RANFURLY SHIELD

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 24, 28 July 1934, Page 20

RANFURLY SHIELD

BACK TO HAWKE'S BAY

/.Canterbury has lost the. Ranfurly Shield.. A grasp da this trophy of provincial Kugby premiership, secured in 1931 and held, if precariously at times, through 15. matches since, was ibroken by: Hawke's Bay on Saturday. Victory went to a team which was vastly superior on the day, and Canterbury was somewhat iucky. that the score was not even larger. ■ Le Quesne, the visiting second" five-eighths, potted a neat field goal in the early stages; ■•Writ Andrews, 'a. Canterbury forward, touched the ball in its flight, and the kick/had to,J>e disallowed. ; The. HaTvkj^s forwards were jsuch gianfs rin weight and'stature that, the . match, there was ' some fdoubt; as to whether they would be jible to handle the ground in its heavy "state ■• .'(states ' the- \ Christchurch ; -<'Press"). The.fear was groundless. jThe hefty packmen showed unusual /deftness and agility, and maintained a • ''terrific battery in tight and loose right ,jup to the-end pi the game, when they Ystill appeared to-be full.of vim. The weight of the Hawke's Bay 'forwards, and ability to maintain and effectiveness in loose and in spoiling under heavy ;wea,ther conditions, ' combined with solid, and at times inspired defence by jthe'backs, put the issue beyond doubt. p<To praise could be too high for the offered by the Canterbury "forwards "who, as a , pack, dominated :the set scrums and often broke half rthe length of the ground* in dribbling .'rushes. ,' 'On the day Hawke's Bay played a i&ajne better adapted to the conditions. Canterbury should still be capable of beating the best teams in the Dominion aftery closer attention, has been given to' working up an' understanding between the members of the back ■division. Even taking into account the good spoiling-tactics that the Hawke's -Bay forwards exploited it was noteworthy that Canterbury's backs were "'far more uncertain in their giving and taking of passes than those of the "visitors. 7 A GREAT BACK. .'• Those who saw this match will not 'quickly forget the Hawke's Bay pack. It was one of the best that has been /'seen on. Lancaster: Park for several "seasons. It included brilliant individualists, and yet there was a combination which was a"■ treat to see in line-out, scrummages, and tight rucking. The only obvious weak point was the. hooking. Canterbury won a majority of the set serums. However, Skittrup, the Hawke's Bay specialist hooker, acquitted himself creditably against so redoubtable an opponent as A. I. dottrel!, who hooked for* Canterbury. Cottrell is at .the peak of his •form at present; .and must be ranked as, one of the, outstanding front-row ' forwards in New Zealand. Of course principal interest in the serum of the visitors centred round the performance of .Hawea Mataira, the . side-row forward who,recently won high praise from the northern critics, and who won a place in the All Black team to tour Australia this season. Mataira played- magnificently, being always near the ball and in the thick.of the fray : 'when determination and enterprise were needed to lift a siege. He .was content to act as a leader of tight .i-rucking rather than-Tove in search of V flashy; play in the open. Steere, the formfti All Black and captain of the yisitbij, was a great leader. Ho was not available for selection for the All Black team this season; but on his form in. this match he must still be classed; as:.one of the best lock forwards in the*:gairie today. 'Two other Hawke's Bay forwards showed up as above ordinary provincial standard. They were Collins, who with Steere locked the scrum, and Kolls, the odd man in the three-four-one scrum. Collins 13 of."mighty stature and combines pace and agility with his weight in such a way as to make him a devastating power/ on .attack. He scored a good try. "Bolls was. not tie equal of Andrews, the Canterbury loose forward, but a he is a sterling type of rover witWpace, and his spoiling work and opportunism on attack were big factors in- the run'of play.-. fCottrell, .Canterbury's captain, played . one of the greatest games of his career. Even - with' -Hawke's Bay nine- points up, and! only 10 minutes to play, he played as if inspired arid ably supported i by Howell, Hattersley, Manchester/and Andrews, spectators were treated to a'thrilling exhibition of dribbling and loose"-/breaka-ways.: "Manchester and Andrejfs/were/among the best forwards on thegrdund. ;■; ■ . ■ : :', . THK BAY FULL-BACK. -The star of the Hawke's Bay backs was. undoubtedly the full-back, Var,tan. He fielded faultlessly, anticipated

uncannily, and kicked 'for the line accurately. He repelled rush after rush. Of the attacking backs the best were C. Smith, the tall and heavy Maori, on the right wing, and Le Quesne at second five-eighths. r Smith gave a taste of the quality that earned him a place in the North Island trial. He is a young man, six feet in neight, weighs 13 stone , 71b, and has great pace. He was always dangerous on attack and scored a fine try. Le Quesne defended as if. inspired in the second half. Evans, the centre, also showed up on defence, stopping many promising rushes by the Canterbury forwards. •• .