RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 20, 23 July 1927, Page 22

RUGBY

SHIELD AND CAMPS

FIRM STAND TAKEN

CONTROLLING BODY ACTS

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLES-

SENIOR "A" GRADE.

Incidents connected with tho recent Eanfurly Shield match between Waira-! rapa and Hawkes Bay, and subsequent happenings have accounted for a big stir in Rugby circles of the Dominion, and in this the Now Zealand Ru{,oy Union's Management Committee has taken a prominent hand in making known its attitude on certain matters, as well as in settling the dispute in connection with possession of the Ranfurly Shield. With regard to training camps, the chairman of the Now Zealand Union (Mr. S. S. Dean) is to bo commended for tho strong stand ho has taken in the face of tho opposition which was shown when ho voiced his opinions at a function to the Hawkes Bay and Wairarnpa teams in Mastertou. And Mr. Dean has the strong support of most of his committeomen, as well as that of a great majority of the unions throughout the Dominion. At this week's meeting of the New Zealand Eugby Union's Management Committee some references were mado to the fact" that Wellington arranged special training for its representatives, and this was used as an argument to support an opinion that the country unions were entitled to assemble their players for a period of training. Wellington can follow all these discussions as a party, with a clean sheet; it does not believe in going in for organised training camps. So far as tho Shield is concerned Wellington is also easy; it has made no challenge for the trophy tins season, although, as has been stated previously, it would no doubt have endeavoured: to meet any request from Wairarapa in that direction. Poor old Wellington, however, has been dragged into the present discussions on Shield matters by references to past events, anil it has been necessary to put Wellington on side. This has been done very_ effectively by Mr. J. Prendeville (chairman of tho Wellington Union) Thisl writer is fully conversant with Wellington's doings in connection with tho Ranfurly Shield, and, needless to say, was not responsible for the "persistent statement" that tho Wellington Union had done its best some years ago to throw the Shield away. Instruction Flouted. Reverting to tho training camp business, some very pointed remarks were made during a lively discussion at this week's meeting of tho New Zealand Rugby Union's Management Committee when notice was received that Manawhenua had challenged Hawkes Bay to a Ranfurly Shield match next Saturday I feol m regard to this matter that if the reports published in the Press are true—and I would not like to hope that they are true—we should not accept the S,^llenge of Manawhenua for the Shield," romarkod the chairman (Mr. £>. b. Dean). He referred to tho statement that, the Manawhenua players were to be placed in a special training camp to prepare for their match with Hawkes Bay. "Wo give them an instruction," he said, "and they openly flout it. I notice from the reports that they have gone to tho Chamber of Commerce and they J iavo got the members to help them to put their men into camp, *uMr"-A C- Kitto: "We should ask them if it is their intention to put their men into camp." Mr W.-B 1. Hornig: "Wo should instruct them that they must not placo their men in camp." H o added that the letter sent out to unions might not oiiTt n flUit° definito ClltmSu on the A roferencc to tho lottor showed that unions wero advised that the controlling body disapprove of tho practice of putting players into camp, and requested that it should cease. Time for Assembly. a w IrV G"J?" M"llany; "Aro you agreeable to them baying any time at all to get their players together? What about three or four days' training?" The Chairman: "It is a question of assembly against organised camps." lie referred to a communication which' ho had received from Mr. N M'Kenzie, and-expressed pleasure at having l*° Hawkes Bay selector's assurance that tho position so far as that union was concerned was not as bad as they had been led to believe. Mr. Mullany pressed his point that the country unions should have opportunities to get their teams together, and have training such as would bring them into lino, with tho city teams which had the facilities for training. The Chairman: "Our position is' this, that _we consider organised camps aro not in tho interests of the game. Tho question of assembling teams a day or two before a match is a different thing " He referred again to tho reported action of Manawhenua, stating that offers had been made in tho mattor of feeding tho men in camp and providing entertainment for them "I think it is a very dangerous practice," ho added. "Where is it going to lead to; It can only havo one end " Mr; Mullany: "Of course, if that statement regarding Manawhenua is correct, the matter is going too far. -but 1 consider that tho country unions should bo given ample opportunity to get their teams together." Ho roferred to matters in connection with training in Wellington, where playors were notified that if they did not attend gymnasium practices tboy would bo dropped from the representative teams. Beside the Point. Tho. Chairman: "It is not a quest-on of town versus country. I can see that you are fighting for one particular union, Mr. Mullany, but wo are here to arguo football from a Dominion aspect. I wish you would get tho other idea right out of your mind. Tho qvestion of raising the town v. country issue is quite -besido tho point. It is a question of doing away with organised camps." Mr. Mullany: "How many days before a match can these teams assemble? They will havo to come somewhere to get together." At this stage it was decided to ascertain from Manawhenua if the reports that the team was to go into camp were correct. Two Days Allowed. . Discussion on the matter of assembling players was resumed by Mr. Mullany. "To get tho opinion of this committee," he said, "I will move that unions be allowed up to four days to get their players together before important matches." Mr. B. M'Kenzie seconded tho motion. He was of opinion that it was absolutely necessary that teams in country districts should be given -very opportunity to get together, seeing that they did not have the same facilities lor training as players in tho cities. After a little .further argument the swyer and seconder agreed to reduce

the period mentioned in tho motion to three days. Mr. B. Wylie moved as an amendment that tho poriod for assembly be limitod to two cloar days before a match. The amendment was carried by five votes to three.

Athletic and 'Varsity.

Athletic were winners all the way against University at Athletic Park last Saturday, tAe form of the students showing a falling-off. 'Varsity were not favoured by the conditions, but even so, thoir performance was not up to the standard which has made ttem strong contenders for tho championship. They are still in tho runniug, but taking a line hrough last Saturday's showing At. etic's outlook is oven better. Athletic have conic back with a rattle, and at the moment they appear to be the strongest rivals of Old Boys. A feature of the game last Saturday was the excellent display given by Warwick behind the Athletic pack. This player was good on attack and defence, smart and heady in all his work, and his performance was quite one of tho best of the season. Whon it is considered that he has been consistent throughout the season, he must be marked down as one of the extremely unlucky playors, 80 far as representative honours are concerned. Warwick and Porter were a great combination, working with an excellent understanding. Porter, though not yet the Porter of old, indicated that those qualities which have mado him famous are still retained. The Porter-Warwick activities gave no end of trouble to 'Varsity, Svenson, who, according to report, is not likely to appear in representative football this season, played his usual solid game, and at times put tome dash into his work. In Haininund, Athletic havo a back who is likely to keep on improving. Cookson was not always reliable on attack last Saturday, and his errors of judgment on attack generally affected tho play of the backs outside him. Ho provided one or two bright flashes. Sutton and Sutcliffe were triers on attack. . ; Among the Athletic forwards there was not a passenger. The hard-work-ing lot showed superiority over tho opposition, despite numerous penalties, and in the scrummages they saw to it' that their backs wore well served. University's rearguard did not prove 1 as effective as usual on attack, and some costly errors were made on de-: fence, though Noble-Adams rendered splendid service at full-back. ' Mackenzie played his usual bright game, and Irwin and Bamson showed up in flashes, but_ there were times when good opportunities presonted by good work were lost through a weakness on the wing, Grigg was by no means certain in handling the leather. Leys did as well as ho possibly could behind the pack. In other games tho 'Varsity forwards have made more of an impression than they did last Saturday. As a body they wero by no means in thoir best form, but Childs and Burns were always going well. ' During the game twenty-two freekicks were awarded, and of that number 'Varsity received fifteen, moss of them in the first spell. Mr. H. S. Leith controlled the game in a very capable manner. Excellent Refereoing. Generally tho referee of a football match is looked upon as an instrument rather than an agent, and all he gets is the combined "one for the referee." Now and again, however, it is possible for him to bo one of the features of the game, either good or bad, and Mr. J. Moffitt, who controlled the game between Marist and Oriental on Saturday, earns this distinction, and comes uudor the former category. His rcforeoing was more than good—it was excellent. Onco or twieo matters got somewhat heated, but Mr. Moffit's dis-; ciplinary methods were fair and effective. Ho tolerated neither rough play nor arguing, and the players, after ouo had been ordered off, realised this and played the ball, and tho ball only, for tho rest of tho game. Mr. Moflit is one of tho few referees who, whon awarding a penalty, names tho breach and the offender. Ho does not try to mystify, but throughout tho playors know whore they stand. When a roforeo says "Free kick, Oriental," thero is sometimes a resentment that tho penalty was not deserved, but when ho says "Tree kick, Oriental, No. 99 offside," thore is understanding. Playors havo a right to know what they are penalised for, and, furthermore, they also get to know tho rules, of which some are surprisingly ignorant. Murphy forsook tho five-eighths position for that of full-back, and was much moro useful than ho was in the lino. Ho tackled surely and resolutely, and his handling and kicking wero an cxamplo to the younger players in tho match, whose fingers seemed to bo thumbs. The other member of tho Mar-' ist back line to stand out was Graham, a winger of pace and a will to got there. Ho must be in the running for a place in tho provincial side. Tho other backs were better on defence than attack. Cowdell was tho best of tho Oriental back-line, from which M'Nicol was missing. He cut through very nicely, and scored Oriental's only try. Chambers, the half, was slow on attack, but stopped several forward rushes. Of tho Green forwards, G. Barry, M'Hardy, and Hall were tho pick. Mahoney was missed. Murie, Taylor, and the Smiths stood out in the Oriental pack, from which Pringle was absent. Onco again there was a provalenco of mulling, and this is a fault that is robbing tho gamo of tho spectacular element. Berhamporo in Form. While not providing the' typo of Rugby which has spectators on their toes throughout, the Poneko-Berhamporo match at Ncwtown Park was very keenly contested, notably in tho concluding stages when thero was a fair run of incident. Thero was a good deal of a ragged order in tho play in the first spell, but the teams settled down bet-, ter later, and "got into things" in tho last fifteen minutes. Poneko stood out in tho tight work, but for the greater part of tho gamo Borhampore had slightly tho better of affairs and their win was deserved. Poneke was tho early aggressors, but for the first twenty minutes or so Borhampore played one man shot. B. G ("Buzz") Sutherland, tho noted allround athlete, was called upon to fill the vacancy, and went to the left wing. Bcrhampore played four three-quarters, and a two-three-ono scrum, and this arrangement appeared to servo them well. The backs quickly smothered of the loose Poneke forward rushes, but tho team has to thank Lang for saving tho situation many times. Lang was the star back on the field. When one of the other backs made a mistake he was always handy, and deflected many a movement which held decided promise for Poneke. Throughout Lang gave yeoman service. Nicholls, perhaps, played one of his best games to date for Berhamporo. Ho showed more initiative than usual, and was a thorn in the Poneke side. His first try was a fine effort.

Pickering made one or two good runs through the opposition. Credit must also be given him for a splendid penalty goal, which gave Berhamporo the match.

The new winger, Sutherland, aid not have a great deal to do, but he showed clearly that he is a hard man to stop. Another thing pleasing about Sutherland's work was that he tackles his man low, which quite a number of tho players on Saturday faikv.l to do. At times Bcrhampore'a tackling was deplorably weak, and it was""& wonder that Poneke did .not score more points.

Walters, the Berhamporo full-back, was sound, while in tho forwards Charles, Smith, Pickrang, and Deere worked hard.

A good deal of Poneko's work was not convincing enough. At the outset the bucks endeavoured to throw the ball about, but Borhamporo did not let them get too far with their movements. H. and 1\ Tilyard got going well once or twice, and the latter exploited the "dummy" to good purposo at times. The forwards were solid, especially in tho early stages. Old Boys v. Wellington. Old Boys made the most of tho favourable playing conditions in securing their convincing win over Wellington at Petone. The ground was hard, and the ball dry, -which facilitated accurate handling and kicking. Tho result was that, in tho early stages of the game, both teams attempted to open up the play. It soon became evident that tho Wellington backs were not playing over-eoafidently and that they had little opportunity of going far owing to tho_ effective spoiling tactics of the opposition; consequently Wellington became less inclined to get the ball out to their backs. Old Boys' backs mado many mistakes, but they brought off some very bright movements. Tho passing was snappy, and the playors ran with dash when they received tho ball. Bushbrook mado some excellent openings, and played a very fine game throughout. Grenfell mado a capital "centre," and ho was well supported by R. Lamason and Bedell, particularly the latter, who was always dangerous. Malcolm was in great form, scoring 11 of tho 26 points put on by his side. He converted four tries, and scored a try. Tho White forwards also showed good form, particularly in the loose. The honours wore fairly evenly divided in the scrums, but Old Boys had {lie advantage in the lino-outs, where Emerson put in a lot of good work. Tho burly lock played a great game, and was always to the fore. J. Lamason generally managed to prevent tho Wellington backs going far, and ho took a hand in most of tho attacking movements. He also kicked a fino penalty,goal. Hand and Claridgo were both solid workers. Although tho Wellington forwards were little inferior to their opponents, tho backs were not up to tho same standard. Attempts to get tho backlino moving wore not often successful, and at times proved disastrous. On one occasion Rushbrook intercepted a pass trom A. Johnson to his brother, Lance and sent E. Lamason away to score tho urst try. Wellington's defensive work also, was not always sound. A. E Johnson, who appeared in place of Kilby, played gamely, but his passing from tho scrums and line-outs often lett much to be dosired. L. Johnson was tho mainstay of tho bellow backs, and was responsible for sonio brilliant efforts. Corless tackled very soundly, and Eddy proved.a safo full-back. iho forwards worked together well and on the wholo gave as much as thoy received. Mathoson proved an able loader, and Thornton, Voice, and Donnelly wero also prominent. Petono and^Hutt. After tho drawn game played at ihe and^t? °« th° SGaS°" between PotoSo ?? to tt\ ° WaS tt biS attendance at tho Hutt ground on Saturday. The P ay a though willing, lacked Setting incidents. Hutt had to play against a glaring Bun nml al{ ht br £ *• tho first half, but at half-time 111? sun was hiddou and tho wind Ind dropped. _ The home team hold together well during the first spell, showing an all-round improvement in thoir play At tho beginning the Hutt team heeled tho ball well from the scrums, and passing rushes followed among t.|, o backs. Later in the game, however, thoy could not sfan.il against tho repeated rushes of tho Pctono forwards and they had to rely on a defensive game. Comiiu pluyod on excellent gnmo for Potouo as Jiiilf-bnck, and was l;I.o most prominent player among tho bucks. Roilgor played well in the thrcoquartcr line, and Ulvey amused lli» crowd by his repeated sidc-atoppinir tactics, which often gained valuablo ground for Potono. Corner playod a solid gamo throughout, but his goal-kicking was not very successful. There was little to pick among the forward pack, but Wardon nnd Dickons wero perhaps tho most notable. Fopto proved himself a very able full-back for Hutt, although his linokicking could bo improved. M'Dougall has improved greatly during the season, and ho wus tho most prominent playor among Hutt's backs. George, Suudgron, and Toal wero tho pick of their forwards. Dv Chateau (Old Boys) has returned from Auckland, where ho showed up vory prominently as a half-back. Old Boys should bo an even bettor side with tho return of this good playor. Tyreo (Athletic) gained a popular success at the amateur boxing championships this week.

„ Points. Clip t,- „ p- W. L. D. 1\ A. Pts '-C.'^— 11 8 2 i nr 107 J7 -r'; >*U:.. 12 s a i ios ioo 17 Sir?..::: Ji ?I } 1!? JJ MaH s r POrB ""65 IIU 133 11 Oriental ""7 12 4 7 1 Ji? i? 2 2 Hutt 12 0 11 1 74 234 1