FROM THE SIDE LINE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 14, 17 July 1939, Page 15

FROM THE SIDE LINE

NOTES AND COMMENT

Apart from Cooper, AVellington did not have Fulton at centre-three-quarter, owing t.o his being down with influenza. His absence paved the way for Davidson, who impressed as a five-eighth at the beginning of the seaeson, to make a reappearance. He was played in Fulton's place, but had little opportunity to do much. It would have been interesting lo

see how he paired up with the five-eighths line with Thompson, who once again showed what a fine pair of hands he has. The way this young player snaps up the ball sometimes ia almost uncanny.

L'gdell, behind the Wellington pack, was often on the slow side. Sherratt, on the right wing, was well watched by Lyons, but he succeeded in scoring one try, and in getting it he showed that he lacks nothing in determination. Paterson, on the other Wellington wing, was disappointing, lie was hesitant.

Taylor, the AVellington full-back, had a busy afternoou, and though at times the bustling tactics of tbe Johnsonville pack were enough to make anyone feel hot and bothered, he did his job admirably. His goal kicking was not as accurate as usual. He kicked one penalty goal and thus brought his points total for the season to 96. H. Kennv. the Johnsonville full-back, also played very soundly.

Ivamy, who has had a bad run this season, was injured again, and his loss upset the Johnsonville back division. Pearce. a short sturdy player who took his place as a fiveeight, is a scrum half from England and a county representative, but he did not flt iv at all w-ell with the others, the combination being completely upset. However, the style of the play here may be new to him.

Although he roust be classed as practically a veteran nowadays, H. L. Baldwin is still a moro than useful figure on the Rugby field. His form for Wellington College Old Boys against Oriental ou Saturday was excellent. At second five-eighth ho combined well with G. Reynolds, but Pocknall, outside him. could not take even the best of passes. The last Old Boys try was the result of a beautiful back move. Grey received from a serum, and the ball shot along the backline, from Grey to Reynolds, on to Baldwin, then to Linklater (who replaced Pocknall), and on to Wright. The All Black three-quarter made a fine run, and the ball came back on tbe reverse to Baldwin, who crossed. The Oriental backs were completely nonplussed.

For a. fairly lengthy period there was a tiredness about the Old Boys forwards. They bucked up in the second spell, but one or two wero content to potter around the field. Waller, usually a vigorous player, was one of the chief offenders in this respect. Worboys again showed up in the loose, and Crawford-Smith worked well in the tight.

A. Jack showed promise on the left wing for Oriental. He was nursing an injured shoulder, but it did not prevent him from giving things "a go" on attack. Wright found him very difficult lo pass too. Rowlands, on the other wing, did not play impressively, and he had left his kicking boots at home.

Picot was sound at full-back for Old Boys. He handled well, kicked surely if not with great length, and on two occasions made a couple of useful breaks through that came to nought through lack of support. Tlie latter, incidentally, was a bad feature of Old Boys' play. Several players who broke through found themselves very lonely on occasions.

Dwyer, Oriental's half-back, exploited tho dive-pass quite effectively on occasions. Ou other occasions the ball went well astray. Generally speaking. lie was one of the soundest of the Oriental back-line, which (owing to injuries) included a couple of lower-grade players.

Fifteen of tlie twenty-one points scored in the second division game between AVellington and Pirates came from penalty kicks. In fact, the only points Pirates scored came from three penalties kicked by their useful fullback. Vowel eh. Lang, full-back for Wellington, kicked two. Tbe conditions for kicking were perfect and during the match some nice eil'orts were seen. Both full-backs did their other duties well, too.

A. call for the ambulance men came after the final whistle in the AVclliugton-Pirates game at AVakelield Park. Morley, elusive cent.rethreequartor for Pirates, had been knocked out in the movement which ended tho match. After a long spell on defence Pirates had swept upfleld aud Morley, gathering the ball, had set off at a great pace down the side line. His splendid dash was cut short within a tew yards of Wellington's goal line by a good solid tackle by Shand, who plays centre lor AA'ellington, and Morley was forcod out and knocked unconscious. The referee's whistle ended the game and it was found necessary to summon the ambulance men to Morley. Tho AVellington backs gave a good exhibition against Pirates, combining well and showing speed. They played bright football and produced a number of surprise moves which tested the defence well. Some of their passing rushes, as they swept upfleld in perfect line, were really thrilling to watch. They handled the ball much better than did their opponents and wero resourceful and wary.

Players have to be flt to play the hard, fast, bustling game Johnsonville employed agaiust AVellington at Athletic Park, and sustain it to tho finish. The ability to do this is Johusonville's long suit, and if ever there was a game in which they, gave a very practical demonstration of their capabilities in this direction it was Saturday's, Kor the greater part of tho game Wellington were well bustled. Only at very infrequent intervals did AVellington get under way satisfactorily.

The Johnsonville forwards played together well, rucking solidly, and in this phase of the play as well as in the set scrums, they managed to win a big share of the ball. Having this advantage, they dictated the trend of play very largely. A. Kenny stood out for some very fine solid work, and in the looser play Mcßride, Thomson, and Carradus were players who often caught the eye. But the Johnsonville pack as a whole played splendidly. They can make it tough for any side, and certainly did for AVellington. Wellington were at the disadvantage of being without the services of Cooper, the captain. jHo was suffering from that old football trouble, ! commonly known as "water on the knee." There wero times, notably In the first spell, when It was plain that his presence would have meant a great deal to the pack. The outstanding AVellington forward was Stevens. He played a winging game, and did so in masterly style. Ho bobbed up everywhere, his I speed being amazing. Although he covered i a tremendous amount of ground during the 1 course of the game, it was a great tribute to : his fitness that he was going as well at tho end as he was at the beginning. Another of AVellington's smaller men, Kirschberg, was a great toiler, getting into the heavy going iv line style.

The high light of the Onslow-Miramar match was a spectacular 48-yard touchliuo scoring run by the Onslow winger, Muir. The ball was kicked through from tlie Onslow twentyfive towards touch, and Muir, following up fast, took it in his stride just outside half-way (the bounce was right), and scaled down, the lino very determinedly to score. Anyone with pace might have done tho same thing, but for all that Muir is a very useful three-quarter. He has a powerful run aud uses his hips splendidly.

i There is generally a touch of class about the work of the Onslow and AVellington representative five-eighth, L. Thomas. He does not attempt the spectacular, but he is very, very sound. He passes and takes the ball well, and plays for his centre three-quarter all the time. In short, he uses his grey matter. Against Miramar he paved the way for Onslow's second try, when, after a smart dash down the line, he swung in-field and crosskicked to his forwards, for Little to complete the attack. * » a * t^ c t It was unfortunate both for the Miraniar forwards, who won their fair share of the ball, and for Potier, at half-back; that the rest of the rearguard were very indifferent. Except for a couple of breaks, the men outside Potior were negative. Potier, a former Poneke half, was quite a host in himself. He made a few mistakes to be sure, but he played an extremely valuable game. Maybe he ran a little too ! much for textbook critics, but there was not much else to do when the men outside were failing. * * ■ * * A 111 « The Miramar forwards may not have taken any diplomas for their tight play against Onslow, but in the loose they did some splendid work, though it was more individual than collective. Clarke was particularly consistent in this sphere. He played finely. James, a snowy-haired fellow, kept catching the eye, too. And it was not just his hair. In the first half especially ho was very prominent. Bryne j also was very useful.

Tollock gave au outstanding display in Petone's game against Marist Bros. 0.8., and, playing at centre three-quarter, he collected all the points scored by his sido. He found many gaps in the defence, and his try—the only one scored iv the ;arao —was a spectacular effort. He kicked two penalty goals and once came very close with a fleld goal. His line-kicking saved nwwiy dangerous situations. * * « * * <t s A notable absentee froi,\ the Marist team ou i Saturday was their centra three-quarter. Vile. who is at present on the injured list. His Inclusion may-have made .i dlll'crence as there was a ilelluite weakness iv the Marist back Jinc. Brown, at half, made few mistakes, and Fitzgerald and O'Malley made most use of] their opportunities. E. McGreevy, on the wing, j was consistent, although ho was not given many chances. Higgins, on the other llauk, was al- j ways a danger. j

Generally speaking, the Petone backs have been decidedly disappointing this season. A genuine effort was made against Marist, however, to make amends for past failures aud they proved that they are able to rise to the occaslou. Jones, before his retirement with an injury, was their outstanding back, both on defence and attack, and he was kept well supplied by .1. McGurk, at half. Fairbairn. at second five-eighth, was the only weak link and his dropped pas>s spoilt several likely scoring movements.

There was little difference between the two packs in the Petone-Marist game and there were many stern exchanges. Lambourn secured more of the ball from the set scrummages than Ingpen, but in the line-outs, ln which Petone have always showed a weakness, Marist more than held their own. McCarthy was I missed from the Petone team and in his absence Donoghue and Tegg shared the major burden. # # $ # c it >f An outstanding exhibition was giwn by Marist's full-back, Thomas, who. although given plenty to do, came through with honours. Time aud again he saved his side with his sure handling, excellent positional play, and lengthy line-kicking. Symons. for Petone. also did well although he did not luck as well as he usually does, j

5 The Poneke senior second pack gave the 1 Athletic men an object lesson in drtibbling r at Anderson Park. These young forwards gained i big stretches of ground. With their scrum j work as effective as their dribbling they would bo hard to beat, jo*a * c « * , Woods, tho Poneke half-back, overshadowed J his vis-a-vis Wilson in the second grade game 1 and gave good service to his supports. Milne - bore out tho promise he gave against Petone,; - and Calcinai again displayed flrst-class form is wing-three-quarter. « w • a ■> 6 * o The Athletic second grade backs failed coma pletely against Poneke, and could not handle h tho ball at all well. Ward, at full-back, was Q .he surest, and got his side out of difficulties 0 several times. a «i 3 x!» * »& * c 1 Hammond, ex-Nelson College boy, took the Dye in the Athletic pack, and should develop into higher company before long. He is a useful place-Hick also. s The three tall Hutt forwards, Foley, Cas- i 1 sidy, and Flanagan, were very prominent in " the match with University. Foley's line-out: 1 play has improved greatly and he was a promi- ' ncnt figure in other phases of the play. Cas- i ' sidy and Flanagan often burst right through c the rucks and, joined by Potter and Guy. were a menace to the University defence throughout the game. Haigh was best in the scrums j f and rucks. Kemp, as usual, played a roving 1 game and often linked up with both backs and ] ■ forwards in the rushes. s ««*«■>*<* Burton was the best of the Hutt backs ■5 against University. Improved handling and abilt ity to straighten up the attack were features 1 of his play. Sargisson's best play was his i defence. The small, promoted half-back, Petf tigrcw, has much fo learn, but has pluck in - plenty. 0 ' * * * >» i> » • 1 Williams, the Hutt winger, was easily the c most impressive of the four wingers in the 1 Hutt-UniVcrsity match. He is developing along the right lines. » ti « a :» » * ' Thurston, at centre, was the "star" of the 1 Athletic tirst division backs and repeatedly ■* penetrated deep into Poneke territory with ' clever play. H was unfortunate for Athletic ° that his flue display was not rewarded by any { effective work from the wing-three-quarters, s c $ ip a * <» Tindill (Athletic) in the closing stages or t the match with Poneke varied his play cleveri ly in attempts to find gaps in the defence, i Throughout the game he was called upon to 1 work at top pressure and there was no serious j blemish iv his performance. ; * « o a o * * Crisp's line-kicking was of immense value to Poneke and invariably he gained huge slices . of ground at Athlctic's expense With beautii fully-judged kicks. t « » a » * * * ' R Wright and Frain, Poneke Wing-tlirce- : quarters, saw little of the ball from the few , back movements that were attempted, but both players often made some determined thrusts from Athletic clearing kicks that failed to find touch. On defence too they were par- ! ticulariy sound. & » 41 « * * * Poneke's *i»st division pack staged a great ' struggle with Athletic and in the tight play : honours were even. V. Calcinai, Hegglun. and O'Brien worked hard in the tight, aud V. Calcinai and Winter wero conspicuous in the loose rushes iv which Poneke excelled. « « * * Q * * The Athletic forwards were somewhat "rattled" early in the match with Poneke, but Guy's experience and leadership rallied the pack well. Guy worked like a Trojan and was given great support by Grant, Mollier, and Cooper. tt tit « £ & 4 * Had the goal-kicking for St. Pat's College Old Boys been up to their usual standard, the side must have wou its first championship match of tho season. Four tries were scored against Eastbourne, one between the posts, and not one was converted. St. Pat's also had reasonable chances from penalty kicks but all went astray. Todd must have left his kicking boots in Wellington. « o • * * * • Todd, on his showing against Eastbourne, must stand a good chance of selection in the Wellington representative fifteen. He consistently gained the ball on tho line-out and in general forward play was the best player on hte field. Dellabarca, for Eastbourne, was a good second and he would by no means disgrace a Wellington team. Tho back play generally in tlie St. Pat'sKastbourno game fell below senior standard. There were several exceptions, notably Gill, who played his best game to date for Eastbourne aiid was, incidentally, the most dangerous back on the field, und Gallagher, the St. Pat's five-eighth, who cut in beautifully to score a try between the posts which would have given his side the victory had the goal kick been successful. Posselt aud McDonald showed promise as wing-three-quarters and made good use of the few opportunities that came their way in tbe Eastbourne-St. Pat's Old Boys mutch. Both Dauce and Sanson played soundly at full-back for (heir respective sides, their fielding of the ball and general play being high class, with Dance, probably having the advantage in linekicking and the saving of his forwards.