SATURDAY'S RUGBY GAMES

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 23 May 1932, Page 6

SATURDAY'S RUGBY GAMES

SURPRISE WIN IN SOUTH WAIMATE DEFEATS PATEA OPUNAKE MAINTAIN LEAD Waimate’s surprise win over Patea by 20 points to six was the feature of the fourth series of matches in the South Taranaki senior Rugby competition on Saturday. Opunake maintained the divisional leadership by defeating Hawera by 22 points to six, Okaiawa beat Athletic by 23 points to nine, and Kaponga accounded for Eltham by 18 points to three. In the northern division Tukapa beat Old Boys by 17 points to three, Stratford won from Clifton 10—nil, and Star beat Inglewood hy nine points to three. Celtic had a bye.

THE SCORE BOARD SOUTHERN DIVISION SENIORS Kaponga 18 y. Eltham 3. Waimate 20 v. Patea 6. Okaiawa 23 v. Athletic 9. Opunake 22 v. Hawera 6. JUNIORS Rahotu 3 v. Kaponga 0. Patea 8 v. Waiinate 8. Okaiawa 27 v. Athetic 4. Hawera 12 v. Opunake 3. third grade Patea 13 v. Hawera High School 6. Opunake 12 v. Athetic 3. fourth grade Okaiawa 45 v. Hawera High School 0, Kaponga 6 v. Hawera 3. Waimate 6 v. Eltham 0. NORTHERN DIVISION SENIORS Star 9 v. Inglewood 3. Stratford 10 y. Clifton 0. Tukapa 17 y. Old Boys 3. POSITION OF THE TEAMS SOUTHERN DIVISION

OKAIAWA’S EASY WIN ATHLETIC FIELDS WEAK TEAM J)RAR GAME AT SHOWGROUNDS Fielding a weak fifteen, including several juniors, Athletic were no match for Qkaiawa at the Hawera Showgrounds, losing by 23 points to d. Okaiawa owed their win mainly to the enterprise of the inside backs and on the whole the game was a drab exhibition. The teams were:

.Athletic (red and white). Morrissey; Smith Blyth, Lee; Dowdle, Dymond; ‘VVoolford; Baldwin, ' Tula, Cameron; Malcolm, McLean; Coleman, Tippett, Bob ms on.

Okaiawa (red and black). —Murdoch ; McOallum, Ngaia, Simons; Robinson, Johnson; Edwards; Greenough, Scott, Awahou; R. Clarke, Ike; Guy,, Preston, Crawford.

Appalling tackling enabled McGallum to cut through the field as he hked and score between the posts. Cra.wioia again, converted. Okaiawa 15 —Athletic 3. Tn a brief rally Athletic threw the ball about freely and reached within ten yards of Okaiawa’s line.. A ecruim ensued, from which the red and blacks forced. Ngaia, Johnson and Eobinsoii; were associated in a rush to Athletic s twenty-five, where from a scrum on tlie line Clarke scored comfortably. Crawford added the extra points. Okaiawa 20 —-Athletic 3. I \ Athletic were penned in their quarter for isome minutes before being able to clear to midfield, the spell ending without further spore. . Okaiawa were almost over within tv o minutes of the commencement of the second spell. Ilobinson failed to take his pass from a five yards scrum and Athletic found safety past the twentyfive. The Okaiawa backs were effect-, ively smothered by the Athletic forwards, in an attempted breakaway and Dyniond secured to carry play to the red and black quarter, the defenders forcing .from two successive punts to the line. In a brilliant jmky run Dymoiid cut in from midfield to the j twenty-five before transferring to 1 Blyth, who in turn passed to bmitili. The latter was tackled on the wing, but he threw infield to Robinson, who scored' we.il out. Morrissey faded to convert. , . „ Okaiawa 20—Athletic 6.

Athletic kicked off facing the sun and the wind, and were penalised in a melee between midfield and the Okaiawa twenty-five. An exchange of long raime kicks followed, and a scrum on of Athletic’s twenty-five. Ngaia essayed a field goal but the leatHor was taken on the full and. lined at the neutral area. Dymond secured to punt well downfield and Tippett followed up to gam possession and reach Okaiawa’ls twenty-five. His transfer was intercepted by McCallum who raced round the field to find touch at halfway. Solid forward work prevented breakaways by the. Okaiawa backs and twice the red and white forwards reached Okaiawa’s territory in fast, bustling rushes. Athletic held the territorial advantage for some minutes, play being confined to the Okaiawa- side or halfway, the Athletic forwards showing to advantage. A scrum was ordered on Okaiawa’s twenty-five line in which the red and blacks were penalised. Moirissey took the kick and found the uprights. Athletic 3 —Okaiawa 0. Okaiawa lined at Athletic’s quarter from the drop-out, but Athletic cleared to midfield in a combined rush. Robinson instituted two passing bouts which were held up at trie twenty-five, while Dymond and Morrissey made timely clearances from sudden back rushes. Crawford attempted a field goal from the twenty-five, the ball falling just short. Athletic forced. The Okaiawa back line swung into action from the drop-out, Robinson making a spectacular cnt in to hand on to Johnson deetp in Athletic’s twenty-five. Johnson in turn transferred to Ngaia, who paced his way over. Crawford converted. Okaiawa, s—Athletic5 —Athletic 3. Effectively demonstrating scissor passing, the Okaiawa backs almost had a free run of the field in a brilliant rush which culminated in a scramble fifteen yards from Athletic’s line. Ngaia secured to evade flying tackles and dive over to score. Crawford converted. ! Okaiawa 10 —Athletic 3.

Showing improved combination and playing better in the loose, the Athletic j forwards commenced to hold Okaiawa. | Baldwin had a penalty shot at goat; from midfield, the ball just falling] short. Morrissey made an attempt, from the same mark a few" minutes later, hut the effort also was fruitless. A sudden breakaway by the Okaiawa] backs was halted at the twenty-five and Athletic returned to the red and black territory. Malcolm and Smith weie held up ill a rulsh which carried them to within five yards of their objective, a scrum following. Robinson changed defence into- attack with disconcerting suddenness, tlie movement failing at Athletic’s twenty-five. The red and whites were twice penalised for offside play, but attempts to goal were without result. Athletic showed more enterprise to hold Okaiawa at midfield, but a solid forward dribbling rush, headed by Ike and Clarke crumpled the Athletic defence and resulted in Ike crossing the line near the corner. Clarke failed to convert. Okaiawa 23 —-Athletic 6, Athletic rallied in the last ten minutes to open repeated attacks. Practically on time Malcolm, Lee and Smith handled consecutively in .a. sparkling run, Smith capping the movement with a well deserved try. The kick failed. Okaiawa 23 —Athletic 9. Mr A. E. Spratt was referee. OPUNAKE OUTPLAYS HAWERA TWENTY-TWO POINTS TO SIX. SECOND SPELL SCORING. In the first spell of the match between Opunake and Hawera, played at Opunake, the position was very even and there was little to choose between the teams, but in the second half Opunake were much superior and piled on the points. The Hawera forwards were beaten and the backs had little chance against the dash and speed of the opposing line, Opunake having a decisive win by 22 points to six. The teams were:

Opunake (green).—Harrison, J. Malcolm, McCullum, Spence, R. Malcolm, Langton, Casey, Tito, Lusk (2), Dudley (2), Grech, Taylor, Mitchell. Hawera (amber and black). —Bishop, Lendrum, Brown, Ekdahl, Hammond, Hunter, West Beauchamp, Gibson, Riley, France, Cameron, Holloway, Clements, B. Murphy. Play was very even for the first few minutes, both sides striving hard to get through and playing well. The Opunake forwards broke away and kept the yellows defending strenuously. A passing rush by the green backs took play to the opposing line and M. Dudley, dashing through, picked up and scored under the posts. He converted his own try.

Opunake o —Hawera 0. Hawera set off in a loose rush, Beauchamp making a snappy run and taking play to the twenty-five. Hawera continued to force the pace and kept Opunake on the defence for several minutes. In a good position Riley had a penalty shot at goal, but failed, Opunake forcing. The greens rushed down the field from the kick out and attacked strongly, but die defence was sound and Hawera repelled the attack. Play was in midfield for some time till just oil halftime, when the amber and black forwards broke away. Beauchamp made a hard dash, to go upfield, and passed to Hammond, who, after a good run, sent the hall to lOkdahl. The latter cleverly eluded the defence and went over near the corner. It was a very fine effort and a well-deserved try. The kick failed.

Opunake o—Hawera 3

The second half opened with a series of packed scrums, neither side beingable for a time to open up the play. The Opunake forwards then went through to the twenty-five, where Ekdaiil, picking up from a loose rush, made a brilliant run across field and, cleverly eluding the opposing backs, beat the full back, but was collared when a try looked certain. Lendruni carried on to just miss a score at the corner, Opunake forcing. After a bout- of hard scrumming the Opunake hacks got away and a good rush saw Spence dash for the line and just fail to get over at the corner. Hawera went upfield in a loose rush and Hun ter and Hammond, playing well, carried play' close to Opunake line. The green forwards repulsed the attack and with R. Lusk and M. Dudley in the van made a determined attack on the line. Spence and R. Malcolm carried on and took play right to the line. Good back play saved Hawera and the forwards worked through to the halfway flag. R. Malcolm got away and passed to McCollum, the centre three-quarter making a fast dash and sending the ball to M. Dudpiy who was collared just on the line. Hawera forced. Just after the kickout the vellow pack went upfield in a loose rush, Murphy, Gibson and Clements beiim in the van, end took play to the halfway Hag. Then the green forwards returned in a dashing burst and R. Lusk, with the hall at his feet, went through and scored a good try. The kick failed. Opunake B—Hawera8 —Hawera 3.

The green forwards broke away again and R. Lusk sent the ball to- J. Malcolm, who finished a great run by scoring near the corner. The kick again failed. Opunake 11—-Hawera 3. From a long kick Harrison secured and, making a fine run across field, passed to Spence. The speedy winger made a great dash and transferred infield to McCnllmn, the latter going through to score the best try of the match. The kick failed once more. Opunake 14 —Hawera 3. Opunake were running over their opponents and Hawera were hard pressed for some time until B. Murphy cleared with a good run and, with Beauchamp and Gibson, took play to the centre. However, Opunake again went through and near the goal line Hawera were penalised and J. Lusk kicked across field. M. Dudley secured and went over unopposed. The kick hit the uprights. Opunake 17—Hawera 3.

Hawera rallied and Hunter, "West, Ekdahl and Riley went down field in a good loose rush and just in front of the goal had a penalty, Lendrum piloting the hall between the fiosts.

Opunake 17—Hawera 6

Just on time the green forwards rushed play to the twenty-five, where Spence secured and dashed across near the corner. Harrison converted with a great kick and the whistle blew with the scores: Opunake 22 —-Hawera 6. Mr. J. F. Kilcy was referee. WAIMATE ? S SURPRISE SCORE DECISIVE MARGIN OVER PATEA. GAME OF BUSTLING TACTICS. ‘Waimate’s surprise win over Patea by 20 points to six, was more the result of bustling tactics and the ability of the backs to handle the hall safely, than clever team work. The Patea backs, playing on their own ground, were much superior when once in possession of the ball from set scrums and their passing rushes were good to watch. They were not carried to a successful conclusion, however, and the reason might be attributed to misunderstandings in tight -play on the line. McKay, as in previous matches, | was the mainstay of Waimate’s defence and time and again he was able to relieve the pressure with good lme kicking. There were frequent changes in the personnel of the Patea team owing to injured players leaving the field and necessitating a re-shuffling of positions. Both teams lacked a good “hoot” and many points were missed by Waimate through faulty place kicking. Tries were scored for Waimate by Murfitt, Whalen, llei, Hikaka, Heneri and Shaw and for Patea by Rangi Huranui and Zimmerman. The teams were as follow: Waimate (blue and black). —McKay; J. Rei, Hill, Mercer; Whalen, Shaw; ij. Paterson, L. Hughes; M. Bourke, , Hikaka, Heneri, Tamil; Murfitt, Payne, Gulliver.

Patea (blue).—Zimmerman; Crotty, Rangi Huranui, D. Paterson; Petersen, L. Edwards; Gudgeon; 1 . Bourke; Robinson; Couch; McAsey, Bremmer, P. Crawford; C. Hamlin, C. Wills.

From the kick-out Patea set the ball rolling for Mercer to return to halfway. Then followed a senes oi line-outs and line scrummages, Patea gradually making ground, but losing a good "opportunity through stoppage of ‘play owing to an injury to Paterson. Soon after Gudgeon left the fieid with an injury to his knee. Zimmerman went to half and Hurley took up his position at full hack. The first advantage came to Patea when Mercer "throw-ill on the far isicle of the field and both 'packs fought for possession. Petersen secured and gained good distance with a “line finder”. Maintainin'l' the pressure, Crotty picked up the ball from a melee on the visitors twenty-five. A neat pass to Edwards let the hacks away, but the ball went to Robinson who cut in, \\ annate forcing. Play travelled back into latea territory, hut tlie home side was not harassed and the . backs were quickly on the move again. Petersen took the ball along from the hack of a scrum in midfield and had a clear run until brought down by Hikaka in a flying tackle. McKay, \Y ami ate s full back, carried the ball into the ruck and cleared to tlie line with a oreat kick. The Patea hacks pioied their superiority in tlie_ ensuing five minutes’ play, hut McKav was sale on defence and averted what appeared to be a certain try. From a scrum on the home twenty-five Zimmerman effected a -smart delivery to Petersen, who passed in turn to Paterson to Hurunui. The latter punted to the Wfeiimjate twenty-fiv/e where McKay secured and returned to halfway. In a -series of small rallies Waimate pressed their opponents well back, and after one unsuccessful attempt Murfitt crossed over to score. 'Whalen failed with the kick.

Waimate 3—Patea 0. From the drop-out play hung for a few moments in neutral territory and then brilliant passing among the hacks brought Patea within striking; distance of the line. Grotty, Paterson Petersen and Edwards handled m turd, hut it fell to Hurunui to complete the movement by calling in ut the right moment, taking a chance pass and falling over the line. Petersen failed to convert. Waimate 3—Patea 3. Both teams were fairly evenly matched in the closing stages of die first spell, although the Waimate hacks enjoyed a greater share of the ball and advanced to within ten yards of the line. Whalen secured and, dodging, liis opponents, crossed over to touch down at the corner flag, converting his own try. Waimate B—Patea 3. Opening the second half Waimate faced a setting sun and Patea allowed little respite. Wills marked in a handy position kicked out to tlie far side where Paterson followed with a high kick. Rei took the hall on the full and raced round the posts to kick out to the stand. By this time Vvilk had moved up and again handled the ball, passing to Crotty who charged down. Crotty reached the line without difficulty, hut was forced out. Play went to the other wing, hut Edwards had no luck, McKay lining out at the twenty-five. Waimate took a turn at attack and obtained the advantage of a penalty kick when Crotty tackled Mercer without the hall. Whalen’s kick missed its mark and Patea retaliated with a rushing forward movement to the line, hut wore checked by

a knock-on ten yards within reach of their objective. Scrumming under the posts the visitors were awarded a free kick, the hall going out at the stand. Another scrum and the ball passed swiftly among the Patea backs to the far side. Peterson at this stage went to full-hack and Hurley to byeeighth. Edwards took a chance with a long kick to the line. McKay overran the hall and Waimate forced. Immediately afterwards the visitors were penalised for handling m a scrum, hut the kick, taken by Petersen, was without result. Edwards left the field with a head injury and was replaced by Gudgeon. Just as the latter took the field both packs lined out on the tai side of the field. The ball went to Zimmerman who crossed over to touen down. Petersen failed to convert Waiinate B—Patea 6. Waimate rallied and Hill and Rei between them carried play hahway, where Hill passed to Rei. W ith little opposition Rei sprinted the full di. tance to the corner flag and ran round under the posts for a well-deseived try. Whalen missed an easy kick. Waimate 11— Patea 6. Patea at ths stage received a greater share of the hall and made repeated attempts to develop attacking movements hut failed to make the most of their opportunities. Waimate played a stolid game and forced tlieir >vay through In an exciting melee neai the corner flag Hikaka crossed over and touched down. Whalen missed with the kick. Waimate 14— Patea 6. Waimate immediately returneS to the attack and from halfway Hall kicked through, Heneri following up to score under the posts. Ihe kick u 1 ■ taken by Hikaka, hut failed. Waimate 17— Patea 6. With two minutes to the call of time Waimate launched yet another attack which Patea found impossible to withstand. In a series of loose rushes tlie visitors went close to the ime, Hill and Shaw being most prominent. Shaw had little difficulty m touching down, hut Paterson’s kick went wide, the game ending; Waimate 20 —Patea G. t ' Mr. L. H. Clapham was referee. KAPONQA BEATS ELTHAM WIN BY FIFTEEN POINTS.

SUPERIORITY IN COMBINATION

Contrary to expectations Kaponga did not score a runaway victory m their match against Elthem on their own ground. The score of 18 to * in favour of Kaponga hardly indicates the merits of the respective teams, as Eltham was really unfortunate in not scoring on at least two occasions and one of Kapong’s tries was the result of an infringment not noticed by tlie referee in a line-out on the Eltham twenty-five. The first, spell territorially favoured Kaponga whose forwards dominated play in the loose and whose hacks handled the slippery hall with greater confidence than their opponents. Rain prior to the senioi match had made tlie turf slippery and the ball was exceedingly difficult to handle whilst a further shower or two during progress of play did not improve conditions.

'l'ho teams lined out as follows: Kaponga (black).—Williams; Hall, G Cuff, Paterson; R, Cuff, Hohaia; L. Whalen; E. Gargau, Sutton, Murphy; Thoumiue, O’Sullivan, Joyce, A. Gargan; 11. Gardner. _ Eltham (black and white). —McDonald; Prince, Barker, Knuekey; Page, Townsend: Groves; Hughes, F. BocockCam.phell; R, Bocock, Potts; Trolove, Anderson, Phillips. Eltham lost tlie toss and kicked off from the southern end of the field, The Kaponga backs commenced a passing rush from the magpie twenty-five but Paterson kicked to touch in goal when lie endeavoured to line in the corner. From the drop-out Kaponga came down-field hut Townsend lined at halfway, where Paterson fielded a return from McDonald and initiated a rush which terminated when Joyce lined three vards from the Eltham line. From the resultant- line-cut Gardner forced liis way over. Paterson conveted from a difficult angle. Kaponga s—Eltham5 —Eltham 0. With only eight minutes of the game <rone it looked like a walk-over for Kaponga. hut Eltham rushed play to the black twenty-five only to be sent hack, and McDonald had to force from a long kick. From the drop-out Kaponga again rushed nlav to the Eltham line and Paterson had an ineffectual shot at goal from a penalty. During

a sharp shower of rain the hJtham forwards, headed by Trolove and xt. Booock, rushed play inside the. black twenty-five for the first tune. Williams picked up from their feet but his clearing kick struck the referee. From the scrum It. Cuff initiated a passing rush which 'broke down ten Yards from the Eltham line. -Not to, (he denied the Eltham backs came away again, Townsend, Barker and prince indulging in a passing bout to reach Williams, who effected a smart clearance. Kaponga were soon hack in Eltham territory and had the magpies busily defending when the ball went into touch three yards from then line Eltliam cleared temporarily but a short throw-in at the twenty-five saw j Paterson sent away to ground the ball in the corner. The try was allowed but Paterson’s kick from the side line lacked sting. i Kaponga B—Eltham8 —Eltham 0. 1 Immediately following the kick off Anderson intercepted and passed to Prince, who made a great dash aolng the line and short punted. Fast following up saw Kaponga’s line _ m danger hut B. Cuff got across in time to make a- great save in the face of five opposing forwards. I Kaponga launched attack after attack which broke down within a few yards of the objective and. were pressing when half time came with the scores: Kaponga B—Eltham8 —Eltham 0. The kick-off, upon resumption of play went clear into touch and Kaponga attacked from the scrum until wildpassing by Paterson enabled McDonald to clear. From a scrum, on the Eltham twentyfive Gardner came through with the ball at toe and, following up with a solo dribble, scored wide out. Pater'son’s* good kick earned tjhei extra points, Kaponga 13 —Eltham 0.

Fielding the kick-off Hohaia rushed up field kicking well up when tackled. Kaiponga were tpenjailised And Williams, taking the hall on the full,, ran up and set his three-quarter line going.- Bocock, however, made a wonderful interception and followed with a forty yards 1 dash to- score alongside the posts with three opponents Hanging on to Him. McDonald s attempt from a good position was weak.

Kaponga 13 —-Eltham 3

Elthani attacked strongly with the return of the kick-off and kept Kaponga 'busily defending their line * or ten minutes'. Bo.oock endeavoured to force his way over and Trolove essayed a similar" movement from the fivevard scrum, onlv sheer weight of numbers keeping both players from scoring. Trolove was injured -slightly but resumed after ineffective calls had been made for a doctor. Another five-yard scrum saw Eltham penalised when Campbell handled and Kaponga cleared temporarily. For another five minutes the Eltham pack kept the blacks penned on their <>wn line but ‘Groves sent a poor pass to Townsend from a scrum half way. Play liovered between twenty-fives until Kaponga were penalised for a line-out infr.ingment on their quarter. Bocock’s attempt to drop kick had strength hut lacked direction the blacks forcer. From the drop-out Trolove gained twenty-five yards with a solo dribble but tlie ball was sent back and a similar effort by E. Gargan saw Thoumine cap it by scoring behind the posts. The kick was easy for PaterKatponga 18 —Eltham 3.

Kaponga were nearly over shortly after the kick-off when Whalen was fcxroed out in "tlie corner. 3?l£ty went: up and down the field in loose rushes by both sets of forwards and McDonald had a shot from a penalty rust outside the Kaponga twenty-five but the ball fell -short and McDonald had to mark hurriedly in the face of the fast following Kaponga forwards. Play centred at half-way and full time was called with the scores:

Kaponga 18— Eltham 3. Mr. Geo. Hurley was the referee. NORTH TARANAKI GAMES TUKAPA ROUT OLD BOYS. Playing as a sound combination, Tukapa routed Old Boys by 17 points to three at Pukekura Park. The game was fast and at times spectacular with good open work by the Tukapa backs, Petty being outstanding. There was no cohesion between the Old Boys backs and forwards and the team was well beaten. Papps, Petty (2), and Sullivan were the scorers for Tukapa, 80-swell converting a try and kicking a penalty goal. Tippins scored an unconverted try for Old Boys. STAR BEAT INGLEWOOD. Star defeated Inglewood on the latter’s ground by three unconverted tries to a -try, mainly through the efforts of the backs. The Inglewood forwards showed to advantage throughout the match, but the backs evidenced a decided lack of finish. The scorers for Star were Broughton, Kinsella and Aubrey, Coles earning Inglewood’s points.

-STRATFORD - CLIFTON MATCH. A disappointing feature of the Strat-ford-Clifton match, played at Waitara and "won by the former by two converted tries to nil, was the loose style of back play on both sides. The two packs played consistently well, Stratford’s win being largely due to better condition. The scorers were G. iSangster and Walker, -Collins converting on both occasions. ANNUAL TRIAL GAME NORTH v. SOUTH FIXTURE. TEAMS FOR THURSDAY. Following are - the North and South Taranaki teams to play in the divisional trials at Eltham on Thursday next, from which the representative team to play Wanganui on June 3 will be chosen. SOUTH. Full-back: Morrissey (Athletic). Tliree-quarters: Ekdahl (Hawera), McCullum (Opunake), Hunter (Hawera) . Five-eighths: Crawford (Patea), Petersen (Patea). Half: Gudgeon (Patea). Front Row: W. Robinson (Athletic), Gargan (Kaponga), R_ t Guy (Qkaiawa). Middle row: Baldwin (Athletic), Clarke (Okaiawa), Gargan (Kaponga; . Back row; Wills (Patea), R. Lusk (Opunake). _ . Reserves: Backs, R-. Sliaw (A\ aimate), Rymond (Athletic). Forwards, B. Murphy (Hawera), A. Preston (Okaiawa). NORTH.

Full-back; Collins (Stratford). Three-quarters: Sullivan (Tukapa), Iv. Fookes (Old Boys), Jonas (Clifton) . Five-eighths: J. lyinsella (Star), G. Songster (Stratford). Half: C. Brown (Tukapa). Front row: J. Young (Stratford), Fowler (Clifton), J. Walker (Celtic). Middle row: McNeill (Tukapa), O’Keefe (Inglewood). Back row: J. Walter (Stratford), R. Young (Stratford), O’Dowda (lukapa). Reserves: Backs, Hunt (Inglewood), L. Petty (Tukapa), Mace (Old Boys). Forwards, G. Harvey ' (Star), Selwood (Clifton). Ais the Taranaki and Wanganui Maori match is also to be played on June 3 at Wanganui, no Maori players were available for selection. The South team will assemble at Kasper s Hotel and the North at Casey’s. PLAY IN OTHER CENTRES COMPETITIONS IN THE CITIES. C. J. PORTER TAKES THE FIELD. Results of Rugby games in the respective centres on Saturday were as follow: Wanganui; Kaieurau IS v. Pirates 8 • echnical Old Boys 20 v. Wanganui Old Boys 8; Marist 8 v. Ratana 3. Wellington: Poneke 9 v. Wellington 5- Petone 35 v. Athletic 17; East.

bourne 16 v. Old Boys 14; Hutt 21 y. University 3; Marist 14 v. Miramar <3, Oriental 14 v, Berhampore 7. A feature of the Petone v. Athletic match was the re-appearance as a second spell emergency of C. 0. Porter, the AIL Black captain. Christchurch: Sydenham 39 v Varsity 8 • Merivale 29 v. Athletic 9; Christchurch 8 v. Albion 8; Lmwood 3 v. Old Boys 3. Auckland: Ponsonby 14, Otahuhu 3; Marist 16, University 3; College Rifles 6 Technical Old Boys 6. Grammar Old Boys won by default from Training College. Wairarapa: Gladstojie 40, Masterton 6 ; Featherstoh 13, Greytown 6; Dalefiekl 11, Old Boys 6; Red Star 10, Carterton 3. . Q . Dunedin: Kaikorai 15, Varsity A 9, Pirates 6, Southern 5; Zingari 13, Alhambra 9; Taieri 11, Varsity B?; Dunedin 11, Union 9. Championship points to date are: Southern, Varsity A, Kaikorai and Zingali 8, Alhambra and Pirates 6. Union, Taieri and Dunedin 2, Varsity B 0. INTER-STATE PLAY N.S.W. BEATS VICTORIAN. « SYDNEY, May 22. At Ru°rby Union football New South Wales defeated Victoria by 26 to 19. INTSR-ISLAND MATCH. SOUTHLAND nominations. INVERCARGILL, May 22. The selectors have decided upon the following nominations for the South Island team: —Backs: J. H. Geddes. Forwards: T. Metcalfe, 0. George, W. Southern, G. B. Purdue and R. Donnelly. AUCKLAND NOMINATIONS. AUCKLAND, May 22. The following seven players have been nominated' from Auckland for places in the North Island Rugby team to play the South Island at Christchurch on Friday week: Palmer, Pinlayson, Batty, Solomon, Corner, Caughtey and Heazlewood.

ChP. W. D. L. for agst PtsOpunake — Okaiawa 4 4 3 3 1 0 0 1 55 85 29 29 7 6 Kaponga ... Hawera .... 4 4 2 2 1 0 1 2 36 42 22 47' 5 4 4 2 0 2 39 48 4 Waimate ... 4 0 2: 54 40 1 4 Athletic .... 4 i 0 3 38 51 Eltham 4 0 0 4 18 80 0 NORTHERN DIVISION Pts- Pts. unP. w. D. L. for agst Pts. Tukapa .... Star 4 4 3 2 0 2 1 0 39 50 11 21 6 6 Stratford .. - 3 2 i 0 24 13 0 Old Boys ... 3 1 i 1 26 37 3 Celtic 3 1 0 2 18 41 2 Inglewood .. Clifton 4 3 1 0' 0 03 3 9 0 21 22 2 0