RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 800, 1 September 1923, Page 12

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

MOASCAR CUP MATCH.

(By Cross Bar.) To New Plymouth High School belongs the honour of being the holder's of the Moascur Cup for 1923-1924. They are well worthy of'the honour for . their team is a redoubtable one, without an apparent weak link, Palmerston North High School, the final challengers, made a strong bid for possession ot the trophy, but it was fated not to bo crowned with success. 111-fortune followed them throughout the progress of the game and they left the field with a blank score sheet, while their opponents had eleven points to their. credit. Opening a little shakily, the Palmerston North boys early found in the referee an interpreter of the rules rather more severe than they hud been accustomed to and they were thus thrown out of their stride. The all desired advantage of the first score was lost to Palmerston North when the referee ruled Pacey’s attempt to drop-kick at goal to be a punt and this no doubt had its moral effect on the side as a whole. There wore one or two other occasions when a score appeared quite valid, but was ruled otherwise. Naturally the gentleman in control was subjected to a good deal o£ adverse comment, but after all partisans of a defeated team are sometimes somewhat apt to bo severe in their/criticisms. It nevertheless appeared to the writer that the referee was unnecessarily severe and seventeen penalties against the visitors without one against the home team in one spell speaks for itself, for Palmerston North are not flagrant transgressors of the rules. New Plymouth certainly should have added further scores on more than one occasion, but the greater measure of the ill-luck seemed to attach itself vto the visitors. On the day, the better team won, but judged on the measure of territorial advantage a two to three points margin would have been a fair estimate of the respective merits of the teams. The Palmerston North forwards played a slashing game and held the advantage in the tight and loose, but wore badly beaten in the hooking department and this provided the dangerous home backs. with plenty of opportunities, while curtailing the activities of the visiting rearguard. The tackling of the holders was throughout deadly and- was contrary to some of the challengers’ backs, who displayed a marked tendency to go high, the strong running of Brown and Mackay throwing them off repeatedly. To the inner men, Shaw and Alexander, New Plymouth owe in a big measure their victory, for it was directly duo to the splendid openings made by them that the way was paved for Brown aim Mackay to make the all important scores. Petty at full back was a wall of defence and gave a wonderful display, which was far ill advance of that of Barling, who showed considerable uncertainty at tunes. Although the wingers /lid not figure as prominently as usual, Palmer came through the ordeal very satisfactorily. Pacey and Bennett played with dash, but their attempts to cut in did not meet with any great success owing to the tackling of then ° P Evans ti did not display his usual initiative but ho saved his side brilliantly on two’or three occasions when matters locked very black. Williamson, although making few mistakes, was cramped owing to the fast work of the holders. . To the forwards nothing but praise is due for they bore the brunt of the day throughout. Gleiidinning led them with S and spirit, but the seventy oi the referee in his offside ruling curtailed Gleiidinning’s attention to the ojjposimr half. Faced with defeat, the 1 aimer a ton North boys went down with colours «vine for they contested every inch of the d ~eri on tin attack «hen tta Anil bell went. It «'•> «"I ‘“SP'SjSt result in many respects, foi the points margin was by no means a cl; tenon of the Zr as the visitors, a .houyh beaten, were by no means disgraced. NOTES.

Fixtures to-day are: New Zealand v. New South Wales (second test), at Christchurch; Otago v. Auckland, at Auckland; Otago v. Wnirarapa at Dunedin ; Manawatu v. Southland, at Invercargill. . 1-4.1 Of the nineteen points scored in tlie first test, Otago representatives were responsible for no fewer than thirteen. M'Meeking scored a try, and Sinclair s accurate kicking was responsible tor the other ten. , „ ... It is interesting to note that Beilis, who scored the first try in the test match on Saturday last, also scoied the first try for New Zealand against the Springboks two years ago. This was shortly after the beginning of the second spell. In the first half South rica led by 5 to 0. Beilis’s try was converted. by M. Nicholls, making the totals equal. . . , , . . , “It is characteristic of colonials to play football, and whenever I see another game approaching Rugby football in popularity I feel a bit sore. Mr C. ,S. M‘Cully, of the Canterbury Rugby Union. Ernest E. Booth, writing in the Dunedin Star sports special, makes the following comments on the ' first test game; —The display of the All Blacks was somewhat disappointing, whilst the exposition of the visitors stamps them us the makings of a real wonderful side. Their improved form, compared with that shown at Timaru and Wellington, was almost unbelievable. Hie additional ’Varsity contingent of backs has lifted the team’s worth 100 per cent., as illustrated in to-day’s game. Tho game will also open the eyes of the New Zealand selectors to the w eak points of the New Zealand team back division particularly. Three of four hacks only justified bein" classed as internationals. New Zealand’s opening work for twenty minutes was true form, hut it was not sustained, and gradually the opposition improved, this being sustained till time was called. It is the first time I have seen a New Zealand team almost beaten on actual physical form. “Playing the man” was a feature far too prominent to be commendable, and the Blacks were the greater offenders in this respect, Beilis and Nothling were the two outstanding players of the match. _ One a forward, an arrow in attack *, whilst the other, a back, was a veritable Gibraltar in defence. His coolness, judgment, and kicking abilities saved his side occasions. The sun’s rays interfered very much with the sighting from the one end. The New Zealand backs repeatedly kicked straight to midfield—right into Nothling’s sure arms and reach. F. Snodgrass, the Nelson and South Island three-quarter, played in the forwards a season and a-half ago. Pie was a front-ranker for the combined Marlborough, Nelson and Golden Bay team which mot the Springboks. “There will bo a chain of Rugby football players round tho world shortly,” prophesied Mr A. Dey at the annual smoke concert of the Canterbury Referees’ Association. / A unique trio gathered together in Auckland when the Southland Rugby team was defeated by the northern representatives. W. J. Meredith, referee of the match, T. Meredith, manager of the Southland team, and V. R. Meredith, selector of tho Auckland team, were photographed together. They are not related to each other, and the coincidence of names is a strange one. The Rev. G. V. Gerard continues to do big things for South Canterbury on tho football field. He played a groat game against Now South Wales this week. He scored twice, both tries coming from passing efforts, ia the

second of which he handled the ball twice and “dummied’'-cleverly before getting ovqr under' the posts. ' Auckland seems to be coming into its own again, and has jb een registering big .scores against its opponents, the score of 37 to 3 against Southland, however, was not by any means the largest' compiled by the Northerners against the same rivals. In 1806 Auckland won by 48 to 12, and in 1914 they secured the verdict by 43 to 6. Last year Southland defeated Auckland by 21 points to 3. In a runaway game against Wanganui last Saturday Auckland compiled uo fewer than 58 points to nil—a great score for a representative match. Ever since the war the All Black selectors have been in search of good inside backs, and up to the present their efforts have practically been in vain (says a northern writer). During the last few years none of the young players have shown any outstanding ability, and certainly none of them have come up to the standard set by Duncan, Mynott, Hunter, Stead, Smith, or Abbott. Fea and Ifwerson are perhaps the nearest approaches, but then they are getting past their prime. Not one of the four five-eights who played in the inter-island match was up to New Zealand form. For this defect in New Zealand’s strength a remedy must be found, if not this year, then before an All Black team sails for England to play against the best in the world. Representative New South W ales teams have only played four tests with New Zealand in the Dominion—in 1894, 1901, 1921 and 1923. Two Australian teams, however, have also played tests in New Zealand, one in 1905 and three in 1913. Honours are to date even, both teams having won two games, but New Zealand has a points advantage of 45 to 37.

Visits by New Zealand teams to Australia have been more frequent and date back to 1884. New Zealand’s measure of success in tests on the other side has been considerable, having won 19 of the twenty-five games played, while one was drawn. The points aggregate reads New Zealand 378, Australia 203.

While English Rugby circles are stimulated at. the news of a tour of New Zealanders to Great Britain in 1924 or 1925, England is in for a lean period as regards the quality of her international representatives, and Scotland and Ireland are concentrating on the encouragement of youth, according to tho view expressed by “TouchJudge” of Sporting Life, who is regarded as the leading Rugby critic in England. “We all remember how in 1905,” he writes, “the All Blacks revolutionised the game over here. Nohiug previously or since has been seen quite like them, although in 1912 W. v. Millar’s side from South Africa/the team that achieved the record of winning all its international matches in turn against England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and France—taught us much that we knew not before. The players in many outlying districts are never seen by North Island or New Zealand selectors (states a Rugby scribe). Yet such men as Fletcher, of Whangarei; Steel, of West Coast: McLean, of Bay of Plenty; and Mill (now of Hawke’s Bay, but formerly of Tokomaru Bay) provide unquestionable evidence tor tho contention that no district should be overlooked by the selectors if they are anxious to find the best possible. It is not clear how Fletcher, situated where he was, managed to. gain the selectors’ approval. Steel was a phenomenal player who was so obviously above the standard of his fellows on the Coast that tho selectors, once nersuaded to see him, could not pass him by. McLean, a great forward if ever there was one, owed his advancement to Mr W. T. Parata, who pushed his claims vigorously and persistently. Mill, tho shining light of an isolated coastal village, where freezing works teams disputed the championship honours with Maoris and station hands, was given his chance by Mr Parata when he formed tho Maori team which defeated New South Males last year. How many more players are there as able but not as lucky as Fletcher, McLean, Steel and Mill? Will the selectors make an honest effort to find out? The expense of sending the selectors round the Dominion 'with the Australians would he considerable, but it would be small in comparison with the cost of assembling teams for a series of trial games next year. By looking ahead the New Zealand Union can save itself a lot of expense, and floods of criticism as well. Mr IV. IV. Hill,. one of Rugby’s prominent supporters in New South Wales, has arrived in 'Wellington from Syd‘ney to attend a conference on Rugby matters, to be held in Wellington next week.