RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 115, 17 May 1930, Page 22

RUGBY

BY "DROPKICK"

A LIKELY LOT

BRITISH REPRESENTATIVES

KEEN INTEREST IN TOUR

/MTAMPTONSHIP TABLES.

Interest in the Dominion's national ; affl6 has been stirred to great heights by the arrival of the British team, the first Bugby Union combination to come .from the Old Country since 1908. During their brief stay in Wellington this week the visitors created- a very favourable impression both on and .off the :field. They had two ■ practices at Athletic Park, and in: each work-out it was made'perfectly plain that they are footballers of some calibre and that they are keen on giving the best possible account of themselves as such. Most of the forwards are stpckily built, but there are some whe. .will compare, favourably with New Zealand's stalwarts. These visiting forwards are ejected to give the teams an'this countr? some ex!eedingly hard tussles and they appear to be of the type to do it It is recognised that New Zealand will be up against hard scrummagers, but -just how difficult a proposition they are likely to be is difficult to say until the visiting team has been seen m action £ the early matches of the tour. On first appearances, however, the visiting forwards should be able to pack + a solid scrum. The backs, according to their showing in the practices at Athletic Park, can handle well and_can clip on the pace, while some of them appear to be -well up in finer points of the game. In both backs and forwards there are splendid kicks, and it was noMeed in the practices that place-kicking 'and drop-kicking, was carried- out with accuracy from long range and from uilScult angles. Taken all in all the playtrs aro a very likely lot. It remains 60 be seen how tliey will shape in match play. fho British team's first match will be against Wanganui at Wanganui next Wednesday. The full programme of matches in* Now Zealand, subject to ' slight alteration, is as follows: — May 81 —v. Waugaiiui, at Wanganui. May 24—v. Taranaki, at New Plj;Imouth. jl av 2S —v. Manawhenua, at Palmerston North. . •' May 31—v. Wairarapa-Bush districts at Masterton. ".Tune 3 —v. Wellington, at Wellington. June 7 —v. Canterbury, at ■ Christ'church. ■ ■ , '■"' June 11—v. Buller-West Coast, at (Gfreymouth. June 14—v. Otago, at Dunedin. June 22—v. New Zealand (First JFest), at Dunedin. June 25 —v. Southland at Invercargill. June 28—v. Ashburton-South Canter-bury-North Otago, at Timaru. July s—f.5 — f. New ..Zealand (Second JPest), at Ciristehurch. July 9~-v. Maoris, at Wellington. ■■•■■•■ July. 13 —v. Hawkes Bay, at Napier. July 16—v. East Coast-Poverty Bay(?ay of Plenty, at Gisborn'e. July '19—v. Auckland, at Auckland. July. 25—v. New Zealand (Third SPest), at Auckland. * July 30 —v. North Auckland, at •Whatigarei. . August 2—v. Waikato-Tliamcs ValleyK'ng Country, at Hamilton. August 9 —v. New Zealand (Fourth Test), at Wellington. August 13 (Wednesday)—v. Nelson,-Marlb.orough-Golden Bay, at Nelson. Pace and Smartness. Three matches played and three won. (Marist, after last Saturday's games, (were the only team in the A grade eonifpetition whose colours were at the masthead with an unbeaten record. Even although previously Marist had fine wins from Hutt and Old Boys, there were not a few who looked npon Poneke as a combination that •Would possibly give the team some itrouble before an. Athletic Park crowd. Bat Poneke didn't. Marist won in most convincing style, and their success Jby a ten. points margain was a thoroughly good performance, which served further to strengthen the hopes of supporters that the upsetting element, ''inconsistency," very troublesome in the past, has at last been banished. Poneke, with a team minus the valuable services of B. Wilson, Julian, Kene, and others, were outplayed. The Bed and Black forwards were big, heavy fellows, but Marist had up against them a' speedier set in excellent condition. So far as the backs •were concerned, Poneke's were unable to get going properly, wherea3 the inside backs fielded by Marist showed up as nippy players, and tho whole line x>n occasions supplied some bright football. It was- Marist's pace that really spelt disaster for Pone'ke, and this was Tbacked up by a fine exhibition of touch finding by the full-back, Cuming, who has, perhaps, seldom been seen to betjter advantage. Many a time during the game Cuming put the ball out with hefty, accurate kicks, all of which helped considerably, particularly- in saving his forwards from dashing about all over the place. On the day thero was no comparison between Cuming and tho Poneke full-back, G-. Nicholls. Although his efforts contributed largely to the success of the side- ho captains, 'Cuming is still apt now and again to .try a little fancy work.* Sometimes it comes off, but at others it doesn't. He. phould leave it alone. - One of the young players filling a Vacancy in the Poneke pack was Phin. Stone, the well-known, boxer, who gave a very good account of himself, hoeing into the play in good style. Fraser was another who caught the eye. Sly, too, was prominent at times. Among the Poneke backs, Barrett, who has played a number of fine games as a full-back for the team, gave a good account of himself on the wing, and later also at centre-threo-quarter, to which1 position he was moved when Cookson did not reappear after halftime. Pelham was prominent in bright individual efforts, and often was the means of turning defence into attack. The ..best of the Marist forwards was E. Barry; in fact, he was the outstanding forward on tho ground, showing splendid dash throughout and leading many a rush by tho fast-moving pack. Butler and Ottaway wore others responsible for consistently good work. Keegan, the half-back, was a different player altogether from his showing in the Spillane Cup match at the Park before the opening of the season proper. Behind him he had two iriiroy

players in Robins and Condon, with Maedohald, until injured, also showing up to good advantage. Broderick, who at tho commencement of the game was played on the wing, but later as centre three-quarter, is one who so'mdlimes plays really brilliant football and on other ' occasions his standard drops. He was in good form on Saturday, playing a fine hand. One would have liked to have seen tho heity Graham going at top. In the short runs in which ho figured he sometimes took quite a lot of stopping. Forward Struggle. Against Athloth on Saturday the Old Boyi team showed a great improvement on their performance against Marist on the previous week. Certainly they did not have opposed to them such an effective combination of penetrating inside backs as Marist possesses, but there was greater solidarity m the general run of their play. Tho forwards ■nlayed with more cohesion and tne dropping of Hawker and tho inclusion of Taylor in the five-eighths lino strengthened tho defence. Practically all through the game was a strenuous forward struggle. The Uiu Boys' pack was the heavier, and xn the tight had the upper hand, but m the loose, with the help of Porter, the Athletic vanguard, which includes one or two fast men, was very effective. Porter was in splendid form until troubled with' his . knee towards ' the close of the game and in the Athletic pack Berry, Taylor, and Boyd played solidly throughout. The Athletic backs seemed to lack initiative and their passing rushes were not very effective. Heazlewood's kicking at times was wonderful, but his taking of a rolling ball was not always certain. Tins seems to be a weakness in his play. M'Pherson, Emerson, and T. Reynolds were conspicuous in the Old Boys scrum from which Claridge was missing. At half Bydder was solid, but slow in getting the ball away. Taylor and M' Donald showed up well xn defence and occasionally on attack, and Dustin gave indications of speed. He has the football in him and would do well if better served by those inside or. him Malcolm seems to have fallen away in his kicking and he xnado a couple of-bad mistakes. Berhampore and University. To the average side-liner who is wont to compute the enjoyment derived from his.football by the amount of spectacular play involved, the game between Berhampore and University must have been indeed a poor affair. Nevertheless, those who obtain enjoyment xn seeing a well-conceived and effectivelyexecuted campaign carried through to success could not but have been ploased with rthe result. Berhampore called the tune. The game was to be a tight one, and tight.it was. Almost invariably, whenever the University backs attempted to open out, they found themselves smothered by an opposing rearguard, or hopelessly confronted by a phalanx of forwards. Stung by their two previous reverses, 'Varsity, in experimental vein, fielded a much reorganised side. Whitcombo, who commenced the season as a senior B player, appeared in the pivotal position behind the scrum, and had an unenviable against a fastbreaking,'.pack. .Leys, while he lasted, made'an effective second .five-eighths outside Mackenzie, .while Williams showed-^to advantage at the. head o± the line. ''■■•■ It will be learned with regret that Leys underwent an operation for internal injuries received during the game", but, although on Sunday his condition was reported as serious, happily, at the time of writing, the patient is reportod to be progressing, favourably. One of the: few backs in Wellington who remembers the old adage, "Kick to gain ground, run to score," is Mackenzie, whose judicious line-kicking was a treat" to - watch.-- — ■■•-. — Perhaps University would be amply repaid were they to devote a little more o£ their "Gym." hour to hooking practice and scrum formation. The Berhampore forwards, ably led by Mollier and Cameron, worked splendidly together. First as half and then as second "five," Hooper played an outstanding game, and received good support from V. M( Donald, a one-time member of the Auckland Marist League Club. Berhampore thoroughly deserved .their win. •■■■■■■ Oriental and Hutt. The game between Hutt and Oriental at the Hutt Eecreation Ground produced football of a hard but uninteresting nature. The Oriental forwards did well in scrummaging and in tight packing1 work, having'slightly the better of Hutt, but the Hutt forwards excelled in 'loose rushes, and there tl^ey offset their opponents' advantage. Tho Oriental backs displayed quite good' form at times in their passing rushes. Tho play of the Hutt backs was spasmodic and irregular, but their defence coukl not be pierced, the tackling, especially that by Feeney and Pomare, being of a very high standard. Lochore, as full-back for Oriental, did some powerful kicking, and otherwise showed up well. Arrnond and Sharpe worked well together as five-eighths, and were well fed by Jaggers as halfback. Foster, on tEe wing, made some strong runs. Several times he went close to scoring, only being tackled at the last minute. Graham, showed out in the Oriental pack, in which all were hard workers. Hill did excellently as wing-forward. : Jarman was not impressive as fullback for Hutt. He never seemed very 'certain where the ball was going to bounce, and his line-kicking was far from accurate. Feeney did some outstanding work as first five-eights, being sound on both attack and defence. He was well supported by Pomare. Peck and H.Hinton were again seen at the head of the Hutt pack; Peck is an excellent worker in the tight, and is conspicuous also in the loose. Hinton plays a clean, hard game. Skilton and Monigatti wore well up to standard. ■ From next Saturday Hutt will have the services of A. 13. Cooke, tho brilliant All Black. A Dashing Team. Since being . elevated to the senior ranks Eastbourne have earned a name for being a team which relics upon dashing open play to. carry tho day. Against the solid Pctonc side these were about, the only tactics tho side could hope to adopt with success, and no better tribute could be paid to Eastbourno than to say that they were adopted so successfully that the win, though coming as a big surprise, was none the less decisive. The Eastbourne coach, "Teddy" Boberts, had good reason to be well pleased when his side walked off the field ,at the conclusion of the match. . Though on the light sido, the bay forwards have their fair share of length, and they did so well in the line-outs that Nicholls frequently exercised, his prerogative of taking scrums instead of line-outs when it was Petone's ball. In view of the fact that Petone usually secured the ball from the ' line-outs, though often after there had been a scramble for it, and also since tho referee, Mr. J. Scott, repeatedly penalised Petone for "lifting" and blocking the ball from entering the scrums, it might have been more to Petone's advantage had the line-outs been allowed to take their course.' Eastbourne realised three points from ono of the infringements referred to by medium of N. Foley's reliable kicking boot. _ Even though the regular half, Martin, and c.ontra-threoquarter, Tait, were absent, Eastbourne had an exceptionally good set of backs in the field. E. Foley was a good substitute behind tho scrum, and there was a sound combination which was not' afraid to vary its play, right out to the wings. A particularly, dangerous attacking

pair aro Chesternian and Dinniss. The latter was played at ccntre-threequartcr and he filled the bill with credit. Tho result of the match caused Petone's stocks to slump greatly so far as their chances of winning the championship are concerned, but there is no reason why it should not prove a blessing in disguise. The Dark Blues have the material, there can be no doubt about that, all that is required is that it should be applied to the fullest. . ■ The forwards, no loss than tho backs, were caught napping by Eastbourne in the first half, but in tho second spell, when they set about keeping the ball as close as possible, they had their elusive opponents well in hand, and gave the backs a liberal supply of the ball. It was in tho rearguard that Petone failed more than anywhere else. The inside backs were uncertain early _in the game, although there was an improvement later. Numerous attempts were made to get the wings in action, but without success, the weakest link in tho chain being Byrne, who dropped an unusual number of passes, and too often delayed his transfers till it was too late. The full-back, Byan, was very disappointing on the day. He started well, but was bustled by the fast following-up Greens and made tho mistake of endeavouring to dodge clear when, his . only plan should have been to kick. ■ Senior B Grade. Miramar's" win over Old Boys was the result of a fine effort in tho second spell by a team which contains some very promising material. The hero oi the match, of course, was the_ veteran Caleinai, who scored two tries and converted both, and whose advice to tho forwards was invaluable Wiroughout the game. In the first spell, the Miramar serumwwarsr not all that mignt have been desired, and wajj crumpling before pressure. After the spell, there was a distinct improvement, and Old Boys' forwards were well hem. inc. genius for opportunism which made Caleinai's name still persists, for ho turned two mistakes by the Old; Boys backs into the useful total of ten points. The second try, after a neat interception when the Old Boys half had failed to clear to his backs quite quickly enough from a knock-back in the line-out, was excellent. At the same time, it was somewhat a gift, for the scorer crossed the line in tho arms of two men, who obligingly, rolled him over instead of smothering him or knocking tho ball out of .his hands. It was this score which placed the issue of the game beyond doubt, for tho seoro up till that moment had boon only S-6 in Miramar's favour. In the first spell, tho winning forwards had been letting, their;- opponents have things very much their own way in many of the. line-outs, failure'properly to mark their men being notieoable. After tho spell this was much less apparent, though still fairly evident _ at times. Tho Miramar ■men played witli <rrcat dash,' and it was their quickness behind the ball and the unsafeness of the Old Boys backs that gave them tho game. The winners' backs were all very good, ,M'Aulay at half playing, a bright ganie;"and revealing a fine pair of hands: ' His passing was much better than that of Lapworth, his opponent. Condliffe, at first five-eighth, has the makings of a fine footballer. He can get off the mark with speed, and well served with the ball should develop considerably. His present weakness is that, not satisfied with drawing his man, ho wants to draw the whole team, and often cuts in and loses himself. ..This should be corrected, for if he can" do his job by unsettling tho opposing five-eighths, Thompson, tho ex-Ponsonby player, who is outside him, has pace and skill enough to make openings galore, and that will be worth many points, for the Miramar -threequarter line' is well able to finish off movements of that kind. Thompson has proved himself well above the average since he arrived from Auckland. On Saturday he scored two tries, and ■though :somo Old Boys supporters thought.'tho second was doubtful," it was from; a. pretty picco of work. '.Mhy-a'-1 also1 shows signs .of becoming a very dangerous centre' Among the forwards, Pinkerton, Davidge, Barnes, and Taylor are real scrummcrs. Old Boys, were by no means outplayed. They dominated tho play at tho end of the first spell, and showed every sign of going on to victory. It was two-pieces of opportunism which placed a different complexion upon the game. Wixon, Ames, and Tait all were sound, though the insides were too prone to tackle high. W. Hawker also needs to be coached in. the mechanics of a true tackle; on Saturday he had the chance to pull over, but could not do it in time. Lapworbh is a half of quality, but1 rather prone "to get the ball out to his backs in slovenly style, while '>' Hand, Clark, Grenfoll, and M'Kenzie are useful forwards. Notes. ' J. A. Malcolm, the former Wellington representative'full-back, who played for Old Boys before being transferred to Dunedin, is now in "Auckland. He has given up playing but, is continuing to take an active part by refereeing; L. Brown, an outstanding forward in Wellington when playing for Berhainpore, is in the College Bifles' pack iii Auckland. Tho same team includes another ex-Borhanipore player, Pickering, and M'Gregor, an ex-member of the Wellington College. Old Boys' Club. Bi;own is at present on a visit to Wellington. -.-.'.'. Among those present at tho North Island trial at Palmerston North on Wednesday was the Wellington selector, Mr. J. N. Millard. Eleven Wellington players participated in tho game: Heazelwood, Elvy,' Mackay, Mackenzie, Johnson, Ball, Kilby, Jesup, Coulston, M'Lean, and Porter. Another player who will-bo'available for Wellington's representative team this season was Cooko. D. Olliver, the. ex-Otago. representative, who has'transferred to Wellington, is among the players selected for tho South Island Bugby trial. * The "baby" of the British Eugby team is D, A. Kendrew, who is only 19 years,of age. H. Wilkinson, of the British Bugby team, is the son of an old English international. Notes. A Wellington visitor to Christchurch during the Easter holidays was impressod with the display given by Mullan, who, in the absence of Dalley, has played half-back for Canterbury. Muljan is reported to have shown outstanding form. N. P. M( Gregor is out again playing for tho Christchurch Club, and he also is very fit, showing plenty of dash. Kearney, who played with Athletic while in . Wellington, is back in Christchurch, and is playing for Morivale. Bobilliard, a brother to tho All Black, is a player showing promise at the present time. One of whom a great, deal is expected this year is Innis, a five-eighth.. All Black G. Scrimshaw Was seen in the role of a wing threequarter on Easter Monday in the match between the Ohristehurch Club and the team from the Pirates Club (Dunedin), and he made .1 success of the job, scoring two trios. |

■SSK*""---r. Mfsnst ,.. 3 Petone «'• 3 Old Boys .. 3 Eastbourne. 3 Hutt. 3 Oriental .. 3 AtWetio ... 3 Poneke .. 3 Berhampore 3 University.. 3 p. Wellington . 3 Johnsonvillo 3 University .. 2 Oriental .. 3 Melrose -.. 3 Training Col. 3 Mtramar .... 3 Porlrua '.'-••■ 3 Selwyn ' ••« - Upper Hutt 3 Old Boys .. 2 SENIOR A. Pts. l'ts. Cli. , W. L. D. Tor. Agst. Pts. %1 0 fl 04 28 6 2 10 50 41 4 2 1 0 M 42 4 2 1 0 52 34 4 I 1 1 30 34 3 1 1 1 20 20 3 12 0 26 30 2 1 2 0 44 46 2 • 1 2 0 23 51 2 0 3 .0 27 45 0 SENIOR B. Pts. Pts. Cli. w Ii. !>• 1'or. Agst. Pts. 3 o 0 121 G « » 1 0 41 « i 2 0 0 22 11 4 0 i 0 2C 31 4 11 1 2fl 28 '?, X 2 0 30 14 2 12 0 32 51 2 1 2 0 14 112 2 • 1 ■ 1 ■■■ 0 « a 2 ■J. 2 3 IT 31 1 0. " 2 0 20 30 0