EXCITING RUGBY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 255, 25 September 1933, Page 10

EXCITING RUGBY

NORTH ISLAND BEAT SOUTH. SWIFT CHANGES OF FORTUNE. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Sept. 23. In a game with many exciting moments, the. North Island beat the South by 27 points to 18 before a largo crowd. The North had the advantage of a stiff breeze in the first spell and were soon in their stride, with the backs playing in polished style and the forwards securing a good share of the ball. In the second spell the South were a much harder proposition. The forwards completely dominated the play, while every effort was made to subdue the North backs, Andrews being taken out of the scrum and, with Oliver, doing great defensive work. The South backs lacked finish. The game was always'fast and interesting, fortunes sometimes changing in bewildering fashion. Three players left the field injured, including both full-backs, both of whom gave fine displays. The Governor-General (Lord Bledisloe) and the Lady Bledisloe were present. Five minutes after the start Kilby sent his backs away. Bullock-Douglas ran through and kicked over Granger’s head and raced 25 yards to be the first there Fuller converted. Andrews covered half the field with a great dribble, Nepia stopping him. From a line-out near the goal line McKenzie forced his way over, but Fuller failed to convert. Page cut clean through and Fuller raced to the corner. Andrews came across and got him just in time. From the scrum Killeen completely beat the defence for a try under the posts and Fuller converted. Andrews led the South forwards through Nepia saving magnificently. At the other end Granger twice saved well. South’s first try was a sensational one. The North backs broke down and Hart passed in* field. Andrews sent Fong away over a 60 yard run to score under the posts. Purdue converted. There was wild excitement when Hart snapped up a dropped pass in his own half. He and Nepia raced up the line side by side. Hart was unable to get clear and centred the ball over the line, but Killeen was there first. At the other end Killeen cut through and sent in to his forwards and Hadley scored. Fuller converted. McLean dribbled down file field and Leeson and Solomon carried on for Solomon to score. The kick missed. Just on time Andrews led a fine South rush, Purdue scoring. Purdue missed with the kick. North 21, South 8. In the second spell Kilby, Solomon, McLean and Leeson handled and nearly reached their objective. Play was now very fast, going first to one end and then tile other. South were across but were recalled. Finally, from a forward attack started byMax, Manchester scored and Granger converted. , , . , Cooper was injured and was replaced by Clarke. After a sweeping North attack the ball went out near the line. Nepia was applauded for his long line kicks against the wind. After a determined run Fuller wa» tackled a yard short of the line. North s persistence was rewarded when Solomon leceiving on the blind side, crashed over. Fuller missed. Granger was injured and was replaced by Holder. Nepia was hurt and Lilburne replaced him. A South centre kick following a back move saw the forwards swa m past Lilburne and Manchester eccrcd for Holder to convert. , North replied with a penalty goal by Fuller. North 27, South 18. Mr C. Pauli was the referee. WONDERFUL TALENT. STILL THE NEPIA OF OLD. (By “Cross Bar.”) Yet another inter-island match has been waged and won. The North Island fully deserved their victory, for their rearguard were vastly superior. Greater pace on tiio right wing would have brought more tries. . Considerable interest was centred in the reappearance of Nepia, the smiling Wairoa Maori. While the 1924 All Black opened a little uncertainly, ho repeatedly produced Hashes of the electrical form which made him the idol of the crowds in Britain on the 1924-25 tour. “Windy Wellington” lived up to its reputation, but instead of . the. blustery scuth-wcstor, it was a fish-tail wind from the north. Kilby’s winning of the toss and having first, advantage of the stiff wind did not make the southerners’ task any the lighter. Granger, the South full-back, was quite unable to judge his kicking against the wind and repeatedly failed to gain ground; on occasion, ho even lost it. However, his fielding was sound and ho brought, off some good saves in the second spell. Injuries made inroads on the ranks of the rival combinations, tho North having to call upon two reserves and the South on one. At one stage throe players were being given attention by the Ambulance Brigade. Tho game was remarkable in that both full-backs had to retire.

it was quite apparent on the announcement of the North team that the selectors were not altogether in search of new talent. However, tho “old stagers” did well and, even should Kilby retire, his display of Saturday will make a fitting close to a wonderful football career. Of the two full-backs Nepia alone approached All Black standard. _ His kicking noth with and against tho wind was full of power, while Tie displayed his old-time ability to nip the ball from off the toes of onrushing forwards and battle his way through a press to freedom. While Now Zealand will have some positions to fill and, meantime, it promises to be difficult to replace such men as Kilby and Nepia two years hence— Kilby was the brains of the attack on Saturday—there 'is little to be feared where tho forwards are concerned, for there is a wealth of talent available. On the occasion of the 1924 All Black trials “CrOS3 Bar” was delighted by the manner in which such men as Porter, M. Brownlee and “Jock” Richardson handled the leather. Their day is past, but there are other disciples to follow in their footsteps. Although equally big men, the forwards of to-day are, if anything, faster. Kilby, Page and Killeen made a very happy trio as the' inner backs for the North, and in the last named New Zealand has a brilliant member for the future. Caughey spoiled some of his work by delaying his pass too long. However, as a quartette they were vastly superior to tho opposing set. Scandrett, Fong, Oliver and Smith, tho southern inner men, got through a lot of work, but more as individualists than as a combined force. There were occasions when the ball went along the line only for ground to bo lost. Oliver brightened things up considerably by Jinking up with Hart very happily in the closing moments, but tho effort came too late.. There wore several tries registered which wore runaway efforts, those credited to Bullock-Dougfas and Fong both coming from efforts which opened from defensive positions in their respective twenty-fives. Hart brought tho crowd to their feet on anotlier occasion when ho set off' on a long gallop from his own territory, but Nepia chased him and finally forced the winger to centre, where the advantage was spoiled. It was a surprising effort on Nepia’s part. McKENZIE’S TRY. - McKenzie, Manawatu’s representative, had the satisfaction of registering the second try of the match and it was a good bustling effort. The Kia Toa scrummager proved to be well worthy of tho company he was with and, while he attempted to beat his man instead of passing on one occasion, he fully justified his selection; indeed, ho was one of the first half-dozen forwards in the game. The game was waged at a tremendous pace and. it never slackened. With the black rearguard repeatedly in action the southern forwards were required to play a heavy role, yet these big, weighty men wero going just as strongly at tho final bell as in the first quarter of an hour. The scrummaging was far from satisfactory and repeatedly tho leather did not enter the scrum. The North hookers wore apparently to blame quite frequently, for they had'quite a number of penalties given

against them. The blacks held the advantage in tho set scrums, the work of Hadley and Coy-, being much faster than that of the opposing trio. Solomon and McLean got through a wonderful amount of work in the open, both handling the ball like backs. Solomon had the satisfaction of registering a brace of tries, but McLean played a part in several of the scoring efforts ,of his side. Ho was guilty of attempting too much on occasion. Max and Purdue, tho two biggest men on the side of the southerners, played wonderful football. They toiled like giants in the rucks and timo after time they fought their way through the press to the open. The only regrettable feature is that Max is 27 years of age, so he may not retain his form much longer. Andrews, the Canterbury representative, furnished his fellow players with an object lesson in ball control more than once. On two occasions he went half tho length of the field with the ball at his too. Fie also rendered valiant service on the defence and proved himself to be a very versatile member. Mahoney, according to the programme, was the tallest man on tho field, tho Bush representative holding a half inch advantage over Max, hut the latter had 2lbs greater weight. Mahoney _ brought himself into prominence by coming round the scrum too quickly in the first spell, but ho profited by the lesion and got into tho thick of it better thereafter.

It was apparent by the manner in which the ball was sent hack to Kilby that tho hooking in the North side, presumably by Hadley, was good when the ball received a clear passage. Leeson, of Waikato, proved himself to bo a great worker, being always handy to the ball, even though lie did not actually do anything sensational.

Manchester had the satisfaction of registering two tries for the South, but, the Canterbury representative had tho openings furnished him by Andrew and Max. However, ho boro his full share of the hard toil in a great pack. With a real sot of backs, the South frontal _ brigade would have taken a lot of stopping. While tho day of the rover is supposed to be past, Saturday’s game made it almost appear to bo otherwise, for Solomon was more often than not to lie found in the five-eighth line. As a result, Manchester and Andrews were- frequently found away from the southern serum filling tho role of counter to tho Aucklander’s tactical play.. Lilburne received a hearty reception when he stepped out to take Ncpia’s place and he began in sensational stylo by bursting through to open up a movement with Bullock-Douglas on the left wing. However, he marred it a moment or two later when Max bustled him off the ball to allow Manchester to score.

Holder, who came on when Granger was compelled to retire, was brought up from full-back to tho left wing in place of Dunne. The latter made a. very indifferent showing, Fuller’s side-stepping antics beating him badly time after time, and it was only Fuller’s lack of pace which prevented his registering two or three tries. However, lie-registered nine points ns a result of his kicking ability and thereby brought his total scoring points for the season up to 200.

Long before the start of the curtainraiser, which was between the Wellington thirds and tho combined Colleges, there were some thousands in position on the bank. From 2 o’clock onwards tho crowd streamed in and when the Governor-Gen-eral (Lord Bledisloe) went out to meet the teams the ground presented a great sight, all the terraces being lined. There was a band of southern supporters holding a point of vantage and they created some amusement with their bed sheets on poles white paper streamers, etc., which they set sailing in the wind. , Whereas tho South Island converted three of their four tries, North could only add the major points to three of their six crpssings. However, those lost points were from crossings at the corner flags and Fuller made some great bids to turn them to profit. Purdue, Granger and Holder each had a successful shot for the South. There were few penalties awarded within striking distance, but Fuller turned one to profit- . . , Although fighting' against the wind, the South Island were the first. to gain a territorial advantage, yet within four minutes the North Island were five points up and within a quarter of an hour of opening wore 13 points to the good. The play had been in progress 26 minutes before South opened their account. In tho second spell 12 minutes had elapsed before the first score came and it required a further 15 minutes before the North replied. The North Island rearguard invariably moved as one man when Kilby set a movement in action. However, they were so much in line on occasion that repeatedly it required a slightly forward pass to prevent the support overrunning tho pass. They were seldom pulled up liy t.hc referee, Mr C. F. Pauli, of Auckland, who appeared to let a good deal go. Presumably, the overlooking of those little points is duo to the desire up north to keep the 'game as fast and open as possible as a counter to League. Although the Colleges can more than hold the third grade club teams in Wellington, they were no match for the selected representatives on Saturday. However, the boys had only returned from vacation and had not played for some weeks, so tho absence of form was not surprising. There was an inside five-eighth in tho ranks of tho Wellington thirds who displayed great possibilities, liis swerving run and ability to change direction being delightful. praise for McKenzie. “MAKINGS OF A FIRST CLASS FORWARD.” If All Blacks caps were to be won this year Andrews (Canterbury), Leeson (Waikato), and McKenzie (Manawatu) would be three certain' newcomers (writes “Poster” in the Dominion). In Andrews Canterbury have found another Parker. His devastating runs had North in trouble time and again, and lie paved the way for the first two tries scored by South. He played a typical wing-forward game, but was a little subdued after Kilby brought Solomon out of the North scrum to. mark him. Leeson’s tireless pursuit of the ball kept him •continually under notice. He tackled well, played tigerishly in the tight, and often linked up with the hacks in finishing off a rush. It was noticeable that wherever McLean was Leeson was never far from him.

McKenzie is the makings of a firstclass forward, having every phase of forward play at his command, but he will have to be cured of the habit of hanging on to the hall. He threw away two almost certain tries through this fault, but the excellence of his game could not be overlooked, and with experience lie will make a topnotcher. INTER-Y.M.C.A. MATCH. PALMERSTON NORTH DEFEAT WELLINGTON. In the first of. what is hoped to be a scries of annual matches, the Palmerston North Y.M.C.A., on Saturday, at the Showgrounds, defeated a team from the Wellington Y'.M.C.A. at Rugby by 18 points to 9. The match produced much hard play, with the second half considerably faster than the first. . The Wellington forwards showed superiority in the scrums, but tho Palmerston North boys had the better set of backs, although both teams showed faulty handling. The teams were:—

Palmerston North. —C. McMinn, Hadfield, Robertson, Phillips, Riley, G. McMinn, Metcalfe, Thomas. Prebble, Plank, Rumble, Burnc, Cress, Griggs and McKay. Wellington.—Charles, Parnell, Emerson, Crane, Alexander, Gilberd, Burnett, Moore, Hearn, Oliver, Tanner, Hercus, Mark, Williams and Waller. In the opening stages the Palmerston North team had the better of matters and a forward rush went dangerously near the Wellington line. The Wellington forwards hooked the ball from three successive scrums, but their backs could not combine. The handling of the home backs was more sure, although it was in the second half that they had the best passing bouts. One of the Palmerston North loose forward

rushes ended with a score by Metcalfe. He took the kick himself, but did not add the extra points. The Palmerston North backs staged a great attack from a scrum behind halfway, and the ball passed along the line to Hadfield, who went over after a swerving run that cut through a tight corner. Robertson converted. The Wellington forwards made the play loose and fast, and from open work Parnell scored, but the try was gained well out and the long kick failed. From another quick follow-up Burnett went over to make the score 8-6, but the kick at goal failed. Right on the call of half-timb the Wellington forwards let the ball out to the backs inside the Palmerston North twentyfive, and the seoond five-eighths. Alexander, took an opportunity for a field goal but missed.

In tho second half the Palmerston North backs had several bright attacks that were hold up at the last stage, the Wellington full-back playing a safe game. Open play allowed Riley a chance and ho ran right round to score under the posts. Robertson converted. Griggs went through from a line-out and sent on to Hadfield when the way was clear and the latter scored in a good position for Robertson to again add to the Palmerston North total. The local backs were making a vastly improved showing and were breaking away frequently, but once when they had ample support and no opposing players directly in front the ball was passed forward at the Wellington twenty-five. Wellington’s forwards sot out with another of their loose rushes and after several of the home players had failed to pick up cleanly, finished the movement with a score by Burnett. Tho kick at goal failed and tho final whistle went without any further change to tho score which was: Palmerston North 18. Wellington 9. The referee was. Mr Weston. Mr If- *l. Steptoe was tho manager of the Wellington team.

MANAWATU v. WAIRARAPA.

FINAL MATCH OF SEASON

The final fixture for the 1933 season insofar as the Manawatu representatives are concerned will be played at Masterton next Saturday when the return game with Wairarapa will bo staged. No definite team ha; been selected by the Manawatu selector (Mr A. W. Thompson), who has called on the following players to hold themselves in readiness to make tho trip. Backs —Mackay, Strange, Bramwell, Elliott, Ormond, Dewe, Metcalfe, Gil.osp:c, Bradley. „ ~ ~ T - Forwards.—Waldin, Findlay, McKenzie. Mitchell. McClelland, Flight Crawford, Fade, Ward, Cooper.

CANTERBURY RETAIN SHIELD.

Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. 23. Although their strength was heavily reduced by the loss of seven of their best players, five of them in the South Island team Canterbury were able to witlisrrthe challenge of South Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield. The match was played in brilliant sunshine on a ground too hard for football, and there wore many stoppages for injuries. The standard of play was poor, but the game was so even that interest was kept alive until the final whistle. All the scoring was done in the first spell, Canterbury winning by 6 points, a try and a penalty u-oal, to 3 points, a try. The attendance was less than 10,000. RESULTS ELSEWHERE.

Hokitika.—West Coast 35 v. Buller 8. Auckland.—Auckland 21 v. Wanganui 19. Hastings.— Hawke’s Bay 21 v. Poverty Dannovirke. —Danncvii-ke 28 v. Wellington Old Boys 12.