RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 24, 27 July 1929, Page 22

RUGBY

By "Oropkick-

SENIOR B GRADE.

NEARING THE END

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

REPRESENTATIVE FIXTURES

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLES;

SENIOR A GRADE.

The : arrangement of representative matches this season enables tho Wellington Bugby Union to carry through with its club competitions without interference. Already Wellington has appeared in two representative games. Both were-played away from Welling-' ton, ono at Hawera on a Wednesday and. the other at Christchurch on a Monday, so. that these did not affect the Saturday club matches. After to-day's senior championship games, there will be three more series in the A grade, v the intention being to finish the competition on 17th. August. With these games ahead and University's lead now reduced to two points, the championship still has an open appearance, although prospects of final success are now confined to fewer teams. Half of them are definitely .out of the running, but are capable^ of upsetting some of the teams ahead .of them on the ladder. When the championship is decided, the Mutual Life'fChallenge Cup will be played, this game .being,, set down for. 24th August. On that' Saturday there will also be a game between representatives of the A and B grades. By way of preliminary to this the B grade will have an opportunity of having its best players tested in a Town v.> Country match, to be played on 17th August. From these special B grade games it is expected that there will be quite a good supply, of players for the Wellington team, which is to be sent to the Bush District and King Country towards the end of noxt month. . Wellington has a fairly big list of representative games this season. Those with southern unions aro to be played in. Wellington, as also is a match with Manatvhenua. Other engagements will be'fulfilled by sending the representatives on tour in the North Island. No provision /has yet been made for a ganfe'-in Wellington on 21st September, , but, it ; is not likely that this Saturday, on which , Wellington will be playing in Hawkos Bay, will go to waste. "Whi* of the Shield? It it \»«apjvinting to find that no r gamo. .has "tun arranged between Wairarapa and Wellington. Last year Wellington visited Carterton and gave tho Kanfurly Shield holders a good game, and it was to be expected, of course, that Wairarapa would bo returning the Visit this year. But a decision has been made by Wairarapa not to go on tour, and in view of Shield challenges, there are plenty of engagements to be fulfilled at home. Wellington so far is not amongst the challengers for the Shield.; A Wairarapa-Wellington game wouldib^e a big attraction, and, as the l.iniohs are so near to each other it is a pity that a fixture has not been made. Indeed/ there appears to bo an excellont opportunity for both unions to bo well served by arranging for two gainos, one in Wellington and the other in the Wairarapa. They would be well worth while, Leyen if played on AVednesdays. In the event of Wellington not meeting Wairarapa, there is still a prospect of a Shield'match for Wellington this season, but 'this can only come about by ■Auckland.or Manawhenua lifting the trophy fromi Wairarapa. If one of the South? Island unions is successful with its challenge, Wellington's chance of a .Shield match will not occur until next year. -So far as Wairarapa is concern-' ed, it will take a really good team to beat tile holders, but Auckland, Manawhenn.a; Canterbury, Southland, Otago, Waikato, "and Wanganui are; all after them. „ :'■ ■.-;■■■■ , Having defeated Hawkes Bay 'last Saturday Wairarapa now has the' following. Shield engagements:— > August 10— v. Auckland, at Carterton. -■-.'■■■ -.'.' '. August 17—v. Manawhonua, at Masterton. August 28—v. Canterbury, at Masterton. August 31 — v. Southland, at Carterton. September 7—v. Otago, at Masterton. September 14—v. Waikato, at Masterton. September 25—v. Wanganui, at Carterton. Welington's Matches. Two representative matches have been played by Wellington this season, with the following results: — June 3 —Defeated Canterbury, at Christchurch, 23-16. July 3—Lost to Tnranaki, at Hawera, 6-3. The matches to be played aro as follow: — August 28—v. Southland, at Welling-' ton; v. Bush Districts, at Pahiatua. August 31 —v. Otago, at Wellington; v. King Country, at Baetihi. September 7—v. Canterbury, at Wellington. September 11—: V. Waikato, at Hamilton. September 14—v. Auckland, at Auckrandj'v. ManawhenTra, at Wellington. September 18—v. Wanganui, at Wa--nganui. September 21 —v. Hawkes Bay, at Napier.. . The inter-island match is to be played at Wellington on 28th September, i Petone and University. A long series of successes has lifted "University well above their nearest rivals, but by some they have been considered favoured more than other teams by the fortunes of the game, and it has been felt that a defeat for the students was not far distant. Petone, on the other hand, have given the impression that they are a stronger team than their position on the championship ladder would indicate, and it must be remembered that they have lost only one game since reverting to the 2-3-2 scrum formation. It was not so much the margin of victory in favour of Potone when the teams met last Saturday, as the manner in which it was obtained, that caused most of those who saw the game to revise .their opinions as to tho respective strengths of the two sides. In addition, however, tho match provided something of a revelation in regard to. some of the individuals in the suburban side. Elvy, for instance, has not been regarded as a strong point scorer during the last two seasons. If fnrther evidence, apart from his tally of

tries, was needed to prove that ho ia one of the most dangerous scoring men in Wellington, he supplied it conclusively against University. A tendency to retreat before forward rushes caused Coman to slip in the public's estimation after winning his way into the representative side, but he was one of the cleverest backs on the field, and no one spent more time under the feet of the forwards than he did. Byrne and Nicholls also reproduced fino form, and Pollock gave further evidence of the promise; ho has alroady shown in senior football. University have a solid pack, but it was no match for the Petone seven who dominated play in all departments. Every man did his share and the result was very effective. It was noticed tnat Fell, who has showed up in the loose was not so much in evidence, but his' weight was a big factor in the tight. Luiversity did not reveal themselves as a champion side, and their individual form was generally not iinpressty*. but there were one or two excep11 C,ormack Payed a sterling game at full-back and repeatedly saved the side m addition to frequently bringing relief with long line-kicks. Mac- } cUT !\ ad *, big burden t0 carry and he shouldered it well. He shared with Irwin, however, a tendency to cut in too f reqU e n tly,.tactics which met withlittle success against a side that was tackling very solidly. Banison 's pace was much in evidence, but. there were IZ^YI ™ a "J* 10 more determination would have made him more dangerous, w/* 7 £ am£ display was given by Whitcombe, the newly-promoW .halfback. , . ' Athletics Possibilities. In view of University's defeat, additional interest centres around the possibility Of Athletic- finishing up at the top of the championship competition and there are more than their immediate supporters who would not be surprised ii things panned out that way. Although not as strong on Saturday as the points they registered against Berhainpore would suggest, Athletic, 'nevertheless, woro clearly superior. Of every opportunity presented advantage was taken. Play would settle down among the forwards, with- Berhamporo's pack often showing out, and then Athletic would flash up and score. Several times this happened, and at one stage points wero put on in quick succession Having defeated Marist and Old Boys recently, Berhampore, at. least were expected to run Athletic to a close score. The team was disappointing, indeed, and it was not that they did- not nave good ohances of scoring. Berhampore had a fair hand in the attack, in the early stages of the first spell particularly, and had opportunities just the same as Athletic, but the difference was that they lacked finish. Several times the Light Blue forwards broko away, and there wero some smart individual dashes by one or two of the backs but on each occasion tho ball was either over-run, someone got offside through over-eagerness, or there was a knock-on at tho critical moment. , Watching : the. game one could not help being struck by tho value of Svonson to Athletic. Svenson scored a good try, and played a, fine game throughout, some o.f his centring kicks in particular, after he had made a dash and found his way-to the line, ibarrcd,-being very skilful., Although unaccustomed to the half-back position, 1,. Cooksou was another shining light in the Athletic rear-guard;-in .fact> ho, gave, perhaps, his best display of the season. - Hooper, the Berhamporo half played a good ■ game.' ,W. Cameron also gave good service, and was.decidedly unlucky on at least two occasions in not giuiuii" tries.. ; . .■ ° Old Boys Improve. It is seldom this year that Old Boys have- shown their true form. Injuries and other factors have boon partly the cause, but always thoro seems to be something lacking and this something is indefinable. On Saturday (his was not apparent and Marist "wero decisively beaten. It was not that Old Boys showed a marked territorial advantage, for Marist fought over inch of the way, and were continually dangerous, but Old Boys always looked tho winning side. They displayed greater confidence and cohesion on attack. Fed' by tho excellent passes from dv Chateau, the backs ran hard and straight; The readjustmonl of the' team by the dropping of M' Donald has improvod the line, and Grenfcll is getting into form and the wings aro being (jivon more-chances., Poth llughus, who has pace- to burn on the field, and Wylie did excellent work on Saturday. -': ■ Tho Old, Boys' forwards could have worked; harder—in fact, their inclination to. take.things easy has been a fault throughout the season—but when they were hard; at it thoy wore irresistible. On Saturday; Meadows, ■ M'Pherson, and Liunasoii- were' tho most conspicuous. , :'].- '■■■■'.:■;•. , Broderiek was the best of the Mavist backs, but he was inclined to go too far with the ball. Perhaps this is duo to his. colleagues not linking up, .but onco or twico he ran into trouble inBtead of endeavouring^- to avoid it. Cuming was sound at full-back, and Condon's potted goal was a bright effort. ' ■ .''•• ."■-,•■ ' The-Green forwards aro hard workers. They were continually harrassing tho opposition by their vigorous but cloan play.. Stiver was a good leader, and Butler, J. Barry, and Cummings woro close followers. Poneke and Wellington. That Wellington, the lowest team' in the competition, can run Poneke so closely as to lose only by a penalty goal in the closing stages of the gamo points to the fact i that at tho present time there is not much difference, between the senior A grade teams. Wellington deserved a better fate at Kilbirnio last Saturday. The Poneko forwards played excellently, but those of Wellington wore equal to tho occasion. Tho Poneke backs wero disappointing. They had a good sharo of the ball, but mishandling and bad passing lost them many opportunities. The Wellington backs were always sound, and on occasions brilliant. L. Johnson (Wellington) was the outstanding back' on the ground. With superb judgment he. manoeuvred his backs into position. His lino kicking was faultless. Webb was seen to advantage on the wing. ,He used his speed well, and once- went close to scoring. • Whyborn, ■ the Wellington wing-for-ward, although opposed by Shearer, was always in ; the picture. Stanley got through a.lot of work in the pack,, and Phillips used1 his height well in the line-out.. But all the forwards played well. Barrett, the Poneke full-back, gave a splendid display ir the first spell. Ho took tho Lallcleaniy, and his line-kick-ing was very accurate. He moved up to centre-three-quarter when Julian (half) retired. ; Shearer was in fine form as wingforward for Poneke. He was always dangerous to the opposition. A run round the scrum in the first spell was a clever bit of work that nearly resulted in a score. ■ Sly was prominent in dribbling rushes, and Organ worked hard in the ruck. Eastbourne and Oriental. "A good big man will always beat a good little."man," is a well-known boxing axiom, and the same may bo said of Bugby" forwards. The match between Eastbourne and Oriental was a ease in point, for it was duo to their solid pack that tho city team owed their win. Tho gamo Eastbourne pack stuck to their much bigger and heavier opponents all the way, but in the end the weight told, and Oriental obtained an advantage territorially. They could do no better than score one try, however, for the Eastbourne defence lias greatly improved,- and- was stubborn;

Indeed,.the deadly tackling on the part of both teams was ono of the features of a hard fought match. Lochore, the Oriental full-back, was given plenty to do at the beginning of the match, and he evoked the admiration of the crowd for his cool and sound display. Ho suffered from slight concussion when ho collided with the fence, and he has" not yet fully recovered. After he left the field on Saturday his place was ably taken by Spalding. Of the other Oriental backs Wyman and Sharpo stood out, the latter in particular giving a very dashing display in the second half. As usual, the Foley brothers were again in the limelight for Eastbourne with their straight running, although they did -not get much opportunity to get going on Saturday. It looked as if E. Foley. made an error of judgment when, after making a good run, he sent a bad pass to Price, while he had an unmarked man on the other side of him. A particularly fine, exhibition of forward work was given by Cave, the big Oriental side ranker. He was always in the thick:of it, and at times made some good solo runs. Nalder, Taylor, and Graham were other members of tho hard-working Magpie pack, who showed up well. ' Apart from Cave, who had the advantage of his size, there was no better forward on the field than Price the small but solidly built Eastbourne, hooker. Evidently a strong believer in the maxim ."the bigger they aro the harder they fall," the stocky hooker battled away in tho'gamest possible fashion all the afternoon, and on this display would be a strong contender for representative honours had ho a little more size and weight. Head and Collins were also always in the thick Qf it, the former playing his usual,dashing game in the loose. Senior B Football. , Hutt met with unexpected opposition from Selwyn,1 although, on recent form, the latter could have been expected to extend the championship leaders. Selwyn were running Hutt even until well on into tho second spell, when tho forwards, who had been playing a big part, tired perceptibly, and Hutt finished well to score the winning points. For the greater part.of the game tho Solwyn forwards played splendid, hard football, and presented a difficult proposition not only to, tho Hutt pack but also to the backs, who found it difficult to-work: up a combination under the attentions- of tho Green and Black breakaways. Tho forwards included no loafers, but those who showed up moro than others were Mitchell, Allardyce, and Everett. ■ The backs did" not give the forwards the support they deserved, but were very willing and tacklod solidly. Their greatest fault, appeared to be a tendency to hold c(n to the ball too long. 1 heir play was also affected by the' fact that-A.. Fuller, at half-back, was frequently in sending on the ball, with -tho result that he or the fiveeighths wero often smothered. Barbridge, Leggott.and Nash played well. Hutt owed their win to a good finish by tho forwards, and to tho superior torm of the backs, who brought off "spine very good moves. Gordon opened up the piny nicely, and had a useful pair of five-eighths outside him in Maclea and Feency. M'Kay was dashing at centro-threequarter, but often delayed his passes, with the result that thewings were deprived of somej promising chances. Jarman played a very sound game at full-back. The forwards stuck to their job and worked together woll. Dowsett played a useful roving game, marshalling his team well. Peck, Sundgreen, and Tilley were prominent in the pack. A Splendid Game. Hawkes Bay is by no mraji.s ;, I j;k .i< number so far as big football is concorned. Those who saw this year's Bay team for tho first time last Satur-day-must havo been genuinely surprised at tho stamp and calibre of the playero and at the performance registered against Wairarapa. There aro still some hefty forwards in Hawkos Bay, and those seen in action at Masterton last Saturday were a vprv solid J o t Some, tho Gemmells and Wilson in particular, havo plenty of experience' to baok them, but tho others—strapping follows—aro lacking a little in that respect. When polished iv tho finer points of the game, thoy should bo a great forco if thoy can be kept together. Eor most of the first spell and part-way into the second spell thoy had the better of tho Wairarapa pack, but then gradually faded out, unablo to last the paco of ono of the best games for the Eanfurly Shield staged in recent times. Wairarapa has a pack of no moan order. To sco out the game as those Wairarapa forwards did, finishing on at the end, was a splendid aohievemont specially as the Bay had made the going so solid for a long time. They woro also well off in the matter of experience as also were the Wairarapa backs, with Cooko doing great work in directing operations and playing as brilliantly as ever. Cooke's defensive play was overy bit as good as that shown by him on attack. Wairarapa has a fine side, and tho indications are that it will be even better when tho New Zealand team returns. On performances last Saturday it would be difficult to drop any of the players; they all did well, although Mill would have no doubt been much more at home as half-back instead of as first five-eighth. Fuller, a lower-grade player last year, shows great promise. Apart from playing ability, he is a place-kick out of tho ordinary. The Hawkes Bay backs aro a very promising lot. - Yates, of course, has been playing for a considerable time and South has already got as far as New Zealand trials. Of the others four of whom are said -to bo under twenty years of age, Euru impresses as a player likely to provide some of the sparkle in bigger football lator on. Not a great deal was seen of him on attack last Saturday, but thoro was enough to show what a danger he is likely to be to opposing teams. When Wairarapa changed their tactics in tho second spell, Hawkes Bay would have made better use of Ruru had ho been brought in to an inside:back position instead of being left on the wing. , One of many good features of the gamo was the play of the respective wmg-forwards, Donald and M'Kay They made it perfectly clear that wingforwards can bo of splendid sorvice to their teams without adopting obstructionist tactics.. Donald, who had just returned from Sydney where ho was married, played ono of his best games Irvine, suffering from- a poisoned hand, and Harvey, who had a poisoned eye and who had an arm injured during the game, were very plucky to play and to see out such a strenuous game. ,-»f W-? rii of praise is due t0 tlle referee (Mr. J. Mofflt, of Wellington) for the excellent manner in which h,e controlled tho game. The pace was hot, but the referee., was up with tho play all the way. •

Representative. .Rugby matches to be played-to-day induclo a Seddon Sliiold match, West Coast v. Nelson (holders), at Nelson. Another fixture .was Bush District (holders of the Bebbingtou .Shield-)- ty-Mtmawatu. •

Points. Clip. P. W. L. D. Fof. A B st. Pts University ... 13 10 2 1' 1G5 100 21 Athletic .... 13 S 3 1 189 139 19 1'etono ..... 13 y •; 0 2fi7 137 IS Old B0J3 .... 13 S 4 1 ISi x:j 17 Poneke ...... 13 S 5 0 162 130 16 Oriental t,.. 13 5 7 1 12» 130 11 Berhampore .. 13 S 7 0 00 l'rt 10 Eastbourne ... 13 4 9 0 98 152 8 Marlst 13 3 10 0 115 181 6 Wellington ,.13 2 11 is 70 130 4

Points. -Ch. P. \V. L. D. For. Agst. Pts Hutt 1! 11 1 0 223 !43 22 Oriental .... 11 9 o 2 146 75 20 Johnsonville ..12 9 2 1 181 47 19 Gaining Col. : 11 7 4 0 119 102 14 Wellington ... 32 4 5 3 S3 107 11 Selwyn 12 4 6 2 OS 01 10 University ... 11 3 6 2 94 85 8 Upper Hutt .... 12 3 7 2 110 123 8 Melrose ..... 12 3 '7 2 77 202 8 Old Boys ..,.; H 2 8 1 00 108 5 Porlrua 12 1 10 1 49 162 3