SENIOR A

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 122, 26 May 1930, Page 14

SENIOR A

EASTBItJURNE AND ATHLETIC. Eastboui die's appearance against Atliletie at l&ih\etic Park attracted a good deal of i-piterest, although the attendance was , affected by the bleak weather. It was expected of the Eastbourne players :that theypw-ould set a fast pace, and this they did,, i but Athletic were prepared for it and tkjsy, too, put plenty of dash into .their wnifife. The general display, how- '■ ever, w»fe';marred by much fumbling, many a promifcSug passing bout breaking down; : throughti&ilure to handle the ball cleanly. • There v.'teke times also when the chances of the rearguard operating effectively were thrown jaway through solo play. On the ;other h tad, plenty of good spoiling work was accomplished.'and both sides showed stout resistance, Eastbourne in the, second ' spell h'cwSrling' out remarkably well against Athletics, many solid advances. Athletic ■ ; were.;hflmmeriiig at the line for a long period, 'lout they scored only one try. It was nc/f the fault of their forwards that the mdasure of success was not greater, al- . thought they were penalised .'frequently. ; Eastbt Inrne, however, 'hooked well, and the bricks combined better than those of Athlet ic, indicating that they would be a ■ dangeiknis set. when in proper working .order. 5, Dinniss, at ecritre-thrce-quarter, "was vijry speedy off the mark, and there ■was tiftmble for the opposition every time that, ifce took the ball cleanly. Athletic, lioweviier, kept their line intact, but had to be erpatent with a draw, their one^ try : equal ling in points a penalty goal by Eastboun le. Porter was not on hand to lead ; Athlijffcie, and Chesterman was unable to play £or Eastbourne, while Martin figured as x/l emergency. . . Tile teamß were: —:. ''.-'; A ihletic;—Heazlewood; .Poulton, Morfeai*,V Sullings -(a player from Australia); Bhutham/ Butland; Dustih;: Howard; Scffffrass, Watson, Ward, Boyd, Berry, JFrnSer, M'Dbugall. .. .: . 3'lastbourne.—Clark; Tait,.Dinniss, Mur- •'■ ra;rj N. Foley, J. Dellabarca; E. Foley; Price; Gibbons, Drummoncl, Read, Sleep, ' Cf-ujbett. M. Dellabarca.: Pudney. : ..iVf inning the toss, Eastbourne played M'4h the wind in the first .spell. Early iji'j.he game the Athletic forwards, with : Bchi £ iDrominent, engaged in some solid -r'uhnes, to which Eastbourne replied with ibcEts of open play in which the backs iwifre .well served but failed to make, the /iti'pst of the opportunities that came their ■*W(y. Eastbourne's forwards went well finf'the loose, ably led by Price, and when ' Ajtfcletic's backs were served they were il'j/icbly. smothered. After one'unsucccss- ' ;.fifl attempt to land a penalty goal (a good ■ >oort from over the half-way mark), N. lfoley placed his side in the lead with a splendid goal. 3-0. Just after this : i-Meazlewood fooled the opposition with his iMck-off, and, following up fast, lie placed in a tight corner* The danger zone was cleared, and with the pro- ' ;%ress of play Eastbourne showed up to : better advantage in lively attacking mood, athletic having some anxious moments. ; 270 movement, however,-was topped off Successfully, nor could Athletic open their : "account; the spell ending 3-0 iv Eastbourne's favour. :. .'■ Taylor replaced Eraser in the Athletic •-■' pack for the second, spell, Eraser • having I a nasty head injury. Eastbourne started * off promisingly, and iv their rearguard • I Dinnis was conspicuous. Gradually, how- :, ever, the Athletic forwards wore dowii the ; opposition, and assisted by good attack--1 ing kicks, notably by Heazlewood, they /brought solid pressure to bear in the ": danger zone. Eastbourne had a hard time of it in withstanding the attacks, in which the backs also participated. Dus- ; tin was doing well behind the pack) and at times his backs responded well to the f "call for action. Always, however, the ; ]me was barred, and thereupon _ some v. "potting" was tried, this, too, being of i■ no avail. At length one strong loose rush was too much for Eastbourne and Watson scored a try for which Athletic fought hard.' Heazlewood failed to convert with : a, good kick from near the touch-line. 3-3. In-further strong advances Athletic suffered heavily in the matter of penalties, -mainly because of handling the ball in . the scrum. ■ There was no Icttiug-up on . 'Eastbourne's part and. occasionally a Mjrbakaway was made, causing Athletic to • ; beat a hasty retreat. ' The" play, although by no means polished, vas exciting, witli . . Athletic striving hard to gain the winning points and Eastbourne coming to light with some final bursts in the hope of placing the residt in their favour. All efforts failed to produce any more points, and a well-contested game ended with Honours easy—Athletic, 3; Eastbourne, 3. Mr. J. B. Benson was the referee, and was always up with the play.