SENIOR ITEMS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 111, 11 May 1940, Page 20

SENIOR ITEMS

PLAY AND PLAYERS

Gunn served ,-Athletic well against Oriental. He was a force to be reckoned with jn the tight scrummaging, and his work in the loose was marked with dash and determination. Although not so conspicuous, Bishop and Cdoper got through much work ■with credit." Throughout the game Athletic had a marked advantage in the set scrums,- Mollier hooking with considerable success.. ■ •:

In back-division play .Oriental were no mateh1";, for Athletic. .JEowever, in Bruhen they, have a wing-three-quar-ter who niay- prove a match winner provided the inside backs give him the opportunities to use his pace and ability. Dwyer, at.half, was solid but too often his good' work was undone by those outside of'him.

Occasionally in their match" with University the Wellington College Old Boys forwards j. revealed the clever team work and intensive backing-up usually, associated with their play of twto or three seasons ago. Souness, who was away ■ last season, revelled in this style of game, and was. seldom far from the ball. Warboys. was another Old Boys forward to show up consistently. 'He and .Souness put plenty of devil into their play.

The University back line seldom got away to.a good. start. However, although the Old Boys forwards continually harassed the half-back, there was Patrick to reckon with. He made the most of every opportunity and several *£nves he made ground with heady runs. Kissel, at full-back, was also reliable, and some of. his linekicking earned applause for its length and accuracy. < ■ - ■ ■

Outstanding among the Petone backs was Dougan, whose form has considerably Yimproved from last season. Showing a splendid turn of speed and a quick eye for an opening, this wing-three-quarter made several fine individual efforts and his defensive play left little to be desired. 'He is also equally at home at centre, where he played the. previous week. ■ . /Excellent perforniances were given by the two full-backs, JH. Kenny (Johnson ville) an^O'Cpnnor (Petone), both of, whom found their time fully occupied in the match at Petone. Kenny .was particularly impressive and made

many fine saves. O'Connor, who is promoted from > the fourth grade, should improve quickly ■as he gains experience. Also outstanding . in the Johnsonyille backs was G. Burns, whose general play often earned warm applause.

The Hutt forwards m the second half against St. Pat's College Old Boys could not be recognised as the slow set which had been badly outplayed throughout the first spell.1 Speed and combination suddenly were developed, with'Cassidy as leader,"and the opposing team had a very hard time repelling the constant rushes. Cassidy showed very'good form and. received great help from Stewart, Kemp, and Potter.

The Hutt backs did not function as an attacking combination, and the three-quarter line was:out. of the picture right -through ;ttie\ game. Burton made a couple:-of sparkling runs, and Evans was noticeable for some ■ good backing up, but they had to work alone.

Dance had plenty to do in the second half against Hutt, but came through with flying. colours. His kicking was long and accurate. ,

Poland, the ' young left-wing threequarters for St. Pat's College Old Boys, gave the impression that he is a very promising attacking player, with good hands and turn of speed. His first try was a very good effort indeed after a long run.

Luoni, St. Pat's College Old Boys half, gave his backs splendid service in the first half against Hutt. He offered J. Gallagher plenty of chances and room to work, and the resultant passing rushes testified to the effective inside back work. Opportunity did not come during the second half.

The St. Pat's! College Old Boys' forwards play sound football, but they seem a bit light to last out a whole game against opposing packs of weight and virility. Todd, Hutthinson, Hogan, and Reed were, the best of a hard-work-ing pack against Hutt, the two first-.. named playing particularly well in the first half. Todd was not so prominent in the second spell, and was too well watched on the line-out to be effective. SECOND DIVISION. Pirates badly missed the services of seme of their heavier packmen against Poneke in the senior second division, and as a result there was a degree of disorganisation in the, scrum. The weight was not given when required in the set scrums, consequently Kofoed in the middle of the front row for Pirates had to lower his colours to McLaughlan. . f

McMahon, half-back for Pirates and formerly of Marlborough, played a solid and heady game. He was handicapped by not getting possession often, but on the occasions when the ball came his way he made few mistakes. His short kicking was well judged, and his passes out accurate and fast. On defence he stopped the Poneke forwards as a player of experience.

Holder behind the pack for Poneke, had a feast! of the ba.ll,'but he started shakily and did not really settle down until well on in the .second spell. He is an exponent of the dive pass, but many times the leather was bowled to his supports, who could have been closer to him. -

Vile, the Poneke centre, formerly of Marist, was the outstanding back on the field in the . Poneke-Pirates match. He handled ably, ran his wings into position with judgment, and line-kicked with, fine length and direction. His place-kicking, too, was of a high standard. Playing inside Vile. Russell was soon into his stride and he gave a good account of himself.

Hill at second five-eighth for Pirates was prominent . at: times against Poneke, especially early in each spell. His work on attack was better than when his team was defending, but he might well have given his winger the ball for a try after his splendid 60----yards run.

Hedges and Laughlan were prominent in the Poneke scrum. Hardie, for Pirates, was a tireless worker, as was Henare, who was one of the best packmen on the field.

Although Pelham, at centre, and Jacobs, on the side of the scrum, were most. conspicuous for Athletic against Onslow, they were by no means the whole Athletic side. I. Christison, once he settled down, proved a, reliable fullback, and ..Scott and . Rowberry, well served by Thompson behind'the scrum, showed a nice appreciation of their duties and - ' opportunities at five

eighths. C. Christison hooked with a fair measure of success, Stephenson made full use. of his height in the lineouts, and Hammond and Godber worked hard in the tight.

Haigh, the new Onslow half, gave an improved showing. Gini's handling, even of difficult passes, was better than on the previous Saturday. The Thomas brothers were quite up to form, C. Thomas at centre having a great duel with Pelham. Oxley, Hooper, and Garnei showed up from | time to time in the forwards; so that on the whole the Onslow players shaped reasonably well —as well at all events as the Athletic forwards would let them. The trouble, however, was that their efforts were individual and spasmodic, and they showed little of the combination and sustained effort of their opponents. They were handicapped to some extent by the absence of Little, one of their best forwards, who was out of town, and the loss during the game through injuries of Yardley and Muir.