RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 223, 16 August 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

(BY “CROSS BAR.”)

Congratulations. •New Zealand made no race of it in the final Test, although Britain displayed the bull-dog spirit. , Floodland. Many Canterbury players have recently suffered from water on the knee, the province having had an overplentiful supply of rain. Firmly Lodged. It would appear as though the Ranfurly Shield nas taken firm root in Invercargill. It might take some shifting. Bluff Called. No doubt Otago visited Bluff as is customary, but the maroons certainly called their “bluff” on the field of play. It couldn’t have been too many oysters! Old Foes. Canterbury beat Hawke’s Bay last Saturday by 12—3. Their previous clash at Lancaster Park was a,way back in 1926 when Hawke’s Bay won by 17—15. Going Stale. During the tour now terminated, the Britishers played the majority of their star players at almost every opportunity. No doubt the selectors are now wondering whether it was wise tactics. Well “Cooked.” Cooke waited till the final Test against the Britishers before he opened his scoring account. His two typical follow-up tries certainly “cooked” Britain’s goose. On Top. Although he only figured in two Tests M. Nicliolls headed tho list of New Zealand contributors in the Test games with 11 points from a goal from a mark, a field goal, and two goals from tries—ll points.

Free from Breaches. The Ranfurly Shield match between Southland and Otago was played in a splendid spirit. There were only five penalty kicks in the whole of the game. Timaruvian Tactics. It is stated that in a, recent wrestling match in Australia, one man bit the other. It is not stated, though, that he ever played Rugby football. Another Arapuni. i The wet weather experienced has caused subsidences in the embankment at Lancaster Park, Christchurch. At the back the earth has fallen away in considerable quantities in some places, opening cracks six inches wide and about a foot deep.. Spectacular. Ihirteen players handled tho ball in Southland Rugby rush against Otago, the rush being started by T. Metcalfe, a forward, 10 yards from Southlands line, and ending in a try scored by wing-threequarter J. H. Geddes. Speed Merchants. It is a coincidence that just as the 1924 All Blacks had two sprinters, of the calibre of Steele and Parker in their ranks, the original All Blacks of 1905 also included two great track athletes, George Smith and “Bunny” Abbott.

The Game And Players.

Pars And Personalities.

Outstanding. The Southland forward, G. Purdue, was outstanding in line-out play in the Ranfurly Shield Rugby match versus Otago. The tall Southland forward is improving with every game, and there are many people in Southland who reckon that he is better than W. Hazlett. Handy. F. E. Sutherland, of Auckland, who refereed the fourth Rugby Test in Wellington, ,did not have to worry about his luggage. He knew there was a Porter round the Corner., waiting for a whistle. Points to be Learnt. The 1930 British team showed most New Zealand provincial sides a lot of points. No other visiting combination ever did half so well on attack. Fitness all the time has been the secret. A Try Scorer. A Wellington critic writes: —“A wing-three-quarter who will be worth watching for big football next year is Walker, of the Petone team, Wellington. He has weight, pace and determination. Many critics oonsider that he should have been an All Black this year. The Walker referred to is identical with the former Palmerston North player. Even when here “Bob” was a great try scorer. To Meet Waratahs.

The itinerary for the British Rugby Union team in Australia will be: August 23: v. New South Wales, at Sydney. August 30: v. Australia (Test), at Sydney. September 3: v. Queensland, at Brisbane. September 6: v. Australian XV., at .Brisbane. September 10: v. New South Wales, at Sydney. New Zealand’s Best.

While the British Rugby team was in Auckland one of its members expressed the opinion that the Auckland forwards and the Canterbury backs who played against the visitors in their matches with the provincial teams would form the most dangerous combination that the British team couid be called upon to face in New Zealand. Fortune’s Smile. A striking example of the ups and downs of fortune experienced by Rugby teams is afforded by the experience of the University fifteen in the Wellington senior A competition this season. Proud champions last season, the students had to be content this season with a seat on the bottom rung of the ladder. Of the fifteen matches played ’Varsity only won four, were beaten ten times, and managed to draw one match. Earlier Tours. The best the British team of 1904 could do in the Dominion was tire 14 to eight win over Otago and Southland at Dunedin. That British team played five matches in New Zealand, of which two wore lost, and one drawn. The Anglo-Welsh team in 1908 reached its peak with the 26 to nil victory over Poverty Bay, and the 1921 Springboks reached their zenith with, their 34 to three win over South Canterbury. Rhodes Scholar. All Rugby followers in New Zealand will wisli P. C. Minns, of Auckland, every success in England. Several members of tho British team said after tho Auckland match that lie should experience little difficulty in gaming

his blue at Oxford, and he may even be the first New Zealand Rhodes Scholar since O. G. Aitken to gain international honours in Britain. Maori Forwards. Three of the Maori forwards who toured south with the Hawke’s Bay Rugby team were members of the New Zealand Maori team which toured Great Britain and France in 1926. These were W. Wilson, J. Gemmell and S. Gemmell. .All three hail from Wairoa, a riverside township about 80 miles from Napier, where the town is divided in two by a stream, and the white population live on one side and the brown-skinned on the other. Well Done. Eastbourne were easily the most improved team in the Wellington senior Rugby competition this season. To come in their second year in the senior A ranks to second position on the ladder was a wonderful performance. The tribute paid to the coaching of Mr E. J. Roberts at the dinner tendered to the Eastbourne team was well deserved, says an exchange. There are few better team coaches than “Teddy” Roberts, who represented New Zealand as half-back in 1913, 1914, 1920 and 1921. Greater Compliment. Tho three provinces Which beat the British team—Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury—provided between them the greater part of the All Black team which met Britain in the fourth Test at Wellington. In the 19 players who were provisionally selected Auckland and Wellington each had five representatives and Canterbury three. A few years ago no All Black side was complete without a large quota of Hawke’s Bay representatives, but Hawke’s Bay Rugby has fallen back a little and the province has now only one representative.

Heads List. By adding a further 10 points to his scoring account at Blenheim last Tuesday, Black was able to emerge from the Dominion portion of the Britishers’ tour with pride of place on tho scoring table, he having 61 points against his name. Inactive. Prentice, the official captain of the British team, took part in only eight matches in the Dominion. Black, on the other hand, figured in 15, yet the skipper finished up second on the scoring table with 49 points to his credit. Lack of Weight. Probably his lack of weight and inches told against the little Welshman, Jones-Davies, on the tour for he took the field in but eight matches. He proved a free scorer, however, his account being compiled of eight tries and a goal from the field —28 points in all. Unfortunate. The unfortunate member of the British team was Sobey, the injury he received at Wanganui preventing his taking the field thereafter on the tour. Of the 29 members in the team, 23 contributed points, it being not till last Tuesday’s match that Bonner joined the elect with a goal from a try. Non-scorers. .... Apart from Sobey, there were five other Britishers in Row, Poole, O’Neill, H. Jones and Bassett who failed to contribute any scoring points on the Dominion portion of .the Britishers’ tour. Although some critics have spoken higlilv of H. Jones on occasion, the North of England player donned the jersey on only seven occasions. Field Goals. When Ivor Jones dropped his brilliant field goal in tho match versus Wanganui, it was rather anticipated that the “pot” would bo a feature of the visitors’ game. However, the reverse was the case for it was not till the final match of the tour in the Dominion that Jones-Davies added another four points. Most Appearances. Bowcott and Beamish participated in no less than 16 of the 21 matches played in the Dominion, while Aarvold, Black, -Parker and Ivor Jones participated in 15 games. These members played a heavy role throughout and it is surprising that they maintained their form as they did. ■