solidly, and at the same time maintain control of the; ball. ; Too often the leather was sent far enough to give the opposition ample time to clear. On tie other hand, Athletic .usually kept close eijdugh on the ball "to make defensive .work yery ' Old Boys ; did well to. evade more than two scores .jagainst them. ; Among the Athletic backs was Hammond, a player from Tarahaki. . Under the conditions he shaped very well, and ije. should: improve the. strength ;of the Athletic rearguard, :f rom which: Sutton, V. now. Jnissing omig to an iriiary; Sjvensan played a solid game as a five* eighth, and; SutcliSe showed up on the wing when opportunities came his way i £ K,h§ i?ld^ Bojr3>- batiks Bedell' was probably .the: best on the day. Grenfell did some fine work, but at times made mistakes. The same is to be said of Malcolm. Wixon started off. well enough to suggest that his pro-mo-tion to senior rank, is deserved. ' ; The best forward on the ground was Edgar. The remainder of the pack went well all the way, Olliver generally being" conspicuous. Pope was capable as wing forward. >; _ Among the Old Boys' forwards Clarldge- was particularly noticeable. Th-ere was room for more vigour in the work" of the pack as a whole. J. Lamasoii Tfai always on hand in the loose.' " '

"University Lsist Better. : .In spite of the wind, the rain, ana th* mud at Newtoivn -Paris, the game ftatwee« Oriental and. University wad njfl-W incident, and the spectators who pMKered mmtmg tb« tre« wart weU

satisfied. University won, and although they dominated the play in the second'half, they had a hard struggle to score. Two penalty goals to a converted try gave Oriental a lead in the first spell, and in the second they held their line against a persistent attack for about 20 minutes. On three or font occasions their forwards broke away, and on one occasion it was only Rani son's speed that saved the students.

Noble-Adams played a splendid game at full-back; He handled the greasy ball well, and when he ran jvith it ho was always dangerous. Twice he was all but over.

A fine run by Mackenzie was responsible for the best try of the day. Ho and Bamson were the best of the 'Varsity back line. •

The Green i'brwards'packed well and seemed to last better than usual. Childs and Cormaek, both light men, grafted hard all the time. O'Regan and Martin-Smith were also conspicuous. ■•-■■.'.'■•

Wyman played a good game at fullback for Oriental, while M'Nicol was very safe on defence.

Pringle is rapidly regaining his form of two years ago> and R; Smith was another who was outstanding in the Oriental pack. :■•'■

Petone and Poneke.

In tue Poheke-Petone game at Petone handling the ball was not to be thought of, and backs and forwards alike had to rely on their feet. The forwards of each side brought dfl some good dribbling rushes, but it was always a matter of conjecture as to how

these would end. As often as not, the ball would go into touch and there would follow a series of the many lineouts which, characterise/! the game.

The .forwards of each side must pc given credit for' playing a! hard, but remarkably clean game, with the honours evenly.divided. Little was gained or lost in.the scrums. Petone hooked the ballmore often than their opponents, but it was seldom allowed to come out, and when it did the" backs could do nothing with it. Cameron, Carr, and King did great, work for Petone in the tight as well e,s in the loose. Williams, a promoted junior, held the- serum, together well, while Spence was always on the ball.

Coman, at; half-back, sized up the conditions and his judicious punts from marks proved, very useful. The Petone backs were on the whole superior in defensive work, and .Nicholls arid Corner; in particular, showed what good use backs can make of their feet when the ball is difficult .to handle.,He'nwood played a very safe game.

Great interest was occasioned by the first appearance of W. Elvy, but it was impossible for him to give more than an inkling of what he is capable of. The way he got down on to Corner's crosskick and scored Petone's second try showed, anticipation and speed.' . Although their sifle loßt, it was no fault of the Poneke, forwards, and if anything . they were superior on the day's play.' However gradual such progress may. havo been, it was noticeable that Poueko did.make progress from the line-outs, and on occasions they would break away with the ball at toe. Jcssup, Shearer, and.Pope were particularly noticeable for this type of play, while Debreceny >»yas also well to the . for'p. ':-' '. ■-. '.-. ;'i : . ' ■"

The; weakness of. the Poneke backs lay-injthe uncertainty of their defence. Although;their tackling was.generally sound, their fielding was: at times palpably weak, while they were also inclined to. get .out of.-position. Mis-hand-ling allowed to get their first score, and the .second was due to a big gap: in the defence.

lV Tilyard was the best back on the side, and proved a tower of strength ; both on attach ana, defence. H. Tilyard also played well, as did Edgar on the wing. G. Nicholls, although he had one or two Hkely opportunities, found the greasy ball'too difficult to lift over the cross-bar. Berhampore and Hutt. Hutt was not slow in taking advantage of the wind against Berhampore, '■but'passing.rushes were made : almost impossible by thel slippery ball. , Thi scrums throughout the gamo wero very ragged, and Berhampore had the Btrength and weight to push their way ■through. • ' •• Berhamppre won comfortably, but lost several chances-of improving their score throughout the game by kicking too far. for the follow-up. Mason was the outstanding forward in the Berhampore pack, but there were others who went well. The heavy condition of the ground did,, not suit the. Hutt forwards. Sundgreen, was apparently tho only member -of■■•tho .pack' to do any effective dribbling. George lead many of Hutt's rushes, and his tackling throughout the .game was very solid. ; /Taylor played an outstanding game in ; the Berhampore backs, first as fiveeighth and then as half-back. Ho was handling-,the ball as though well accus-* tcmed to wet weather conditions. Tay;lor is a ; ".find; V for Berhampore. , Pickering proved himself to be a fast man on. the wing, but he had no luck Iwith his goal-kicking. Walters played *well; v ■■ • "'■ ;:■ '/"''■ ■ ' ■. 'Balks saved;-the Hutt team many "times by his powerful kicking, but on being rushed he was slow to get the ball away. Hume was far from playing his usual game. Slater and Bonetti showed up continually during the game. : Ward (Berhft'mpore) will be out of action for some weeks. Marist and Wellington. Although the conditions at Newtowh Park by no mean's made for a. good display, iMarist and Wellington managed to provide a fairly fast game. Players,on. both sides showed great keenness, but-the cold wind and the slippery turf and ball did vnpt allow them to start anything o* fa "sparkling order. In spite; of these;, difficulties the backs of both sides.got;going once or twice, but : after,, a/, time '.'.they learned that the better policy to adopt was to keep the ball at:t6o.: Play generally was of a scrappy nature, with the forwards see- , ing most of the ball. Neither side made much use .of the advantage of having the wind and tho rain, behind it. Wellington had the upper hand in the first half, but, although they hammered away persistently on the Marist lino, only three points came their way. With the wind at their backs in the second half, the Marist forwards played resolutely, but Wellington displayed good defence, which the Greens were unable to penetrate. Murphy jut over a good penalty goal, but, he missed an easier goal lat^r, whish would have given Marist the. game! .'■'; ■.. .'-, The.; Wellington .half-back, Kilby, showed'up well, ttioughout. He was quickttvo v seize ahy v chances to gain :gfouhd, ; . and.'aljvays 'defended skilfully, ; JpntstpA .and Corless also did _much useful work among the other Wellington backs. ■ Whyborn, haying injured a shoulder at practice, was-not in: the pack on. Saturday, and Hamspa hooked' with' Clelahd; Mathesdn^ Giles, M'Lean, and Voice worked solidly throughout. . -' i ,The,Marist forwards were a good lot, ■and. Mahpney, iB. Barry:,and M'Hardy were hard graftfers who were always pn the.ball.. ■:< .■•'... Murphy was a good general and was the outstanding player among the Mar? ist backs. .. „.-■ . : . ■:. . .:. i ,-.':. TKe Wellington rear division should :Ve further strengthened by the inclusibnof Batehelof,;an ex-Waikato,; Horowhenua; Nelson, and Golden Bay representative. BatchVior was to: make his first appfcarancVwithtlia" team to-day. .' ;N.S.W. Selection; ' Advices from Sydney indicates that the;-New' South; "Wales'.team selected for the;>Eiig']ish tour!gives general satisfactioai 'Mr. J. Bi (" Jimmy/ '^ Hen-

derson says:—' "The selectors have done well, and have given us a formidable team. It should make a fine showing and a proud record on and off the field." R. L. Raymond, a player with a nrst-hana knowledge of the game in England and of the standard! of play in Australia and New Zealand, says:— "As long as all or.r men gotr their turn for a game, and so improve their football* and the strain of the tour.is not thrown on to a few cracks, I have every confidence that the "War-! atahs" will go through witli as good a record a* the All Blacks." That is saying a great deal; the New South Wales team has- something to equal in that wonderful record.

A. C. Wallace^ who^is captain of the side for the tour,' expresses the following views:— "New South Wales can count itself fortunate in tho able selection, which has been made by men of such judgement as the State Selectors. I think they have done well, and have got together good men for the work ahead of them. The striking feature of the team, to my mind, is the general speed, and by that is meant not only pace, but mental alertness and understai Tinf of what to do when opportunities present themselves. Especially does this«apply to ihe forwards, and despite the fact that they will be opposed to heavier and persistently tenacious forwards, I do not doubt for one moment but that their speed of move raent and comprehension sof when and how to-act will'enable them to overcome the .stout opposition they will assuredly encounter. "Our backs look the goods, and should do well. Speed will tell agamst us there, though that is not lacking in the side. I expect many of the men to make great reputations, although already most of our men can lay claim to recognition among the world's best at Rugger. I firmly believe that the play of the team will' be most attractive—more so, I think ■*h j an _that of *c All Blacks— and that the British sporting public will be decidedly pleased with the standard of the displays, «."" T!!u IOUI1 OUI is a more iudacious one than that of the 1924 All Blacks, since Scotland and Irrland have been added to tna obstacles ahead in the stiff programme of 30 matches .in Britain and three international games against France .Nevertheless, I cannot but feel confident; although we meet th« famous Newport (Wales) team iv our second game, the 'Waratahs' will perform, with credit to their country as playersand gentlemen." Powers of Referee. _ There has been considerable discussion mi Wellington Rugby circles of late over the matter of a referee alterr? g *-i ! L dcSi 3ion after awarding a try Until the New.Zealand Union lave an instruction last week, tho rules I! tl cognised in New Zealand made it plain that a referee could not alter his decmon and this fact was stated in the official programme just previously The discovery has recently been made by reference to a booklet issued by the Lon^ don Society of Referees that where a line umpire's flag is seen to bo hoisted (for a man in touch) after a try hus been awarded the referee is entitled-to rule out the. try and order a line^out. lhis was the ruling ■ applied in tho University-Marist match a fortnight ago, but the writer considers that it was premature, as no' authority had been given by the New Zealand Union for the ruling to be brought, into operation. .'■.,'

The New Zealand Union has given the >«f. e7 ee;th« g/eater power by leferenea to the booklet publishea-by the London Society of Referees.' The information upon which it acts should, in the writer s opinion, come direct from tho English Rugby Union. This ruling may now.be in order, but it was certainly not in operation prior to last Saturday so far as New Zealand is concerned In previous seasons the referees have considered the position arising- when a referee omits to see a line umpire's flapl hoisted and allows the play to proceed" and the writer recollects tliat tha local referees agroed that in such cases the line umpires should bring down the flag-directly.: the. referee'had' given a decision. ■ ■■< •

It is also interesting, to. note that tlio case of a referee changing his decision was the subject of a ruling by tho English Committee last ; year. The Now Zear land Befere'es'Asspciation had discuss-; ed the case, and it was subsequently forwarded through the New Zealand Rugby Union to the N.Z. Appeal Committee, which .advised as follows:—'' Kb ruling relative to referee ({hanging his • decision: The, Appeal Committee is of the opinion that the referee can alter: his decision provided.that no play has taken place between the giving of the decision and the alteration. If the incident happened at half-time or upon the call of time the changing of the decision must be done immediately." _ The matter then wpnt on to the English Rules Committee, and the reply was:—"l am directed by my committee to inform you that (according to note to Law 3 at foot of page 36—1925----26 handbook), a referee cannot alter his' decision once it jb given, and tho first decision given in, the case of tho game mentioned'should stand, the local sub-union's decision being a wrong one." .

■ The sub-union had endorsed the action of thq referee in changing his decision after consultation with the lino-umpires.

Notes. . ' •■■' ■, : ... The New South Wales. selectors appear to have chosen a side that should do great credit to tho State on the tour to England. Reports that Mill and Nepia are likely to turn out for Hawkes Bay in matches to bo played shortly are stated to be incorrect. Dv Chateau,' ox-Old Boys, was injured in a match at Auckland last Saturday. He has been showing excellent form as half-back, and is said to be a strong candidate for rep. honours. It is noted that M'Manus was chosen to fill tho biir against Thames to-day.

Wairarapa's match with Bush Districts, where there is a good deal of heart-burning over Elvy's departure, is now fixed for 2nd July, a week before the return match between Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. Theso are the next shield matches. ' .

■■?.-•■■■.'• Points. Clip. )■_ . .>;■:• W. L. D. IV A. Pts. wl»eisity .... S 5 2 1 113 ;81 11 Petooe ...;.... 8 5 2 1 Tl 61 11 « B«l ..„ T . 4 2 1 89 68 9 Mfcunpon T 4 2 1 86 78 9 4MftiC ~~~i 14 3 1 71 67 9 Xfcneln _... 7. 8 2 2 SS.- 84 8 Oria^tW* ...—, 8 ,3 .4 1 84 84 7 Wellington .... 7 2 3 2 58 65 6 jttrltt ».....< S 2 5 I : 83 .84 5 •ott ......... 8 0 7 1 44 123 1 ••' tJ.' • • ■ . - ;5 ■ BSKIOR "B" GRADE. • . " ■ m .; - Points. Chp. fe P. W. L. D. F. A. Pts. Saslfcourns ... 8 T 1 0 148 40 14 JliinsonviUo .....8 5 3 0 93 01 10 oriental ...... 8 4 3.1 70 71 9 Tralnlriß Col. « 7 4 S 0 66 158 8 8 4 4 0 66 60 8 ....... 8 4 4 0 71 72 8 ■llniTewlty .... 6 1 4 1 50 122 3 Athletic .....i 7 0 7 0 41 123 0 >:._AtMetlc lort their match with Selwyn as the keeult of » protest.