Rugby Notes

Hutt News, Volume 16, Issue 7, 15 July 1942, Page 5

Rugby Notes

hit r 12—\..\. battkiiy o Maintaining their recent form llutt bent A.A. Battery convincingly by 12 points (four unconverted trios) to nil.- Hut't stepped oil on ihe. right loot' by .scoring a pretty try early in the game, when the ball was reasonably dry, per medium ot a nice passing movement which travelled through the chain to the right wing where the centre, .Millard came round 011 the outside to take a pass and go over wide out. Thereafter Hutt never lost, their grip on the game althoughthe visitors gave (hem a few anxious moments during the latter stages of-the lir.st spell. In Hie second half Hutt attacked consistently, A.A/ Battery crossing the lnilf-way mark twice only during this period. The winners added a further three tries in this half and misse.d several more by the proverbial inches. It was a splendid exhibition of wet weather football on the part of the local forwards who although outweighted in the scrums and outranged in the linesout. overcame theso disadvantages by gaining possession in most of the scrums and breaking a little more "than evens in the lines out. In the loose Hutt have never been seen to better advantage. and again they broke away;f r.Q,m rucivs and lines out to put side on attack. In the main their ball control was excellent; two who excelled in this department were Brown, and Marsden. The other forwards, however, gave them excellent support. Haigh again showed his superiority its a hooker "by raking the ball from most of the scrums. On a dry ground his work would have been

worth a great deal more to his side as the Hutt backs had the "legs" of their opponents. -Vjery wisely the backs did not attempt'"':, too much handling. The half and lirst fiveeighth nursed their itfrwards to good purpose. While jnot spectacular these tactics are ,correct. when the ground is heavy.; and t.lie ba.ll greasy enough to;:-OTake accurate passing movements diflicult. All in all the Hutt backs job very well, this being borne out by the scoring of all four tries by the three-quarter line. NOTES Prior to the match againsL A.A. Battery Hutt were scratching for backs, a first five-eighth and two three-quarters being required to complete the team. Isherwood was brought up from the Juniors to take the former position , Potter, down on leave took the right wing, while Btirns again came out of the pack to fill the role of left winger (as he did against Mariat). i slier wood played splendidly by showing a complete understanding of the first fiveeighth's duties. Potter had a very successful day, bagging three tries through using liis sliced to advantage. Burns made no mistakes in his unaccustomed position. sense of anticipation was of service to his side on more than one occasion. Millard was as usual sound at centre. He has yet to play a bad game. Grant showed good footwork with the ball on the ground. Svmons was sound at full back. 'Behind the scrum Dunn had a busy day. His understanding with the forwards is of much value to his side. A forward who caught the eye a good deal was Lougen who showed that he can turn on the football when he likes. He has the necessary physique to reach the top flight as a lock. Like many big men lie is a trifle slow on his. feet — short sprints will help him to. overcome this disability to some extent. Cooke, Coe, Brauiley and Martin, the small men in the Plutt pack, make up for their lack of inches by their lively play in the loose and rucks. On a heavy ground they have too much "toe" for the bigmen.

Brown, who p..la,ye.d against Marist in tiie preliminary round, was on hand again last Saturday. He has developed into a fine forward who can hold his own with more experienced players. Back from overseas is J. E. Shadlock who played a game or two last yeai\ when he showed good form. He will be available for the next two matches which is most opportune for Hutt. Guthrie was standing down on ■Saturday because of an injury sustained when playing against. Marist. The Hutt Fifths took the lead in this championship by defeating Petone (hitherto undefeated) by 6-—I) The Sixth A's and B's met on Saturday when the former won 11—0. Solid play by the H. forwards had the A's rattled during file lirst half when no score was the order. The A's put on 11 points in the second half, due to superior back play. Their forwards played much belter in tin's half, the line-out work of Harold being a big factor. Their rucking work was, however, far from being good. The B's have some very good forwards. Swift, Staples, Griffiths and Mitchell being as good as anything in the opposing pack. Swiff oiithooked his visavis. Smith, the li. half, was one of the best backs on the ground. Mouat.t, Trance and Orr could be the foundation of a good bade line if they ran be kept together. Jn the A's Wilmot, stratton, Rut-,

tray and Harold were good forwards with Cocker the best of the backs. Potter and Swain played well also. Honorary members can assist tlie Club's finances by paying- the current year's subscription as early as possible.