Rugby Notes

Hutt News, Volume 15, Issue 15, 10 September 1941, Page 5

Rugby Notes

championship games under unpfSmtant con* V long run of wet* SatttfVW» wntintiing. It was only tflth i 1 j,*' tomfe difficulty that Hutt Bcratenifd 1 tip a ftll fifteen to do battle Against Ifarist. The team was completed V' ft the last minute by the inclusion of E. G. Tregurtha,«a referee who had officiated in the curtain raiser. L, His services were much appreciated. ,'■* dither vacancies were filled by Wilon leave, Guthrie and Weir I ffdm the Juniors, and Smith, th? A full-back. In the ab- ' - "aence of Caasidy, Marsden led the • team. Everything considered, Hutt put up a very good showing, • the forwards in particular doing fine work, shading their heavier opponents in all phases of the play. The tracks,, as a combination, ivere shaded by their opponents, who ' ftelded a much more experienced g6t. For Hutt, Williams plated an outstanding gajne. Hutt's first try uto from a fine opening made by ttif& player, who capitalised it by running strongly to the full-back' afed giving Guthrie a perfectlytimed pass with a clear run In. Smith, at full-back, also showed up ■ strongly. His handling and kicking were very "Sure indeed. His positional play could be improved. Experience will rectify this. Of the other backs, Guthrie showed up well on attack, and Weir on defence. Allison was, as usual, difflr cult to stop when in possession. Millard was more subdued than usuial. Dunne got through a lot of] work behind the scrum. In the forwards, Stewart shone out in the line out work, where he received strong support from Tregurtha. These two players locked the scrum very effectively, enabling the hooker to achieve superiority in this direction. Burns, Marsden and Corkin shone out in loose play, and Cole did some effective backing up. Potter and Haigjh were well to the fore also.

CURTAIN RAISERS. The Fifths and Sixths had interesting games against Miramar and Eastbourne respectively. The former team had to struggle hard to gain ascendancy over their opponents, the score being 6 all until about half way through the second Bpell. Two good tries by HeWer and Clout turned the scale in Hutt's favour. Reiti, as usual, was responsible for some strong running. It usually took two or three men to stop him. Lewton was solid at fullbafck. Angus played a strong hand in the backs, while Semi was outstanding in the forwards for fast following up. Considering that this team has not been very strong in good scrummaging forwards, it has done very well to finish up with a lead of four points in the championship. There is good material in the side which, if it can be kept together next season, should make a strong bid for championship honours again.

The Sixths proved .their right to be champions of this grade by defeating the runners-up, Eastbourne, by 15 points (five tries) to nil. Although the state of the ground was against good back play, the llutt boys handled well at times, but in the main elected to keep the ball on the ground, where the forwards were much too good for their opponents. In Fawcett, Barnes, Lane, Jane, Hitchcox, Clark and Martin this team possesses a fine pack of forwards. They are big lads for their years, and should make their mark in football if they retain their keenness. Their scrummaging is loßlng some of its effectiveness through packing too high. In all other respects their play against Eastbourne was of a high standard. In the b&cks all the players did their job well, from the full-back, D. Clarke, to the half, Hayes. Angus, Mooney and McDonald were & good trio of inside backs, while Hay and D. Sullivan, on the wings, did their respective jobs satisfactorily. In defeating Eastbourne this team maintained its unbeaten record, scoring 257 points against 19. It finished up seven points clear of the runners-up. A very fine record indeed.

• The Fourth B's struck solid opposition in their match against Athletic. A nice try by Horrobin latej in the game was the only score registered. This team dropped one point only for a drawn game, finishing Bix points clear of the. next team, Athletic. Points scored wer6 238 for to 41 against. THIS WEEK'S GAMES At Petone the Seniors will plaj the local team in a patriotic match for tb6 Mayor's Parcel Funds. The 'curtain-raiser will be supplied by Hutt and Petone 6ths, while on No. 2 ground the Hutt Fifths will play Maaterton Fourths. It may be possible to arrange a match for tin 1 Tourtha if Hutt can mustelr a team , { The B's will be away at Palmerston Wth.

A full muster of senior &hd Junior players is requested for Thursday evening to finalise selection for the Petone game.

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