Saturday’s Sport

Evening Star, Issue 22783, 4 May 1931, Page 4

Saturday’s Sport

RUGBY ’VARSITY A BEATS PIRATES BRIGHT. OPEN GAME AT GARISBROOK For first-of-the-season games tho 4,000 odd spectators who went to Carisbrook had no reason to complain of the quality of the football provided. The main game between ’Varsity A and Pirates was well contested in the first spell, but in the second half' the Students enjoyed a good margin of superiority. The weather was very fine, and Carsbrook in excellent order. The teams were : Pirates.—Walker, Allen, Easton, Richard,' Giles, Todd, Miller, HOok, Waddell, Smith, Palmer, Millar, Cooper, Noble, and Fitzgerald. ’Varsity A.—Bush, Thomas, Cook, M'Kenzie, Fookes, M'Kechnie, Pryde, MacQurdy, Hodge, Borrie, Hartnell, Hamilton, Abel, Strang, and Stephen-son-Wright.

Pirates’ forwards went to near the line after the kick-off in a loose rush, but ’Varsity cleared. Cook failed tb handle cleanly in a passing bout, the ball going out at halfway. ’Varsity got the ball from several set scrums, but, the backs failed to go far; Bush made a good but unsuccessful attempt to goal a free kick from nearly halfway. Another free kick came to 'Varsity after M’Kechnie lost gained ground with a kick, and Bush sent over a fine goal from behind the twenty-five. ’Varsity 3, Pirates 0. Pirates’ forwards, with Hook in the lead, went beyond the,’Varsity twentyfive, and when Giles marked he dropkicked a good goal from about thirty yards out' to even the scores. "Pirates 3, ’Varsity 3. Bush ' saved wel\, and ■ returned to touch at halfway in the face of_ a further Pirates onset. A free kick to Pirates gained ground, but ’Varsity tackling upset a passing rush, Allen being pulled down at the end of the effort, though the handling had not been clean; An interchange of kicks gave Pirates the advantage, and,'when Bush failed to field* the ball, the ’Varsity line was in danger. A free kick gave relief and, after unavailing efforts by the Pirates’ backs, M'Kenrao x-elieved with a .long kick. ’Varsity backs failed to handle well when a good opening presented itself, and a free kick sent the Students back, to - halfway. So far there was little between the teams, with neither side skilful enough to take advantage of opportunities., Fookes brightened. up the game when he made ,a splendid break down the centre. The-ball went out tp-ThomaS,' who was buried in a mas?-of opponents. Bush .put his side in position with a fine kick to touch near the corner after skilfully .fielding the ball, and when his side was given a free kick he .sent the, hall between the posts from just outride the twenty-five. ’Varsity 6, Pirates 3. . * In the next five minutes Pirates’ forwards did most of the pressing, and when the came out to the backs Easton dribbled down the centre. Bush cleared temporarily, but Pirates secured again, and at the end of passing Allen went over for a good try jiear the corner, this player side-stepping. Thomas in good style. Walker converted with a fine kick. Pirates 8, ’Varsity 6. ;■ .■ P.almer, a Pirates’ forward, went off, and was replaced by Gordon. The Pirates continued to do most of the attacking. ’Varsity passing, the best of the game so far, enthused the crowd, but Thomas, who made a determined run, was thrown into touch near the corner. .Play went up arid down for a spell, and then Fookes made a determined break to start passing, which ended in Hartnell scoring at the corner after throe or four had handled the ball. Bdsh failed to convert. Halftime score.

’Varsity ... 9 Pirates ... ... ... «. ... 8 Early in,the second half, when Pirates made an attacking movement, Giles cleverly, cut in past the twentylive, but the passing went astray. Abel sent the bad back to halfway, and ’Var- , sity got the ball from several scrums 'and loose rushes, but the backs could not combine well enough to ach\ve success. Hartnell ran to near the line, but the effort went astray. Then Fookes made a cut-fn which was stopped in the nick of time. - ’Varsity kept up the pressure, Bush unsuccessfully attempting to pot. Then the ’Varsity backs flashed into action, Pryde getting the ball away smartly. Cook drew the defence well in a fine run, and sent Thomas over for a fine trv , The kick by MacKenzio missed. ’Varsity 12, Pirates 8. ’Varsity forwards were now playing vyell together, and giving: their backs plenty of ball,, which was being handled better than in the first half. Though Pirates made an occasional breakaway, the ‘ Students did most of the attacking, and the crowd was shown some » bright passing, which, however, was ’ not quite crisp enough to get them through. The hall was sent out to Thoinas, who made a strong run, but was caught by Walker. M’Kechnie, coming up quickly, snapped up the hall and went over to spore, Bush’s kick missed. ’Varsity 15. Pirates 8. Pirates’ forwards took a turn at attacking, and play was carried right to the ’Varsity line, Allen almost going over at the comer/ 'A kick to touch by Pryde relieved the pressure. Miller went wide with mn attempted pot. Play suddenly swung tp the other end, and, after a strong run by Cook MacKenzie nearly scored, and then Fookes went close with an attempted pot. All the attack continued to bo maoe by the Students, who had possession of the ball nearly all-the time. A rush in front of the goal broke down the defence, and Hartnell filing himself over for a try. Abel converted. Varsity A 20, Pirates 8. , M'Kechnie wont off injured from the ’Varsity hacks, Irwin, replacing him; The Students still did nlost of the attacking, Pirates being on the defensive till time was called, with the score . ’Varsity ... ••• Pirates “ • Mr W. Jenkins was referee.

Winter Games in Full Swing

SOUTHERN TROUNCES 'VARSITY B In tlie early game at Carisbrook Southern trounced ’Varsity B fore and aft, winning by 22 points to 3. As is expected of first-of-season games, play was ragged, but the Southern forwards were the deciding factor, while at times the backs tossed the ball about in good style. The ’Varsity backs mishandled frequently, while the forwards played spasmodically. The teams wore:Southern.—Backs : Bolton, Casey, Smth, Purvis, R. Wilson, Chooquee, Simon, Forwards; Hore, F. Hill, R. F. Wilson, Carnegie, A. Hill, Niven, Inglis, Cavanngh. University B.—Backs: Nicholson, Burt, Cox. Sutherland, Dunne, Lowndes, Jogusch. Forwards: Blue, Bannatyne, Yule, Begg, MacFarlane, Aitken, Chapman, Allan. Southern kicked oil', passing by the backs hemming ’Varsity inside its own twenty-five. The Colours forwards carried on the good work, and :he backs again indulged in passing, which reached R; Wilson, who ran straight to score at the corner within a few minutes of the. kick-off. Bolton failed to convert. Southern 3, ’Varsity 80. Blue led the Blue forwards in a rally to Southern’s twenty-five, but Hore, 11. F. Wilson, and Cavanagh returned play to halfway, where the Southern half-back, Simon, was conspicuous in a dodgy run which shifted play to the Students’ twenty-five. A- clearing kick" brought ’Varsity no relief, for R; Wilson put in a short punt, the Southern forwards following fast and, pressing hard on the Blues’ line until Nicholson relieved the situation with a good kick to touch.

The Southern forwards, going great guns in the tight, wore giving their rearguard plenty of ball, and the backs were not loth to throw the ball about, Simon and 11. Wilson frequently being prominent, though Chooquee was inclined to overdo the cut-in. Southern passing broke down, but Simon was handy, and gathering smartly streaked for the line to score a good try between the posts. Simon converted. Southern 8, ’Varsity B 0. Southern had been making all the play,* but the Students now took a turn, misfielding by the Southern backs paving tho way for a score. With two men unmarked outside him, however, Dunne elected to go on his own, and was brought down short of tho line. The. scene of operations was quickly transferred to the Students’ twentyfive, Nicholson misfielding tho ball. A short line-out saw R. Wilson catch the opposition unawares, and he dived over at the corner. Bolton missed with the kick. Southern 11, ’Varsity 80.

Nicholson put ’Varsity on the attack with a long kick, but the Southern forwards cleared the line, the backs sweeping into ’Varsity’s twenty-five , following a good run by R. Wilson. •/Off-tide play gave Southern a free kick, 'Simon making no mistake with a shot at goal. Southern 14, ’Varsity B 0. It was not long before tho Southern forwards were again hammering at the • ’Varsity line, and spasmodic passing by the Blue backs got thorn nowhere. Hore forced his way through tho tight near the ’Varsity twenty-five, and passed to Casey, who made a good dash to score at tho corner. Bolton’s kick failed, and half-time was sounded with the score; Southern 17, ’Varsity B 0.

Ragged play around halfway marked the resumption, and Cavanagh made a good solo dribbling rush to ’Varsity’s twenty-five. Yule made a good breakaway, which took play back to halfway. The ’Varsity forwards were in- ■ fusing a bit more dash into their play, but they would not pack the tight scrummages, and the Magpies had little difficulty in breaking through. R. Wilson initiated a Southern rush which ended in Inglis scoring a try which Simon converted. Southern . 22, ’Varsity 80. ’Varsity' attacked from the kick-off; and a free kick resulted in Nicholson kicking a good goal. Southern 22, ’Varsity B 3. Passing movements by each side failed through lack of thrust, and the Southern forwards continued to dominate play, Niven showing up in a loose rush. ; Simon sent Horn away, the All Black being pulled down a few yards from the hue. The ’Varsity backs' got going, and good passing ended in Cox being collared at the Southern twenty-five after a good run. Sutherland made several useful openings for the Blue backs, a free kick bringing relief to Southern. Chooquec did some good dribbling, but the Blues took play to Southern’s twenty-five, mishandling by the Students’ hacks enabling Southern to clear. With Southern on the attack, the game op ded shortly afterwards with the score ■. Southern ... 22 ’Varsity B 3 Mr N. Reardon was the referee. KAIKORAI V. UNION Kaikorai put up an excellent performance in the first game _ of the season against Union at Bishopscourt, winning an open and interesting match by 27 points to 5 Both teams appeared to be fairly fit, arid kept up a fast pace, and the game was not without incident at any stage. Ulrich drew iirst blood, but ten minutes later Kaikorai established the lead, and kept it. From then on there was little doubt ,as to tho, final issue, but Union put up a plucky fight against superior odds, at no time allowing Kaikorai’s win to develop into a walkover. Kaikorai showed much more initiative, and made ’the most of their opportunities. The teams were : Kaikorai : M'Farlano, Hotting, Barber, Johnston: Stewart, Laing; Francis; Lucy, M'Hardy; Watts, Sonntag, Allan; Rodger, Bartlett; Perry. Union: Churchill; Smith, Allen, M'Cnliough; Mattingly, Garden; Liimb; Stewart, M'Kenzie; Collier, Johnston, Morgan; Lang, M’Queen; Grant. . For the first ten minutes there was little more than exchanges of kicks, neither side gaining any material advantage. Then the Union forwards got busy and carried play into Kaikorai territory, where Mattingly snapped up a ball from Laing and broke away, Allen finally secured to run round and score a good try. Stewart converted. Union 5, Kaikorai 0. Kaikorai retaliated a few minutes later. Francis sent Laing and Johnston off, the last named completing the movement to score wide. Barber converted with a good shot.

Union 5, Kaikorai 5. From then jon Kaikorai held the upper hand. __ Watts, broke away at the head of a Kaikorai rush to the Union posts, where play surged for a few minutes. Then a Union forward was penalised for lying on tho ball, ami Barber accepted the opportunity with an easy kick. Kaikorai 8, Union 5. The Blue backs swept back again to the attack, and had Union hard pressed when one of the Maroons, in a tight corner, threw the ball out. Barber missed the shot at goal. Sonntag headed the Kaikorai pack in a rush deep into Union territory once more, and from a ruck Francis (who was playing a fine game behind the Blue pack) sent Barber away, the latter gathering in a difficult ball and scoring. Francis missed. Kaikorai 11, Union 5. ( Kaikorai added 16 more points in the second spell. Union were pressed hard on their own line and eagerness to clear resulted in off-side play. Barber put the ball between the posts very easily. Kaikorai 14, Union 5. Shortly after, Watts made an excellent solo dribbling rush to tho Union lino, and Perry, who was coming up fast, dived over and scored. Barber converted. Kaikorai 19, Union 5. Good back play ■saw Kaikorai on the offensive ' again, Francis sending his inside men off in a good movement that resulted in Barber, running through to score. The same player converted. A few minutes before the final whistle Sonntag snapped up the ball from a melee on the Union line and scored. Barber missed; and the game end’ed : Kaikorai ... 27 Union 5 Mr Pindcr was the referee.

ZINGARI BEATS DUNEDIN Dunedin and Zingari provided an interesting game at 'kahuna Park, which was in good order, and, despite the fact that it was the first game of the season play was not as ragged as might have been /expected. Zingari showed a slight superiority throughout, but both sides did their share of attacking. Zingari had tho better combination, their backs showing up in some good passing movements. Barbara, the right winger, is a powerful runner, and is an acquisition to his side. Munro, who was behind the scrum, got the ball away in fine style, and gave his backs e'very opportunity to get into motion. Heazlewood used his boot to good advantage when ho was not bustled, but his play generally was not impressive. It, was Heazlewood who drew first blood by kicking an excellent goal from just inside the halfway line. A little later, however, he allowed Dunedin to equal-' isc by failing to take sufficient care following a Dunedin, free kick. The ball wont over the Zingari line, and Hcazlewood foiled over it on his back, and before ho could recover. Amos had dashed up and scored Hayes’s kick was a poor one. Dunedin made full use of the line and did not do much passing. Their tackling was better than it has been in the past, but there is still room for improvement. Hayes, as usual, was to be relied upon at fullback, but the other backs lacked the cohesion of their opponents. The score was 3-all at half-time. Zingari were unfortunate in losing Heazlewood, who had to retire Railway through the sec : ond session; but by that time Zingari had increased their score to 8, Procter scoring behind tho posts and Heaziewood converting. Some time later Cassidy secured another try in a handy position, and Bnrbar- converted it. The closing stages saw Zingari still attacking, but without result, the final score being: Zingari 13 Dunedin 3 Mr R. Herd was the referee. ALHAMBRA VICTORIOUS Taieri suffered defeat at tho hands of Alhanlbra at Mosgiel, where the ground was in excellent order, Tho teams lined out as follows.— Alhambra; W. Griffin, Williamson, Flint, Wilson, T. .Griffin, Booth, Davis. Souter, Stitchbury, Lloyd, Earle, Ramage, Berry, Campbell, (wingforward). Taieri: Stevenson, Stevens. Wright, Duff, Thompson, Bathgate, M'Donakl, Hansen, Moffitt, Findley, Brown, Broadley, Beattie, F. Scott. Finlayson (wing-forward). The Reds kicked off against the sun, and from halfway Davis sent his backs away, but Wilson was brought down by Stevens. Wilson gained more ground with a good lino kick, hut the Taieri forwards got away, and a dangerous situation was relieved by W. Griffin. A further attack by the Reds ended in Bathgate, who was in good nick, forcing. Some ten minutes elapsed before Finlayson broke through on ’Bamas’ backs, and, supported by Thompson, wont close to tho line. Loose play followed, until Bathgate placed his side in a good position by finding the line at the corner. From tho scramble Bathgate got possession, but a poor pass lost tho advantage and ’Bamas cleared. The visiting backs came into action, and play went to Tnieri’s lino before Findley and Hansen rushed play back again. From a line-oufc, the Reds’ backs were _ put in a good position, when T. Griffiin cut in nicely, but Taieri’s defence held, Stevens (Taieri 1 s wing) caused some excitement when ho raced away, but was well tackled. Just before the adjournment, the solid Red pack forged its way into its opponent’s territory, and after a hard tussle Stitchbury scored, and Souter converted with a great kick. Half-time: 5-0. On resuming, the ’Bamas assumed the upper hand and on several occasions Taieri’s line was in danger. Some good work by Finlayson, supported by Thompson, shifted play. In a strong forward tussle in front of ’Bamas’ goal Finlayson was almost successful. An infringement gave ’Bamas a free kick, but the position was relieved only for an instant. The Taien kept their opponents busy. After a period of uninteresting play tho Red forjvards asserted and Boater went over at tho corner. Once again ho was successful with the kick. 10-0. Immediately afterwards Flint gathered the hall inside halfway, and with a great turn of speed scored behind the posts. Souter again converted. 15-0. Bathgate, still playing well, was prominent in some more good work, which failed through lack of support from tho rest of tho team, and after Finlayson had almost succeeded in flinging himself over tho Bed forwards rallied once more, and Campbell dived over after a scramble, and_ Souter’s kick from the corner just failed. 38-0. Right on time Taieri was awarded a free kick, Bathgate being successful, and the game ended Alhambra 38 Taieri 3 Air H. C. Williamson was the referee. SECOND GRADE. Alhambra A 39, Kaikorai 3. Alhambra B 32, Pirates 8. Ravonsbourno S, Port Chalmers 7. Zingari A 9, Southern 3, Zingari B 5, Union 3. ’Varsity D 33, Dunedin 9.

THIRD GRADE. Dunedin 15, ’Varsity 6.' Training College 18, Port Chalmers 3. FOURTH GRADE. Ravensbourno 22, Port Chalmers 3. Zingari 44, Alhambra 0. FIFTH GRADE. Southern 13, Taieri 0. SECONDARY SCHOOLS B GRADE. Technical B 43, 0.8.H.5. C 0. C GRADE. Technical D 17. Christian Brothers 0. D GRADE. Technical F 14, Technical 15 3. IN OTHER CENTRES TIMARU. Old Boys 13, Waihi 3. Star 15, Zingari 3. Tcmuka 11, Celtic 0. INVERCARGILL. The .Rugby season opened this afternoon in fine weather. Pirates 41, Old Boys 19. Star S, Invercargill G. HAMILTON, Marist 13, Old Boys 10. ! Technical Old Boys 17, Frankton 12. . NAPIER, Pirates 16, Tamatea 6. / Marist Brothers Oly Boys 11, High School Old Boys 11. HASTINGS. Hastings 14, Celtic 3. Napier T.C.0.8. 14, Hastings H. 5.0.8. 9. MANAWATU. Palmerston North Old Boys 22, Feilding 9. CHRISTCHURCH, ’Varsity 14, Old Boys 9. Christchurch 24, Athletic 3. Albion 5, Sydenham 3. Linwood 16, Merivale 14. WELLINGTON. University 10, Oriental 7. Ponoke 6, Wellington 14. ' Berhampore 5, Miramar 11. Hutt 30, Athletic 11. Kastbourno IF, Old Boys 9. ‘Marist 21, Petone 21. WANGANUI. Kairau 9, Pirates 6. Old Boys 14, Marist 0. Technical Old Boys 27, Ratana 8. AUCKLAND. ’Varsity 11, Marist 0. Technical Old Boys 13, Training College 12. Grammar 12, Mannkau 3. Ponsonby 10, Grafton 9. College Rifles 13, City 3.