HAWKES BAY MATCH

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 75, 26 September 1932, Page 12

HAWKES BAY MATCH

WIN FOR WELLINGTON

KEEK. FAST GAME

Theie was a time, not so long ago, when I HattW Bay had the gieatost inteipio- \ viocial Rugby football side m the land ( Though not now s,o stioug in talent, r Ha-ni.cs Bdj is still able to inaisln! good Hugbj forces, a selection norn which \a ' leered a creditable pcifpunance agnnst ' "Wellington's elect at Athletic Paik on Saturday afternoon. Solid foiwaid uk> las been a'featuie oi Hawkes Bay foot- » ball, and it was much in eudence on Saturday.' Not so foiraidablo as when the « Brownlies and conipanj weie on the job, j the Bay. forwards on fcatuidaj weie full - of eneigy, and they weio fast with it . Wellington's team all ionnd u-u, better balanced, ivith a distinct advantage :u •■ the rearguaid, ■where the inside backs > worked with good undeistanding and „ showed penetrative ability. A tendency - to go too far, however, limited the opportunities of the wing-three quarteis, and, through it, there was often a lobbing of passes, winch made matteis easiei for the opposing backs in breaking the chain. , Taken all in all, Wellington's foim was * good, the forwards doing their job well .. and the backs supplying plenty ot dash, ' with an added touch ot bughtness sup • plied b> an exploitation of iiuer points » ot back play. It was a haul, keen, and i iast game, plajed undei good condition's, " and the wealth of action, once the teams had settled down piopeilj, made it en i tertaimng for a crowd ot o\er 4000 spec lators, On the run ot play Wellington , deserved"victoij, and this was gained by t a margin of fi\e points, but the visitors ■ were alwajs battling hard and kept the issue open until the final whistle.

There -were some hard knocks during • the game, but, except in one case, the ", players who met -\utli injury were able to resume after receiving attention. < Steere sprained an ankle five minutes bofore the game ended, and he retired. Pnoi - to this'Tindill had had a shoulder and a • leg injured, and he carried on gamely m the full-back position. Giiffiths leplaccd him at half, and Pollock moved up to second five-eighths. The refei.ee (Mr. R. i*aton) -was among those to meet -oath injury. During a snappy Wellington advance, the direction of the attack was Ranged suddenly, and as this happened the-referee/ fell over a plajcr and hurt his, chest. He rose under difficulties, keeping a close watch on the play) and • > iollowed on, to award Wellington a try. Both sets of forwards put plenty of "life Into their woik, "showing up particularly ■well'in the loose. There was also some solid, scrummaging, in which both sets packed 3-4-1, but the hooking of the ball was not always satisfactoiy; in. fact, quite irequently the ball did not go into the scrummage according to requirements. Wellington gamed more of the ball than Mawkes Bay, and the local players also had an advantage on the line-out, from which some good back play was initiated. Bteere was- ever prominent in the Bay pack, though_ his keenness at times carried him off-side. Reaney showed up as a very fine forward, and the others gave good support, with Satherly a regular live wire in the loose. The Wellington pack was a far tougher proposition than against Auckland* or Taranaki. The opposing forwards, were "met solidly, and when it came to open play the local vanguard was not easily checked. McLean and others were generally there to link up with the backs. Wellington was distinctly superior to the visitors was in inside-bads; play. Tindill, while at half, gave splendid service, and Page, at fiist five-eighth&i was able to demonstrate how valuable he 1? in that position. Page uas a difficult man for the opposition, whose problem of holding up the sharp Wellington attacks was increased by the activities of Griffiths and Robins. The last-named frequently cut -through and shook off opponents, but on occasions his passes weie delayed just long,enough to 'handicap the iving-three-quarters. Pollock's enterpiise was not lost in the. full-back position. Varton played soundly at full-back for Hawkes Bay, although on one or two occasions he waff bustled. Smith and Howell, the visiting wing-three-quarters, were restricted in their.actiyities,T)ut there was the evidence th'at,7properly served, they would be a stoirce o£ danger. It was not until-the second spell that S,etford came into the Tiieture1 very and -then he showed tip conspicuously on attack. Lambie did quite well as half. Generally, however, the Bay backs" were ' inclined toward the stereotyped back game. THE TEAMS. ' The teams were as follows:— '' . , Wellington.—Full-back,* Pollock; threequarters, Macdonald, Robins, Hislop; fiveeighths, Griffiths, Page; half-back, Tindill; forwards, Lambourn, Qiiaid, Diederich, Reid, 'Peck, McLean, Lamason, McPherson. (captain). Hawkes Bay.—Full-back, Varton; threequarters, Smith, Setford, Howell; fiveeighths, Grant, Bradley; half-back, Lambie; forwards, Ireland, Djummond, Large, Wilson, Hawea Mataira, Eeaney, Steere (captain), Satherly. THE RUN OF THE PLAY. The visitors had the assistance of a southerly breeze in tEc first spell, but the wind'was scarcely strong enough to affect the play, and there was no sun. The Hawkes Bay forwards quickly indicated that they were not going to be easy to hold in the tight by pushing Wellington off the ball after they had heeled irom the first scrum. From a line-out which followed the Bay pack started a rush which, took play to the Wellington twentyfive. An attempt was made to use the backs, but they were unable to penetrate and the Wellington forwards cleared to half-way. The local backs then swung into'action, but Hislop was smothered when he tried to cut'infield. The visitors were penalised, and Lamason attempted to open the scoring from well out, but although he was awarded a second kick, he was unsuccessful. Play remained in Hawkes Bay territory, and the Wellington backs w-ere given several chances to show their paces, but <ilthough some .of, their efforts looked promising, nothing was, achieved. Using the touchhne with good' effect, Hawkes Bay worked their way ,downfield, and when' Wellington weie penalised Grant had a shot at goal from a difficult angle, a good kick iust missing. Lamason failed to find the line with two free kicks, but Varton misfielded the second, and his fumbling provided an opportunity tor the local backs, ■wBo-had come up fast. When Page attempted to lob a pass over Howell's head to' Macdonald, however, the Hawkes Bay winger secured and the chance was lost. LOCAL BACKS IN FORM. Wellington then figured in a series of .'open, movements in which both backs and forwards played their part, but although several of .the attacks neatly succeeded, the Hawkes Bay defence survived the test. Fielding a clearing kick, Pollock raced up on a sw.erving run and then sent the ball on ta t McLean, but the latter was pulled down just in time. Page, Griffiths, and Hislop then combined in a sparkling pieqe of passing, but Hislop w as checked on the line. Wellington came m another attack, the backs handling at top speed. When the ball reached Robins he cut through .brilliantly, and, aftei a great -flash, passed to Hislop, who crossed at the corner after twentj-five minutes' play. > Lamason failed to convert. Wellington 3-o.^ Wellington were now at their best, and +he. crowd rose to its feet when Tindill dispatched Page on the blind side of a scrum. Page made a fine run and theu psCssedto Macdonald, but Varton accounted:ior the winger with a good tackle. An infringement' by the visitors enabled Lamason to add three points with a penalty' goal. Wellington 6-0. TThe ;■ Hawkes Bay forwards, who had bete' out 'of the picture for a while, ;ashefted themselves, and a vigorous rush i f om!i the. kick-off took ■ them with in reach of; the Wellington line. An interception' by Reid, followed by a run by Page and Rpbins, gave Wellington temporary relief, but Ireland brought Hawkes Bay back wjth a great dash from his own twentyfive. In the defensive work they were now called upon to perfoim Wellington did not inspire confidence, and Pollock twice nearly let the visitois tlnough by delaying his kick too long. "Eventually Lambie and Grant paved the way for Smith, a powerfully built wmg-thiee-quar-tcr, who swung round in Hislop's tackle

on the line and scored near the flag. Grant converted with a fine kick 6 5

There %vaa a stirring finish to the spell. First Wellington made a big effort to improve their position, and succeeded when mishandling by Varton enabled McLean to score, Lamison conveitms with a one kick from well out 115 With less thin a minute to go, Vi il=on headed the Biy torwaids on a cTmacteustic rush which placed Wellington in difficulties Hawkea Bay were gncn a fiee kick in fiont o£ the posts, and Satheilj goalcd, making the half-time score —

Wellington 11 llawkes B>> &

THE SECOND SPELL

Play immediately after the lesinnption was somewhat lagged, both teams taking a while to regain the ioun di-ph}cd be toie the inteiwl Hiiwkf". Bay weie the nggussois at fiist, md Wellington had i let off when W 11-on stopped into touth m making a bid foi the lino When the Wellington foiwauN g^ne lindill the bill fiom a scium in nndficld hi. feet the backs going, and Griftiths showed his attacking qualities by cai\mg a big hole in the de fence .before sending the ball in to a line of forwards. McPherson' forced his way across as he was tackled, and Pollock con\eited Wellington 16 8 IMatteis weie waiming up again, and a conceited mo\e b\ the Haw lies 15a> backs seiit. the-ball out to Smith, who was ciowded into touch aftei he had bumped his way past Ilislop / Some clever rc\oioe passing between Pige and Griffiths prowded a specticular touch which the crowd appreciated, and then Satheily and Steeie were prominent in a Hawkes Ba\ forward movement which was checked just m time. Tmdill injured at this Btag_e, necessitating a reairangement of the local backs Gnffiths went to halfback, Pollock to second five-eighths, and Tindill to full-back. FLUCTUATING FORTUNES. Move and counter-move followed in quick succession, both side> having a turn on attack Wellington weie compelled to force when Lambie, Bradley, Grant, Satherly, and Wilson handled in .turn, and no little difficult} wis occasioned m stemming the rushes ot the \igorous Hawkes Bay torwards. The local backs, howe\er, continued, to show superiority, and when Pollock'exploited; a:. dummy, he left the way clear foi a run by Hislop. but the winger's pass infield to. a line of supports dropped. Pollock twice tried to drop-kick a*(soal, but both attempts failed

Macdonald kicked through from near the twenty-five, and managed to gain possession, but he w.is held up on the line. Peck also ' came near, to scoring on one .'occasion. After being in the ascendant for a period, Wellington vvero driven back, and Satherly, .Grant, Howell, Setford, and- Smith co-operated in a handling bout which all but ■ succeeded ■: in sending the last-named across. Hawkes Bay kept up the pressure for a while, but did not find penetration teasy, and once again had to give way to the home team. Wellington had rather ithe better of the subsequent play, the backs being cleverer and speedier than the opposing set, but Hawkes Bay were the next to score. Tindill, handicapped by-an injured shoulder, played pluckily, bringing off some good saves, but eventually, how ever, he failed to field a ball over the Wellington line, and was unsuccessful in attempting to find touch-in-goal before Setford pained possession and scored. Gi.ant failed to convert from ncai the touch-line. 16-11.

There was plenty of incident in the closing stages, with Wellington doin? most of the attacking. Steere, who had been injured previously, left the field with an injured ankle a few minutes before the end. There was no fuiEher scoring, and the game ended:— "Wellington ... ..10 Hawkes Bay ... . '..11 Sir. R. J. Paton was the referee