HELD BY WAIKOHU

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22664, 15 June 1948, Page 8

HELD BY WAIKOHU

SUB-UNION SHIELD KEEN BID BY MOTU PLAY ON SODDEN FIELD Playing on a sodden field at Te ; Karaka on Saturday the Waikohu i Rugby Sub-union representatives held off the first challenge of the season for the Black and White Shield with a 13- ! nil decision over Motu. Though un- | able to cross the home line successfully, I the Motu players, who comprised the northern sub-union's strongest side for many seasons, gave an impressive display in the difficult conditions and conI tended the honours much more evenly than the score suggests. I Heavy overnight rain left pools of ! water on the ground, large patches of | which soon degenerated into quagmires ; and, though no rain fell during the play, splashes and falls in (he widening' slush bath resulted in a plaster camouflage which rendered it difficult to distinguish between the forwards. Fierce rucks and hard scrummaging were the order of the day. Motu having a slight advantage in these phases. Whenever the ball went loose, however, Waikohu excelled and once under way took a lot of stopping. Honours in back play rested with the home division, who made two of the three tries, though both sets found the slippery ball difficult to control. The defence of both sides was very good. The outstanding back on the tick! was the Waikohu full-back. B. Hollis. His handling of the wet ball, line kicking and position play were reliable throughout. B. Brown, second five-eighth, and J. Graham, centre, also played well. The former scored one try and paved the way for another, while Graham capped a fine all-round performance by touching down for one try and converting two —particularly meritorious kicking with the heavy ball. The Waikohu forwards played well together, prominent being L. Kimber, E. Newton and A. Wills. The Motu team showed good combination and on many occasions they just failed to score points. The Motu hooker, R. Hammond, was outstanding. He was ably supported by J. Dunning and D. Richardson. The half-back. P. Kenny, got a feast of the ball from his forwards and handled it well under the conditions to send out good passes to W. Thompson, who also played well at first liveeighth. Waikohu led five-nil at half-time as a result of a try by B. Brown, converted by J. Graham. In the second half Motu pressed hard on the Waikohu goal line, but just failed to get over. The Waikohu pack broke away in a dribbling rush and L. Kimber snapped up to go over for a good forward try. J. Graham failed to convert. With Motu attacking about mid-field. B. Brown broke through and caught the defence out of position. J, Graham and H. Bridge gave support, the trio making swiftly for the goal line. Brown drew the full-back before sending a good pass to Graham, who ran 25 yards to score between the posts. Graham converted, making the final score score Waikohu 13, Motu nil. Mr. J. Lockwood, Gisborne, was the referee. Hay By Juniors In the curtain-raiser match on the Te Karaka ground, Te Karaka High School beat Puha juniors by six points to three. Under the conditions the game developed into a forward struggle, School having a slight advantage. Both sets of backs found difficulty in handling the ball. Prominent School players were J. Patton, B. Krause, and W. Parc Kowhai, and for Puha, D. Hollis. J. Te Paid, and C, Wills were most notable. Tries for School were scored by W. Parekowhai and B. Krause. D. Hollis goaled a penalty for Puha. making the score 6 —3 in favour of School. Mr. F. Goodley was the referee. On the High School ground Ormond juniors beat Te Karaka by nine points to nil. Ormond had the better of the play and Te Karaka did well to hold the score to nine points. Mr. B. Malone was the referee. Both Puha and High School have won four games and lost one, while Ormond and Whatatutut have won three games and lost two each. Points at the end of the first round are:— Junior— Puha, 8; High School (I), 8; Ormond, 6; Whatatutu. 6; High School (II), 2; Te Karaka, nil.