FOOTBALL

Marlborough Express, Volume LIV, Issue 188, 10 August 1920, Page 3

FOOTBALL

THE MARLBORO UGH VICTORY.

WELLINGTON OUTCLASSED.

The following account of the Marlborough team's win appeared in The Dominion: —

Oiitgencvnllcd and outclassed, the Wellington B Rugby representatives went down before the chosen of Marlborough on Saturday to the tune oi 21 points to 6. The match took place on the Athletic Park in the presence of about 1500' spectators. The ground was in very bad order, the greater part of it was under water, and the remaining portion was in mud—black and greasy. In consequence, the crowd were treated to the spectacle ' of thirty men wallowing in the mire after an inflated piece of pigskin that proved as elusive as "The Scarlet Pimprrnol." Players and spectators took it all in good part, however, and the game was punctuated with laughter rather than applause at the antics of some of the contestants. To 11 man they were drenched to the skin and covered with mud from head to foot, so much that in the second spell it was impossible .to identify many of the players. . Naturally, forward play predominated, and' the Marlborough pack ran all over Wellington. The visitors were captained by E. King (an exPoneke player), and it was early apparent that he had them well schooled, their team work being superior to that of Wellington. At half-time the score stood at 10 to nil in favor of Marlborough, and after the interval the visitors increased their tally to 21, while the home i team notched six .points. Tliere is no doubt that Wellington would have made a much better showing had ■they .had a full-back who was more at home in the • mud. As it was, Capper played a wretched game, and time and again let his side down with a severe bump. Brooks, on tiie left wing, had to shepherd him from start to finish. A feature of the contest was the good places-kicking on the part of King. The Marlborough captain was a host in himself, and he frequently rallied his forces in fine style and swept down on the enemy. On the side of Wellington, Jackson (the 'Varsity hurdler) was in h:s element. Ho simply revelled in the mud, and was a tower of strength, both in attack and defence. Ashton, Troy, and Ryan were the pick of the home forwards. The teams were as follows:— Marlborough: O'Brian, Phillips, E. King, Gleeson, R. O'Brien, Fitzgerald, Connolly, O'Brien, Harding, Neal, Fisher, Jermyn, Gibson, Pinkham, and Gunn. Yv cllington B: Capper, Hamilton, Scott, Brooks, Jackson, Howard, 0. Tilyard, Ashton, Ryan, Walters, Troy, O'sbcrne, Thomas, Brown, and Parker.Wellington were early in difficulties, Marlborough hammering away at their defence with gruelling persistence. Occasionally the defenders broke away, only to be promptly herded back to their own twenty-five. The initial try of the afternoon was scored by R. O'Brien, from a forward scramble. King added the major points. Wellington then started to play the line, but this proved to be ineffective, and before very long R. O'Brien picked up the ball about ten yards off tho line and touched down, with Capper embracing him. King again converted. ' Wellington put on a temporay spurt, and chances were missed. Capper failed with a penalty kick, and Tilyard and Jackson were associated in a fruitless but spirited effort. Half-time saw tho score unchanged. Wellington played two wing forwards in the second half, and were aggressive in the opening stages. Marlborough soon got their measure, however, and registered another try, the' result of a pretty flutter on'the part of their backs, R. O'Brien, the last man to receive, touching down. King converted. The visitors maintained, the pressure and brought their score up to 18 through an unconverted try scored by Harding from a forward rush. Wellington fhen. set up a lively attack, which ended successfully. Ashton picked up out of the ruck and passed to Jackson, who in turn transferred to Scott. The latter burrowed his way through the opposing backs, and scored in a handy position. Capper failed with the 'kick. Thereafter Wellington faded «tway, and Connolly had no difficulty in adding an unconverted try to the visitors' tally. Tn the dying stages of the game Wellington fluked another try, Brooks successfully working the blind from a pass by one of the forwards. Scott failed with the kick, and the match ended: Marlborough 21, Wellington 6. Mr Moffit was referee. »