RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 123, 26 May 1928, Page 22

RUGBY

/ ' By "Dropkick"

ALL BLACKS' TOUR MATCHES NEXT WEEK COUNTRY CLUBS AND TOWN ■ , . ■ CHAMPIONSHIP .TABLES. Senior A Grade.

With the news of the arrival of the New Zealand Rugby football representatives in South.Africa this week therw was also a pleasing announcement that the New Zealand Bugby Union had approved of. the first match of the tour 'being played. The advices from South Africa indicate that the team is in good fettle, and that exceptional interest has been aroused in their first match of the tour, to be played at Captown next . AVednesday. The cancellation of this match would have'mcant a bad start to the tour, and the New Zealand Union's Management Committee took a very Aviso step in intimating that it desired the engagement to bo kept. Mr. W. •F. Hornig, however, was evidently alive to the position, as he has been in wireless communication with the South African Bugby Board, and had advised that the match would be played if the team arrived on Sunday. There should be no cancellation even if the team does not reach Capetown until the day prior to the match; on this point the New Zealand controlling body has taken its stand, and all now appears to be well for the programme of what promises to be one of the most memorable tours on, record to bo prceeded with as arranged. • Some of the.opinions cabled this week regarding the New Zealand team's chances are such that those responsible for the views are placing district and provincial football in South Africa on a very high plane. Despite the fact that the All Blacks will bo taking the field- a day or so after their arrival in Capetown, it will take an exceptionally good team to.beat them in their first ' match.' South African Bugby records do not go to show that a team of ■ the calibre to beat tho All Blacks is to bo obtained from the Western Province country clubs. The second match, that against a combined town team, to be played at Capetown, may be a different proposition, but the New Zealanders will havo had the. benefit of tho experience in the opening match. It is expected that a number of the Capetown men . playing against the All Blacks next Saturday will be in tho South African Test teams. Among tho 1 Town players will be B.: Osier, who has been mentioned^ along with "Mostcrt, as a likely leader of the Springboks. He plays as fly-half, and is regarded as one of the most brilliant backs in South Africa. Tindall will most likely be the Town's full-back, and it will surprise many South Africans if he. is not selected as tho Test full-back. Claimants to positions in the. Town three-quarter line are: Starke, van Niekerk, S. Osier, Rousseau, Pnnsloo, and Slater, the best of whom will no doubt be in the running for Test' honours. P. de Tilliers and Devine are half-backs with credentials, and among the stand-off halves are B. Osier, Francia, and Sieff. It is probable' that the strength of the Town team will be in the'back division. Mostert, who was with the Springboks in New Zealand seven years ago, and van Wijk are outstanding forwards, and they are i bound to be well supported, as during tho past fivo weeks football has been in full swing, and with early representative matches the players have no doubt been striving particularly hard tc win favour with those responsible for' selecting the teams to meet the New Zealanders. A good line as to prospects for the tour should be gained from next Saturday's match. ' A Wellingtoriian, writing from Capetown, expresses the i view that, if New Zealand form is anywhere near tho 1925-26 standard, the All Blacks should be "home and dry." Club football in the Western Province during the past two seasons, ho states, has not been.up to the standard as he ' saw it in Wellington before leaving for Southi Africa a few years_ago. , Th© result of tho first'match of the tour should be to hand early on Thursday morning, and will be posted on the window of the "Evening Post" front office. i Fetone and Poneke. By their previous performance Petone were not generally regarded as a serious stumbling block to Poneke's progress, but there are always possibilities with a young team, and those closely connected with Petone's doings were quietly confident of this season's young team rising to the occasion. That confidence was not misplaced. ' Well primed for the occasion, the Petone team did credit to itself, and its attendants, by scoring a good win'over Poneke. The source of success was mainly the base of the scrum, where, Coman, the half-back, started much of the play by which Petone wero able,to overshadow the Poneke- rearguard. . The Petone hookers, of course, were successful in gotting the ball, and in tho battle between tho forwards as a whole, the Petone pack mado a surprisingly good showing. At the same time, Poneke appeared to be below form, and, moreover, their usual Tucking play did not get very far before being pulled up for an 'infringement. . Poneke were rather heavily penalised during the game, and it seemed strange thalt, if tho infringements wero made known to the players, as they should be, steps were not taken to avoid tho penalties. On one occasion the rcferco went down on his knees to see what was happening in a scrum. Despite the number of infringements, the play, taken all round, was of better class than that seen in other games on Athletic Park this season. , The Tesult has given added interest to the competition. Coman, as previously indicated, played an outstanding game. Other Petone backs to impress were Udy (wing three-quarter) and Welch (five-eighth). Corner was a good controlling head. The Petone forwards were up against a tough proposition, and' they tackled it in a manner which served in no small .measure to pave the way for victory. Poneke's backs.were not up to the mark, although their defensive work was -generally sound. Turner played solidly, and Tilyard came to light with one brilliant dash. ■ Gilbert indulged in. far too much kicking, with tho result that'Petone wero frequently given possession1 when Poneke should have been retaining it. Tho half-back, Hartwell, was handicapped by a bad leg. JeßSup was a toiler among the Poneke forwards, with Shearer, a clever leader in "the loose. The latter, as wing

forward, was opposed by another wellseasoned player in Albert Parker. Old Boys and Berhampore. An oven tussle with good form displayed on both sides was expected of Old Boys and Berhampore, but the game did not come up to tho standard anticipated. The fact that up to the-last few minutes the scoring was limited to a try to each side was due more to inoffective attacking play than to strong defensive work. At tho same time interest was well maintained. Tho forwards were well matched in tho scrums, although Old Buys generally took scrums in preference to lineoutK. The Berhamporc hookers secured their share of the ball, but faulty scrum work caused the ball to be repeatedly blocked at the back of the serum. Old Boys also heeled better from tho rucks. The solid work of the Borhamporc forwards once again lacked. Preston was an honest worker for Old Boys. ' He often forced his way clear from the tight with the.ball, but seldom received the support necessary to carry on. Claridgc, M' Pherson, and Reynolds were also above tho average. Although it is doubtful if the Berhainpore pack would equal their opponents in weight, there are some heavy men in 1 the scrum, with Goodall a par: ticularly solid proposition, but the men who did most of the work were of the lighter and faster type. M'Donald played a fine hard-working game. Mollier, Deere, and Cameron also worked Well. The game was rather drab in back play. It was not so much that the handling was poor as that the transfers were delayed too long and the backs caught with, the ball in possession. Old Boys tried so long to fool their way past the opposition by handing out the "dummy" that the trick bedame worse than^ ineffective. Whereas Old Boys were* constantly striving to find the shortest way to the lino, the Berhampore passing generally went straight across the field with little ground gained. , Dv, Chateau played the most consistent game for Old Boys. He never, gave up trying to get his men going, and also put in some excellent work on defence. M'Donald was occasionally conspicuous, exhibiting a nippiness on attack at times. . 'Lamason (on the wing) was distinctly good when he got the opportunity. Malcolm made up for an indifferent display at full-back by doing some useful place-kicking. Berhampore possess, a good half in Taylor. He had a hard day, but stood up to all that came his way, and his work all round was of high order. Hurley, the Berhampore full-back, although lightly built, proved very safe, scarcely miss-fielding a ball all day. Lang was good, but was seen only as a unit, add had few chances of showing his worth. Pickering also produced some, nice pieces of individual play. Eastbourne and University. During the first half of the East-bourne-University match on , the Eastbourne Itecraation Ground, the play was remarkably even, and the unexpected breakaways by both packs of forwards, with fast passing rushes among the backs made the game interesting and exciting. In the second spell, however, the weight and the superior .finish of tho University, team enabled them to gain an easy victory. Throughout the game Uriivorsfty got the ball well away from the scrum and once their backs brpke a,way they were exceptionally difficult to stop. Low tackling .by the Eastbourne players made for a solid deferieo. ' ■•■." ■Noble-Adams was a sure full back for University, his tackling was solid, and his powerful kicking was of great assistance When Eastbourne came to tho attack. ...'.• , , • The spectacular dashes by the University backs were niainly due to Leys's clean passes from behind the scrums. The whole of the back division worked together' with good combination, except in the early stages of the game, when Irwin and Grigg were not handling the ball to advantage. Their, play improved later. Two of the nu«t spectacular, of the University back 3 were Mackenzie and Macl<;ay. Blacker, ,0 'Began, and Childs were prominent among the forwards. Clark's play, as full-back for Eastbourne during the first half was outstanding owing to his solid tackling Sind good line kicks. In the second, however, he could not do a great, deal against the combined rushes of the University backs. L. Foley and E. Foley were the leaders in the passing rushes set up by the- Eastbourne backs, but the local team's combination could- not approach that of University. Among the forwards Cullimore, Buckingham, and Orr were the mainstays in the scrums. . : Athletic in Form. Ability to take full advantage of the opportunities that came their way enabled Athletic to score decisively against Mariet atNewtown Park. The indications were that there would be little ' difference in the scores, but right through the game Marist failed to put the necessary finish do their movements. Tho ball was fumbled badly after good openings had been made, and the backs lacked cohesion. The game was well fought, and Athletic were not the very superior team that possibly the final score indicates. As a matter of fact Marist. had a fair share of the game, particularly in the first spell. It was just that their machinery did not work smoothly. Possibly some re-arrangement of the Marist backs would be beneficial. Smith was very much oft! his game when ho was played on the wing in the first spell on Saturday. Graham showed up at times. He did not get many opportunities to show his pace, though, and Broderick,, at centre three-quarter,' who has displayed good form in other matches, was similarly treated. M'Hardy was a tireless worker among the Marist forwards, and two other good men were Keed and Butler. Griffin distinguished himself with some powerful kicks, which many a time transferred the scene of play from the Marist twenty-five to well down in Athletic territory. ' , The Athletic full-back Heazlewood, had his goal kicking boot on. He was responsible for ten of his team's sixteen points. Cookson was not available, and it is stated that ho will be out of the team for several weeks owing to an injury. Kinlock, a junior, who was played as a five-eighth, got in some nippy work. His partner, Pclham, also showed up well. Whinham, who was moved to centre, gave a good account 'of himself, while Warwick, who turned out and filled the half-back position, did, well considering it' was his first club gamo of the. season. • ■ • " The Athletic forwards were a good lot, and worked together excellently. Ijt was unfortunate that a section of the spectators hooted the refere,e (Mr. W. J. Carson) for his action in awarding Edgar a try. Edgar1 was not offside according to the rules, and the demonstration against the referee for some minutes was quite unwarranted. Oriental and Wellington. , A much-improved Wellington team provided 'solid opposition for Oriental, who were beaten in the forwards, but showed superiority in the back division, although the Wellington backs played their best game to date. Fox impressed in the Oriental pack, being up with the ball, and knowing how to tackle, low. Jackson played a very sound game as wing-forward. Pinkcrton used his weight well as lock, and the two Smiths did solid work in the ruck. Chambers opened play up well from behind the Oriental pack, but tho bustling tactics of the Wellington forwards were always a hindrance to him. M'Nicol was,the pivot of the Oriental backs, and the

T. W, L. D. For. Ag. I'ts. Oriental ....... 4 4 — — 58 31 8 Athletic- .< 4 3 1 — 52 30 6 Old Boys 4 3 1 — 49 29 6 PoneUe 4 S 1 — 60 27 6 tfriverslty .... 4 3 1 — II 41 6 1'etono 4 2 2 — 43 55 4 JSCrliamporo .... 4 1 3 — 32 47 ■ 2 Marist 4 1 3 — 29 45 2 Eastbourne 4 — 4 —. 18 72 0 Wellington .... 4 —. 4 — 14 51 0 Senior B Grade. Points. Ch. 1\ W. L. D. For. Ag. Pts. Wellington .... 4 3 — 1 45 25 7 Hutt ;'.... 4 3 1 — 43' 31 ; G Johnsonvllle .... 4 3 'l — 114 30 6 Oriental ...;.. 4 2 2 — 37 40 4 Belwyn 4 1 2 1 19 3li ,3 Porlrua 4 — 2 2 14 HI 2 University 3 1 2 — IS 20 2 Training Coll. ... 3 — 3 — 17 88 0