JUST BEATEN

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 11, 13 July 1931, Page 15

JUST BEATEN

In the deep mud at Prince of Wales Park, the Oriental and Athletic forwards fought a bitter battle. Oriental won by an unconverted try to nil, but the win nattered them, and the least Athletic deserved was a draw. The teams were; —

Oriental: Coupland; Eeid, Dawson, Packnatz; Jaggers, Davies; Chambers; Hill; Lang, Kamsay, Ward, Pringle, M'llwraith, Cave, Biggar. Atbletic: Williamson; Hughes, Scotland, Sullings; Diack; Corbett; Burgess; Watson; Adam, Gustoferson, Christenson, Jolly, Davies, Howard, Sargeant.

Athletic had the advantage of the sun in the first spell and very nearly the better of the play. Oriental made more of their chances (for the match was played in a series .of long, heaving assaults, with ground hard to gain, and, once gained, grimly held), but they could not push through. It was after a long quarter of an hour near the Oriental twenty-five that the. winners pushed out and began a whole sequence of line-outs at a spot just inside the Athletic quarter. The Oriental backs were still trying to handle the ball

late in the spell and showing surprising neatness and speed over the quagmire. But for the most part all that was heard was the squelch of the mud as the forwards struggled, formed scrums, collapsed, and re-formed again. A moment before half-time, the-line-out play in the Athletic twenty-five transformed itself into an orthodox back-line rush from scrum base to Packnatz, moved back again, was held up near the posts, and suddenly dissolved into loose play in the corner, where Davies 6lipped over and Pringle failed to. convert;. .

After the spell it was a transformed Athletic team which took the field. They heid Oriental down for three-quarters of the match, pinned them helplessly, and did everything but score. Stubborn defence kept them out, butin the last quarter of an hour additional life went into the attack. Williamson sprinted down the line and kicked high, twice Burgess and Corbett almost slipped through, and twice more Oriental forced before fierce forward rushes. Jolly took a free kick once, but struck the men on the mark with the ball. The Oriental team broke out in two major movements, once when Reid took prompt advantage of an error and started a dribbling rush, which ended in Athletic forcing just in time, a second time when a Blue push near the line risked to much and the Oriental forwards, again with Reid, made a" spectacular drive from end to end of the field. But it was useless, and the game closed without further scoring. In the first spell, Diack, -the Athletic five-eighth,' dislocated his thumb when attempting a fend, and Williams went on as wing-three-quarter, Sullings and Scotland moving infield. The final score was Oriental 3, Athletic 0. Mr. H. H. Anslow was the referee.