Ranfurly Shield Retained by Southland

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 August 1946, Page 8

Ranfurly Shield Retained by Southland

(P.A.) INVERCARGILL, Aug. 4. Southland retained the Ranfurly Shield in the first challenge match since 1939,' by defeating Otago by 3 points to nil on Saturday—a penalty goal by the full-back, T. R. D. Webster. The attendance was 17,000. Rain began soon after the kick-off and became heavier,, being accompanied by a strong westerly wind. Thq. greasy ball made handling difficult and the game was not spectacular.

In spite of a big disadvantage _in weight, the Southland pack dominated the scrums and loose play, although Otago had the better of the line-outs. The Southland hooker, J. A. Mcßae, played brilliantly, and was consistently successful. Southland’s solid defence, the magnificent work of the Southland forwards as a pack, Otago’s failure to take full advantage of the wind in the first half, and their hard game against the Kiwis during the week were the main factors contributing to Southland’s success. The Otago backs always looked likely when in possession, but Southland put up a great defence, and promising passing movements were frequently broken up by solid tackling. Haig, the Otago half-back, played his usual sound game, but he was well marked by the- Southland breakaways. Of the others, Murdoch, who replaced Perriam at first five-eighth in the first half, Moore, the left wing, and Elvidge, the other inside back, showed the best form. It'was the Southland pack that carried the day. Giving away up to six stone in the scrum they gave a brilliant performance against first-class opposition. Trial Matches Played in Australia (From C. I!. Mentiplny, Special Press Association Correspondent.) SYDNEY, Aug. 4. Although the Rugby Union trial between Australia and The Rest provided interesting, and at times brilliant football, it displayed weaknesses that the Australians will have to cure before the 25 chosen men travel to New Zealand. The most noticeable was tackling. Throughout the game I saw very few instances of clean, low tackles, or of backs going down on the ball to slow up dribbling rushes. This was shown in the second half when The Rest forwards, C. Windon, W. McLean, and Gourlay, led their team in a successful attempt to reduce Australia’s 16-point lead. The way Australia’s pack crumbled. against this unexpected onslaught was not encouraging to the selectors. Rankin Best Full-back. Rankin, although not at the top of his form yesterday, was the best of the four full-backs so far seen in action in two trial games. The best centre three-quarters on the day were Howell and Quartermass. Their opposite numbers, Allan and Johnson, did not show up well, but on previous performances they should be in the team. The touring team, which will, of course, use the Australian system of four three-quarters, will take three wingers and four centres. Murphy earned a place in the team by speed and initiative, shown in a duel with Stone. At five-eighth, Cremin demonstrated superiority over Bannon, who fumbled badly in the early stages. These two have the best chances, however, for selection. Half-backs. The' half-back position is shaky. The selectors want two of these, as I well as two five-eighths. Cawsey i shaded Burke, who was behind the I Australian pack, but in the early > game the Queenslander, Schulte, put up a brilliant performance in defence against fast-breaking forwards. He and the forward, Hamilton, were two of the few who were going down on the ball and tackling low. Of the 13 forwards to be chosen 1 the first two selected will almost certainly be W. McLean and C. Windon. McLean is now being tipped as a certainty to captain the team in New Zealand. Other likely selections are Gouley, Nosovich, K. Windon, Dawson, Hodda, Keller, Furness, Freeman, Hardcastle, and a newcomer, Hamilton. That Rugby Union is not Australia’s game was well demonstrated yesterday, when only 8665 spectators turned out to see the pick of the Commonwealth’s men in action. Nevertheless, great interest is being taken in the selection, which will be announced to-morrow night.