CENTENNIAL CUP

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 57, Issue 4001, 2 June 1948, Page 5

CENTENNIAL CUP

RETAINED BY THAMES

; PLAINS WELL BEATEN KEENLY CONTESTED MATCHES ?- Very hard and fast football was y seen at Rhodes Park, Thames, last ?, Saturday, when six Hauraki Plains i- representative Rugby teams visited •e Thames, for the annual Centennial . Cup competition. Thames held the . cup by winning five out of the six k matches. y The senior A match, which Thames . won chiefiy because of the superior speed and combination of its back e line, was an exhibition of good fast - and open football from the first t whistle to the last. The forwards f were very evenly matched, and Hauraki Plains were unfortunate not to t have been able to finish off many of ] their assaults on the Thames line. i, The outstanding player in the - Plains side was the full-back, B. s O’Neil, whose boot saved the situation j for Hauraki Plains on many ocj casions. His tackling, also a feature ■ of his play, halted the Thames back i line men, when they had penetrated ; the Hauraki Plains backs. P. Matat roa, centre, played a first class game ; until he was injured and had to be i taken off. Many of the Thames forward rushes had greater effect when Ihe left the field, which amply showed what a valuable asset he was to the team. S. Fisher was particularly . ■ prominent in the back line, and he was • always well to the fore in any of the : Hauraki Plains movements. Accurate passing, confident handling and a ] surprising amount of speed, were his 1 main assets, and he proved himself a ; valuable player. ( In the forwards, Hikaka played a } very hard game, and he kept well on f the ball, right throughout the game. f The situation looked very hopeful c for Hauraki Plains, when they forced \ their way on to the Thames goal line j right at the start of the game, de- r spite the fact that they were playing g against the wind. The Thames backs played hard defensive football how-|j ever, and once they had cleared the 1 ball from their line they went over £ to score the first try. Fullback, Bee- t kett, who spelt disaster to many of f the Hauraki Plains assaults, con- V verted. Thames continued to pile on k the scores in the first half, so that s when the whistle blew, the score was: Thames 19, Hauraki Plains nil.

The first half was not as one-sided as the score might indicate however, since the forwards played hard and steady football right through. The Thames back line was very fast however, and its combination play resulted in many tries which Hauraki Plains in the same position failed to get. In the second half Hauraki Plains began to play much better than they had in the first, but the lead that Thames had established was too great to overcome. Finally Cullen scored but the try was not converted. A penalty kick put over by S. Fisher Hauraki Plains scores in the second half. The fact that Thames did not score in the second half bears evidence of the way that Hauraki Plains improved. The final score was:

Thames 19, Hauraki Plains 6,

SENIOR B GAME EVENLY MATCHED TEAMS The senior B game was every bit as hard as the senior A, and as the sides were more evenly matched there was doubt right to the final whistle as to what the outcome would be. It was the fullback, R. Lawrence, who was the outstanding player in the Hauraki Plains side, and in the same way as the fullback in the senior A match, he saved the situation for his side on many occasions. Paton at halfback was also prominent. Williamson and Thompson, the five-eighths, played hard tackling games and both showed great ability to cut through the Thames back line, and so make good openings for scoring movements. Emery on the wing made many attempts to score, and once the ball was in his possession, he showed a surprising amount of speed.

Hauraki Plains opened the' scoring with a penalty kick put over by R. Lawrence, then Farrow, Thames wing, equalised the score by getting a try. It was not converted. The score did not change in the first half, but shortly after the start of the second half Thames scored another try w’hich was not converted and so took the lead by six points to three.

Another try and conversion for Thames toward the end of the game made the score 11 to three, then the Hauraki Plains team began to press. Time and again they narrowly failed to scoie, then from a ruck they went

over. The try was not converted and the score stood at 11 to six. From then till the end of the game, the Hauraki Plains forwards did most of the pressing but they failed to further add to their score.

Thames 11, Hauraki Plains 6. ♦ JUNIOR A MATCH VERY FAST GAME The junior A match was very fast and at half-time the Score was 14 to three in Thames’ favour'. In the second half however, the Hauraki Plains team played much better and pressed on the Thames line many times. T. Patton, the speedy Hauraki Plains wing, was outstanding - , not only for his speed, but also for his hard tackling and defensive play when the team was being hard pressed. The final score, 19 to nine for Thames, indicates a very uneven game, but this was not the case, as the Hauraki Plains forwards and backs made numerous attempts on the Thames | goal line, but they were unsuccessful in finishing off their movements. For Hauraki Plains a try was secured by T. Dufty, and both N. Francis and H. Berney put over penalty kicks, while the Thames side secured their points from one try each by M. Smith and W. Kedzlie, two tries and a penalty kick by M. Jacomb, and two conversions also by M. Jacomb. The final score was:

Thames 19, Hauraki Plains 9. JUNIOR B MATCH VERY HARD GAME The junior B match ended in favour of Thames after a very hard game, in which the Hauraki Plains forwards gave the better showing of the two packs. Hauraki Plains backs tried hard to penetrate the Thames defences on many occasions, but it was largely the fault of weakness in combination that resulted in their failing.

The points for Hauraki Plains were secured from a.try by R. Nash. The final score was: Thames 14, Hauraki Plains nil. THIRD GRADE MATCH GOOD BACK PLAY SEEN The third grade match was a very fast game, back play for the most part being in evidence. Although Hauraki Plains did not score, they gave a good account of themselves and played a hard game. The final score was: Thames 16, Hauraki Plains nil. SCHOOLBOY MATCH WIN FOR THE PLAINS Hauraki Plains won the schoolboy match, mainly through better combination and the greater speed of their backs. The Hauraki Plains forwards also showed better team work. The Hauraki Plains points were secured by two tries, one by C. Carr, and the other by G. Paraya. The final score was: Hauraki Plains 6, Thames 3. BARTLEY CUP MATCH WIN FOR WAITAKARURU The Bartley Cup Rugby match, played at Kerepehi on Sunday between Kerepehi and Waitakaruru, resulted in a win for Waitakaruru by 14 points to six. It was a very hard and even game and both sides played very well indeed. For Waitakaruru, A. Flay, R. Duffin and W. Harrison all scored. B. O’Neil converted one try and also kicked a penalty goal. For Kerepehi C. Murlay and Innis scored. Mr J. Gray was the referee.