RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 74, 29 March 1932, Page 5

RUGBY

MAEIST TOUENET AUCKLAND WINS FINAL An unusual fea4ur_fi of the final to.the Marist Rugby football tournament at Athletic . Park yesterday af-ternoon wa3 that the game was played in spells of unequal length in accordance with an agreement between the opposing ■ sides. The teams, Wellington A and Auckland, were^at variance as to whether the spells should be of 35 minutes or 40 minutes duration, the preliminary games having been played with half-hour spells, and a compromise was eventually reached whereby the-first spell was to be of 35 minutes and the second of 40 minutes. As it turned out the longer second spell proved to the advantage of Auckland, who had favoured that period, the northerners r scoring the match-winning try in the last minute of the gamei -It was a sternlycontested final in which the football was taken much more seriously than in some of the earlier matches. It was evident ■ from the start that no quarter would bo given, and consequently there we^e few spectacular. flourishes, although the general standard of the play was the lflghest of the tourney. In.the second spell, for about 20 minutes, the pace was a cracker, but the players then commenced to show signs of wear and tear due to insufficient preparation for such a gruelling test before training operations' have seriously commenced. This factor, together with tha hard ground, accounted largely for the unusual number of stoppages owing to minor injuries to players, although no one was seriously hurt. Auckland won because they were able to stage a' finishing burst against a. tired team, and deserved their victory if only on account of the attractiveness and' finish of. their' play. The teams were:— v Auckland: Elliott; K. Smith, Cornth* wait, Loombe; Miller, M. Smith; T. Con* way^ S. Hadley; C. Hadley, Davey, McDonald, Dunn, Locke, Toye, and Quirke. • Wellington: McColman; Kilpatriek, Macdohald, Eville; Robins, Webb; Mills; Sexton; Ottaway, Gill, Mbuat, White, Butler, Peters, Keary. In the first spell Auckland ran up a useful lead of six points, and deserved-it on the run'of the play, although' they never found penetration easy and Wei- " lington were always ready to "give as much as they received. The effectiveness of the Auckland backline as a scoring force was again in evidence when a "snappy handling movement saw the Wellington backs out-manoeuvred and K. Smith sent over for a try at the corner. Macdonald's pace was instrumental in halting a subsequent attack, but when a third was launched K. Sniith^ although temporarily checked, succeeded in crossing again in a determined bid for the' corner. Neither try was "converted, and at halftime Auckland led 6-0. . •v Wellington started the second spell in a way most heartening to their supporters, .and their persistent attacks wer,a rewarded when Webb, who had . been-, shifted from the five-eighths line to wingthreequarter, scored wide out. The poof place-kicking, which was a feature of the day's games, cost Auckland three points when Elliott missed a'chance to land a goal from a penalty.-kick in front of the posts. With Wellington attacking, Mills darted round a scrum inside the Auck-' land_ twenty-five,and scored a clever try, leaving the teams on level terms "with about a quarter of an hour left for play. When time was practically up the ball came out on the Wellington side, of a scrum near the local, team's line, and, before, the defenders could clear, Dunn had ■ grounded it over the line. Elliott converted, and an exciting game ended with the score: Auckland 11, Wellington 6. Mr. J. Moffitt was the referee. WANGANUI BEATS NAPIER. As a curtain-raiser to the final a match' was-played1 between, the .Wanganui and Napier teams, and resulted." in a narrow win for Wanganui. Napier's chief strength/ lay in their forwards, which included E. Barry, the Wellington representative, but Wanganui were scarcely eclipsed. y in this, department, and,an even struggle saw the issue in doubt until the. finish, All the scoring. came from tries, each side scoring two in the first half and Wanganui drawing ahead after the interval. . : The teams were:— Napier: Dineen; F. Mahoney, Jordan* Hall; B. Mahoney, Griffin; Clothier^ Coutts; Tremewan, Exeter, Bariy, King, McCormick, Parker, Clareburt. Wanganui:. Nanbey; Harrison, Phillips, Stiver; Lynskey, Hannon; Crotty; Fennell; E. Fromont, Reynolds, Matthews, Corliss, James, L. Fromont, Carmody. Napier scored. first, Jordan touching down at the end of a loose rush in which, both backs and forwards figured. A succession of .Wanganui attacks bore fruit when Harrison dashed through to score, but Napier were soon in front again as the result of a strong dash for the line by Coutts, a wing-threequarter. Right at the end of the spell Stiver, a brother to the former Wellington player, scored for Wanganui, making the score 6-all at tha interval. For the greater part of the second spell the exchanges were evenly contested, first one side and then the other holding an advantage. With ten minutes' to go~\Harrison scored at the end of a Wanganui passing bout, and Wanganui succeeded in holding the lead till the end, having decidedly the' better of the concluding stages. The final score was: Wanganui 9, Napier 6. Mr. F. Greevy was the.referee, TROPHIES PRESENTED. After the finals the Spillane jCup was presented to S. Hadley, captain of the winning Auckland team, by Mr. J. Dunne, who congratulated the Auckland team on the fine displays it had given, and spoke of the success of the tournament. Mr. Dunne also presented to • the Wanganui team the Moran Cup, ■ awarded to the best defensive team in the competition. '