RUGBY GLEANINGS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 28 July 1928, Page 12

RUGBY GLEANINGS

FIELD AND SIDELINE.

LISTS OF FIXTURES. TARANAKI REP. GAMES. Juno 4 —v. Wanganui, at Wanganui, won 14 —0. July 4— v . Wellington, at Hawera, won 9 —G. July 12 —v. Waikato at Stratford; won 24—11. Aug. 9—v. Marlborough, at Hawera. Aug. 11 —v. Hawke’s Bay, at New Plymouth. Aug. 18 —v. Wanganui, at New Plymouth. Aug. 29—v. Manawhenua, at Palmerston North. Sept. I—v. Wellington, at Wellington. Sept. B—v.8 —v. Manawhenua, at New Plymouth. Sept. 15—v. Waikato, at Hamilton. Sept. 19 —v. Thame s Valley, at Te AToha. Sept. 22—v. Auckland, at Auckland. * INTER-ISLAND MATCH. Aug. IS—North Island v. South Island, at Christchurch. NEW SOUTH WALES TEAM. Aug. 25 —v. Auckland, at Auckland. Aug. 29 —v. Wanganui, at Wanganui. Sept. I—v. Hawke’s Bay ,at Napier. Sept. s—v. New Zealand (first test), at W ellington. Sept. B—v. New Zealand (second test), at' Dunedin. Sept. 12—v. Southland, at Invercargill. Sept. 15—v. New Zealand (third test), at Ohristchurch. Sept. 19—v. Marlborough, at Blenheim. ALL BLACKS ON TOUR. GAMES PLAYED. May 30. —Won, 11-3 from Western Province (Country Clubs), at Capetown. All Blacks: Tries by A. C. Robilliard and H. J. Swain; conversion and penalty goal by M. P. Nieholls. Western Province: Try by Van Der Merwe. June 2 —Lost, 3-7 to Capetown Clubs, at Capetown. All Blacks: Try by M. F. Nieholls. Capetown Clubs: Try by Pienaar; field goal by Rousseau. June 6. —Won 19-10 from Griqualand, at Kimberley. All Blacks: Tries by C. E. Rushbrook (2), R. G. MeMilliams, F. W. Lucas, and I. Finlayson; conversion each by D. A. Lindsay and W. A. Strang. Griqualand: Try by Bok; penalty and field goals bv Holton. June 9. —Lost 0-6 to Transvaal, at Johannesburg. Tries by Raath and Liebenberg. June 13.—Won, 20-nil from Orange Free State (country) at Kroonstad. Trieg by W. A. Strang (2), W. C. Dally and A. E. Grenside; four conversions by D. A. Lindsay. June 16 —Won 5-0 from Transvaal at Johannesburg. Try by L. M. Johnson; conversion by W. A. Strang. June 20.—Won, 19-8 from' Western Transvaal, at Potsheftroom. All Blacks: Tries by F. W. Lucas (2), J. Hore, M. J. Brownlie, and G. Alley; two conversions by M. F. Nieholls. Western Transvaal: Try by Hesse; conversion and penalty goal by De Wet. June 23—Won 31—3 from Natal, at Maritziburg. AH Blacks: Tries by A. C. C. Robilliard (2), G. Scrimshaw (2), A. TE. Grenside, R. T. Stewart; penalty goal and conversion five tries by D. A. Lindsay. Natal: Penalty goal by Barlow. June 30 —Lost o—l 7 to South Africa, First Test at Durban. South Africa: Twc field goals and two penalties by Bennie Osier; try by Slater. June 7 —'Drew, 18 all, with Northern Provinces at Kimberley. All Blacks: Tries by C. E. Rushbrook (2); two conversions, two penalty goals and a field goal by D. F. Lindsay. Northern Provinces: Tries by Todd (2) and Do.bie; conversions by Francis (2), and Potgieter; penalty goal by Francis. j u ly 14—Won 44 —8 from Rhodesia at ""Bulawayo. All Blocks: Tries by L. M. Johnson (2), H. Lilburne, G. Scrimshaw, M. Brownlie, I. Finlayson, ,C. E. Rushbrook, A. C. ,C. Robilliard, W. E. .Hazlett, F. W. Lucas; eight conversions by D. F. Lindsay. Rhodesia: Try by Mclntosh; conversion and penalty goal by Thompson. July 21. —Won 7—6 from South Africa, Second Test, at Johannesburg. All Blacks: Penalty goal by D. A. Lindsay; field goal by W. A. Strang. South Africa: Goal from a mark by Mostert; penalty goal by Bennie Osier.

July 25—Won 13—6 from Pretoria Districts at Pretoria. All Blacks: Tries bv A. E. Grenside, R. G. McWilliams, 11. J. Swain; two conversions Iby D. A. Lindsay. Pretoria: Tries by Kotze and Geyser. Summary: Matches played 13, won 9, drawn 1, lost 3. Points for 200, against 92. REMAINING MATCHES. July 28, v. Orange Free State, at Bloemfontein. August 1, v. North-Eastern Districts, at Bunghersdorp. August 4, v. Border, at East Loudon. August 8, v. Border, at Kingwilliamstown. August 11, v. Eastern Province, at Port Elizabeth. August 18, v. South Africa (third test), at Port Elizabeth. August 22, v. South-Western Districts, ' at Oudtshoorn. August 25, v. Western Province, at Capetown. September i, v. South Africa (fourth Test), at Capetown.

Thirteenth and a Friday. The All Blacks have not done so well as expected, said a lady enthusiast. because they left New Zealand on April 13, and, to make matters worse, they sailed on a Friday. Not Mere Brawn. A South African opinion of the All Black forwards: These big, often bulky-looking forwards are not mere brawn and muscle. They are skilful players. They are brought up in a school which teaches that forwards should be able to handle a ball and to run as fast as any three-quarter. They do not confine their energies merely to scrummaging, mauls, and line-out play, good as they are in all these departments of the game. As soon as ever the ball is loose they automatically become extra backs. '

Taranaki Query to Appeal Council. [ The question as to wnether a referee, 'iia.ing sounded his whistle apparently with the intention of awarding a mam, was correct in allowing a dropped goal uy tne player who had just fielded the ball, was under consideration by the Management Committee of the Taranaki rtugoy Union on Thursday, when in response to a request from the Inglewood Club, it was decided to submit the case to the Appeal Council, me query arose as the outcome of a potted goal registered by Petty for x'ukapa in the match at New Plymouth one eune 23, which. Inglewood won by lu points to f. An unusual feature o* the- query was that it was made by the winning club in tlie match which Ja-ve rise to the incident. A letter received by the committee from the referee (Mr. F. J. Eggleton) explained that an Inglewood' player punted high and jollowed up. L. Petty made a fair catch and immediately drop-kicked at goal. He distinctly heard the word “mark” called just as L. Petty nicked. He sounded the whistle as the ball was on it flight towards the opponent s posts. Realising quickly that L. Petty did not call a. mark, lie awarded a potted goal. Evidently some spectator called “mark” and was plainly heard by his line umpires, Messrs A. Davis and F. Hooker, and also by the reporters in the Press stand, .iie sent the following rules: Rule i: The referee blows the whistle iirst and then gi' es his decision; (2) no placer could be penalised for the actions of spectators. Apart from rules he allowed tue sense oi right to enter m. No one could deny that a potted goal was the direct intention oi L. • etty. it would have been an injusti.e to haie ruled otherwise, concluded Mr. Eggieton. New Zealand’s Greatest Five-Eighths.

Ever sis.ee New Zealand played her first international match against New South Wales in iBB4, many great players have participated in games for New Zealand (says a writer in the Christchurch “Star”). ’ Call to mind the late Bob Deans, George Smith, Jimmie Hunter, ot the 1905 All Blacks, and in more recent years, Teddy Roberts and Billy lea, to mention but a lew. All these players have been outstanding in their time, and have been tne idols of the public. No one, however, stands out so much, or catches the public imagination as does A. F. Cooke, famous NewZealand live-eighth. So many players have been good in various branches of the game; some noted for their defence, others for their attack, but Cooke has mastered every phase of the game. In defence he is one of the finest tacklers at present playing the game. He is very light and thin, yet he brings down the heaviest players. His timing must be perfect

When there is a lack over or near the opposing goal-line, Cooke is always first to follow up. As an instance of in’s ability in this respect, I refer to the 1924 All Blacks’ match with Somerset. The second spell had been in progress twenty-fiive minutes, with the score nil all, when Cooke secured and; stab-punted almost immediately, following through at a great pace to score New Zealand’s first try. He scored a similar try for New Zealand against New South Wales at Eden Park in 1925, when New Zealand won 36 to 10. His opportunism in this respect is unequal ed. and in addition to tills, he is an excellent dribbler, and is always dangerous with the ball at toe. When the opponents are attacking. Cooke stands up close, almost level with the line-out, and practises an aggressive kind of defence which is most disconcerting to his opponents and of inestimable value to his side. Altogether, bis versatility has earned for him the right to be hall-marked as the greatest five-eighth New Zealand has produced. His inability to make the trip to South Africa left a breach which was impossible to fill, and the present side could clearly do with his presence. Cooke’s scoring record for New Zealand is as iollows:

Points. N.S..W. tour, 1924, three tries ... 9 United Kingdom tour, 1924-25, nineteen tries 57 v New. South Wales, 1925 2 tries 6 Australian tour, 1926, four tires ... 12 One conversion 2

Making a total of 86 During the three tests to be played against New South Wales this season, it is quite conceivable that he will bring his record of points scored to the century, an honour shared with only six other players in the history of New Zealand football. Critic Out of Bounds.

Football" criticism m New Zealand, though it is often keen and verging on the parochial, seldom becomes ollensive ysays the Christchurch “Star”). Here is a sample, however, from the Ilugby notes in the “Dominion” that exceeds all bounds: .“I envy the crowd wlio saw the game at Kimberley. Would we had all been there to see Rushbrook score his two sensational tries, particularly that second one, when he raced away from the centre mark to beat six men in succession to score. This is the best of a Rugby tour—it gives every member of the team an opportunity to prove his worth. You can’t keep a good man down, and the Well-, ington College old boy may yet be apprised at his true worth by the selectors. Anyhow, he did not develop a limp, as Robilliard and Grenside did in the first test match.” Comment on the last sentence is needless. The implication contained therein reflects on no one more than the writer. Its publication is all the more surprising seeing that Rugby notes are usually marked by fairness and good sense. First Aid for Compression.

A little story against himself was told by J. Becconsall, well-known St. John Ambulance man, in a talk to members of the Canterbury Rugby Referees’ Association last week about first aid on the football field (states an exchange). After remarking that one of the tests for compression oh the brain is dilation of the pupil of one eye and loss of alignment of the eyes, he said that about—three years ago a player in a match on the oval caster Park was removed to the touchline for his attention, and he found that the pupil of one of the man’s eyes was larger than the other, and there was a- squint in one eye. He telephoned to the Christchurch Hospital to say that a case of compression was to be sent there, and asked for an ambulance. Presently the injured‘-man “came round” and wanted to return to the play. Becconsall restrained him, and there was quite a little argument between them. Eventually the player broke away and returned to the field. Later another player, who knew of the test for compression, went up to the ambulance man and said: “Hid you think that So-and-so had compression? The squint he has is natural.”