RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 208, 17 August 1927, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

HIGH SCHOOLS’ ANNUAL MATCH PALMERSTUN AND NAPIER TEAMS. The following is the team to represent Palmerston North High School in the match to be nlayed against the Napier High School at 2.30 o’clock to-morrow afternoon on the Napier High School grounds:— Full-back: . Pacey. Three-quarters: Seymour. Fletcher, Bryden. Five-eighths: Page, Rose. Half-back: Norris (captain). Back row: Danks, Clevely. Middle row: Wilson. Tremewan, Varcoe. Front row: Espmer, Cowley. Wing-forward: Biel. Emergencies: Forwards. Dunsho and Millar: backs, O’Keefe and Thompson. Napier will be represented by:— Full-back: Gilbertson. Three-quarters: Morrissey (captain), Craitr. S. Hislop Five-eighths: Bradley, Dickinson. Half-back: Russell. Back row: Smith, van Asch. Middle row : Reaney, Shirley, Gower. Front row: ■ Bark, Phillips. Wing-forward: Cooper. Emergencies; Forwards, Baird and Anderson; backs, Cowan and Kainamu. PRIMARY COMPETITIONS; The Napier primary schools competition was continued yesterday with the following results:— B Grade. Central (nil) drew with Port (nil). Taradale (3) defeated Marist (nil) Hastings Street (3) defeated Napier South (nil). Nelson Park (6) drew with Meeanee (6). The competition is now closed, the leading teams in the two grades being :— AGrade: Taradale 14 points fentral 9. Hastings Street 8, Marist 7. B Grade: Marist 17. Central 16. Port 12, Taradale 11, HASTINGS SUB-UNION MEETS. The weekly meeting of the Hastings Sub-Union was held last night, Mr. J. A. Fraser presiding. The Te Aute v. M.A.C. match will be played on Saturday, August 27, the proceeds to go to defray the travelling expenses of the college team. Damage having been done to adjoining property, the training lights at Nelson Park will be moved to positions in front of the stands which will give considerable protection. It was resolved that next Saturday be set aside for the benefit of the injured players fund, and it is hoped that all supporters will attend. ALTERATION OF FIXTURES. The following alterations of grounds were made:— Celtic (junior) v. Hivelock, Nelson Park, No. 2, at 1.30 p.m. H 5.0.8, A (juniors) v. Waimarama. Racecourse, No. 1, 1.30 p.m. Parkvale (thirds) v. Hastings, Racecourse No. 1, 3 p.m. NOTES ON SATURDAY’S GAME. (Ey “HAS BEEN.’’) There is an old turf maxim, “the bigger the field, the bigger the certainty.’’ Just whether this term can be applied to the Celtic Football Club I cannot say, but quite a good one would be “the bigger the hurdle, the better they jump it.” On Saturday, Celtic again proved what an unreliable feam they are, and if there were stipendiary stewards in football, if would be a poor look-out for them.

They have beaten Hastings three times running, and the last game was the most convincing of all, in the tact that they scored five tries to their opponents’ nil. The two clubs have bad many fine battles, and yet M.A.C., a much inferior team, conies along and put it all over the Greens, t quite expected them to give Hastings a big shake, providing they put their full team out, even allowing for Morrie Brownlie playing, for in the last game he did not, but when the team went out with three juniors and one of them a back, to take the place of three of their best forwards in Miller, Bicharuson and Single, I had to alter my opinion somewhat.’

It was a wonderful game, I,'ull of pep from start to finish, and the further it went, the better it became. Unfortunately I was in Wellington viewing some club games there on the Saturday previous, when Hastings met High School, and on my return was told that was the best game seen in the competition this year. If it was better than Saturday’s game, it must have been pretty good. Hastings should be consoled. In my opinion, there is no other team in the competition that would have beaten the Greens on Saturday, for they played as a team possessed. Both Bert Grenside and Morrie Brownlie strived their utmost in the second spell to. pull the game out of the fire, but no, they were up against tenacity in capita* letters, for as sure as the big forward beat one or two of his opponents, there were others waiting to bring him low. Several hive made the excuse that the Yellow and Blacks did not play up to their usual form. I do not agree with this, what they might have done was to have altered their tactics and instead of trying to open up the game should have made it close, they woulTi have fared much better, for the Greens ran all over them in'the loose, while their backs, threequarters in particular', were altogether too fast for them. ,

Great credit must be given to Jack Blake, not only in his play, but in his generalship. It was an exceptionally clever bit of work the time he kicked off to the blind win for White to follow up, gather the ball in, pass, and In turn receive an in pass, to score a beautiful try. Blake played like the champion he is, and 1 would almost go so far as to say that it is one of the finest club games I have ever seen him play. We all know how nippy and elusive he is, but he exceled himself on Saturday.

White also played a really lino game. All the backs did as far as that was concerned, but he in particular was right on the job, and next to Bert Grenside and Huxtable I think he is our next best wing threequarter. He has just one fault in that he often is in two minds whether to give it a go or not, and if he made the line his motto, Huxtable would have nothing on him.

Tait’s defence was a feature of the game.

Priestly was also well in the picture, and there is no doubt that he is a fifty per cent better player than last year. There is one other player who does not get many kudos, but who to my mind is one of the soundest backs in the competition. I refer to Eddie; his usual place is half, but lately he has been playing five-eighths to allow little Joe Ginty to retain his piace at half. On Saturday, Eddie wsa in every movement that was going, there is no question about his defence, whilst the way he sidestepped and beat, his man on several occasions was worthy of some of the best.

The Green forwards are to be commended on the way they rose to the occasion, and great forward as Hassett, is, Roley Blake, Yule, MacDonald, McNab, and the three juniors Nesbit, Hall and Fitzgerald were all rowing in the same boat. I was particularly pleased in the gamcness shown by Nesbit. He is only a light weight, and I certainly think he deserves a trial aS wing forward in the local junior reps.

Coming to the Hastings team Morrie Brownlie as usual und Campbell to a certain extent, stood out in their pack, and it was not the fault of the big forward that they did not win, for he put in some of his typical runs and looked dangerous many times, but there was always one of the Celts if not two, to up-end him, and he was not too easily put down even then. We are ali great admirers of ,nir famous player, and personally 1 do not take any notice of his running into an opponent, or a better way to put it would be, to get past an opponent. who is in his way, that is all in the game, but 1 dislike his charging in on the line out, as he did on two or three occasions.

The Hastings backs all played well that is as far as the other would let them. They were distinctly unfor tunate in losing Kingston, their naif, for he was playing his usual solid and nippy game and no doubt if he bad stopped on they might have done much better.

Bramwell was one 1 was a little bit disappointed in, for at the most important part of the game he seemed to get rattled. Grace on the wing is now playing much better than earlier in the season, and on at least two occasions U 1 had hard luck in not scoring.

Beuth made one or two penetrations but he has absolutely no defence, whilst Bert. Grenside played his usual solid game and did his utmost to turn the tide. He certainly had his kicking boots on, and made no mistakes with the four penalties.

There is talk that the senior championship will now be closed. Personally this does not seem wise for Pirates have yet to play Marists, and weak team as the latter undoubtedly is, still one never knows what may happen until the numbers go up.

When this is decided there will be the knock-out competition for the Lane Cup, and we should see some very good games indeed. In this tompetition it has happened in the past that the last shall be first and the first shall We last. • * »

The junior game between Hastings and Napier representatives was disappointing at least as far as our local players were concerned. Although Napier were expected to win Hastings was looked upon to make a much better fight, and their team on paper was quite a good one, indeed. The play does not need much comment, only to say that combination will always beat individualism. The Napier backs made ours look silly, and Botherway is the only one of them that is any certainty for the Hawke's Bay Junior reps. Our forwards quite held their own, whilst our hooking was good. Possibly both hookers may be included in the team. Honeybun at any rate, also Roach and Hines of Fortune.