RUGBY FOOTBALL

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 July 1933, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL

DISTRICT COMPETITIONS. COBDEN TAKES THE LEAD. In fine weather and with grounds in good order, the West Coast Rugby Union’s competitions were advanced a further stage on Saturday. A cold easterly wind made conditions unpleasant for the large attendance at Rugby Park, and the standard of play was affected to a certain extent. Cobden seniors scored a decisive win over United, and now take their place at the head of the ladder, one point in front of United. Star secured a victory over a weak Blaketown side on the No. 2 ground at the Park. The senior competition points are now:— Cobden 11, United 10, Blaketown 8, Star 7. In the junior grade, Cobden A. and Kumara, the two leading teams, had victories, the latter at the expense of Blaketown, hitherto third on the list. The points are now:—Cobden A (played 11 matches), 18 points, Kumara (played 10 matches) 17 points, United (played 10) 14pts, Blaketown (played 11) 14pts, Rapahoe (played 10) 9pts, Blackball (played 10) 4pts, Star (played 10) 3pt, Cobden B (played 10) 3pts. In the Newman Shield match at the Park, Grey Technical defeated Hokitika High School by 9pts to 7, after an interesting game. COBDEN DEFEAT UNITED. Cobden seniors decisively defeated United on the No. 1 ground at Rugby Park by 12 points to 3. Though it was a hard struggle throughout, the game did not come up to expectations, and was disappointing from the spectators’ point of view. The United forwards were the better pack, but the Cobden backs were much superior to the United rearguard. Due to United getting the ball from the majority of the scrums, the Cobden backs did not receive a great many chances, but on the form they displayed when they did receive the ball, it was as well for United that they had the advantage in the scrums. The strong easterly breeze had a deadening effect on the play, as both sets of backs used this to aid their line-kicking, with the result that there was less combined back play than there might otherwise have been. United wisely took every opportunity of keeping play tight, but Cobden, realising their superiority in the backs, made every effort to open up the game. Taaffe was outstanding in the Cobden backs, and was always a source of danger to United. A. King and Garring also played creditable games. Gilbert was easily the pick of the United backs, his powerful kicks for the line being invaluable. Campbell was the most impressive of the other backs, though Bell played a sound game behind the United pack. Carr, Robinson, Thomson, Jones and Cross were probably the most consistently prominent among the United forwards, while Dennehy, playing his first game this year for Cobden, Birchfield, Mahoney, and Gordon were the pick of the Cobden eight. United had the advantage in the set scrums, but the ball did not come out as smartly as it might have. The teams were: Cobden (red and black): Lindbom; A. King, Scott, Martyn; Taaffe, Rimmer; Garring; Gordon, Wilson, Ma- . honey; Dennehy, Keith, Birchfield, ' Hewlett, Alex. King. United (blue and white): Campbell; Jamieson, Gilbert, Baldwin; Ellis, Collins; Bell; Cross, J. Bell, Rose; Rathbun, Carr, Thomson, Robinson; Jones, Cobden won the toss and gave United the advantage of the strong breeze, ‘ Gilbert kicking off. United set up an J attack immediately, Lindbom fumbling a long kick by Gilbert, and being fore- 5 ed to find touch in his own 25. Here Cobden were penalised for a scrum in- ( fringement, but from ten yards in from the side-line, and on the 25, and aided by the wind, Campbell failed to 1 goal. Then from a scrum on the Cob- 1 den 25, the defenders hooked the ball. Garring whipped out to Rimmer, who 1 cut in nicely, selling a dummy en route, and sent on to Taaffe to King. Each gained ground and a pretty movement ended on the United 25, where King was tackled. Dennehy now c gained about 15 yards in a good run, 1 by selling a perfect dummy, to half a i dozen United forwards. The blues forced them back, Carr, Thompson and Jones working overtime in a solid rush. From a line-out, Cobden secured the first points of the game by a clever manoeuvre. Gaining passed c to Rimmer, who kicked towards the c side-line on the blind side. King fol- \ lowed through fast, took the ball in his stride, short-punted over Campbell’s head, and beat the United defence in a race for the ball to score a fine try. Birchfield failed to convert from well out. —Cobden 3, United nil. The Cobden forwards rushed United back into their own quarter, Birchfield, Gordon and,. Mahoney playing with great dash. From a scrum there, Garring made an effort to get round the blind side, but failed, and Cross, Bell, and Robinson led the United for- i wards in a rush back to past the.2s. ‘ Here the United backs swung into ] action, and Gilbert short-punted. King, t in trying to clear, kicked the ball out £ on his own 25, gaining no ground, j Dennehy and Keith led Cobden out of i trouble and then Garring, Taaffe and t King handled in a snappy movement, which ended when King found touch in the United 25. However, from the j line-out, the United forwards, headed £ by Thomson and Jones drove Cobden J back to midfield, where Gilbert secured to find touch in the red 25. Here 1 a penalty was awarded United for , Taaffe hanging on to the ball, and ; from midway between the half-way ’ and the 25 Gilbert landed a fine goal.— Cobden 3, United 3. 1 A good run by Taaffe put Cobden in a good position, the forwards carry- 1 ing on with a loose rush to the 25. ' Jones was penalised for hanging on to 1 the ball, and Birchfield turned the J kick to good account from the 25. 1 There was nothing more of moment be- c fore half-time, when the score was — c Cobden 6, United 3. 5

SECOND SPELL. Soon after the resumption Martyn had a fruitless shot at goal from ten yards inside half-way, Ellis lining midWay between the 25 and half-way. From the line-out Heweltt sent his backs away, and King at the end of the line found touch inside the blue 25. However, United cleared their line, two long punts by Campbell returning play to half-way. The red forwards combined in a good rush, which Campbell held up nicely, and gained ground with a line-kick. The United forwards carried on into the Cobden quarter, but after a momentary attack, Mahoney and Dennehy headed the Cobden pack in a rush which took play again into United territory. Lindbom put his team on attack with a

good kick, the ball going out on the 25. Here Garring, coming round a scrum smartly, smothered Bell’s clearing kick, and after an exciting melee, the ball went out almost on the line. After a series of scrums on the line, Cobden were awarded a penalty; but King’s kick from the side-line fell short. From the ensuing melee in front of the goal Dennehy missed with an attempt to pot a goal. The Cobden backs combined in a good movement, and Taaffe punted high, but Campbell took a good mark in the face of the Cobden forwards. The next item of interest took place when Bell tried to cut through. He was tackled by Rimmer, and as he passed out, Taaffe intercepted. He made a fine run as far as Campbell, who smartly smothered the short-punt and the ball went out near the United 25. From a scrum about midfield, the Cobden backs got moving and Martyn looked to have a great chance of scoring, had he given it a ‘‘go,” but he preferred to pass back infield, and the movement was fruitless. However, the Cobden forwards pushed their way to the United 25, where, from a penalty, Birchfield again raised the flags with a-fine kick. —Cobden 9, United 3. United came back immediately following the kick-off, and with Robinson and Thomson in front they drove Cobden back into’ their 25. A knock-on held up a very promising rush. From the scrum the blue backs swung into action, but the Cobden rearguard, playing up close, smothered them, and the Cobden forwards kicked through to half way. Martyn made an ambitious attempt to pot a goal from almost halfway, a good kick falling short, for Gilbert to clear to past the United 25. Offside play by Hewlett saw Campbell gain 30 yards with a good kick against the wind. United now set up a hot attack in the Cobden 25. Ellis, on the wing, threw the ball across the field to the backs, but Taaffe intercepted. In a flash he was through the United backs, and he swerved past Campbell beautifully, and made for the corner, with several United backs in full chase. He dived over for a great try at the corner, as Jamieson tackled him. It was a fine effort, a burst .of speed taking him through the United backs and his speed giving Campbell no chance. Martyn failed with the kick.—Cobden 12, United 3. The United forwards again set up an attack, but offiside play by a blue forward let Cobden clear. Martyn made a good burst down the side-line, as the result of an opening made by Rimmer, gaining about 20 yards. A penalty, for a scrum infringement, was awarded Cobden, but Martyn’s kick from well out, was a poor one, the ball failing to rise. The score was unaltered at the final whistle: Cobden 12 United 3.

Mr. F. J. Tempero was a strict and impartial referee. STAR DEFEAT BLAKETOWN. In a bright exhibition of Rugby Star seniors defeated Blaketown by 21 points to 9, on the No. 2 ground. Both teams were below full strength. In the first ten minutes Dixon scored two tries for Star, Stevens converting both, while Petrie scored a try soon afterwards, Stevens again adding the extras. ' Stevens, who was in good kicking form, landed a penalty goal, and just before half-time, Flannery scored a good try for Blaketown, making the score 18 —3. In the second spell Ogier scored a try for Star, Stevens missing the kick, and Joyce and Moonie added tides for Blaketown. Final score: Star 21, Blaketown 9. Mr A. Jamieson was referee. JUNIOR GRADE. In a junior grade match at the Technical school ground, Rapahoe defeated a weak Star side by 16 points to 5. Rapahoe had all the better of the game, their forwards showing to advantage throughout. COBDEN A. DEFEAT BLACKBALL. After an interesting game at Blackball, Cobden A. juniors defeated the home team by 16 points to 5. Cobden were the better team on the day, and had the territorial, advantage. KUMARA DEFEAT BLAKETOWN. Kumara maintained their position on the competition ladder, defeating Blaketown juniors at Cobden by 16 points to 8. UNITED DEFEAT COBDEN B. Cobden B. put up a surprisingly good display against United, juniors at Cobden on Saturday,. United eventually winning by 8 points to 3. . FOURTH GRADE. The fourth grade match, Blaketown V. Star was not played. NEWMAN SHIELD. GREY DEFEAT HOKITIKA. In a Newman Shield match (lads under 17) Greymouth Technical High School defeated the Hokitika District High School by 9 points to 7. Hokitika have held the shield for two seasons. Greymouth Technical will now meet the winner of the Reefton and Westport High Schools match, in the final for the trophy. The teams were: — Hokitika: Stapleton; J. Douglas, Davidson, E. Brown; Morgan, Johnston (captain); W. Douglas; Howatt, M. Hanrahan, Harris, Parker, J. Hanrahan, Coles, .Pierson, Johnstone. Greymouth: Tainui; Hunter, Kibble, Tuhuru; Turley, Cochrane; Harvey; Thompson, Rathbun, Rose, Hazeldine (captain), McEwan, Rattray, Herring, Denton.

Hokitika played with the wind in their favour in the first spell, and were constantly in their opponents’ territory. However, Technical were first to score, when Kibble cleverly intercepted a pass in his own 25, and cutting through smartly, outpaced the opposition to score a fine try, which was not converted. Just prior to halftime Morgan cut in nicely, and transferred to Davidson to Douglas, who scored a good try at the corner. Stapleton missed the kick. Technical rushed Hokitika to their own quarter early in the second spell, and then from a scrum Harvey whipped out to Kibble on the blind side, but the centre just failed to get over. However, Hunter picked up near the line, and touched down at the corner. Harvey’s kick hit the crossbar and rebounded infield. A penalty to Technical saw Cochrane land a goal from the 25. Technical were doing all the attacking now, and several times were within an ace of scoring. Kibble secured the ball from a melee on the 25, and after a determined run in which he beat two men, he passed too high to the winger right on the line. The ball went out at the corner,

i and Hokitika cleared to half-way. A , long line-kick by Stapleton put Hoki- • tika in an attacking position, and after , a series of scrums inside the 25, John- . ston picked up and potted a good field goal. The final whistle went shortly afterwards, with Technical attacking. Scores: Grey Technical 9, Hokitika High School 7. Mr T. Mclntosh controlled the game. LAKE BRUNNER DEFEAT GREY The Lake Brunner Sub-Division representatives yesterday defeated the Greymouth reps, by 12 points to 3, after having all the better of the play. The ground was a sea of mud and back play was out of the question. The home forwards played good wetweather football. Mr. S. Kinraid was referee. WESTLAND MATCHES In the Westland Sub-Union’s knockout competition, Ross defeated Pirates at Ross by 12 points to nil. Playing at Hokitika, Excelsiors scored a runaway victory over Kiwis by 34 points to 3. Connolly (2), Schroder (2), Davidson (2), M. Kelly and Growcott scored tries for the winners, Davidson converting three and L. Hughes two. Kiwis’ points were obtained from a penalty goal. In Junior-grade games, Kiwis defeated Kokatalii by 9 points to 3, and Pirates beat Excelsiors by 3 points to nil at Rimu. SCHOOLS’ MATCHES In a primary Schools’ match at Hokitika on Saturday morning, Grey Main defeated Hokitika by 43 points to 3. The visitors had the advantage throughout, both backs and forwards combining in fine passing movements. SEDDON SHIELD. WEST COAST TEAM. The following team has been selected by Messrs A. A. Adams and D. R. Dowell to represent West Coast against Motueka-Golden Bay at preymouth, on Saturday next, in the fust challenge for the Seddon Shield: Full-back: G. Gilbert (United). Three-quarters: C. Schroder (Ex.), A. Fong (Star), L. Martyn (Cobden). Five-eighths: J. B. Taafe (Cobden), W. Hughes (Ex.). Half-back: B. Scandrett (Star). Forwards: Front row: B. Kelly (Ex.), J. Kirkland (Ross), M. Kelly (Ex.); Second row: L. Hughes (Ex.), M. Scandrett (Blaketown), M. Thompson (United), R. King (Ex.); Breakaway, E. Jones (United). Emerg.: Forwards —M. Jamieson (United), W. Ogier (Star); backs, J. Beban (Star), M. Davidson (Ex.). Owing to several of the representatives being unable to obtain leave, and the fact that the ground would probably suffer by a game, the match set down to be played .on Wednesday, between the Seddon Shield team, and another fifteen, has been postponed. The Hokitika, members of the team will travel to Greymouth to-morrow evening, and practise at the Cobden Club’s gymnasium, and on Thursday evening the Greymouth players will go to Hokitika and practise with the remainder of the team there. The whole team will assemble at the Cobden Gymnasium on Friday evening, and will stay the night in Greymouth.

WAIKATO v. THAMES VALLEY. TE AROHA, July 29. Waikato defeated Thames Valley by 14 to 3 at Te Aroha. The weather was fine, and the crowd was 2000. The game was a hard forward battle, with flashes of back play by Waikato. The visiting backs were superior, and Thames Valley played close to maintain an even footing. Scorers for Waikato were Leeson, Aitken and Broderick. Davis kicked a penalty goal and converted a try. Gloyn scored Valley’s only points. Mr H. Vause (Turua), was referee. SOUTHERN SUBrUNIONS. DUNEDIN, July 30. In the Rugby match between Otago and Southland Sub-Unions, Southland won by 12 to 9. IN OTHER CENTRES. DUNEDIN, July 29. Rugby: Varsity A 13, Pirates 5; Zingari 3, Dunedin 3; Alhambra 6, Union 5; Kaikorai 15, Varsity B 11; Taieri 9, Southern 3. TIMARU, July 29. Senior Rugby: Temuka 8, Old Boys 3; Star 12, Pleasant Point 3. AUCKLAND, July 29. Ponsonby 13, Technical Old Boys 3; Marist 11, University 6; Grafton 17, Manukau 17; Training College 19, College Rifles IS; Grammar 16, Otahuhu 12. WELLINGTON, July 29. Wellington 20, Oriental 16; Petone 36, Eastbourne 8; St. Patrick’s Old Boys 6, Athletic 17; Hutt 26, College Old Boys 29; Poneke 6, Marist 3; Second Division: Johnsonville 24, Upper Hutt 3; Varsity 17, MelroseSelwyn 3; Poneke 21, Onslow 6. NAPIER, July 29, Rugby: M. 8.0.8. 20, Celtic 13; H. 5.0.8. 19, Pirates 11; Hastings 15, Tamatea 10; H.H.5.0.8. 11, Technical 0.8. 10. CHRISTCHURCH, July 29. In the only Club match played today, Linwood beat Albion by 21 points to nil. INVERCARGILL, July 27. Senior Rugby final matches: — Pirates 16, Invercargill 11; Old Boys 11, Star 3. Pirates win the championship.

CANTERBURY TRIAL. CHRISTCHURCH. July 30. A Possibles v. Probables match was played at Lancaster Park in place of the usual club fixtures. Probables won by 24 points to 8. It was a dull and stodgy exhibition. Several players who are certain of inclusion in the Canterbury side were not asked to turn out. The teams were: — Possibles. —Mussen, Hattersley, Bullivant, Mitchell, Dunshea, Cobden, Boutery, Lowry, Suckling, Bourne, Foley, Coll, Hartnell, Billings, Rankin. Probables. —Nolan, Jacobs, PaWson, Brown, McPhail, Hazelhurst, Stevens, Watkins, Wade. Mooney, Thomas, Roberts, Hattersley, Wilson, Milliken. RANFURLY SHIELD. CHRISTCHURCH, July 31. The Canterbury Ranfurly Shield team, to play Ashburton on Wednesday, will be: — Backs: N. Musson, W. J. Brown, C. J. Oliver, N. Dunshea, K. S. Mortlock, R. Hazelhurst, G. Stevens. Forwards: A. T. Cottrell, J. Wade, A. Bowes, A. H. Andrews, A. M. Hartnell,

G. J. Howell, J. E. Manchester, R. K. King. Hart was not available for this match, but may play against Wellington, at Wellington on Saturday. MARLBOROUGH TEAM. BLENHEIM, July 29. The following team will represent Marlborough against a Canterbury B. side on Wednesday:—R. Wilson; J. MacDonald (capt.), F. Oldham, H. Phillips; A. Robinson, D. Lane; F. Phillips; forwards: L. E. Patchett, J. Best, R. Woolley, P. Tapley, M. MacDonald, J. Drake, R. Hippolite and D. Hammond. Emergencies—Backs: W. Haswell, D. Thompson, C. Mellish; forwards: C. Lovell, R. C. Dobson and N. Casey. AUSTRALIANS WIN LONDON, July 29. The Australian Rugby team defeated the Border Provinces to-day by 24 points to 5.