FOOTBALL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 569, 21 May 1913, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

OPENING OF SEASON

The first games of the season under he auspices of the Maniapoto Rugby Union were played on Saturday last, under ideal weather conditions- Bright frosty weather prevailed with just sufficient crispness in the air to make football preferable to less strenuous form of recreation. The union is starting the season under highly favourable conditions, and the prospects for a good season are of the brightest. Six teams are entered for the competition as compared with fiva last season, the Ongarue players having thrown in their lot with the Maniapoto Union. On Saturday Te Kuiti and Waimiha met on the latter club's ground, the visiting team registering a win by 11 points to nil. Nehenehe met Otorohanga at Te Kuiti, when the Otorohanga playerß proved victorious by 19 points to 8, while the Ongarue team, which journeyed to Mangapehi, met defeat by 33 points to nil.

THE PLAY

OTOROHANGA 19 v. NEHENEHE 8 The game between Nehenehe and Otorohanga provided an excellent contest. As usual in a first game of the season play was somewhat patchy, but at times it wa? fast and interesting with the scene of action shifting quickly from one end of the ground to the other. Early In the first half the visitors had placed themselves well ahead and had the game safe. The Nehenehe players, however, fought stubbornly till the end of and gave their opponents many anxious moments, The scores —19 to B—'indicate that there was a deal of open play, but ther majority in favour of Otorohanga was hardly warranted, as two of the tries obtained by tnem were of the "soft" order, their opponents being apparently caught napping. The teams were as follow :—Otorohanga— P. Turner, Cunningham, MeKenzie, Piripi, Ferguson, Clark, Devine, Curtis, Holden, Clark, Andresen, D. Turner, Emery, Lithgow, Maxted. Nehenehe —Wirihana, Tame, Tauru, Hikaka, Moihi, Taka, Hirini, Whare, Kiri, Heke 2, Wi, Rehi, Kahu, Griffiths. The first bit of play to give any advantage after the kick off was a good return by P. Turner, well followed up. An Otorohanga rush was stopped by a mark, but the kick was smothered and the leather went over the line, a force resulting. Nehenehe were kept on the defensive and three force downs in succession were made. Otorohanga continued to press and Piripi got over and scored in a good position, Clark adding the major points, making the score s—o. The reverse spurred the local team and a forward rush removed play to Otorohanga 25, where Heke, Whare and Tame were noticeable for good work. A passing rush by the visiting back saw Piripi well tackled bv Tame and a good rush by Nehenehe removed the danger. From a scramble D. Turner made a dash for the line and a score seemed imminent, but a free kick to the defenders relieved the pressure. Griffiths, following up a long kick, smothered P. Turner's return and a good passing run by Nehenehe saw Tame make a dash for the line.' He was tackled at the corner and the ball went into touch. A mark in a good position gave the Nehenehe a chance to score but the kick at goal was rushed down. Half-time sounded shortly afterwards. Upon resuming a Nehenehe rush headed by Taka gained ground. Shortly after Wiritana picked up and with a short kick over the heads of the opposing backs made a good opening. Following up fast Taka obtained possession and scored. Tame kicked an unmistakable goal and evened the scores, 5 —5. Shortly after the kick out a hard kick by Otorohanga sent the leather over the Nehenehe line and Curtis following fast beat the full back for pace and scored. The kick at goal proved fruitless. Otorohanga B—Nehenehe 5. From loose play after the kick out the visitors started a passing run, a good tackle by Tame saving the situation. A scramble ensued and the ball was dribbled over the line by Maxted, who scored another try for Otorohanga. The kick at goal failed, the scoreß reading—Otorohanga 11, Nehenehe 5. Another try was almost immediately added by Otorohanga from a line out, the ball being sent across over the line and the local players making no effort to secure it. Andresen landed a good goal making the scores 16—5. The Nehenehe players then livened up. Tame, by a good dodgy run, removed play to neutral ground. A good kick by a Nehe back saw Griffiths smother the return and the local players were dangerous. A rush by Otorohanga forwards relieved the pressure and from a line out Devine dribbled the ball down the Nehe line and scored. The attempt at goal failed—l9 —5. Rush and counter rush ensued from a kick out until Rehi broke away with the ball. He was supported by Tame, but the full back proved a stumbling block, and the ball was sent into touch. A mark was secured by Tame, who dropped at goal and sent the leather over the post. An Otorohanga rush was well stopped by Tame and from a line out Heke broke away with the ball. He raced to the full back and at the right moment transferred to Tame, who got across and scored. No goal resulted from the kick —19—.8. The whistle sounded shortly after with the scores unaltered. Mr P. Mora refereed.

NOTES ON THE GAME

Everything considered the game was a creditable exhibition as far as both teams were concerned, and indicated that the standard of play this season would be to the standard of past years. Both full backs played useful games, P. Turner's kicking and tackling being a feature of his play, while Wirihana was re-

sponsible for a bit of heady play when Nehenehe scored the first try. The latter, however, was caught napping once or twice. Of the visiting three quarters Piripi showed a lot of dash and should do on. Of the local three-quarter line Tame and Tauru did good work, the former showing himself very nippy. He endeavoured to cut in rather much. Fergus m and (Jlark, for Otorohanga, at five-eighth and half back, did a lot of good work and the same may be said'of the locals. However, the latter should learn not to pass in their ,own 25. The forwards were evenly matched. It would be invidious to discriminate among the visitors, who all played hard. The same may be said of Nehenehe forwards, among whom the Heke brothers were frequently prominent. The visitors showed a greater knowledge of the finer points of the game, and this went a long Way towards their victory.

TE KUITI 11 v. WAIMIHA 0

A fairly strong combination was aot together by the Te Kuiti Club to travel to Waimiha. The players took the field a3 follow: —Waimiha Climo, Till, Ellicott, Peti, Mayne, Payne, Sturmey? Leeks, Bentley, McQuillan, McKay, Bate, Tepu, Sullivan, Hohepa. Te Kuiti Crombie, Barnes, Matthews, Maher, Boles, Rothwell, Healey, Cole, Delaney, Carr, Gray, Guy, Hornibrooke, Kite, Hunt. The game was very evenly contested till halftime, when Crombie scored for Te Kuiti as the result of a good passing rush. No goal resulted. During the second spell Te Kuiti pressed hard, and tries were scored by Barnes and Cole, the latter being converted by Gray. The game ended —Te Kuiti 11, Waimiha 0. Mr B. W. Hayson was referee.

MANGAPEHI 33 v. ONGARUE 0

The Ongarue players met Mangapehi on the latter's ground, and were defeated by 33 pointß to nil. Mangapehi's score was maie up as follows: ■ —Tries were scored by A. Goodall 3, J. Clarke 2, M. Charteris 2, Smith 1. Goals from tries were kicked by Kohinga, J. Clarke, and T. Hughes, one each, while J. Clare placed a penalty goal. Mr R. B. Mills was referee.