RUGGED FOOTBALL

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 55, 3 September 1934, Page 4

RUGGED FOOTBALL

AUCKLAND V. WELLINGTON

STRENUOUS FORWARD PLAY

There was not the glitter or glamour about this -.year's Auckland-Wellington Rugby representative match that there was in the case, of last year's event, nor ■was . there the ' one-sidedness that gave Wellington an easy win at Auckland. Saturday's encounter, which took place at Athletic Park, was of, the rugged type, with the forwards undertaking a big share of the work and slogging into it with any amount of vim. The general display was in keeping with the usual experience these days—forwards impressing and backs disappointing. There was not a great deal to enthuse over in the performance of the backs on Saturday, though some of them individually were seen at times in flashes of _fhe class of play expected of players of yiterprovincial and international rank. Except in odd instances, incisiveness and! cohesion were badly lacking on Saturday*. The exceptions were striking in that by comparison with much that was dull they caught the eye as sparkling touches. There were the snappy dashes by Sadler to score two of Wellington's tries, the nippiness of Hedge, a promising young Auckland inside back, and a spectacular burst by Lilburne, to mention some of the brighter features of play by the backs; Passing bouts invariably broke down or were broken down. Some sound defensive play was carried out, but far too many combined movements went astray through bad passing and fumbling, and this lost Auckland possible points from some of their bouts, which up to a. point looked more likely to succeed than Wellington's. It was a hard game with the forwards giving a very good account of themselves. There was not much in it either way, and the final numbers went up in Wellington's favour —16-13. The weather, except for a strong northerly wind, was excellent, and a crowd of about 15,000 was present. Numbered among the onlookers were many who had previously represented the provinces, a strong contingent being accommodated in a section of the stand set apart for them. It was "Old-timers' Day." The present players did not forget the old hands, and, having given three cheers for the Gov-ernor-General (Lord Bledisloe), they gave a further round of cheers for the veterans, a compliment which was returned enthusiastically. These preliminaries over, the players and referee took up their places on the field, and some amusement was-caused when it was found that there was no ball. The brief hold-up on this account was but one of many throughout the game, the others being due to injuries to players. The ground was hard, as was the play, and hard knocks were frequent. All told there were six replacements, those to retire during the game being Pollock (damaged ribs), Leahy, Kilby (injured ankle), McLean (slight concussion). Smith (injured shoulder), and Hedge. Peck, Lilburne, and Hadley also met with injuries, though they continued playmg after receiving attention. PLAY OF;THE FORWARDS. Auckland can still produce big forwards. A hefty pack was fielded, and it took some stopping ■ and holding. Behind a solid front row there was a formidable quartet in McLean, Knight, Ross, and Bush, with another good-sized and .last man, Smith, on the back. For all that, Wellington met the strong force valiantly; indeed, the local pack itself welded into a force of some power, even to the extent of at times being able to shove the opposition. A last-minute change had been necessary, as Dellabarea was unable to play oiving to a knee injury. Peck, Reid, G. Roberts .(originally chosen as an emergency), and Barry formed a solid middle row, with Wells on the back. The two packs wrestled hard in the. tight, and also did some solid - rucking. . Where Wellington profited when playing into the wind was in the amount oi success achieved in gaining possession from line-outs and scrummages. It was not turned- to any great account, except that it enabled the touchline to be worked to advantage. The visitors claimed more of the ball in the second spell, though the balance on the whole game worked out very much in Wellington's favour. Ihc scrummaging for the purpose for which it is intended was most unsatisfactory. Rarely if ever did the ball appear to be fairly in the scrummage before it was hooked. Several penalties were inflicted, but matters did not improve. More often than not the referee, not satisfied with the first attempt at hooking, ordered the ball to be put in again. On one occasion four attempts were made before he permitted play to proceed. The contest between the hookers—Hadley (Auckland) and Lambonrn (Wellington) quite naturally was keen. There were 58 set scrummages, and possession was gained by Wellington from 30 and by Auckland from 19, the others being indecisive. In the first spell Wellington had a tjiree-to-one success, which was surprising in view of the reports of Hadley's hooking in Australia. Lambourn certainly did what was required of him on Saturday. Pearce, one of Auckland's front rankers, was always conspicuous—tireless and vigorous. Bush, formerly a full-back, was by no means lost among the forwards; in fact, it seems that already he has developed into a good one. Knight made his presence felt, and Smith was lively. McLean shaped well until he received a nasty knock, and long before he came off he appeared to be dazed. Among Wellington's forwards Peck was a battler all the way. Barry and Hull, too, were right on the job, and Wells kept moving briskly; in fact, all the forwards on both sides acquitted themselves well in the keen combat. SOME BACKS SHOW UP. In view of future events two backs who attracted special notice because of their doings were Sadler (who played in place of Kilby at half for Wellington in the second spell) and Hedge (the young Auckland five-eighth). Both were elusive, Sadler so much so that there was no holding him when he dodged his way through for two of Wellington's tries. Sadler also formed an important link in the scoring of Wellington's third try after a great run by Lilburae. Hedge was a slippery customer on the field and in his dodging about he covered a lot of ground at times. Kilby, although not at his best, showed most of the players points in passing, and he varied his play more so than Corner, who, however, gave his backs plenty, of chances. There is no doubt that Caughey has come into his own again. He is a centre who gives his wings plenty of room, a player who sharpens up the attack. Lilburne was solid in the centre berth for Wellington, and did a lot of rush-stopping as well as making one fine break which led to a try. Of the wins three-quarters- Kedgloy (Auckland) had most opportunities but failed to turn them to.account. Pollock, the Wellington full-

back, was injured early in the game, and Griffiths went to full-back, there to fill the bill capably, though his value would have been greater in his usual position, where Upchurch was oS colour, as was Pago at first five-eighth, and Murdoch (Auckland) did little of account, though Hedge was not always easy to follow. Robins had one good chance to show his paces and took it. Fuller and Currie were kept fairly quiet, but Fuller's boot contributed seven points to Wellington's account. Heazlewood,. Auckland s nillback, is a handy man to have in a team for his kicking boots alone. He also scored seven points by goal-kicking. Several of the New Zealand representatives appeared to be affected by their recent arduous tour. The teams were as follows:— Auckland: Heazlewood;- Currie, Caughey, Kedgley; Murdoch, Hedge; Corner;^ Hadley, Pearce, Pepper, McLean, Ross, Knight, Bush, Smith. Wellington: Pollock; Robins, Lilburne, Fuller; Griffiths, Page; Kilby; Hull, Lambourn, Leahy, Peck, Reid, Barry, G. Roberts, Wells. INCIDENTS IN THE GAME. Wellington lost the toss, and Lilburne kicked off against the wind and the sun. The opening exchanges were marked by some powerful kicking by both sides, and this was followed up by a bout of midfield play1. From the outset the forwards were hard at work. The Auckland pack I were a bustling' lot, possessing speed in j addition to their weight and height, and, too, they worked as a pack. They met in the Wellington forwards, however, foemen quite worthy of their steel, and there was in consequence a keen battle for pos-1 session of the ball. It was the backs of both sides who were disappointing. They were made to appear stodgy in. comparison with the forwards. Much of their work lacked enterprise, and in the early stages oPthe game, at any rate, with the exception of Hedge, the Auckland first five-eighth, they were able .to show little penetration. Much use was made of the touch-lines. They1-were safetyrfirst- tactics, but they necessarily slowed up the game and robbed it of those swift, bright back movements so dear- to the hearts ot Ru-rby followers. In the first fifteen minutes play was hard rather than anything else, with neither side showing any marked all-round superiority over the other. Scrums were, frequent, and they were, as they usually are nowadays, far from being satisfactory. From one scrummage, when Corner failed to connect with the ball, Hull burst right through to Heazlewood, but the Auckland full-back got his kick in and sent Wellington back. A little later, ns a result of Page missing a pass from Kilby, the Auckland forwards swept clown towards the Wellington line. Then their backs -were given a run, but a _hign pass from Caughey.-,was missed by Kedgley at the end of the chain. TWO PENALTY GOALS. When Wellington were penalised on the half-way mark, Heazlewood essayed a long shot at goal, and though his kick was a powerful one, he failed. " McLean and Pepper were prominent in a strong Auckland rush. Pollock, however, broke in on it and instituted a sweeping attack by Wellington which took play to the Auckland twenty-five. Shortly afterwards Auckland were penalised, and Fuller had no difficulty in landing a goal. Wellington 3Auckland 0 Play had been in progress about twentyfour minutes, and there had been really few incidents .to tickle the palate. The scrummage work continued to be an excrescence. ■ Within a minute after Wellingtons penalty goal Auckland opened their account by the same means, the goal being kicked by Heazlewood. Wellington 3 Auckland 3 Auckland were then seen in a great rally. Bush started the movement, and others who took a band in it were Pearce, Ross, Smith, Murdoch, and Caughey. At this point, however, the attack broke down, Kedgley failing to take the ball from Caughey. Auckland attacked strongly again, Ross, Hadley, and McLean leading the way. Kedgley topped off the movement by touching down, but unfortunately for Auckland the pass to him had been given forward. Some solid play followed near the Wellington line, and ultimately it ended with Pearce pushing through for a try. Heazlewood, whose clean kicking was a feature, converted the try with a beautiful kick. Auckland 8 Wellington • • 3 Auckland definitely were on top at this stage. Their forwards crashed down field again, and but for a gome effort by Pollock nothing would have stopped them from crossing the Wellington line. He went down to the fast rush in fine style, checked it, and Griffiths cleared. Pollock had to receive attention,, and though he remained on the field for a few minutes ultimately he retired. Griffiths went to full-back, and Upchurch came on as second five-eighth. Corner made several attempts to get his backs away, but their handling was \incertain. At half-time the score remained unchanged. . ■ SECOND SPELL. Kilby did not return after half-time, his place being taken by Sadler. Three minutes after the start Auckland were penalised in a scrum, and Fuller, with a fine kick, was unlucky not to goal, the ball striking the cross-bar and bouncing the wrong way. Leahy came ofE and was replaced by Coulston. A knock received by Lilburne also held up the game, but after he had received attention he was able to carry on. Bush and Pearce were prominent at the head of an Auckland attack which went right to the Wellington line. After one attempt by the Auckland backs to get under way had broken down, there was some smart work by Hedge, which paved the way for Pearce to score his second try. Heazlewood again goaled with a fine kick. Auckland 13 Wellington 3 THE ELUSIVE SADLER. Wellington now began the task of %yiping oil the deficit. Sadler had shown already that he was full of life; indeed, a box of tricks behind the Wellington scrum. With ten points to make up, Wellington certainly had been stung to action. Hull made a strong bid to get through, but he was held up. And then from the heaving mass of forwards Sadler bobbed up, slid round the side of them, and in what appeared to be a ridiculously easy fashion, was over for a try which pleased the crowd immensely. Fuller converted. Auckland 13 Wellington 8 Play had been in progress fifteen minutes. A judicious kick by Robins placed Wellington in a good attacking position, and again the quickness and elusiveness of Sadler were too much for Auckland. He scored again. Fuller's kick at goal missed. Auckland 13 Wellington / 11 Sadler's first try and now his. second

I hnd put a different complexion on the Wellington outlook. The home side struck again while the iron was hot, as it were. This time it was Lilburne who provided the sparkle, but Sadler came into the picture again, and Robins was associated with him. After smothering Caughey, ball and all, Lilburne came through in an electrifying dash. Sadler raced up in support, with Robins following him. The transfers were made with the players travelling at top speed, and Robins finished olf an exhilarating piece of play with a try. Fuller converted with a fine kick, and Wellington now were in "the lead. Wellington 16 Auckland I 3 FURTHER REPLACEMENTS. McLean retired injured and wus replaced by Loekington, and later McGrory came on in place of another Auckland forward, Smith. In the play which followed Auckland stormed the Wellington line, and more than once Wellington had v close call. A hefty kick by Peck transferred play out of the Wellington twentyfive, and another good touch-finder by Lilburne placed Wellington in a still better position. However. Wellington's visit to Auckland territory was no more than fleeting. Murdoch seized on a weak kick by one of the Wellington backs, and in a flash a combined rush by the visiting backs and forwards took the ball right up to the other end oi the field. Kedgley, when he reached Griffiths, passed to 'MeGrory. The big forward, had no one to beat, but fate was against him. He knocked the ball forward, and the fruits of a fine piece of play Were lost. Auckland in the remaining minutes made' desperate efforts to wipe off their deficit. It was only a splendid mark by Griffiths that held them up on one. occasion. Hedge, the Auckland first five-eighth, retired injured, and Frankham came on in his place. Time was nearly up' now, but with Wellington having by no means a safe lead and in view of the powerful efforts ot which the Auckland forwards had shown themselves capable, interest was maintained right to the finish. There was no further scoring, the game, thus ending:— / Wellington 10 Auckland • ■ ■ ls The referee was Mr. J. King-