HAWERA v. PATEA

Hawera Star, Volume L, 19 May 1930, Page 9

HAWERA v. PATEA

After registering a try oil Hawera’s ground the improving Pate a combination apeared unlucky to have to sipuit the championship points when Hawera later secured three points with a penalty goal to make a draw of the game. Territorially, however, the honours ofi play were a, shade in favour of tire Hawara team which would also have been unfortunate if it had had' to cede the championship points. On a sodden ground both sides played good Rugby and the only difference which could be drawn was a Slight margin in favour of Hawera in forward play, Hawera winning the majority of the scrums and showing a better combination in the vanguard though, in individual efforts, the Patea forwards were dangerous in the second spell. Patea were without the services of their best forward. W. Baldwin, whose inclusion might have swung the balance in their favour. A light breeze insisted Patea. in the first and Hawera in the second spell and for half the opening session the Hawera backs wore handicapped bv the sun which., however, was subsequently obscured. Weather was fine except for the concluding _ quarter of an hour when drizzling rain made the ball difficult to hold. The Hawera full back, J. Cheevers, and Patea’s centre, J. Crawford, shared honours as the day’s most useful bacKs, while the best of the forwards were W. Robinson It. Williams and B. Murphy in the Hawera pack and P. Bourke (rover). C. Wills, luid A. Iticluards in the Patea. vanguard. The teams lined out as follow:

Hawera (amber and black). —J. Cheevers. B. MCarthy, C. Hammond, S. Anderson; D. Ekdaihl. N. Hunter; S. T. Riley (half); K. Riley (rover), T. Malcolm, R. Williams; T. Goodyer, Pokau. B. Murpliy; W. Robinson (eapt.), If. Robinson (hookers). Patea (blue).—J. Petersen; W. Zimmerman, J. Crawford. M. Hannan; IS. Bourke, D. Grant (capt.); J. Hurley (half) ; P. Bourke (rover); C. Wills, A. Richards; S. Hunt, H. Bremer, G. Baldwin. C. Humblyn, C. Crompton (hookers).

Patea played with the sun at their backs in the opening session, but had to accpt the role of defenders for the first ten minutes in which the Hawera forwards made the pace. The Amber hookers were ruling the scrums and S. F. Riley made his transfers quickly, but dropped passes and rapid tackling by the opposition 'prevented the rear division from functioning to effect. During a line out the rep. hooker, W. Robinson, was noted in a quick breakaway to snatch the ball from the Blue half-back and make a 20 yards dash till stopped by Petersen. Both full backs Petersen and ’ Cheovors. roused the crowd with judicious punting. Oheevers lieing oonspioious for touch finders. With long" range penalties Petersen twice failed to reach the goal. Patea, made brief excursions into home territory. but the Amber defence was sound and the forwards asserted themselves to pen Patea on their lino for several minutes. In a scrum on the (line the ball was booked to Hurley for a force down. Following tihe kick out Hawera swung to the attack again, the ball going .across the. backs to McCarthy who sent it infield l when stopped in the corner bv Grant. A try looked certain till a knock-on was ruled within two yairdls of the line. Hawera gained the scrum hall. bait P'. Bourke spoiled the hacks and the assault was definitely turned when E'kdahl minted behind the line in an endeavour to centre the ball. The. Blue centre, J. Crawford, turned) a following Hawera attack and electrified the crowd with a run for three parts of the length of the fid] d till checked by Oheevers. With Crawford as the mainspring tire- 13Hie lyalcfes* opened am tire play and improved <rreatlv on their earlier showing. Runs by Crawford, Grant and E. Bourke led to perilous situations for the borne defence and an exciting period of Patea onslaughts terminated when Zimmerman made a hopeless .attempt for a. field goal. The Hawera vanguard) made a spirited counter thrust and, deep in the twenty-five, Cheevers tried a pot winch failed to rise. Anderson chased the ball to the line, hut, with a mixed group disputing possession, a forcedown was awarded. Play hung in neutral territory for 'several minutes, hut just before' half-time a Patea forward thrust, started by G. Baldwin, almost ga.ve a score to Crompton, who was narrowly beaten by Cheevers for the touch, down. With the light breeze behind them them, the Hawera forwards, went promptly to the' attack in the second spell, B. Murphy and a group of supporters being all but across. Three fierce isorties surged on the Blue line, but P. Bourke and S. Hunt raised the siege with a charge to mid-field. Action was swept as each goal was threatened in turn. Fluctuations showed slightly in favour of Patea for a period, bub the bids were turned surely, Cheevers being the outstanding figure in. Hawera’s defence. Results came a quarter of an hour from the commencement of the .spell when a forward struggle in the twenty-five terminated in a short charge of P. Bourke, Crompton and C. Wills, the last named diving after the ball to score in good position. P. Bourke failed to goal.

Patea 3 —Hawera nil. Just within lialf-way, Iv. Riley took a penalty, awarded to Hawera and made a good kick which failed by a small margin. Teams, back and forward,' were well matched during a lengthy period of ensuing play. The Patea forwards were showing better comparison with tile home vanguard than in the opening stages, though the Amber pack . still shaded the southerners in concerted movements. The majority of scrum decisions went to the Hawera hookers, but P l .. Bourlce harried the home backs consistently, while Wills and Richards were breaking swiftly to further the spoiling work. With the home backs exploiting the lino kick and the forwards thrusting hard, action was kept in the Blues’ quarter for a liectio five minutes. In the danger zone a Blue forward infringed and K. Riley evened the score with a wellj u dged pi aoe-kick. Hawera 3—Patea 3. Changing fortunes brought both sides 1 within striking distance during tlio period before full-time. A light drizle of rain tended to make the ball difficult to hold! and close order tactics ruled the play. Territorial honours wore slightly in favour of Hawera. though the Blues kept a solid pace, and no side was signalled with the score still showing three all. Mr H. O. Johnson was the' referee. OKAIAWA v, ELTHAM At Okaiawa the homo team met and defeated Eltham in a liard-fought aud interesting contest. Eltham secured a larger share of the ball ill the first (half, and Okaiawa confined their efforts mainly to defensive measures. Keenness to avert danger cost Okaiawa many penalties, but the visitors were unable to turn these advantages to account. In the concluding stages

Okaiawa became dangerous and attacked solidly, and Rangi Ruru opened the scoring with a pretty try near the corner. In the second spell combination among the Okaiawa backs became an outstanding featuie, and Eltliam were confined to within their own territory. Johnston scored an I unconverted try, and in quick succession a further three points, a penalty goal, were added by R. Clarke. Awahou next scored a try and Clarke convorted. Eltliam launched a spirited attack and were rewarded with a try by Jones (unconverted), but then* determination was short-lived. Okaiawa sweeping all before them, Clarke scoi - iim and converting a try, the game ending 19—3 in their favour. The teams lined out as under. Okaiawa (red and block).—Murdoch (full-back), Cameron, Ngaia, McCallum, Janies (half), Johnston, Awahou, Rangi Ruru (wing forward), M. Clarke, Grenougli, Ike (lock), R. Guy, R. Clarke, Tippetts and Preston (hookers). Eltliam (white and black).—R. Bourke (full-back). Prince, L. Cooper, K mickey. Townsend, D. Gonei, E. Casey (half), F. and R. Bocock, IT. Slocombe, H. Potts, S. PenniaU (mug forward), R. Campbell, H. Elliott and D. Joneis (hookers). Okaiawa. kicked off against the sun and for the first 10 minutes there was a good deal of scrummaging in Eltliam territory, until Knuckey carried the ball in a passing rush among the backs. The Reds defended and Rangi Ituru and Ngaia, between them., carried the ball back to the White twenty-five line. Okaiawa were penalised” but Ike saved a difficult situation, battling through the opposing 1 forwards to half-way. Eltliam maintained the pressure and kept the ball in the open. Casey endeavoured to “pot” a goal, but the ball went wide and Okaiawa took a turn at, attack. Eltliam secured the larger share of the ball and Okaiawa’s keenness to avert 'danger cost the Reds more than one penalty, none in dangerous territory, fortunately for them. From a line-out at lialf-way Ike broke away and set tlie forwards in motion. Dribbling the ball the hefty Okaiawa lock crossed the line, .but lost a golden opportunity to score. Elthanr touched down in the nick of time. In a five-yard scrum Elthanr offended and Ike took the kick, but with no luck. A brilliant piece of play followed, in which the visiting backs combined with gorfl effect and approached close to the Red goal line. Prince, Cooper and Knuckey came m> close to a scrum in front of the posts, but all three fumbled the ball badly* and Ngaia had no- trouble in finding the line near the twentyfive. Okaiawa again suffered a penalty for off-side play. Bourke’s kick at goal, however, bringing no reward. At this stage a bout of fisticuffs' in i midfield caught the referee’s eye, and Rangi Ruru and Penniall. opposing wing forwards, were warned. Guy put in a useful run up the side-line and centred, the ball passing out to' Ngaia, who found the line in a handy position. From the line-out Okaiawa ljacks attacked solidly, and Rangi Ruru Tossed over to score near the corner flag. Ike failed 1 with the kick and the first spell ended:

Okaiawa 3 —Eltliam 0

Resuming play, Okaiawa bustled the opposing backs and swept all before them. Rkmgl Uuru came within an ace of scoring from a line-out near the corner, but had hard luck in falling short -of the line. Okaiawa attacked strongly!, and Eltliam confined their efforts solely to defensive measures. A series of scrums near the goal-line followed, the ball coming out on each occasion to Jones, who played a sterling game and did Tiis> best to let the back row through. Hughes replaced Gower (Eltliam second five-eighth) who was injured in the first spell. Fi-om a lineout near the corner flag Awahou took the ball and “dummied” beautifully, passing to Johnson, who crossed over and touched down for Okaiawa. Ike had no luck with the kick. Okaiawa 6 —Eltham 0. Fast and furious up and down field play followed, in, which Eltham were penalised twice and R. Clarke kicked a penalty goal. Okaiawa 9 —Eltham Q. Both sides adopted a willing open style and first one then the other gain-i ed ground through short pass rushes. Okaiawa Packs combined well and made the pace, settling down to really solid work. Awahou picked up the bail in a melee and scrambled across near the posts to score. R. Clarke converted. Okaiawa, 14 —Eltham 0. Somewhat nettled by the turn events had taken in the second spell, Eltham rallied round the ball and some splendid passing among both backs and forwards, was witnessed. Grim determination characterised the movement, and the reward came when Jones grossed the line and fell on the ball. Hughes missed with the kick. Okaiawa 14—Eltham 3. A fierce struggle ensued, the Reds sweeping all before them .in a spirited attack. The backs again were prominent and R. Clarke dashed through, grabbing the ball from an opponent and touching down near the posts. He also converted with ani easy kick, the game ending: Okaiawa 19—Eltham 3. Mr A. Spratt was referee. OPUNAKE v. KAPONGA in a match that was marked by a keen forward struggle, and in which practically throughout the losing team’s forwards dominated the position, O'piuiake won by tlie narrow margin of three points, the outcome of as pretty a try as one could wish to see and almost the only occasion on which the. winners’ backs got into effective action. It was hard fought right to tlie end. The teams were: Opimako.—McDonald, Sinclair, McCollum, Page, C. Holm in, T. Robinson, Me Ivor, O’Rorke, Conroy, R. Lusk, J. Lusk, Bishop, Harrison, Smith, Hodge. Kaponga.-—Williams, O. Paterson, G. Paterson., Hall, Dawson, McCarrison, B. Hammersley, Twist, Free, Gargun. Espin, Murphy, Gardner, Dew, O’Sullivan. Opuimkc winning the Loss, Kaponga kicked off from the east end and play for the first live minutes was very even. Harrison then kicked out near the corner and from the line-out had a shot in a fairly easy position, but just failed to put the ball over the bar. Kaponga then attacked and had their opponents busy defending till C. Hohaia, intercepting, dashed for the line, but was collared, and immediately

afterwards Harrison had another shot at goal, which just went outside the posts. Opunake pressed hard and were on the opposing line for some time until the Kaponga backs, in a nice passing rush, took play to the quarter way. A free kick gave tiie greens relief, but Williams returned well down the line and a rush of black forwards was checked within twenty yards of the line and a penalty kick by <J. Paterson made Opunake force. Kaponga forwards' maintained this pressure, but Page, taking the ball well, dashed through and a likely looking movement, in which Robinson and 0 iiorke were associated took play to the black quarters, and, as the result of a lone; kick by McCullum, Kaponga forced. From the kick-out the play hovered round half-way until Kaponga broke through and C. Paterson lined near the corner. Opunake cleared, but another kick bv the same back sent the greens back and twice he bad a shot from a penalty that almost succeeded and Opunake forced again. From the kick-out the ball came back to Robinson, who sent it on to Hohuia and to Sinclair, who kicked downheld and play went to the blacks’ line.' C. Paterson relieved with a hue line kick and play centred. The black forwards in a series of loose rushes went up close to Opunake line and from a scrum the forwards were nearly over. They maintained the pressure till the ball' came out from a scrum and Opunake forced just as the whistle went for half-time. From the commencement of the second spell, Kaponga forwards, keeping play close, were in Opunake quarters until Hohaia, in a nice dribbling rush, centred and the ball went out at half-way. A free lack was given to the local men and Harrison lined near the 25 flag. Opunake kept up the pressure, but a brilliant dash by the Black forwards, headed by Twist, Murphy and Gardner, made a swift Change, the ball going out near the 25 flag. Hammersley broke away and passed to Twist, who went across, hut the nass was forward and a scrum was given. The Green forwards got away and a missing rush ensued between J. Lusk and Page, which went to the quarter flag. Robinson, Conroy and Holiaia went away again, and a likely looking rush was well stopped by C. Paterson. He marked and lined at the 25 flag. Kaponga forwards carried on from the line-out and 1 a hard kick made Opunake force. Kaponga set up a hot forward attack, and the Greens were hard pressed until a good lack bv Harrison gave them relief. The Black backs swung into action, and tlie ball came across to Hall, who, failing to take a pass, spoilt a likely movement. The Green forwards attacked strongly, and then the outstanding back rush of the day took olaee when Mclvor out to Robinson and he to Holiaia. When blocked the latter sent it on to McCullum. and the latter finished a nice dash by scoring a brilliant try. It was in every way a movement worthy of the best records of iie Green backs. Harrison’s kick failed, Opunake 3 —Kaponga 0. Nothing daunted, Kaponga. forwards went downfield l and finished an effective dash when a kick went out at the corner. A keen struggle ensued just on the line. Mclvor saving in a tight place and lining at the quarter r way. Taking from a bit of loose play, G. Paterson had a pot that nearly succeeded and Opunake forced. Packed scrums followed and then Opunake went away in a! loose rush, and a series of attempts to find the line followed, Harrison at length lining. From the tlirow-in the Green forwards broke through and, J. Luslc and Conroy in the lead., dashed for the line and the Blacks narrowly escaped, Hall touching down just in time. Following the kick-out, there was a strenu-j ous struggle near half-way till Free, Gargan and Eispin broke through, but failed to hold the advantage. Robinson then got away and put in a bril- 1 liant dash, losing all the advantage by failing to pass when ihe had three men with him on the outside. Kaponga attacked again and, the ball i going out, time was called without further score.

Opunake 3—Kaponga 0. Mr G. Hurlev was referee.