RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 151, 30 June 1928, Page 22

RUGBY

BY "DKORKICK"

Si/ ALL BLACKS' TOUR m: - . %*'■' PROGRESS TO DATE Ml- '. — ''"■■: £? :/' lIEST TEST TO-DAY $. •''■'-' -' !rr? '• . >iJ After the brilliant win over Natal last J??- Saturday, New Zealand's prospects for f& ' the first.Test with South Africa, taking ?*£- place at Durban to-day, showed ~jrther Jfi£ } improvement. From tho cabled reports &t it appears that the All Blacks arc now fi3■ '•■ showing something like their true form, *M r W& this being tho case they should j§{!.'give a good account of themselves to«S day. All the opinions in South Africa '$£ /that tho Springboks are bound to win fS /will not do any harm to the New Zoa- &| . landers, who will lack nothing on tho $* score of confidence and determination, i*'. Moreover, the All Blacks in the Test *$ /team should now be fitter that at any Kg' stago of the tour, and if tho form of W the forwards is better than in the sec--5? ond match with Transvaal tho Springsi* : boks will have their work cut out to get the supremacy they expect in the pack. *£ A slight improvement might have been S3 made to tho New Zealand back division, fa but it can be depended, upon to give $£ the support required to the forwards. 3S The team should work with an excellent &' .understanding, and in this respect it \ should' have a slight advantage over Withe Springboks, despite the fact that M the latter come mainly from two proIS'vinces. Although the South African » public is evidently convinced that its & .team will win, a private cablegram re- [*' 'ceived in Wellington from South Africa 'M /yesterday indicates that those in close § / touch with both teams hold the view \*< that the chances are about even. yj; & Kesults of matches played to date and M /the fixtures' ahead are as follow:— Sv May 30.—v. Western Province Oounv|r try Clubs, at Capetown; won 11-3. S3, June 2—v. Combined Capetown Clubs, at Is.:- Capetown; lost 3-7. '■£ : June 6—v. Griqualand West, at Kimber-: '£}''•'.. ley; won 19-10. "i'j June 9—V. Transvaal, at Johannesburg; ff^:/ lost 0-6. . . [i 'June 13—v. Orange Free State, at Kroon- £<;.-. stad; won 20-0. . •'>? June 16—v. Transvaal, at Johannesburg. $ ■/. won 5-0. % 'June 20—v. Western Transvaal, at Pot;v chefstroom; won by-19-8. '•f< June 23—v. Natal, at Maritzburg; won v; ,31-3. ' , 'C June 30-v. SOUTH AFRICA (First Test), ivi .at Durban. M July 7—v. Northern Districts (Transvaal, 3 .; Free State, etc.), at Kimberley. SJ July 14—v. Rhodesian Fifteen, at Bula.■j*! wayo. July 21—v. SOUTH AFRICA (Second yi , ' Test), at Johannesburg. /i July 25—v, Pretoria Districts, at Pre; ' toria. S« July 28—v., Orange Free State, at Bloem's ' , fontein. ■Ja'.-"'Aug. I—v., North-Eastern Districts, at '?'\''-'- . Burghefsdorp. i jfl* Aug. 4-^v. Border, at East London. ;*:{' Aug. B—v. Border, at Kingwilliamstown. *A /Aug. 11—v. Eastern Province, at Port '..•,| .- Elizabeth. , - $ Au" 18—v. SOUTH AFRICA (Third % .•; " ° Test), at Port Elizabeth. k- Aug. 22—v. South-Western Districts, at ?'; Oudtshoorn. /••i Aug. 25—v. Western Province, at Capejj >•- . town.. ■ a'Sept. l"-v. SOUTH AFRICA (Fourth gS/,. Test),, at Capetown. -fti'-- ' ' % Z.p-ftDcmrne and Oriental. .■ \ 't>X •'-'. To those who had seen the match be- %] tween Oriental and Berhamporo in '•"'r /which the former were nearly defeated, i*3 /.Eastbourne's spectacular victory did -.'not come as a great surprise. Under <* the able coaching of "Teddy" Koberts }.'*■.:-. the Eastbourne team has shown a great *i. ; improvement during tho last few weeks. '£ being a good all-round team, it 'Jf,' has several players of exceptional abil--5; .'- ity. One of the most promising .mem>j / Tjers of the team in their full-back S; Clarke. He is very sound in defence, 3; but his kicking with the left foot could $■ be improved. Owing to injuries re- >?■, ceived in the previous gamo Clarke did **. not play in the Oriental-Eastbourne if /match. Eastbourne were lucky in vpn;t ning the toss, for it enabled them to $ 'take advantage of tho blinding light. CV'Tn addition to the / disadvantage at 111 Hvhich they were placed, the handling of rf the Oriental backs was very poor, and the forwards failed to make use of if their weight. Playing into the sun in the early stages of the Becond half, the ••fS Eastbourne backs still managed to !.\' break away in passing rushes. When f[ the sun dropped behind the hills and * j Eastbourne were leading by 16 points to *? 6 the result of the game did not seem !^|< to be very much in doubt. An interim esting feature of the game was the efjt fe'etive open play by the Eastbourne i}*. forwards. The absence of a good kick :f~ in the Oriental team is conspicuous. Of i.i the four tries secured by Oriental not fe 'one was converted, and several points •v were lost through the inability of the v •: players to take full advantage of free ;'; kicks. . ■ «f. Hul-Brown, who filled the ( position ';i of full-back for Eastbourne in place of '.V'-'Clarke, played his first game in the, > senior grade, and considering this it was it, not surprising, that he did not possess $■' a full measure of confidence. He was rj-; ' successful in saving Eastbourne several times, however, and made no serious ■jI mistakes. i» Brunton was not up to his tosual pi standard, but Murray on tho opposite ,-^ wing played a fast and effective gamo. tp The combination among the inside ,*i,: backs was good. N. Foley was out- £]' standing on account of his successful ffl goal kicking, which was responsible r* for twelve of Eastbourne's 22 points. r?i Buckingham, Price, and Cullimore W".• Were outstanding among the forwards. ij Walker and Dinniss proved two of O' Oriental's best backs, and when tho ij. - ball came out to them they were usually .f. successful in gaining ground. TJnfor}i\. tunately, the passing among the inside ?d -backs did not provide them with many S- opportunities. ij,; The first five-eighths, M'Nicol, was Ai evidontly badly harassed by tho sun, ;*" for his passes were wild. \-. Chambers's passes from behind the p, serum in the first spell were poor, and i} his play was erratic. In the second V, spell his game showed a marked imr V provement, and he was successful in ;f scoring a try. %: x Amon S the forwards,.Pringle, Pinker;ij ton, and Williams figured prominently. y, I'etone and WeUlngton. ,;j •••' Wellington's victory over Petone, al-' ;, .though coming as a surprise to many, .*;•• was well merited,'and was attributable ; :«j to the fact that the town team's backs ip played a sound defensive game, while '.•), the forwards were on their mettle. Tho ',- latter had their opponents worn down /• before the finish, and gave them few £ ■. opportunities of paving tho way for tries by the rearguard. The absence of -;■ Dickens and~Higgins tended to weaken .'.|V the Petone pack, but it is doubtful if ?-y their presence would have made the dif-r-f. ference between defeat and victory. >3;"-' The Wellington forwards were right i : -', on the job from tho start, and were al•jjv ways the dominating factor in the game. ;; .- M'Lean Avas the best of a fairly even ';,,' lot, and used his bead besklcs his j ■; weight. From tho line-outs and from .*'S, loose play, he repeatedly endeavoured •';; to set tho backs going, and had they %.- been able to turn to-account the oppori; ;.-;■■. . . -'

tunities thus given them the margin of tho team's win would . have been greater. • Donnelly and Thornton also showed up in the Wellington, pack, and'played good, hard forward games. Donnelly and Stanley secured considerably more than their share of the ball from tho scrums. Julian was seen at wingforward, but had few chances of showing his worth, as Parker kept him well in hand. Only rarely did the Petone forwards sht»w the fom which has made them a j foreo to be contendea with in former matches. Their play in tho open lacked dash', and they by no means hold their own in the tight work', Thomas was easily the pick of the Potono forwards, and was well supported by Warden and Carr. Parker's wing-forward play was invaluable to his side; , Lack of cohesion on attack was the principal weakness of the Wellington backs, of whom only one or two showed individual ability. Jaggors played an excellent game behind -the scrum, and it was a big loss to hi* side when he was compelled to rotire. i?v«r put in some strong runs, but generally made sure of getting tho ball out to the men outside him, a practice which more* of the team could have followed with advantage. - Wright was the better of the wings, and gave the impression that he would have been a dangerous scoring man if given a few more opportunities. When they got the ball the Petone backs showed a better idea of what to do with it than did the opposing backs, but their opportunities were limited. Well-fed by Coinan, who was in his usual good form, Lambourne was somewhat disappointing and frequently delayed his passes too long. Wilkinson, who appeared as wing-forward earlier in the season, played on the wing, but neither he nor Hawkins was given many chances. '■' ■ ' ' Johnsonville v. torirua. The game between Johnsonville and Porirua was a very hard forward one, with both packs contesting every inch. Porirua- had several players absent, a 1 forward, Churchill, filling the half-back position.: ' ' Johnsonville's pack had weight and science, Bryant, Cathcart and Craig being most prominent. Bramley was good at wing-forward, but has nothing on Cathcart, who is more of an all-rounder. Money, at half for Johnsonville, was a bit slow on occasions, but made several good saves. Neal was very good, and Chancy showed further improvement. Neal is showing particularly good form at second five-eighth. A Moore, at full-back, was sound, and at times brilliant. He is a great help in that position, and on Saturday ho prevented Porirua from scoring on several occasions. Back play was very little in evidence, the heavy ball and sodden ground preventing any great success, but, apart from, that; Johnsonville, who received almost all the ball in lines-out and scrums, wore held in check by the spoiling tactics and close marking by the Porirua backs. Porirua defended splendidly, and fought the game out every inch of the way. J. Keno and Eolleston wore the best of a hard-working pack. Prominent among the Porirua backs was E. Wi Neera, the player who did so well on the Maori tour to France and England. Earlier in the season ho was playing in Taranaki, and', ho was going back there after last Saturday's game. • Merino is doing well for Porirua in tho back division. He was sound on defence last Saturday. The absence of Parai (hooker), Ropata (half-back), and B. Rene (fullback) was a handicap to Porirua against Johnsonville. Berhainpore in Form. In defeating Marist at the Prince of Wales - Park, Berhampore, gave their best display of the season. It was no fluky win. Both backs and forwards outclassed tho opposition, and the tes.ni thoroughly deserved the decisive victory. It may be said by some that Berhampore had a good deal of luck. Certainly they were rather lucky on o icasions, but more than once this season the luck has been with their. opponents. ; The heavy defeat of Mwist came as a surprise. There was nothing wrong with the Marist players in tho early stages of the game. They started with a rattle, and on their early allowing their supporters had justification in believing they would come out on top. But what a change there was! When Marist obtained'eight points then their scoring ceased, and Berhampore got right into the game in earnest to outplay their opponents. Marist are a team difficult to understand —a good display one week and then they fado right away the following Saturday. The game was'bright and entertaining. The pace was fast throughout, and the backs of both sides figured in a numberof attractive passing bouts. Pickering, in contributing 21 of tho 27 points obtained by eßrhampbre, registered /an outstanding performance. The tall Berhampore man, who was played, at centre three-quarter on Saturday, was always an opportunist and a jthor'n in the Marist side. His final try justl before the conclusion of the game, when he ran through the opposition from his own twenty-five, was a very fine one. Taylor, the Berhampore half-back, played a good game. Well served with the ball by the forwards, he was the means of starting some telling attacking movements by the backs. Hurley, at full-back, also gave a good account of himself, although on occasions he was lucky to stop players with a high tacMe. The Berhampore forwards were a great lot, and could not have shown to better advantage. Deere Was a very able leader, but every man in the pack was a toiler. •.'.'... M'Hardy, among the Marist forwards, was conspicuous for some good work. The outstanding player in the team, however, was the centre three-quarter, Broderiek, who was in great form. As an attacking machine, though, the members of the Marist back division were disappointing. They were good enough at the start of the game, but from, the time Berhampore commenced ' to force matters they did not play with tho same confidence, and made some big mistakes, which Berhampore. were quick to put to good advantage. Porter in Fine Form. The form shown by University in the match with Athletic last Saturday was well below their usual. For one thing University were without Mackenzie and Brown, and the team was affected considerably thereby, but another thing which kept University in check was the solid work of the opposition. Throughout the first spell the play was dull, though the forwards battled away solidly. In the second spell'there was a run of much brighter play, and the farther the game went the bettor Athletic became, until near the finish they were playing all'over University. Porter was the outstanding player on the ground, showing a real touch of his old form. On his game he is a champion, and he was on it last Saturday, not only showing up in brilliant play but also helping his side in fine style as a general. When Athletic were goJ ing at their feest he filled an extra place in the back line, and he made some splendid openings. At the side of the scrum he played faultlessly. Porter, on Saturday's form, Would have flown into the New Zealand team now in South Africa. Both packs of forwards in the Uni-versity-Athletic match toiled away solidly, and did a splendid afternoon's j work. The backs showed up in some splendid bouts in the second spell, those of Athletic appearing to best advantage. Generally',.however, the defensive -work was sound, and most movements wero : stopped before presenting danger. Wil- >

liains (ex-Wairarapa) was included in tho University team as centre-three-quarter, Eamson going out to the wing. Bamson, however, was well marked. Morgan, a junior, played as a wing-three-quarter for Athletic, but was not impressive until he showed dash and determination in finishing oH the try which enabled Athletic to draw with University. Morgan was given some penalty kicks in the first spell, one of them being in a very easy position, but the best lie could manage was a '' poster." Notes. A correspondent ("E.W.D.") writes asking for the names of the players who represented Wellington ag"ainst the Springboks in 1921. The team was as follows: —S. K. Siddells; E. Eyan, P. Marlcham, G. G. Aitken; E. Eoberts, M. Nieholls; H. E. Nieholls; E. King; E. Hughes, S. Standen, T. Price, J. Moffitt, J. A. Bruce, S. Shearer, and A. Parker. H. Underhill, ■ a player who showed much promise- for Wellington College Old Boys' seniors a few seasons ago, has returned to Wellington from Hawera, where ho was captain of the Athletic team last season. Poneke Formidable. Poneke demonstrated on Saturday that they are dangerous contenders for the championship. • The work of tho forwards was particularly fine, both in the tight and loose, and they kept harassing the Old Boys' backs, especially in the second spell. At the beginning of the game the Old Boys' pack displayed more dash than usual, and this was chiefly the cause of their lead at half-time, but for a period in the. second spell they were overwhelmed by the superior speed of the opposition, and a greater knowledge of the finer points of the game. Barrett was safe at full-back, and the Poneke three-quarter lino showed up well in passing rushes/ Both wings— Edgar and Elliott: —scored fine tries. H. Tilyard, the half-back, is perhaps not •given full credit for his play behind tho scrum. He was the pivot of the attack and served his side well. The Poneke forwards lived up to their reputation as fine scrummagers, and good dribblers. Their scrum was more compact than that of Old Boys. Shearer, Sly, and Pickrang were always prominent. Old Boys have had their share of misfortune this season. Their star backs, Grenfell and Dv Chateau, have been on the injured list lately, and their services have been sorely missed. Dv Chateau, who was married this week, will very likely be playing again next Saturday. Dustin was the. pick of the line. Of tho Claridge, Bray, and Meadows were the pick. University and Selwyn. Selwyn were up against a hard proposition in the University backs when the two teams tried conclusions at Kelburn Park. Tho University backs gave a bright display, throwing tho ball about freely, and were it not for the good scrum work of the Selwyn forwards the score would have been higher. Bailey and Fodon (University) displayed speed on the wings. Arndt made several clever breaks through tho opposing backs, and was unlucky in not crossing the line. Mason was safe at full-back. . ;•'•/'• Dixon was the best of the University forwards, and was ably assisted by Barker. Leggatt played a serviceable game behind the Selwyn pack. Cudby was the best of. the other backs. Cropp' and Kennedy, were prominent in the loose, rushes of the- Selwyn pack, while Sewell and Martin were honest toilers in the tight. Club Championships. The position of the local club championship after last' Saturday's games was as follows:—Petono 114 points, Athletic 83, Old Boys 80, Oriental 80, Wellington 80, Hutt 53, Poneke 49, Berhampore 42, Marist 41, Selwyn 38, Eastbourne 32, University 31, Johnsonville 30, Melrose 27, Kaiwarra 21, Taita 20, Upper Hutt 18, Boys' Institute 15, Karori 12, Onslow 10,'Porirua 8, Training College 2. Lower Grade Tables. The- positions of teams in the lower grade competitions are set out in the following tables:—

At a recent banquet of the Zoological Society of Ireland, eggs sent from China P0 years ago were served and pronounced delicious. ,

JUNIOR. Points Ch. P. W. L. D. For Ac. Pts. Poneke 8 8 0 0 ISO 26 16 Athletic A .... 8 8 0 0 HI 32 16 Upper,Hutt ... 8 6 1 1 123 37 13 Old Boys ...... 8 6 2 0 82 52 12 Hutt B 5 5 0 0 99 37 10 Wellington .... 8 5 3 0 86 61 10 St. Patrick's ..8 4 3 1 90 46 9 Athletic B .... 7 4 3 0 73 35 8 Taita 7 4 3 0 82 56 8 Marist 8 4 4 0 81 93 8 Petone ....„ 8. 3 4 1 54 67 7 Eastbourne 8 3 4 1 70 92 7 University j^.jj. 7 3 4 O 99 46 6 Melrose ...._._. 8 3 5 0 114 119 6 Hutt A 8 35 0 56 78 6 Oriental ..... 8 3 5 O 64- 78 6 Berhampore .. 8 3 5 O 93 83 6 Selwyn ....V." 8 0 8 0 23 154 0 Karori .' '8080 6 201 0 Porlrua ,8 0 8 0 12 214 0 THIRD. Points Ch. P. W. Ii. D. For Ag. Pts. Petone A 7 7 0 0 197 23 14 Kahvarra .... 7 7 0 0 134 9 14 Johnsonville ..6 6 0 0 44 17 12 Old Boys B .... 7 6 10 175 34 12 Athletic 7 5 2 0 04 40 10 Melrose 7 5 2 0 77 49 10 Old Boys A .... 7 5 2 0 124 74 10 Poneke 7 4 2 1 74 37 fl Wellington Coll. 4 4 0 O 97 20 S Onslow A 6 4 2 0 110 32 8 Oriental B fl 4 2 0 63 68 8 Berhampore ..7 2 2 3 63 ' 67 7 Wellington B .. 6 3 3 0 SO 55 « Oriental A 7 3 4 0 57, 50 6 Wellington A .. 7 3 4 0 91 51 6 Marlst 7 2 4 1 42 94 5 St. Patrick's A. 321 0 57 fl 4 Old Boys C .... 6 2 4 0 51 73 4 Petone B G 2 4 0 38. 49 4 St. Patrick's B . 6 2 4 0 45 135 4 Hutt 7 2 5 0 26 101 4 Unlvorslty A .. 7 1 5 1 36 98 3 Eastbourne .... 6 15 0 34 151 2 Taita 7 1 6 0 27 163 2 Onslow B .... 7 16 0 39 99 2 University B .. 7 0 7 0 32 127 0 Karori 7 0 7 0 15 167 0 INTERMEDIATE. Points Ch. P. W. L. D. ForAg. Pts. Petone 6 6 0 0' 188 9 12 Oriental A .... 6 4 0 2 64 27 10 Athletic 6 5 1 0' 107 15 10 Boys' Institute .6 4' 2 0 55 43 8 Poneke 4 2 0 76 3S 8 Kaiwarra 6 3 2 1 53 37 7 Wellington A .. 6 3 3 0 64 44 6 Hutt 7 2 4 1 83 86 5 Uppor Hutt ,7 2 4 1 ' 32 108 5 Wellington B .. 7 1 6 0 30 170 2 Marlst : 6 0 5 1 6 178 1 Oriental, B....5 0 5 0 0 63 0 FOURTHS. Points Ch. P. W. L. D. For Ag. Pts. Petone A 7 7 0 0 298 0 14 Old Boys A 7 7 0 -O 142 17 14 .Oriental 7 7 0 0, 1S1 3" 14 Wellington A .. 7 6 1 0 221 22 12 Technical .... 7 5 1 1 90 53 11 Berhampore A .. 7 5 1 * 1 131 45 11 Hutt A 6-5 1 0 143 32 10 Athletic 7 4 2 • 1 134 42 9 Berhampore B .. 7 4 3 O 40 57 8 Wellington B .. 7 4 3 O 67 92 8 Eastbourne .... 7 3 3 1 95 64 7 Marlst 7 2 2 3. 42 30 7 Petone B 7 3 4 0 30 105 6 Selwyn 7 2 5 0 32 55 4 Old Boys B ... 7 2 5 0 31 103 4 Hutt B 7 1-5 1 50 120 3 Melrose 7 2 5 0 41 113 4 University 6 1 5 0 CO 58 2 Karori 7 1 0 0 14 225 2 Old Boys C .... 5 0 5 0 3 M0 0 Upper Hutt 7 0 7 0 <l ■ 20." 0 Poneke 7 0 7 0 9 212 0