The Rugby Game

Evening Star, Issue 23657, 17 August 1940, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Rugby Game

Full-backs Do All Scoring. In a Rugby match between Wanganui third grade and Rangitikei fourth grade representatives recently each full-back scored a try. _ Rangitikei’s only points came from its fullback’s try, but the Wanganui full-back not only scored a try, but kicked three goals as well. , Zingari Club’s Social Function. Zingari-Richmond has good cause to he proud of the record of its members in answering the call, and there was a largely-attended gathering at Montecillo last Saturday night, when presentations were made to R. Simpson, 13. Calder, G. Phillips, and W. Laing,.who were on leave from camp. An interesting team talk was given by the ex-All Black, H. Lilburne, and competitions ■were won ns follows i —Billiards, J. Dickson and G. Phillips; quoits, A. Cooper and L, C. Avery; scallywag, B. Duncan; bagatelle, W. Cummings; Items were given by W; Calder (cornet solo), L. Avery, W. Smallman, G. Calder, and R. Douglas. Good Work. Merv Corner, former All Black halfhack, is playing Rugby in Auckland for the Takapuna senior second_ division fifteen. Corner coaches the side, and the fact that the team is_ unbeaten this vear is an earnest of his good'work. Corner himself still plays a sound game. There isn’t any reason, of course, why he shouldn’t. He is only around the 30 mark and is hardly the type to run to condition (says an exchange). All Black Ordered Off. Doug. Dalton, the All Black hooker, was ordered off at Napier on a recent Saturday in a match■ between Tech. High and Pirates. Never the gentlest of players, Dalton is alleged to have exchanged blows with a Pirates forward named Lopdell, who was playing- for Pirates while on leave from camp. Lopdell, too. received his “ticket” (says the ‘ New- Zealand Observer’).

Promising Schoolboy Player. Although' D. G. Barton, captain of the Trentham Array team this season, has not reached international honours, the Wanganui man is recognised as one of New Zealand’s soundest backs. It is therefore interesting to learn that ho has a younger brother coining on. This lad, playing half-back for Wanganui Collegiate School against New Plymouth High School last Saturday, potted a goal in the last few minutes, allowing Wanganui to make a draw of it, 9 all.

Rugby Back Missing. R, J. Barr, reported missing in France recently, established a reputation as a brilliant Rugbv full-back eight Tears ago. He played for England against Wales, Ireland, and South Africa, 1932, and was the full-back in the Leicestershire and East Midland fifteen, which inflicted the only defeat upon the Springboks team of that year.

In Auckland Again. G. Hook, former Auckland Rugby representative, is back again in his hoipe town after a couple of years’ absence in Wanganui (says an exchange). He played on a recent Saturday for Ponsonhy and went a pretty sound game. Hook in Wanganui repped both at full-back and at fiveeighth. He was highly rated by Wan.ganui critics as a last line of defence in 1937, and made one appearance in the New Zealand trials of that year. He hardly supported his reputation. Last season he again played in the trials, this time five-eighth, with an odd game at centre. He was considerably more impressive nearer the scrum than ho was at full-back two years earlier.

Good Display at Full-back. The erstwhile South Canterbury representative five-eighth and centre three-quarter, E. Black, has been a very useful man to the Dunedin Chib during the last few seasons. Black, a member of the local Police Force, was a strongrunning, resourceful three-quarter with a good pair of hands, and his play has always been marked by his solid tackling ability. It was not surprising, therefore, that Black should have been sv success when tried out in the fullback position by his club last season, and at one stage be was in the running for a place in the representative side. He took part in the All Black trials some years ago, and judging from the game he turned on at fullback for Dunedin against Union last Saturday, Black has suffered no loss of form. His tackling was a feature of the' game, and bis rush-stopping was very good. On the day ho was well ahead of Silver, whoso play was unimpressive. Black’s selection in the Otago team to-day has been merited on his recent form.

Union Decisively Beaten, Showing a return to their promising form of earlier in the season, Dunedin scored a decisive win over Union by 18 to 4, and in avenging their firstround defeat of 29-11 caused one of the surprises of the second round and, incidentally, badly dented Union’s hopes of fighting out the premiership issue. The infusion recently of some new blood in the Dunedin pack has been beneficial, and the Dark Bines vanguard gave a good account of itself against the heavier Union forwards - . Dunedin scrummaged well, and the promoted junior, Tom Fogarty, is shaping well in the centre hooker position. Despite his lack of weight, ho is a good all-round packman. The forwards played well together in the loose, and the best of an even lot were P. Trcacy, K. Thompson, and L. Marshall. Treacy was in the thick of things all dav and led the pack in good style. The Dunedin .back line showed out well in combined attack, and the excellent understanding existing between Arnold Manion and Maurice Spillane at five-eighths paved the way for some of the best moves of the day. One passing bout saw the ball travel smoothly along the line to Dougan on the wing, and when it came infield again Cook scored. Manion’s tackling and quick neas in moving up on to the Union five-eighths were resposible for the early breakdown in Union passing. Manion linked up nicely on attack, and Spillane drew the opposition cleverly and timed his passes to Cook splendidly. In the closing stages of the game Spillane scored a most spectacular try. Rodden launched passing from a loose ruck, and drawing the defence cleverly Spillane short-punted over the heads of the opposing fiveeighths, and racing through was fav-

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oared by the bounce to outpace Silver for a try in one of the swiftest changes of fortune in the game. J. Dougan and G; S. Reynolds played solidly in the three-quarter line, especially Reynolds, who was opposed to Lionel Werner’s determined tackling. Werner and Reynolds had a good duel, but the latter saw far more of the ball than the Union man, who, as usual, was always dangerous when possession came his way. D. Rodden, the Dunedin half-back, is a light player, but his service from the scrum was all that was required. In the Union forwards Vorrath, Newall, and the Gensik brothers were conspicuous for their play in the tight, and E. Morrison did a lot of valuable covering work. He was always well up with the ball. Although Union commanded their share of possession, any advantage they held in this direction was nullified by the slow service from the base of the scrum. Ron Mathewson, at home on leave from camp, was called on to fill a gap caused by the defection of Blennie Samson, who is still laid aside with injury, and in his unaccustomed role at the base of the' scrum the former Union five-eighth sent out some badly-directed passes. As a result the Union five-eighths were hampered, and Harvey and Murdoch were sometimes caught in possession by the fast-moving Dunedin inside backs. During the second spell Vorrath suffered a shoulder injury and had to leave the field. Sporting Family. The outstanding Southern back against Kaikorai last week was Alan Edwards at second fiveeighth. This youngster showed plenty of initiative and penetration although prone to look too

much for gaps. He is, nevertheless, a very promising footballer, elusive runner with a good turn of speed. He is undoubtedly one of the most promising of the younger brigade at present taking part in the senior competition. Alan Edwards is certainly carrying on the family tradition, for right through the years the Edwards have been stalwarts of the Southern Club. His father, Mr L. Edwards, was a forward in the Southern senior fifteen 35 years ago, and represented Otago on five occasions in the 1906-07 seasons. Lou Edwards was also a_member of the St. Kilda eleven when it took part in senior cricket, and more recently has been a keen howler. Last season he won the Caledonian Club’s singles championship. Russell Edwards is another son of Lou, and this fine forward has been a member of the Southern Club’s senior fifteen for the last nine years. He has always been a keen alpinist. and another brother. George, who was a promising back in junior football and captained the Southern second fifteen for a while, was also an experienced alpinist. He lost his life some years ago in an alpine tragedy. George Edwards was a forward in the Southern second fifteen, and made some appearances in senior football. Alan _ has shown much promise in senior cricket with the High School Old Boys eleven, and is looked upon as a Phmket Shield prospect in the next year or two. Lack of Finish Costs Taieri Game. Compensating features of the PiratesTaieri game at Carisbrook last week were the sparkle introduced in the last 20 minutes of an otherwise scrappy game, and the virile forward of the Taieri pack. Territorially, Taieri more than held their own, and it was only lack of finish—dropped passes and knocks-on at crucial moments—.that led to the plainsmen being defeated by 18 points to 10. On one occasion, more than half of the Taieri team handled in a movement which swept from one end of the field to the other, and then when a try seemed imminent lack of finish by the plainsmen saved Pirates. Possession from the scrums and rucks favoured the Blacks, who packed a tighter and more compact scrum than Taieri, but the latter were adept at starting passing from the line-outs, more particularly in the closing stages, and also from loose play in_ midfield. Taieri’s scrummaging can be improved, and when it is the Blue-and-Golds will have a pack that will take a lot of holding.

For all-round play on Saturday, J. Grant and W. Bisset stood out in the Taieri pack. Bisset is a good front-ranker, and he uses his 15.8 to the best advantage in the tight. Grant is also a fine stamp of packman, weighing 13.9, and he is tireless in tight and loose. This is his first season in the pack, but he has developed into one of the best forwards in Otago, his pace and handling ability being a big asset. He was frequently dangerous in bursts from tight play near the limit.

K. Waldron, another big forward, was noticeable for his good following up, and though he weighs over 15 stone, is a mobile type of forward. R. Carnes did good work in the line-out and in the loose, and A. Morris, one of the lightest members of the pack, made some quick break® in the loose. _ Individually, the Taieri back line showed out in some bright moves, but it was not until the last 20 minutes that anything like effective combined play was seen, dropped passes and the tendency of one or two to do too much on their own being responsible for the

break-down ,of several movements before that

Reproducing something like the form ho showed for Taieri some years ago. W. Johnstone showed a lot of thrust at second five-eighth, and though perhaps inclined to lose touch just a little, this player paved the way for two of the best tries of the day—those by M’Cunn and M‘Cartney—drawing the defence cleverly. Ho was hampered somewhat by the fact that E. Lindsay stood llatfooted for his passes and also tried to cut too much on his own.

Gavin Murray was steadiness itself and this strong-running centre threequarter made only one mistake, when he failed to get the line with a shortclearing kick, thus presenting Duff with a gift try. Murray’s jinky run in the closing stages was one of the best solo efforts of the day.

S. "Whitson played soundly behind the serum, and though Lindsay did not always link up he registered Taieri’s first points with quite a smart field goal. At full-back, C. M’Leod kicked well, hut he is still displaying the bad fault of waiting for the bounce. Pirates won because of their ability to turn to good account the opportunities that came their way, but their football was somewhat spasmodic. Parkhill was valuable in the heavy rucking, but otherwise was not ns consistent as usual. The most tireless worker

in the tight was J. W. Clulee, who is one of the most dependable members of the Pirates pack. He was given good support from W. Kaler, who made some strong bursts from the line-outs, and in the loose J. Lanauze and F. Williams did some effective work. Williams is a brother of Claude Williams, the Canterbury and All Black forward, and is quite a promising packman. At the base of the Pirates scrum. A. I. Payne up play well, and he was dangerous in one or two bursts around the scrum. On his retirement through injury, W. R. Campbell moved in to half-back, and the former King Country player, Norman Bathgate, who represented Otago in 1937, came on at first five-eighth, and played quite a fair game. One of the best tries of the day was that scored by Campbell in the first spell. Payne sent him a long pass on the short side, and Campbell, who was quick off the mark, sped through the gap in a flash to cross the line. Campbell is a valuable player in any team, and he has been worth a lot to Pirates this season.

F. Peters can still show improvement in handling, but he made some strong runs on Saturday, and it was after the way had been paved for him by Parkhill that he made a fine break with Perriam and M'Lennan in support, the latter finishing off a 30yd run with a try. Perriam was always dangerous when in possession, though Murray did not give him too much latitude. Huff made one or two runs, hut was inclined to kick too much, and J. Patterson was not very impressive at full-hack.

1 Sports Special ’ Appreciated. That the ‘ Sports_ Special ’ is appreciated by the soldiers oversas is indicated by a letter received in Dunedin from Charlie Jenkins, the former Union hooker who is now with the 2nd N.Z.E.F. in Egypt. He mentioned how eagerly the arrival of the ‘ Sports Special ’ was being awaited, and also remarked on the interest taken in the club games by the men overseas. At the time of writing he had just had word of'the defeat of Union bv Southern, and was spending a week in the grounds of a big sporting club in Cairo, where he was quartered in the racecourse grand stand. “It seems marvellous,” he writes, “ after the desert, to have green grass, flowers, and trees to look at all day.” Sometimes, also, they see a game of polo. The ex-Union forward also mentioned that the Rugby scores received by cablegram had been posted, the Dunedin result that interested him, of course; being Pirates’ 6-5 win over Union.

Too Much Offside Play. Although Bishopscourt was in tho best order it has been in. years, the Kaikorai-Southern game did not arouse a great deal of enthusiasm among the spectators, being ruined as a spectacle by the amount of offside play indulged in by both sides. The advantage Southern enjoyed in possession from scrums and rucks was offset by the fact that the Kaikorai backs and forwards stood close up on the opposition and made any concerted play very difficult.

Southern’s 13-0 win was largely due to the dominance of the Southern forwards, who showed better combination and more cohesion in their play and staged some very good loose dribbling rushes. Through passes going astray and because of the bad positional play of the Southern backs, a lot of the good work of the forwards went for nothing.

Standing out in the pa dr were Russell Edwards and George . McDonald, the latter’s hooking also being first class. Edwards was Southern's best all-round forward and was always at the head of the rushes. Niencr showed out in some individualistic bursts and made several solo rushes, but there was no one in support. The weakest feature of the Southern pack was their lino-out play, and in this department they were badly outplayed by Kaikorai, for whom L. Aitken. B. Barnes, and R. MTntosh showed out

effectively on the line-out. Their efforts were nullified by some of the others who, instead of heeling the ball, kicked through, enabling Southern to gain possession. Kaikorai’s forward play was not of a very constructive nature, the pack playing a very loose type of game, which is fatal against forwards of Southern’s calibre. Barnes’s efforts were effective at times, but he was very spasmodic. Duncan showed up in the loose rushes, and he was noticeable for his fast following of the ball.

Dave Trevafhan showed improved form, displaying more pace on the open side, a sign that he is now in good shape. His excellent handling and cover-defence were features of the game, but through the attention l the Kaikorai forwards he was frequently forced to kick to touch, and when he did he gained a lot of ground with well-judged kicks.

On defence, Stan Robert was very sound, but his passing from the base of the scrum was not always so well directed as it might have been! At centre, A. E. Churchill made one or two good runs, but neither W. A. Black nor H. Irvine got many chances iu combined movements, because of mishandling at the crucial moment. Black retired during the game with an injured knee. Eric Bolton was always dependable at full-back, and his kicking seems to have gained power with age. Manning played a serviceable game at half-back for Kaikorai, and made one or two good breaks on the blind side, but Allen dropped a pass on a couple of occasions when in good position. On another occasion after Manning had made the break, Allen was thrown out at the corner by Bolton after the winger had made a determined run.

Kaikofai’s inside backs, Spiers and Calder, stood flat-footed for their passes and ran across field. Spiers.put in some vnry well-judged line kicks with his left foot, but he overdid the kicking, and the outside backs suffered in consequence. Cox played well at full-back, but was inclined to come across too slowly for the ball. There was plenty of power in his kicking. Footballers With Forces. 0 Now an officer with the Railway Company is W. E. Lucy, who was well known in Otago Rugby a few years ago, and who renewed acquaintance with members of the Otago touring team when they visited Wanganui last year. Lucy played first for the Union Club and afterwards for Kaikorai, and as a front-row forward played for Otago in 28 games from 1929 to 1934. He also represented the South Island in 1932. Among those on leave from camp recently were two well-known players of the Alhambra Club—o Knox and L. Naylor The former played for Otago in the 1923-24-25 seasons, and for the South Island in 1925, while Naylor was one of the outstanding forwards in the Otago touring team last year, and before that played for Southland. Luck Favours Light Blues. University A were rather luky to beat Zingari 15-13, for the Blues wore actually the superior side for only 20 of the 99 minutes of play. For the rest of the time they were, generally speaking, battling in and out of their own half. It was not a good game, taken all through. For the whole of the first spell it was pretty poor Rugby—ragged scrums, fumbled passes, failure to reach the touchline with kicks, absence of thrust, scrambling line-out play, and a few other faults by teams which did not appear to be able to “ get up steam,” or, at any rate, to sustain it. The A’s particularly were dull—astonishing, but true —and whatever vim was shown and progress made was by Zingari, who deserved more than the 5-point advantage which stood to its credit at half-time, a score represented by a converted try registered when Rowland flopped on to the ball after it had been carried over from some loose rudking, And the Colours started the second spell with every indication of maintaining the advantage and being haled as victors over the leading team. Their forwards wore the more virile pack, their backs, though not getting very far, the more lively. And presently a

penalty goal came from a shot by A. Mason, who, by the way, was acting behind the scrum in the absence of H. Traiuor. With 8 points up and University still labouring somewhat, it looked all Bond street to a Stunner apple that joy would reign in the Zingari camp that night. It was then, with about half an hour to go, that something happened. A Jong kick from the wing by Green was dropping on the Zingari goal line when de Bazin (taken from the scrum to replace A. Mason at full-back) tried to

catch it with his hack turned to the approach. He could not quite manage it, and the ball bounded from his shoulder, or chest, a few yards away, and one of the Varsity forwards, W. Thompson, slipped along and touched down. P. F Foote’s boot added the extra roints, and this bit of luck—or opportunism- • seemed to switch on an electric current which revealed to Varsity the fact that it had not been acting up to the trr ditions of the light blue jersey. Whatever it was, the A’s began to sparkle, and for the next 20 minutes or so took complete command, over-running, outpassing, out-kicking their opponents, and scoring two more tries, both of which Foote converted into “ fivers.” The first was a “ jinky ” affair by Peterson, and the second a runaway effort by Green, both good tries. With a 15-8 lead and 10 minutes to go, it looked a good thing for Varsity. But the “ Diehards ” were not throwing in the Jewel yet. They, in turn, started to sparkle, and soon, from near the goal line, A. Mason sent the ball well out to W. Mason, who side-stepped and went oven for Rennie to convert. For the final five minutes the fight was an equal one, and Zingari could not get through for that three points they so badly wanted, and, as a matter of fact, deserved. So the whistle went with Varsity scraping home. It was only during the inspired last half-hour of the match that there was any individual play with special mention. Then it was that T. Berghan and Moc —the latter took the _ absent Skelley’s place at second five-eighth—-did some fine work, especially Mee, with Peterson and Green’s pace helping materially. L. H Simpson also livened up after a rather “ lobby ” time, during which ho overdid the dive pass. Amongst the forwards Foote, Smith, Murphv, and Taylor were conspicuous. De Bazin did very well at full-back for Zingari, as also did A. Mason at half, when his forwards gave him the ball. / Mehalski, at centre, also performed a lot of useful work, and the two five-eighths, W. Mason and A. Ronnie were his best assistants. Ij. Pollock, A. Tyrie, R. Douglas, and W. Pockson were hard-working forwards. Win for Alhambra. Varsity B might well be classed the “Cinderella” of the senior competition. At the beginning of the season, the team looked to have plenty of promising material to draw upon, but defections in the A’s have led to the B’s being drawn upon repeatedly, and as usual the B’s included several substitutes against Alhambra. It is doubtful if they have fielded the team as published this year. The Alhambra pack played well together throughout, and played no small part in the team’s win by 19 points to 3. In the rucks especially the 'Bamas took almost complete charge, due to loose packing on the part of the B’s. Under the conditions, a bright game might have been expected, but a scrappy game was largely fought out by the forwards, though the Alhambra backs occasionally showed out in some promising passing - bouts. Robinson showed plenty of thrust and ran with determination, although on one oc-

casion he went a shade far. When ho had only the full-back ahead of him and other plavers in support he hesitated and lost a good opportunity. Hely usod his pace to advantage when he gained possession, Seward also making several good runs. Playing at full-back, Fox gave quite a good account of himself, but Throp, Varsity’s last line, often misfi elded and frequently failed to find the line. Paewai, behind the Varsity scrum, launched passing whenever he had the chance, and was often there to ginger up the movements when they looked like breaking down. Although he did not have many chances, he made some good runs. junior Football. Ravensbourne played Kaikorai A for the second time at Ravensbourne and sutfered defeat, Kaikorai’s margin being ,9 points to 5 (writes my Ravensbourne correspondent). The game was full of interest, and the hill team deserved its win. Kaikorai showed to advantage in passing and in the tight scrummaging. W. Davie played a great game, as did the full-back. Ravensbourne made many mistakes. Chalmers, at half-back, and M’Kenzie played well. Kaikorai A has not lost a game this season and is to be congratulated on the fine record it hqs put up. Canterbury Centurion. By scoring three tries and converting one for the University team in Christchurch recently, J. S. Cartwright, All Black trialist, again brought his total points for the season to over 100. That includes three friendly matches, in addition to competition games. Cartwright last season scored over 150 points in club games alone (says an exchange). All Black Injured. J. M. Taylor, the former Otago and All Black full-back, who has been playing in Wellington for the last two seasons, had the misfortune to break a cheekbone when playing for the Wellington team against Petone in a senior championship match recently. Another Kaikorai Stalwart Passes. • Kaikorai stalwarts of the period before the last war will regret to learn of the death at Timaru last week of

“ Jock ” Duff, who was a well-known and popular player with the hill team before the last war. Although slightly, built, he gave many plucky displays behind the scrum, and was a member of the Kaikorai Club from 1900 to 1912, when he went to Auckland, there gaining representative honours Returning to Dunedin, he again played for Kaikorai until he left with the, 17th Reinforcements. He was gassed and was invalided home. For some years he was in business in the Owaka district. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son.

Pirates Players Meet Overseas. Tom Graham, the Pirates and Otago hooker, who played for the N.Z.E.F team against Cape Town University, was struck by one unusual practice which took pla.ee at the half-time interval. A native wearing a fez brought water on to the field in a can, and in place of the usual oranges the players all satisfied themselves with a drink of water. Graham, by the way, ran across a former Pirates player who is also with the Second Echelon, this being Jack M'Lachlan, who was a speedy winger in the Pirates senior fifteen some years ago. M‘Lachlan was also a wellknown track athlete, and is a brother of the former New Zealand champion, L. 0. M'Lachlan.