RUGBY

Hutt News, Volume 1, Issue 4, 14 June 1928, Page 2

RUGBY

RESULTS. Senior B. defeated Porirua 9—3 Junior A. defeated Selwyn 14—3 Junior B defeated Marist 15 —43 Thirds defeated Varsity A 11 —6 Intermediates lost to Athletic 19 —0 4th A defeated Old Boys B 39—3 *kh B lost to Oriental 35—0 sth won from Oriental by default.

HUTT v. PORIRUA. This struggle was fought out at Kelburn Park, before a fair crowd of spectators, who .were treated to a very interesting gaone. Porirua fielded a very solid set of forwards, probably the heaviest pack in the competition and tihey made matters very wdllnig; but the Hutt pack re-inforeed by Grrierson and Silva\ was superior on the day, ex- : ©ept for about twenty minutes of the second spell, when they had Hutt pinned up in tneir twenty-five, Porirua did not look- like winning.- The local team probably gave its best exhibition to date, that is having regard to all phases of play. The forwards packed jmieh. better than usual and scrummaged well, every man putting his weight in where it was needed. This does not mean that the serum work was perfect, but any faults were not of a very serious nature. - The ball got hung up in the back of.the s.enum on several oceaaions early in. the game, but later on this was not so noticeable. The lineout work was quite good, due in a large measure to Pack, who invariably secured the ball despite the fact that be was well marked. The writer is inalined to think that ihe was overworked. The baak play was very good in parts,. ithe fife* try by Woods being a perfect movement, witk the winger making a strong run and carrying three hefty Maoris withi h"" over the line. Byrne was th& pivot of the back line, and af- ! teflr watcMng mis exhibition one can understand how he has had such a long career as a representative' footballer. On several occasions he cut in. nicely using the "dummy" judiciously although quite a lot of Ms work did not bear fruit because the rest of the backs were not conversant with his style of play. Another game or two together, however, should work wonders. The pleasing part about the whole display was the manner in whien the game was opened up from all parts of the field. This style of play has the opposition guessing, apart from the fact that it is good to Tratch. lusher, Berntsen, Langford and McGill were all suffering from injuries or sickness and did not take part in the match. Jarman made a vetry efficient substitute for Fisher; it is quite the best display he has given for the Club. His pot at goal in the first half was a fine effort, and at was ihard luck indeed that the ball should hit the cross bar and bounce back infield. Jarman gave one the impression that he1 would make quite a solid threequarter when his services arc not required at ftill-back. Woods played one ] of his be*t games and took a lot of stop- ! ping wlien in possession of the ball, ■ and his defence was sound- Smith, next to Byrne, was the best inside ,back. He. played with a lot of confidence, and .with a little more experience should be fit fox any company. McCarthy was not as sound as usual on defence, his lack of weight being a handicap in this respe'et. Gibson was good .on attack and has acquired a habit of scoring tries, two being credited to his account in this game. He tackled well anfr .saved two certain tries by grassing his..man at the right moment: there is still room for impfov'emeniFTn his :rus"h: stopping. McKay was not at home' behind the serum when there was any -rush stopping to do, and hi* failure in this respect threw a lot of extra work on the other backs as the further a forward rush goes, the harder it is to stop. As Captain he, has a responsibility that must not be overlooked, viz., that of setting an example to the rest of his team when any defence is needed. On occasions it will be necessary for him to find f-Amlt with some of his men, but Ms criticism will only carry weight if the latter know he has done his share ©f the "hard stuff." George was in good form, but will have to pay more attention to the protection of his halfback. He made several nippy runs, and it was noticeable that his handling of the ball was much surer than it has been. All of the forwards played well, but Peck, Sundgreen, Sily'a aad Grierson deserve mention for their tackling. They make ho mistakes in this department; it is round the legs every time. But the rest ©f the forwards sometimes j forget to do this; not that they will not , tackle low, but they d-o nor mnko n lut

bit of it. Silva and <3rie'rson have only been taking on the game in a casual way. so far this season, more -for .the desire to have a run than to play. ;a hard game with the Seniors each Saturday, but it. is to be hoped for the sake of the Club that they will both get into it seriously. There is no doubt that they are the type of forwards needed when the going is heavy and it is necessary to make a forward game of it.

Players who are mentioned in these notes need be under no apprehension that because their short-comings in certain matches are pointed out. that tho waiter has got them "sorted." Such is not the ease, and they will receive credit for any good play which they produce; but, if they continue to make the same mistakes each week, attention will be drawn to it. It is still noticeable that the defence of some of the local backs is not as sound as it anight be. On several occasions on Saturday the opposing backs carved gaps in the defence close to/the' serum, the situation being usually saved by a desperate tackle by some one, just in time to avert a score. It was the exception Tather than the* rule to see each man laid low in turn. It might be said that local supporters get the "wind up" when the opposing side starts.a passing rush from the base of the scrum, as an opening- is invariably found before the ball gets out to the centre three-quar-ter. This should not be if every back marks his man properly.

i With McGill, Langford, Mills, Berntisen and-Fisher available this. <week 7 there may be some changes in the team, for this Saturday, as the new coach has not yet seen some of these players in atcion. I understand that he was quite pleased with the team against Porirua and any alterations this week will no doubt be made with a view to the'fielding of the best team in future matches. As there is likely to be1 another acquisition in tli o way of a wing threequarter this week, there will be six siutplus players and for the sake of the dub we hope that thoso not required as reserves will apply for a game with one of the Junior teams. At present the Club is fairly well up in- the Club •Championship Aggregate, and the indications are that its position will soon be advanced. JOTTING'S. As he was unable to be at the ' G-yin '■ often enough, Major King has handed over the Senior team to Mr 0. Osborne. It was a very sporting action on the Major's part for he is very keen about the coaching and the Club 'a football in general, but he put the interests of the team first, realising no doubt that in Mr Osborne the Club would have a coach who has had the benefit of four or five years' experience as ii Wellington Representative, besides representing the-North'lsland and being'in the All Black ti-ials. The now coach will ex•pe'ct a full muster of forwards twice a week at the gym. irrespective of the state of the* weather. At .the present time there are two or three forwards' over, and this fact will no doubt make for keen competition for places; and when their coach becomes acquainted with all his men. we have no doubtthat tliey will have every confidence in the team he selects each Saturday. The backs will still be coached by K. McKay. ■

Chum. Cudby was noticed at the G-yrn. the other night putting the forwards of the Junior B team through scrum work. It is good to see! this capable player taking an interest in one of the "teams. The Senior team.could do with his line and place kicking, a branch of the- game in which they are weak at present.

Messrs B. *O. Eoitsell and Co. have very kindly donated a trophy for the best disciplined player or Club member in the Senior team and JVfr B. Matthews a medal for the most improve*! player in the same team.

The committee < I •.•sire to acknowledge with thanks c!oii;itioii.s from the following "pntleinim:—yir Alex Roberts, Messrs -T. Reich, C. C. Odlin, E. V. f Riddiford, H. Baldwin, L. T. Watkins, F. Kitto. O. R. Barrett, H. T,. Fraser. W. T. Doig, (t. Phillips, U. Graham, and Rev. Father Daly. • • ♦ The Junior B's scraped home again on Saturday despite tire fact that their lock, Silva, was requisitioned by the Senior.4*. They will want some more I weight in tie forwards, if they are to !=hnvo a chance against teams like Poneke. Old Boys, Athletic, Upper Hut* and.TaJta.. Ecretai would bo a handyman for this team.

Wood* heads the list of scorers for the senior team with four tries. The others are Gibson (three), Sundgreen and Daily (2 each), Francis, Smith, Langford, IJertscn, Faweett/ Peck and McKay (one each); eighteen in all, half

of which have been scored by the forwards. Only three of these tries Jhave been converted, which fact shows how weak the placekicking is.

Bill Peck should go very close to Hop honours this year; he has improved considerably on last years' form and is putting a lot more sting into his play. Wood is another player who is fast developing into a Rep player. He needs very little room to work in, and shows rare determination when sailing for the line.