RUGBY FOOTBALL GREYMOUTH TEAMS SUCCEED IN WEEK-END MATCHES

Grey River Argus, 10 May 1948, Page 6

RUGBY FOOTBALL GREYMOUTH TEAMS SUCCEED IN WEEK-END MATCHES

Southern Players Appear to Lack Fitness With only two more rounds to be played before the end of the first round in the West Coast Rugby Union’s senior club competitions between Greymouth and Hokitika, a discrepancy in the standard of play is noticeable, and at the week-end it was most evident when all the local teams succeeded in winning their respective matches in Greymouth and in Hokitika. However, it is to be hoped that the next round will prove more encouraging to the southern players. At Rugby Park. Kiwis were defeated by a strong Blaketown team., who with the help of McKendry and Fisher, gave a good exhibition of clean hooking against a heavier pack. In the Blaketown backs, Ellery and Muir were a constant threat to their opponents, while the half-back, C. Richardson, also gave a creditable performance. Kiwis appeared to play a better game than on the preceding week, and the forwards R. Eastgate, F. Eastgate and J. Leslie, were constantly to the fore, but grave errors by the inside backs lost them many points, with the result that the efforts of the forwards in the line-outs and set scrums were wasted. R. Stoop and Sweenev were the best Kiwi backs, bu< M. Stoop on the wing had few chances to prove his worth. The main attraction was the StarCeltic match, which again drew most of the spectators to the No. 2 field, where a fast and hard game was witnessed. The Celtic team played good football, and only slowed up in the second spell, against desperate Star counter attack* launched to retrieve the game, which at that moment appeared to be slipping auicklv from their grasp. K. Rea and W. Hamilton played great games, as did the forwards V. Hahn, Rose and Jovce. Fauth also played well. G. Nelson, the Star forward, in his nlaying ability on Saturday won further recognition when he converted every try as well as kicking a penalty. ‘ J. Pegley and M. Lambert were always in the thick of the game, and came through with flying colours. Hay ton and R. Nelson could be classed as the best Star backs on the day, particularly Nelson, whose ability has improved considerably. McDougall did good work behind the scrums, where in the second half he received fairly constantly from Stokes, the Star hooker. It is to be anticipated that the Hokitika teams will show considerable improvement in the second round. At nresent it appears that the main difficulty with the southern players is to maintain a good standard of fitness, which would undoubtedly carry them to victory. With this they should shine more in the next series. Saturday’s Scores Senior — , . Blaketown 25, Kiwis 8. Star 18, Celtic 6. United 22, St. Mary’s 3. Cobden 12, _ Excelsiors 5. Junior— Tech. 0.8. 19, Magpies 0. Celtic 20, Star 3. Blaketown 12, Cobden 6. Excelsiors 9, Kiwis 5. Kokatahi 6, St. Mary’s 3. Pirates 9, Ross 6. Third Grade — Cobden 17, Technical 3. Fourth Grade — Hokitika 32, Celtic 3. Technical 0, Cobden 0. Fifth Grade — Hokitika 6, Star 0. Cobden 9, Technical 5. Sixth Grade— Blaketown 6, United 0. Celtic 6, Star 0. Seventh Grade — Celtic 18, Blaketown 0. Star 3, Cobden 3. Seven-a-side (7th Grade) — Blaketown 6, Cobden 0. Celtic 6, Star 0.

Blaketown Maintain Winning Form In one of the cleverest, hooking exhibitions of the season at Rugby Park, the lighter Blaketown forwards were in a large way responsible for their team’s handsome victory over Kiwis on Saturday, when they defeated the Hokitika visitors by 25 points to 8. The teams were: — Kiwis: Tullock, Sweeney, Woodhouse, Miller, Stoop, M. Stoop, Moore, P. Eastgate, R. Eastgate, Murphy, J. Leslie, McLean, Howat. Stewart and Paterson. Blaketown: R. Morgan, J. Benyon, F. Roberts. N. Ellery, K. Walsh, R. Muir. C. Richardson, D. McKendry, K. Fisher. T. Hagen, J. Smith, J. Robertson, K. Tomlinson, A. Hanther. Opening well, the visitors carried play into Elaketown’s 25, but a solid defence by the home team drove them back. Just at tnis moment a forward rush, led by McKendry, Fisher and Panther, began to look dangerous for the visitors, but a knock-on halted the movement. From a scrum on the half way line Kiwis received, but the ball had not travelled far when the versatile Blaketown forwards pushed their way through to gain possession in a good forward attack. A. Panther fended off several opponents to score a" brilliant try. The conversion kick failed. Blaketown 3; Kiwis 0. Taking up the challenge, the Kiwi forwards, led by R. Eastgate. McLean and Leslie, pushed the Blaketown team 20 yards back past the half way line, where an infringement led to a penalty being awarded to the visitors. Carefully placing the ball, P. Eastgate made no mistake, and evened the score. Kiwis 3; Blaketown 3. Heartened by their success, the Kiwi forwards, with P. Eastgate in the vanguard, gained considerable ground, before hooking to 1 Sweeney, who sent the backs away in a race for the line, but a knock-on stopped a promising move. Stung by the vigorous Kiwi opposition, the home team rallied strongly, and gradually moved un the field towards the goal line. Good work by McKendry and Fisher in the scrums enabled the Blaketown half-back, Richardson, to receive the ball at a critical moment, and he sent the backs away in a swift passing rush, which defeated all Kiwi efforts to halt it, Ellery crossing the line to earn the applause- of the crowd for a clever try. Muir converted. Blaketown 8; Kiwis 3. The home team, which were now showing up as a fitter side, kept carrying the play to Kiwis, who at this stage appeared to be lagging. Again the lighter Blaketown forwards secured from the scrum, and the backs then began a strong attack, which carried play to within 20 yards of the visitors’ goal line, where Muir received the ball to secure a well-earned try. The kick failed. Blaketown 11; Kiwis 3. Just before half time, Kiwis were penalised for a scrum infringement. Muir, taking the kick from a difficult anole, placed the ball between the uprights. Blaketown 14; Kiwis 3. THE SECOND SPELL Blaketown began with a spurt which seemed to fluster the visitors.

Kiwis made several bad mistakes, en-l abling the wiry home forwards to gain possession’ and make a rush for the line, where Tomlinson gathered up the ball, but lost it when he was tackled by Stoop. Quickly gaining his feet, Tomlinson grabbed the ball and forced his way over for a try. The kick failed. Kiwis appeared to wilt under the relentless Blaketown attacks, and though they secured a fair share of the ball from the set scrums, and more than their share in the line-outs, their backs appeared to fumble when passing, and lost many an opportunity, which was quickly taken advantage of by Blaketown. The home team continued their harrassing tactics and drove deep into Kiwi territory, where K. Walsh received in a back line movement, crossing for a further try. Muir converted. Blaketown 22; Kiwis 3. The home team now had the game all their own way, and Ellery scored again shortly after. The try was not converted. In a last-minute rally, Kiwis, in a game effort carried play deep into Blaketown territory, where Sweeney sent the backs away in a rush for the line, from which R. Stoop secured to gain the visitors’ only try. P. Eastgate converted. Kiwis 8; Blaketown 25. The game concluded shortly after with Blaketown the victors by a 17 point margin. Mr M. R. Bunt was referee. STARS AGAIN VICTORIOUS The crowd at No. 2' ground, Rugby Park, on Saturday eagerly followed the battle for supremacy as Celtic and Stars swept up and down the field, and answered attack with counter-attack, in a fast, open display of football. Stars won after a grand rally in the second spell, during which they knocked up 18 points, to defeat Celtic by 18 points to 6. The teams were: — Celtic: T. Burley, P. Conaghan, K. Rea, Fitzgerald, McDonald, S. Garforth, B. Hamilton, Fauth, Buchanan, Hill. Harker, Tinneley, Rose., Joyce, V. Hahn. Stars: R. Steel, B. Steel, p. Steel, R. Nelson, W. Hayton. B. Dixon, L. McDougql, M. Lambert, G. Nelson, A. Smith. S. Solomon, M. Wilson, D. Wilson, Stokes, J. Pegley. Celtic began the game at a hot pace, which carried play almost to the Star goal line, but resolute play by the defending backs saved an awkward situation. Determined to keep Star in their 25, Celtic drove down the field en masse, and almost swamped the Star forwards, who had to play hard to hold the attack. Just at this moment the Celtic half-back, Billy Hamilton, secured the ball and sent the backs away in a sweeping attack, but the Star defence held. Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, K. Rea, with a brilliant kick, placed the ball between the uprights from a position on the Star 25, about 15 yards in from the side line. The cheers of their supporters thundered across the field, in answer to Celtic's efforts of scoring within the first five minutes. The Star forwards developed an attack that carried the game into Celtic territory for the first time, when the forwards, Lambert and Nelson, supported by Pegley and Wilson, with the ball at their toe menaced the goal line. When it appeared that Stars would score. Hamilton, tne versatile Celtic half-back, appeared from nowhere the save the situation. Celtic now launched attack after attack in rapid succession, and soon had Stars grimly' on the defensive, and when Celtic were awarded a penalty, things looked dark for the black and yellow. Rea’s kick, from a difficult angle, just fell short. This was caught by R. Nelson, who kicked into touch, gaining about 15 yards for the hard pressed team. CELTIC IN SCORING MOOD Good combination and their aptitude for snapping uo stray chances gave Celtic superior thrust during the first half of the game, and as play continued, the Star forwards did not appear to be doing sq- well in the scrums, as Celtic _ secured time and again, as well as in the line-outs. Dixon and Pegley, for Star, at this stage of the game were often responsible for very quick following up tactics, which saved the team on several occasions, while G. Nelson, supported the backs when they most needed it. From a line-out, Celtic secured, and Hamilton cut in, and dodging several opponents, gained about 20 yards. Plav now swept up and down the field, and a Star forward rush led by Pegley and G. Nelson began, to look dangerous for Celtic when a knockon halted a good movement. From a scrum, Star carried play to the Celtic goal line, where Hamilton was forced to ground the ball. Eagerly contested Star attacks gradually gained ground, and from a scrum about half way between the Celtic 25 and the half way line. McDougal sent the Star backs away. Hayton and D. Steel working in combination, warded off strong Celtic attacks, to pass the ball to R- Nelson, who dashed for the line, but lost it just as he crossed to score. Trying out new tactics, Celtic began wheeling the scrum, and V. Hahn and Rose broke away with the ball at toe. to' cause considerable worry to the Star backs, before a knock-on halted nlay. From a scrummage on their 25. Star forwards pursued the ball up-field, where Hayton and G. Nelson followed up in an effort to score: but Rea grabbed the ball as it rolled across the goal ,and kicked into touch, gaining about 12 yards. This was a smart bit of work by Rea, and it earned the applause of the crowd. At this stage, hesitant play by the 1 Star backs lost them considerable ground in the face of Celtic attacks. Awarded a penalty, Celtic wasted no time, ana kicked up and under, where the ball was taken by the Star forwards, who passed to their backs. Just at this stage, Hamilton cut in, and with a smart piece of work, intercepted a pass from Hayton, and gamed’ 20 yards before being forced into touch. A highlight of the game was a great run by Fitzgerald, who rushed up and secured the ball. Fending off several would-be tacklers, he was pulled into touch by R. Nelson just on the corner flag. A few minutes before half time the Star half-back. McDougal, made a wild pass which was nicely intercepted by K. Rea, who passed to Conaghan,, who made a great run to score in the far corner. Fauth’s kick fell short. Celtic 6; Star 0. STAR ATTACK After half time, the Star forwards packed a better scrum,, which immediately began securing a better share of the ball, with the result that the backs, Hayton and B.. Steel, were able to get into action and get the ball out to the Star winger, R. Nelson. Star had their first success two minutes after hair time, when they were awarded a penalty.. G. Nelson made no mistake in placing the ball between the posts. Star 3; Celtic 6. Celtic rallied well, and carried play again to the Star 25, but good tackling by the backs saved the position, enabling the forwards, led by Pegley and G. Nelson, to turn defence into attack. Shortly after, the ball came out to R. Nelson on the wing, who gained considerable ground before nassing in-field to G. Nelson and J. Pegley, who, with good combination, broke through the opposing defence, where J. Pegley went over for a well merited try. G. Nelson, who was in good kicking form, again placed the ball between the uprights. Star 8; Celtic 6. The teams now opened the game up considerably, and threw the ball around in a manner pleasing to the spectators. T. Burleymade a good save for Celtic when R.

Steel carried play right up to the' Celtic goal line. G. Nelson, the versatile Star forward, was now breaking fast, and was constantly harrying the Celtic backs. A strong Star attack now developed, and due to the splendid efforts of the Star hooker, Stokes, the ball came out to- the backs, and Hayton passed to R. Nelson, who made a.great run up the side line, and outspeeding all opponents, scored a brilliant try. G. Nelson converted. Star’ 13; Celtic -6. Returning to the attack, the Star forwards, lead by G. Nelson, and supported by Pegley, Solomon, Lambert and Stokes, harried Celtic, who now appeared to be losing some of their initial sting. R. Steel, at I'uK-back, played one of his best games, handling safely and kicking accurately. He was always where he was most wanted. Towards the final stages R. Nelson received from Hayton, and crossed the line to score a further try. G. Nelson converted. Star 18; Celtic 6. Following up well, Rea intercepted, and cleared for the line, but was brought down by a well •timed tackle from Hayton. The final whistle blew with Star attacking strongly. Mr C. Cockburn was referee. Cobden Defeat Excelsiors in Willing Match Playing at Hokitika on Saturday. Cobden defeated Excelsiors by 12 poiqits to 5 in a very willing game. Excelsiors opened well and drove deep into Cobden territory. Cobden retaliated with a strong back line movement which carried play back towards Excelsior’s 25. During the first half of the game Cobden secured 9 points which comprised tries by A. George. R. Olsen, and B. Mettrick, none of which were converted. Excelsiors managed to secure 5 points, a try by Johnson which was converted by Moohan. Cobden secured the only points in the second spell when Lindbom potted a field goaL. For Cobden M. Herrick clayed well, as did Wright. W. Amberger was the outstanding back in the Hokitika team. On the day, Cobden proved the - better team and their win was well warranted. Excelsiors were unable to field a full team and the services of E. G. Walker who is oh the injured list, were missed. B. Mettrick played one of his best games this season and during the second hall received about 90 per cent, of the ball in the set scrums. Junior Matches at Rugby Park Playing on. No. 2 ground on Saturday afternoon. Star juniors were defeated by Celtic in a fast, open game, by 20 points to 3. Beginning with a promising rush, Star looked as if they would -score within the first few minutes, but resolute defence by Celtic kept them at bay. Celtic, however, livened up play, and in a strong counter-movement, forced play back into Star territory. At half time Celtic were leading by 8 points to 3, and Star still had a chance of catching them. However, any such hopes entertained by the spectators were soon dispelled, as with the recommencement of play Celtic added a further 12 points. The following players scored tries: For Star, Borton one try; for Celtic: B. Guerin two tries, and Kelly, G. Collins and P. Rea one try each, while S. Garforth kicked a penalty and converted a try. BLAKETOWN v. COBDEN Blaketown juniors proved superior to Cobden when they defeated them by 12 points to 6 in a game at No. 1 ground. The Blaketown team played well, but the Cobden players put on a good exhibition of football, and though defeated were in no way disgraced by their performance, which in many respects showed the benefit of good coaching. The game was fast, though it appeared ragged at times. The faster Blaketown backs turned the tide against the hard working Cobden forwards. RAILWAYS MATCH In the Railways contest, Grey Loco were victorious over Westport Railways by 11 points to 6. CANTERBURY GAMES CHRISTCHURCH, May 8. With a spectacular second spell recovery the Varsity Rugby • team achieved its second successive draw at Lancaster Park this afternoon. Six points down at half-time, they were able to finish level, 9-all. ith Marist. Last ’ Saturday Varsity drew,. 19-all, with Sydenham. The first spell in to-day’s game was ragged, and well -below senior form, except for the movement that led to McGuire’s try. The second spell brought an improvement. There was also excitement at Rugby Park, where the still unbeaten Technical College Old Boys' . side gained a win by 13 noints to 9 over Sydenham, last year’s champions. Main surprise of the day was High School Old Boys’ heavy defeat of Christchurch by 30 points to 8. Other results were: Albion 25, New Brighton 12; Sunnyside 11. Linwood 8; Training College 11, Merivale 3. WELLINGTON. May 8. Senior: Athletic 17, Marist 12: Wellington 1.6, Poneke 3; Hutt 3, Petone 3: Onslow 29, University 3: St. Patrick’s Old Boys 13, W.C0.8. 12; Oriental 17, Johnsonville 3.