RUGBY FOOTBALL Canterbury Beaten By Australia: A Narrow Margin

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 September 1949, Page 9

RUGBY FOOTBALL Canterbury Beaten By Australia: A Narrow Margin

CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. 21 (P.A.). —Canterbury’s record of unbroken success in Rugby matches against visiting Australian teams went "by the board today, but not before the Australians had been thoroughly extended. . . Australia won bVI6 to 12. Each side scored four tries.' On the rifn di play Canterbury were decidedly' unlucky to lose. The game wds played in perfect' weather before a crew'd of about 20,000, and was full : of in* cident. : . In the first 20 minutes Canterbury provided all the fireworks, and should have scored two or three tries. Several times when Canterbury had an overlap and a try seemed certain, the chance was lost through a forward pass. Later, the Australians settled down, and their forwards staged a battle royal. Canterbury suffered chiefly through inability to kick goals. Not one of the four tries was converted, and four penalty kicks—one from an easy position and others within reasonable range—all missed.

The teams were:— Australia. — Full-back, N. Emery; three-quarters, R. Garner, T. Allan, J. Fogarty; five-eighths, J. Solomon, E. Broad; half-back, C. Burke; forwards, J. Baxter, D. Furness, B. Wilson; R, Brockhoff, N. Shehadie, R. Cornforth, C. Windon; K. Cross. Canterbury. —Full-back, R. Stuart, three-quarters,- R. Smith, D. Reeves, fl. Kennedy; five-eighths, fl. Malcolm, P. Kearney; half-back, P. Vincent; forwards, J. Stewart, O. Seiwood, A. Couling; D. Herman, B. Chandler, N. Dalzell, C. Hardie; M. Henderson, i Australia must be credited with making the most 6f Canterbury s mistakes, but the, visitors did not i turn on the Rugby expected of them. [They played a spoiling game and | their loose forwards seemed to be allowed a fair amount of latitude by 1 the referee. I The Australians’ inside backs were capable and handled well, but seldom looked dangerous. Best Back Oh Field It was in the three-quarter line that Australia had the main- advantage. Garner and Fogarty were much faster than their opposite numbers, and, whenever they were given room m which to work, they usually made huge stretches of ground. Emery pWed a s?fe game for Australia, and Burke gave an excellent service behind the pack, which dominated the scrums, and just-shaded Canterbury in the lineouts. The best back on the field was the Canterbury first five-eighth, Kearney, 1 who excelled on defence, backed up ! tirelessly, and frequently beat the Aus- | tralian inside backs with sharp and (straight- thrusts. At half-back, Vincent started indifferently, but after the first quarter of an hour was at the top of his form. Every time he chose to run from the scrum he beat the defence badly, and his understanding with Kearney, who had played outside him in only one previous game, was extraordinarily good. , , The Australian forwards had an advantage in weight, and won the scrums by 20 to 6. Canterbury hooked from only one set scrum in the first half. In the loose they showed speed and handled exceedingly well. Canterbury’s dribbling rushes often tested the defence Windon and Brockhoff played winging games with success, and Wilson was the best Australian forward in the tight. , r The Canterbury captain, the veteran Herman, played the game of his life. He led nearly every Canterbury rush, and a country forward, Henderson, was also to the fore. The Play Canterbury began at a cracking pace, and Kearney was almost over in the first few minutes. Then Vincent made a brilliant solo run and Malcolm went over, but was recalled. Henderson beat the defence badly, but, with a clear run in. a Canterbury forward dropped a pass. Then the left wing, Smith, got clear away, but an in-pass to the centre, Reeves, went astray. When Smith was caught in possession, Kearney was backing up, as ever, and took a pass to go over for a- determined try. A minute later Australia won a lineout and the second five-eighth, Solomon, cross-kicked. Fogarty showing exceptional speed to get to the ball, and with the bounce favouring him, he scored a good try in v the corner. Garner made a thrilling run on the first occasion the Australians staged an orthodox passing rush, a few minutes before the interval. Burke worked the blind side from a scrum, and Windon was there to score a neat try near, the corner, which Allen converted with a good kick. A moment later Burke went away in a solo burst. He seemed to be checked, but Cornforth, the biggest of the Australian forwards, took a pass and ran strongly from the 25 to score a fine try. Allen converted, to make the half-time score 13-3. Second Spell Early in the second spell Kearney made a great run of 50 yards, but Australia counter-attacked. From .an unsuccessful penalty kick by Allen, Vincent and Reeves worked a scissors movement, and with the assistance of Herman took play downfield 70 yards. Reeves missed two fairly easy penalty kicks, but Canterbury, Which in spite of the score against it, had had a territorial advantage throughout, continued to attack, and Smith was tackled inches from the line. From the resulting scrum, Vincent worked the blind side, and Smith scored in the corner. Within a minute, Vincent was away in a spectacular solo effort. He inpassed to Smith, who had come in from the/ wing, and Hardie, a Canterbury forward, Scored a brilliant try. Canterbury kept, up pressure, but seven minutes before time, Burke broke away from a scrum. All his back line handled, and Garrier showed too much speed when given an over-lap and scored. Five minutes before the end Australia lost Baxter and Windon. Canterbury attacked desperately, and Kearney, receiving on the short side of the scrum from Vincent, dived over for a good try. The referee was Mr A. Fong (Grevmouth). • ‘ CHANGES IN NEW, / ZEALAND TEAM AUCKLAND, Sept. 21 (P.A.).— For. the New Zealand team to play Australia, J. G. Bond, of Canterbury, has been selected as a front-row forward, in place of W. J. Mumm, of Buller, who is suffering from injuries. A. W. Blake, of Wairarapa, side-' row forward, is, not available, owing to the death, at •the age of six. days, of his first-born child. South Island Team CHRISTCHURCH, Sept.'2l (P.A.). —P. V. Kearney. has been selected :to play at first five-eighth for the .South Island against . the'. North Island at. Lancaster Park on:Saturday, October:!. W; DickScih (Bullet) will be ah ; .