RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 26, 30 July 1927, Page 22

RUGBY

By "DnorxiatvJ ANOTHER SUCCESS al| WELLINGTON REPRESENTAJ£ TIVES t J>, SOUTH CANTERBURY «-1 OUTPLAYED . \* CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE? *%*"] SENIOR "A" GRADE.

S&3U Wellington has now figured in two Sjiji representative matches this sea it and $|??| as two victories to its credit. "While |s;gT| it does not do to be t~o optimi- "" the performances of the players who have v&s represented the province so far are enpg couraging and hold out hope t some i|?;s of the defeats •which appear iv 'ast £3? year's records will be : venged. Against a^.« Taranaki Wellington went well, and •£*■ again on Wednesday aftornoon when •>J> the Wellington representatives met South Canterbu y at Athletic Park, *;£? taey proved superior to th l position. '£>*■! Several players among those originally i-.pfl selected were unabl-- to take part iv the Jy-i game, but the team the solo selector £i;.j (Mr. J. N. Millard) put into the field ;C: "was to° good f°l" the southerners and x.^ it won all the way. ;\?;ji. Both back and forward the Wclliug'y.i- ton fifteen were superior, but there ap%"j} Peared to be room f.r further improve■y.'f. ment, particularly in the scrum work. .';-jij The locking did not appear to be up fv-.j to requirements, and at times the pack i.i.3 did not appear altogether comfortable. '*--"> T. he Wellington backs were an attrac- '<\.; **ye their combination and tinderIv 4 stan-ding were good; they were tricky V-;,-s and quick off the mark in spite of tlio sticky nature of the turf; and they iy.^j handled well. Frequently the rear ;.XJ division moved very nicely, supplying ■».'-■} some' thrilling moments now and again ■"-'•*' l as they clapped on the pace intent on J'j'4 a try. c r'V-, i While Wellington's play was pleasing, :t. J South Canterbury's exhibition was dis->.-if appointing. Containing some players ■,Jj whose prowess in the past has gained '.:-V3 or them much distinction, the team >ijJ was expected to give a better'account *!~N| of itself. The southerners failed, how(■T'J ever < an^ at times their work was very rjj weak. Their backs were not speedy ■_. 3 ;| enough t; cope with tho situation, and '■'-'{{ there wn? over much fumbling of the ;C-| ball- Ti. sticky ground appeared to >•-_;! affect the visitors much more than the j:J Wellington representatives. j South -.•'■js Canterbury men also did not have provj P er e°nti"ol of the ball, and their kickv,:.i lnS was far from good. They had --;'rf Plenty of chances to pick up points, as tej they were awarded a number of fie"e---;.q kicks, some of which wore in quito ; r-CS handy positions But the tea. >s goal ;--.rj kickers had an off day. At times in lS*] t'le Becond half South Canterbury were .«J more e~3ctiv , b '■ even, with the wind, '"■J Joey found in "Wellington's defciee an u.j impenetrable barrier, while they never •<Jj seemed to mak. the most of oppor'Vj tunities that were afforded. -^1 M. Nieholls led the Wellington team £<.; well, and he was a very servicoablc, .;»i heady and hard-working link in the r.f.i speedy back machine. He drow his ■vf' man in masterly fashion and paved the ■vi w*y for stinging attacks, which South *i\j Canterbury had their work cut out in i"/:j cheeking. Johnson, gave an uneven £j*,| display. He was inclined to kick too ; ;;f*y much, but on occasio she showed glimp'■Jva so§ of the form which gained him 'igA recognition from the New Zealand seli*j.'| ectors. . f*tH Kilby was quite satisfactory in the 'Vi half-back position, and was able to give f.li 'he men behind him plenty of chances ;i*-j to swing into action. His play was ij.,| much, more impressive than on his prev;.;X* ions appearance on Athletic Park. i'f?i South gave good assistance; he ,'>;,! "'idled well in attacking movome ta .ft i and ran straight and with ample sure\jsii ness. 0i The two wingers, Elvy and Eanison, rfii were very much in the picture. Elvy fj'vj showed fine pace and initiative in ob■iij taining his two tres. He is back to -y.j loan. Bamson certainly added to his • : <j reputation and fully lived up to the conV.ij Sdenee placed in him. His thirteen &$ I****** out of the 22 scored by Welling:*43 to* w«« » good afternoon's perform;rtj anco. Malcolm waa safe at full-back, })$ and all he had to do, which was not a ti'4 S3*B* deal, he did quite well. ■?X\ , Wellington's forwards, altered a s<jj little from the original selection, show- ?&■{ «d up very well as a body in all depart£4 menta, and, despite tho scrummaging f,£j defect, they were able to give any t?>j amount of ball to the rearguard. Tay■vj ? lor was. a great toiler all through. He ■>'- ia probably the best forward of his ;.£: kind in Wellington to-day. Shearer 7>" played his usual heady game. O 'Beean ■** Oliver, Thomas, and M' Hardy all gave ,;;.-* excellent support, but the weighty &f Emerson was a little off colour. Still, j£ the last-named made his presence felt ?*■:; at times. Porter's return to rcprcseu- *.-. tative form was welcome, and tho exJwl "'I. 11 B! ack ca Ptain was a continual :u thorn m the side of the opposition. Al- *~ though he was ruled off-side at times f-'J £"rter gave valuable assistance to Wel- & lington. He was often to be seen ■g.i working in with the backs and helping .:£ their attacking movements along in ■v characteristic fashion. ><?J nTher? Was one V^ayer in the South ■pA canterbury side who stood out very mnch above the others. He was Eon. £ij Stewart, the fine dashing forward who -.;■/. made a name for himself on the tour jrt of the 1924 All Blacks. Stewart put ;:>1 every ounce of energy he had into his «v pJayj he worked away with a will ;,v throughout, and it was a pity that he : ; /J did not receive more support. Among ,-;»!: the other forwards M'Bride was eon- ' spicuous, with Pannell and Bergin •^ a showing up now and again. ** -A- Lawson was the most outstanding Ml b. a.ct> defending and attacking with .i-i 3kill and showing gbod judgment. Trot"■•l te. r at times also got going well, while r-.$ Gibb, after showing up in the early "U stages, lost a lot of his dash. Forrester :"| figured in occasional dashes. Tho fullback, Fairbrother, defended well for a -M time > bnt his efforts tapered off, and lie :.*| clearly did not have his kicking boot ~M on. While there were some good indi- -^ vidnal performances among the backs, they were not effective enough as a •JI combination. ;| 'Varsity and Old Boys. ■J4 Play in the Old Boys-University ■jl match last Saturday did not reach the ij-I standard expected of teams in tho lead £ f T f lO P^micrship, but the game -,vns yj far from dull. There was always a drj'4 th a \p I 7 -h0 Lall about ' and 'when d }L% S 0± ei? or Kidc were in posses- : ''- ™T« \ "S^" y es3a- yed the "lass of V.;! "Wemmt which makes tho play of ;i these teams so popular with followers ■4 oh 1? B*T M times ' h^ever, the :i J\ Old Boys' line was deprived of the lev

ther through a change of policy by one of .tho backs, who evidently considered that -better results wero to lie obtained by kicking and following up. Occasionally the kicks were well judged, but under the circumstances Old Boys should have retained possession as long as they were able. Evidently the University forwards were well aware of previous performances by the opposing pack. They weifa keyed up to very determined action, and by their efforts they contributed in no small way to 'Varsity's success. On the other hand the Old Boys' pack could not reproduce that vigour and dash shown in tho recent match with Petone. By their defeat Old Boys are nos thrown out of the running for championship honours. As a matter of fact, they may now be regarded as on level terms with University and Athletic, having a match in hand with Wellington. The championhip position is still as interesting as ever, and there will be keen interest in the matches in which both Old Boys and University, as well as Athletic, arc engaged. University's form last Saturday was impressive, while it is recognised that Old Boys are quite capable of better performance. Old Boys, like Athletic, should be a tougher proposition as the result of some reorganisation. Dv Chateau has returned from Auckland, and was played as half-back last Saturday, with good results. Meadows, a good forward, has returned from Australia, and is now resuming his place? in the pack. The weakness in the fiveeighths could not be said to have been strengthened in the manner desired by the bringing up of Malcolm from full-back, and it may be that Chitty will be retained as half-back and Dv Chateau placed as a five-eighth. In some respects Malcolm was serviceable last Saturday, but his greatest service is rendered as full-back. While an amount of fumbling and bad passing tended to mar the performance of tho backs, there were numerous bright movements, and in some cases the manner in which they were topped off provided finishing touches of a class rarely seen nowadays. Irwin, who played conspicuously all through in the 'Varsity back line, was responsible for one brilliant scoring effort, and Grigg brought off another. On the other side, Grenfell, showing a return to real form, also cut through in fine style to score an excellent try. The two half-backs, Leys and Dv Chateau, both did splendid work, and most of the other members of the rear divisions did well when reasonable good opportunity came their way. Old Boys were unlucky in losing Bedell through injury, as opportunities which would not have found this player wanting went begging after his retirement. J. Lamason was the usual live wire in the Old Boys' rushes, with Claridgo also figuring prominently as a fine loose forward. Jones also went very well. The 'Varsity forwards wont better as a pack, all members contributing well to a fine performance. Cliilds and Burns were a particularly good pair, and the former, with O'Regan, did well in the matter of hooking the ball. Petone and Oriental. Petone fielded their strongest team last Saturday for the first time for several weeks, and clearly demonstrated that against a team not up to full strength,- as was the ease with Oriental, they are irresistible. Oriental started eft' with rare vim, aud had notched eight points before Petono found their feet. Gradually, however, Petone took charge, and soon more than wiped off the deficit. The game was spectacular throughout, the ball being thrown about delightfully. Petone owed their victory to the backs, more especially to Nieholls and Elvy, with Coman not far behind for meritorious performance. The Petone captain was in fine fettle, and although ho scored only one try, he paved the way for the majority of the others. Elvy proved conclusively that, given the opportunities, he is a try-getter above tho average. More than that, he showed that ho can got tries, when there appears to bo no chance at all. On one occasion ho started m midfleld and went in practically a straight line through the Oriental team to score under tho posts with at least three men on top of him. Cowan was seldom caught with tho ball in his possession, and generally did more than his share before sending the ball on. Corner was sound, but Eodger cut in too frequently considering the men he had outside him. Taken all through, the Oriental backs were outclassed on the day's play, but there were times when the inside backs showed superior combination to fhat of their opponents. Chambers played a solid game at half-back and got over for two good tries from scrums near tho line. Cowdell and Townsend ;ilso did well, but Skeen at full-back was uncertain. The Oriental forwards were wore evenly matched than were the backs, but here also Petone had an advantage, especially in the scrums. Thomas and Dickens were tho best of tho Petone pack, and Parker, tying"--forward, opened up the game well on several occasions. ' Hall was a leading- light among Oriental forwards, while Hepburn and Murie also put in a lot of good work. Marist Score Again. After commencing aggrcssivoly, Borhampore were unable to last out against Marist at,Newtown Park. The Light Blues attacked in force, but in spite of their efforts they were unable to make much impression on the Marisit lines. The Greens defended stoutly, and were able to put a severe check on' most of Berhanipore's advances into their territory. While it was a keenly-contest-ed game, the teams failed to provido a sparkling exhibition. There was overmuch ragged play, and the combination was not what it should havo been. Still, there was some snappy individual work at times, and now and again in tho second half the Green backs moved off in attractive passing bouts. For the greater part of the first spell the forwards had charge, and Marist's backs did not havo much opoprtunity to show their pace. They saw more of tho ball in the second spell, but their handling was not good, and they did not make full use of several opportunities of scoring. For all that, however, Marist were the better team on the afternoon, and thoroughly deserved to win. At times Berhamporo's tackling was very weak. Among! the Bevhampore forwards, Smith, Deere, and Mollier were hard grafters throughout, and" were always conspicuous. Mouatt played a good game as wing-forward. Once again Lang was an outstanding figure in the Berhampdre back line. His defensive work was very sound. Taylor, the half-back, also played a very useful game. Bowman, who has been coaching the Marist team, took Denuehy's place in the fifteen, and hooked with Flett. E. Barry gave a good display, while the wing-forward, M'Hardy, was a tower of strength to his side. J. Murphy made a success of the fullback position, and showed very fine defensive qualities. The two wingers, G. Barry and Graham, showed plenty of pace and dash when they got possession of the ball, and each scored a fine try. The centre, Griffin, did his best to get the rear division moving smoothly, and often made some excellent openings. Cuming also showed up well at times. Little Between Them. Poneke gave Athletic a surprisingly close run on Saturday, and one might say that Porter made the difference between victory and defeat for his side. He was the outstanding player on the ground. His anticipation got Athletic out of several tight corners. On several ! occasions he fell back and cleared when all seemed lost. He also combined well

with Syenson, who proved a stiff ob-

stacle for the Poneke forwards. Svenson also made a couple of fine runs, one of which led up to a try. The forwards were well matched. Both packs played with dash, and, although Athletic got the ball on the majority of occasions ! ti-oui the scrums, the Poneke forwards, led for tho most part by J. Shearer, were seen in several five dribbling rushes. Shearer is one of the best dribblers playing football to-day. SutI cliffo and Cookson showed plenty of dash, and Hammond was a good link | in the Athletic back line, which is twice I as strong now as it was at the beginning of tfie season when it lacked solid- | ness. G. Nieholls and F. Tilyard played serviceable games for Ponelic, but Algar was the pick of the back line. Ho was reliable in both attack and defence. Osbornc, the Athletic hooker, seemed to be the man who'was getting the. ball trom theserums. Altogether, the game was an interesting one to watch, and Poneke were having the better of things at the finish. An Easy Win. " The match between Wellington and Hutt, played on the Hutt ground, was very willing, aud both- teams were working well till the Jinal whistle. Solid tackling on both sides lessened the chance of any spectacular break-a-ways. The Wellington backs proved superior throughout the game in their passing bouts, but the efficiency of tho Hutt backs is increasing with every game. Tho two packs of forwards wero working well, but the serums usually screwed, and resulted in a scramble for possession. The Wellington hookers, Whyborn and Cleland, secured tho ball iv the majority of tho serums. Footo proved himself an able fullback for Hutt, and his tackling is very sound, but his kicking is usually poor. Grey, who made his first appearance in the Hutt team, played a very fine game on the wing, his kicking and tackling were very sound. M'Dougall played a good game until ho had to be removed owing to injuries to his leg. Without doubt the most prominent player throughout the game in the Hutt team was Peck, who led their forward pack in its attacks, and proved a very good many in defence. Gordon and Forsyth also acquitted themselves well. George played his usual spectacular game as wing-forward, and did some very solid tackling. Corloss, who played centre for Wellington, is very fast, but His passing and kicking are often wild. Johnson was among the most noted of the Wellington team; his dash aud passing were very line. Kilby was a great asset to his side in his clever play at half-back; his goal-kicking, however, was not up to his usual standard. M'Lean figured well among the Wellington forwards, he being continually seen breaking away with the ball at toe. Whyborn and Voice also played good games. Banfurly Shield Referees. Sonic mention was made at the recent meeting of the New Zealand Eugby Union's Management Committee of the last Eanfurly Shield match referee's action in resigning Ms official positions on the Wairarapa Eeferees' Association. This action was taken as a protest against the attitude of tho two unions, Havvkes Bay and Wairarapa, in regard to the players who had boon ordered off. "The appointments of referees to Eanfurly Shield matches," remarked Mr. S. S. Dean, "is a matter which we might take up. Should not tho New Zealand Union take more control? ' Tho Banfurly Shield match is a New Zealand Union match, and we should havo tho appointments of referees. . . . Arising out of tho Wairarapa-Hawkes Bay match I think wo should ask both unions for a copy of tho statement of the referee regarding tlie ordering off of M. Brownlic arid Q. Donald. " In roply to a question, Mr. E. M'Ken/.ie, who is secretary of tho Wairarapa Kugby Union, stated that he would give the referee's statement if it were taken in committee. This course was adoptod, and no decision made. It is likely, however," that tfio matter will be brought officially to tho notice of the New Zealand Kugby Union. "More Than the Game." The following letter by "Kerei" (of Hastings) appeared in tho correspondence columns of the Hawkes Bay "Tribune":—"Hawkes Bay is jubilant. Tho Eanfurly Shield after being absent from tho province for five long dreary weeks has now been returned. Nothing else matters so long as the trophy is back iv its old quarters ready once again to gather the dust. Who knows? Outside the province the fooling is bitter. From Canterbury, Wellington, Auckland, and from other parts one heaTS only of the lack of true sporting spirit shown by Hawkes Bay in Eugby football matters. This is most regrettable". As a true lover of the good old game and one who does not favour any province in particular, I think the action of tho H.B.E.U. in football matters is most unsportsmanlike and not in the interest of tho game in New Zealand. To play the game for the game's sake does not seem to be their policy. To them the trophy—the Eanfurly Shield—is more than tho game itself. Hawkes Bay has already had its fair share of the trophy, and has already made its namo in New Zealand football history. After being conquered by Wairarap'a, would it not have been in the best interest of New Zealand football if it had allowed the conquerors to hold the shield for the time being instead of immediately returning a challenge? Other provinces who have held.the shield in past years have always shown true sporting spirit, and havo not made tho game into a businesslike proposition as is being done to-day. There is still a chance for Hawkes Bay to once again become popular in the eyes of Eugby football fans in Nciv Zealand. -When the team starts -on its tour, see that they carry the shield with them and play for the game's sake." Notes. Three of Wellington's referees had big games on Wednesday last. Mr. E. J Paton ' officiated in the Hawkes Bay-Taranaki match, Mr. 11. S. Leith in the Wairarapa-Maoris match, and Mr. W. 'J. Carson in tho South Canter-bury-Wellington match. E. ("Teddy") Eoberts, the ox-inter-national player, who is largely responsible for Eastbourne's advance, has donned "togs" for the East Harbour Club, filling the vacancy caused thrdugh N. Foley having an arm broken. He contributed towards the success of the Eastbourne team last Saturday, and by his play it was evident that the teams combination will be well maintained. "Mick." Hyland, a former wellknown Wellington Eugby player, and still a keen follower of the game, met with an accident some months ago. He has lately been compelled to re-enter the Wellington Hospital, but it is expected that lie will be about again in the course of a week or two. Mr. Jack Davies, who was injured through the collapse of the Toof of a shed at Solway on the day of the Wai-rarapa-Hawkes Bay match, is wellknown as a veteran walker. The mishap necessitated a spell of several days in bed for Mr. Davies.

r- I Poluts. Chp. „ A p. w. l. n. i. a. pts. \-l Athletic 13 9 3 1 ISI 110 in t ,'•[ Lmversity ... 13 9 :( 1 IST V-H V.) -C"J Old Boys .... 12 S 3 1 ml liß 17 ■?-'}retone 13 S 1 1 MS 112 IT >v.M Jlarist 33 6 6 1 IS3 116 13 "fl.< Jiernampore ..12 ~> 6 1 120 Ml 11 i->.> Toneke 12 I 6 2 153 M 6 10 I^3 Wellington ..12 1 (i 2 109 130 10 «, »i Oriental .... IS 4 S 1 12S 103 I) ,*". * JtUtt To 0 12 1 77 233 1 ... -«t SENJOR "B" GRADE. *,!'L roiuts. Clip. '. > i P. W. L. D. F. A. Pts. „•■*! Eastbourne .. 13 10 3 0 ISS SS 20 *.*- | .lotinsonvjllo .. 13 ft 1 0 177 07 IS ■/■', Training ColU. 12 7 5 0 111 99 11 , **? Selwyn 13 7 6 0 105 101 11 '.-*. Oriental 13 6 I! 1 102 129 13 Forirua IS B 7 0 90 108 12 '<.' tniverslty ... li 3 7 1 101 181 7 ■vl-y Athletic 12 1 11 0 71 ISO 2 : s v Athletic lost one match on a protest.