GRUELLING GAME

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 49, 27 August 1934, Page 4

GRUELLING GAME

TARANAKI V. WELLINGTON

HARD FORWARD BATTLE

The tenacity with which attack after attack was'met and beaten oft' and with which the players battled against a fierce gale gavo Wellington's Rugby football representatives a meritorious win over those ot Taranaki at Athletic Park on Saturday afternoon. When tho call for that special effort came Wellington had como through the first spell with eleven points to the good—not by any means a margin of security considering the extent of the backing from the elements. Taranaki had had thejr fill of the southerly, and it was a big relief to them when half-time was tailed. Their powerful set of forwards, having come, through its part "of the ordeal/ looked to bo set for a course of destruction with tho wind behind them, but they encountered a defence more stubborn than they—and possibly most of the onlookers, real enthusiasts to roll up on such a day—had anticipated. At tho same time Taranaki's performance in the second session disappointed. It may havo been that the gruelling first spell had taken a lot of the steam out of them, but still they were pushed along by the gale. The vital mistake, it seemed, was in relying mainly upon tho backs to finish off the advances. Conditions were all against accurate handling and. passing by the backs, especially as driving rain came on to make the oval more elusive than ever. In their foot rushes, too, Taranaki usually lost touch with the ball as the objective was about to be reached. One try (converted) was gained, but that reduced Wellington's lead by only five points. It was all very difficult and little play ot an attractive order was seen, but winners and losers alike must be given praise forthe manner in which they stuck to an unenviable task.

■■> TARANAKI'S SHOWING. K& a rehearsal for Taranaki's match with Hawkc's Bay for the Kunftirly Shield next Saturday, tho performance of the visitors was not encouraging. However, it was not a day on which to placa mucu reliance upon the form displayed.' ihe side is one that should do a lot better m more favourable circumstances. The forwards are a formidable lot, though lackjug—judged on Saturday's play—in loose men of the type required to break ofl quickly' and harass the opposing backs, it is possible, of course, with the extra special call to heavy work on Saturday that iray such players were buried m the tight.' Fowler, at any rate, is fast, and; lie figured prominently in some of the short, sharp bursts, though hisi main.wort, carried out well, was in tho close struggle which kept the forwards pretty well loct-; cd for a considerable part of, the game. A notable absentee waß Wills, who did, not come down for the match, and his I place waa taken by ißlakeney. The play was of tho kind to Suit Clarke's rugged type of game, and Clarke was always on' the job, with the others also exerting much energy, Fastier being another conspicuous! member of the pack. .■ :■■.'■ Among the Taranaki backs there were three of four players who at sometime or another have played as half-backs. Sangstec waa one, and on Saturday he gave fine service to his side in the full-back position. In the first spell particularly he checked many a dangerous-looking rush. The operations of the backs as a whole were restricted and their difficulties were increased in the method^ of clearance necessary with the boot. Both sides often lost around when kicking into the wind, the ball at times being blown back many yards. Boswell, at half, had his work "uut out in both spells, the Wellington forwards coming ! around on him quite speedily. His, passing was erratic, and this was not wholly due to the wind. Brown, an ex-half-back, and brother ot U Brown (of the Army team), .and Fookes were" paired as five-eighths, but nothing much came of their limited opportunities of performing to advantage on attack, ana Kttle was seen of tho three-quarter line, though' Edwards gavo a glimpse of his paces. ■, ' • '"«.'"■ WELLINGTON FORM.

If tbero was any luck attached to Wellington's win over Taranaki at Hawera earlier in the season, there was no doubt about the result in Wellington's favour <m Saturday-by. 11 points to 5-bemg well deserved. The Wellington pack acquitted itself admirably, more especially ' in the trying second spell, and the backs had. a «ood conception of what was required of them when the ball came their way; their clearances in the mam were well executed. Welle has come right into his own this season, and he was one o£ the best forwards on the ground on Saturday, a tireless worker, with the solid scrummaging claiming more of his attention than is usually necessary. Deliabarca. was not only up with everything but was also a handy man with his speed in getting back to make some timely saves on defence. Hull and Leahy, too, fitted in well in tho building of a pack of some account, and, of course, Coulston, Peck, Butler, and Reid were anything but spare parts. Coulston, in fact, had tho hooking its well as other work to do, and where it .seemed at first that he, was being puthooked, tho battle for possession _in_tne scrums worked out fairly even, with Wellington aided by several penalties > for .scrummage'infringements by iaranaki. ' As has been indicated the backs were under a big handicap, but those ot Wellington showed up as the-better set on the day. Sadler, slippery and tough, was it source of worry to tho opposition, thoueh his tendency to go on his own was more marked than over—excusable, perhaps, under the circumstances. Langeion played his part well, and Upchurch -svas quite 'a handy man. Ruru, as centre, was closely guarded, but made some slips. However, an injury affected him, and Robins took his place for the second spell, the newcomer being very serviceable on defence. Nees and Fuller were restricted, but Pollock looked for activity and found plenty of it, even to tho extent of playing right up with tlie backs in tho first spell. . . » . Under the conditions minor nimugements were frequent, and this accounted for an 'abnormal amount of scrummaging, increased by Taranaki's preference at times for scrums instead oE lme-outs. All told there were over seventy set scrums during the pame, and in many cases" the ball wag ordered to bo put in a second time. The penalty kicks went rather heavily agahwt Taranaki. Ihero wore seventeen, of which Wellington liad thirteen. The teams were ns iollows:—

Taranaki: Sangster; Edwards. Sullivan, Hunter; Fookes, Brown; Boswell; Kastier, Murphy, Young, Blakeney, Bocock, Clarke, Fowler. Armstrong. UVltington: Pollock; Ntfts Rulii, Fuller; tVl.mcl., Lanpclon; Sadler; Dcllaliarca.

Wells, Reid, liutlcr, Leahy, Pock, Coulston, Hull. . EVENTS IN THE GAME. The opening exchanges served- to show just how groat uii advantage Wellington gained by winning the toss and playing with the southerly at their backs. The ball cut fantastic capers; only a slight tap was required by the Wellington players to gain yards with a kick, and when in the air the evolutions of the ball were much after the stylo of a kite in flight in a high wind. Having to play against so strong and keen a wincj • was a severe handicap to Taranafci. One kick by Fookes soon after "the Btart, instead of gaining ground, actually lost ground for Tarauaki, tho wind catching the ball and turning it back in th6 direction from which it had been kicked. The scrummaging in the early stages was not a success, tho ball not going in cleanly. After a couple of such scrums, Wellington heeled tho ball out cleanly to Sadler, and Langdon was off for''the lino. He fooled the opposition- into concentrating on the men outside him, and then swiftly veered infield to score a smart try, about seveu minutes after the etavt. Fuller missed with tho kick at goal. , ; Wellington .-•• 3 Taranaki '......... ..^......"--. 0 With the wind being so much an advantage to Wellington, Pollock, the fullback, played close up;'indeed, more often than not when .Wellington were on the attack ho was up'-in the three-quarter line. Fuller had a chance of improving Wellington's position from a penalty kick. His attempt, however, was unsuccessful. Wells led a strong v Wellington forward rush right to the Taranaki line, and Bellabarca narrowly missed scoring. Taranald's full-back, Sangster, had quite a lot to do at this stage, and ho made some good saves. WHISTLE, BLOWN FREQUENTLY. .It was almost impossible to thro<v the ball in straight from the touch-lines, and for this and also knock-ons, even short passes making control of the ball difficult, the whistlo sounded frequently. Although most of the play had been iu Taranaki territory, Wellington, apart from Langdon's try, had found it difficult to make headway. Hull, 'Dellabarca, and Wells were prominent in a strong Wellington forward drive, but neither this; -nor a run by tho backs brought points, although Nees actually completed the 'back movement by crossing tho Taranaki line. He was recalled apparently for a knock-on, and likewise Dellabarca shortly afterwards; failed ■to .satisfy, the referee. An', attempt was mrfdo by ,Bbswell to set his backs under way, but tho movement broko down at Sullivan. Fuller took Wellington s score to six points with a .penalty goal. Wellington ..'.*, '• • ~&■ Taranaki ...,..) ° A KICK AND THE WIND. Keeping the-ball at too more, tlie Taranaki forwards placed Wellington on the defensive. They were pressing strongly when Coulston broke away in the Wellington twenty-five from a struggling mass of forwards. He kicked upfield, and. to the amazement of the crowd, the ball, caught by tho wind, went into touch in Taranaki's twenty-five, the kick gaining fully sixty or seventy yards. After i'uHcr had made an effort to get through the defence arid had failed, Young and l'astier in turn, keeping the ball at their feet, gained ground for- Taranaki. A Penalty kick' to Wellington, however, sent the visitors to their own twenty-five again. Wellington maintained solid pressure—except for a brief excursion into their territory by the visitors, headed by Young and Bocoek which all but resulted in a try—and eventually a combined attack by the 'forwards and backs was successful. Upehurch cut through nicely, passed to Hull, and Sadler was in position to irnisa off th'o movement with a try in a handy position.', Fuller converted. t , Wellington ■••• " Taranaki ' , SECOND SPELL. It was-.Taranaki's. turn now tp have the assistance of the wind. • As the second spell began, rain, wind-driven, swept across the field. RmVs place in tho Wellington team had been takpT by Robins. Taranaki started strongly, penning Wellington in their twenty-five. Sadler succeeded in getting the ball away, 'and Unchurch, with tho aid ot Robins, gave Wellington; rclicf. 'But it was short-lived. Taranaki's forwards burst through again. They kept' Wellington on tho defensive for some time, hammering; away, but to them tho Wellington goal-line seemed- to bo so near and yet so far. Just that extra bit of finish was all that was re : quired. Wellington hung on tenaciously. Hunter on one occasion was held up in the nick of time, and just less power behind a kick by Sangster would have had Wellington in -a tight corner an-ain. He had not learned that little more than a tap was necessary to send the ball yards up ttio field. -Tastier was another a little later, who, kicked jtoo hard when he hnd-a scoring opportunity, aho iaranaki forwards were right on the job now, Wellington having to defend hard to keep them out. A fine individual cftort by Dellabarca gave Wellington temporary relief. Then Taranaki launched an attack by the backs, but, as in the first spell, the handling was uncertain, and tho ellort broko down. ■ ■ . TARANAKI SCORE. Although the rain had eased off, it was blowing as hard as ever. The wind whined in the rafters of the grandstand, and the unpleasant conditions on the field were indicated sharply by the players, when, on one of the Wellington players requiring attention,'.they sat on their haunches, huddled together;- Taranaki were the aggressors, and once more when the ball was kicked over the Wellington line the home side had a close call. There was a desperate race for the ball between Dellabarca and Hunter, and , the fact that Dellabarca beat the Taranaki wing threequarter was an incisive indication of his speed. Taranaki deserved a try, and eventually, after tho forwards liad been pushing about on the line. Armstrong slipped through and scored. Boswell converted. Wellington -. 1 > Tarauaki 5 The converted try to Tavanald stirred Wellington to action. They pushed Taranaki back to their twenty-five, but achieved no "success. Taranaki's turn on the defensive was only for a brief period and for. practically the remainder of the spell they were in Wellington's side of half-way. Play lttcked variety; tho wind had tlio better of the players, if; seemed, nnd doubtless there wero many among the spectators, who. though determined to "see it out/' fouud tho Inst few minutes of the game the longest they had known. No further points came the way of either team, the final scove being: Wellington 11 Tnranaki. . ...:..-. i> I The referee was Mr. J. King.