WHANGAREI DEFEATED.

Northern Advocate, 4 August 1924, Page 6

WHANGAREI DEFEATED.

HARDING SHIELD RETAINED. SMALL MARGIN DEFEAT. There was an attendance at the

Rugby football fixture at Mr A. E. Harding's paddock at Aoroa, about four miles from Dargaville, on Saturday afternoon which most probably

was a record for a match held in the Northern Wairoa district, when Northern Wairoa successfully defended possession of the Harding Shield against Whangarei by the narrow margin of five points to three.

The attendance was estimated at approximately 3000 and as most of the spectators travelled by car or bus to the temporary ground used while the new ground at Mangawhare is in course of preparation, the parking of the cars alongside the roadside was quite a big task. This was, however, carried out effectively by Sergeant Griffiths and his officers. Enthusiasm was the dominant feature. Dargaville business firms had their windows decorated with the Northern Wairoa colours, yellow and black and streamers were worn, by local supporters of that team, while some 200 followers of the Whangarei challengers displayed the Cambridge blue.

j Prior to the game it was the general opinion that the match would be very closely contested. The defenders had done much to fit themselves for the j task of holding the premier Rugby trophy of Nortli Auckland. Training had been carried out on a scale quite foreign to Whangarei, and the result was largely due to that factor. The Northern Wairoa representatives had I also had the benefit of very sound advice of a tactical nature throughout the week from Mr C. Fletcher, the leading active footballer in the Union. The result of the training and coaching was a repetition on the field of just the style of play which gave the Northern Wairoa the shield last year—sound tackling, not merely blocking or holding, hustling work by the forwards with energetic packing round, and little hanging on the fringe of the area of hard battling just waiting for opportunities to get in the limelight. En passant, the latter fault, although certainly less in evidence than in the last match against Bay of Islands, was one of the most evident in the ehalleiip-ino , team. In a nutshell Northern Wairoa played the most profitable game under the prevailing circumstances and won by a margin which was * hardly big enough to represent in the score the superiority shown throughout the game in most of its departments. The teams took the field as follows:— Northern Wairoa. — Full-back, E. Wade; three-quarters, B. Sinionson, R. Harding and E. Pearce; five-eighth.-, W. Martin and P. Brydon; half, B. Gould; rover, A. Warniington; back row, F. W. Downer and B. Jones; second row, F. Brady, Fischer and Hilliam; hookers, P. Hemphill and W. Rika. :

Whangarei.—Full-back, A. Ridings; three-quarters, C. Collins, J. Hamilton and S. W. Crawford; five-eighths, R Nelson and E. Meyer; half, R. Cunningham; rover, Bain Finlayson; back row, A. Sowman and E. Emerson; second row, Tote Finiayson, D. McLeod and Bunny Finlayson; hookers, F. O'Shea and M. Sheriff.

The "round was dry, but there were lumps upon it which proved on several r ,r. ( ,,, s ; oiv . r ]j S !) S f V( ,,, s jo players who waited for a bounce. Fine weather and n diagonal vviivl which was not very strong flavoured conditions. When the

opposing .skippers, Tote Finlayson and "Bun" Gould shook hands and tossed for ends there was a general laugh at the many times repeated comment, "the long and the short of it." As regards weight, however, the opposing forwards were about equal, while the local backs had the advantage.

Northern Wairoa played in the first quarter against the sun and three scrums took place in quick;, succession in midfield, Mr T. C. Webbj' the very able referee, beiny quick to penalise Bain Finlayson for going round the scrum too quickly. Whangarei early showed the chief weakness in the scrum, which was that the hookers were too big and were bored upwards when the defenders exerted their, weight. An exchange of kicks was followed by Brydon and Martin going to the

Whangarei end, where as the outcome of an erratic bounce puzzling Collins, the Whangarei team was placed on the defensive. After four minutes' play Bunny Finlayson was penalised in a line-out for offside play, and Hardinghad a penalty shot which was smothered by the Whangarei forwards, Wade having to find the line on the Northern Wairoa side of half-way. Nelson was well tackled by Hilliam and play again centred in Whangarei territory. Cunningham made a smart opening for Bunny Finlayson and Meyer, but good hollaring by Martin halted the advance. Simonson, who was early to the fore in clever and neatly executed work, kicked towards Nelson, who was beaten by the bounce, and O'Shea handled the ball offside. Whangarei, however, carried play to the other end, where from the ruck Cunningham smartly cut out Brydon and Martin kicked when the support lagged behind. From an ensuing scrum near the Wairoa line Bain Finlayson got possession and dived over, eleven minutes after the kick'off. McLeod failed to convert— Whangarei 3, Northern Wairoa nil.

It was the first time that Whangaroi had been well within striking distance. Shortly afterwards Simonson failed to pick up the ball, which dribbled across [ the line, Wade touching down ahead of j Tote Finlayson, who had followed up speedily. Soon afterwards Martin was injured in the head and retired, his place tit five-eighths being taken by Gould, and Webb going on as half. Pearce and Jones were most conspicuous in an attack from which Hidings extricated himself smartly. Both Wannington and Brady went round upon Cunningham too quickly in a scrum and McLeod made a good attempt to add to the score by a long distance penalty kick from a central position. Pearce saved in good style and just before the change over Hamilton had an ineffective shot at goal from a mark. Midfield play after changing ends was followed by Hamilton mulling ;i pass from Crawford, enabling Rika and Homphill to carry play to Ridings, who was penalised for hanging O n. Harding missed with a kick from a central position beyond quarter way. .Simonson, who had proved himself the most prominent back hi the local team, after cutting in past Hamilton kicked and followed. Ridings waited for the bounce, intending to force. The bounce was a High one. and both Simonson and Ridings jumped for it. Both fell to the ground, over the line, and scrambled after the ball, Simonson securing a well earned but somewhat lucky try in a handy position, amid great enthusiasm. Harding sent the ball fairly between the uprights—Northern Wairoa. 5, Whangarei 3.

The local team then invaded the Whangarei end for two minuses until McLeod returned play to the neutral zone, although Ridings was shortly afterwards called upon to clear, the latter occasion being to stem a fine effort made hv Simonson. Brady essayed a long-range penalty goal, the bail going under the bar. Soon afterwards

one of the prettiest passing rushes of the match took place, the ball being handled by Hamilton, Nelson, Cunningham and Collins, the last mentioned being well collared by Simonson. Tn retaliation Hilliam and Downer headed a good dribbling rush by the Wairoa forwards,, the gain of which was lost through Brady being caught off-side. Crawford appeared most prominently in exchanges of kicking until Cunningham in midfield started Hamilton away. The ball was transferred to Collins, who after outpacing Simonson checked before Wade and was thrown into touch.

Soon after the interval a hot attack by the local vanguard was stopped by Hamilton being successful with a hasty speculator. Then Nelson retained possession too long when tackled and a well-directed penalty fell short, Ridings * fin-lino- touch. Bunny Finlayson by j h.'i'-d running and a well-directed kick i relieved the pressure, but Whangarei j was defending -almost, continuously for . the first five minutes. Despite a really • well aimed line kick by Hamilton the j Xorthern YVniron forwards swarmed j round the ball and managed to down I Crawford in possession. A couple of j minutes later Cunningham got away j unsupported, and Webb stopped him. I Hamilton followed up by cutting in j past the opposing three-quarters, but j. Crawford was too far out for a pass and Wade defended safely. Renewed efCoi'ts by the Whangarei backs to ini- | tiate concerted movements were frus- | trated largely by the sound tackling and energetic following up of Warmington and Gould. Harding obstructed Nelson and Crawford cleverly cleared to half-way. Webb, however, started I Brydon, Gould and Harding off in a likely looking rush, which Meyer stopped by neatly collaring the centre three-quarter. Emerson, Bowman and Bunny Finlayson participated in the j leading roles in a fine dribbling rush, Wmle being *a bit lucky in finding touch. Towards the end of the quarter Hamilton, Tote Finlayson and Bain Finlayson were conspicuous in play that tested the Northern Wairoa defence. Collins picked up well at top speed, but again slackened when confronted by Wade. McLeod had an ineffective shot from a penalty before the change over. Rika and .Tones followed hard and pushed Crawford into touch at the Whangarei 2H flag. A scramble, followed and Collins was penalised for sending out an offside pass, Harding having a shot at goal without success.

! Open play ensued and there was an : outburst of cheering from the Northern Wairoa supporters when Downer gained possession inside quarter way and crossed unopposed, but he was yards off-side and the referee recalled him. Cunningham sent a nice pass away from behind a scrum, but Nelson failed to take it and Simonson intercepted, but was promptly downed by O'Shea. The Whangarei backs made another advance, but Collins kicked in-field to Wade, who had no trouble in finding the line. A little later Webb took a smart defensive mark, and a period of fast open play resulted in a force by Whangarei after the local forwards had kicked too hard. Later Brydon had an opportunity offering, but spoilt it by kicking too strongly, Nelson forcing. The Northern forwards made a great effort and Hilliam nearly forced his way over near the corner. With four minutes to go Crawford, unsupported, carried play to the Northern Wairoa end. The centre of activities went back to midfield for a few moments and then Cunningham sent the backs away, Hamilton being the. greatest gainer of ground. Play ocross from Crawford's wing and back again. Whangarei made a desperate final ef- ■ fort to snatch victory, and there was intense excitement as the bell rang and j the forwards packed down in a scrum a few feet from the corner. The scrum crumpled towards the touch line, and believing that the ball was out the cheering crowds surged over the field. A fresh scrum, however, was ordered and then another, the forwards battling hard to gain a score on one hand and to reach the touch line on the other. Then over-eagerness resulted in Whnngarci players getting off-side, and the penalty kick into touch ended the game. The enthusiastic supporters of the j defenders of the Shield promptly I shouldered Simonson, who was the hero of the day, and who by his splendid and consistent playing on both attack and defence was certainly the outstanding back on the ground. Mr T. C. Webb, of Dargaville, controlled the game in a strict and impartial wanner which, met with general approval. The better team won what was really an interesting and a hard fought match. The Northern Wairoa forwards were a fine lot and worked as a team, and not as individuals. Fit and hard, they backed one another up in good style. Rika was the cleverest and most conspicuous of the vanguard and was the best forward they had in the line-outs, in which bxinch Whangarei held an advantage. Honours in the serum 3 were evenly divided, although the inability of the Whangarei hookers to get down low enough was a big handicap. Warmington, the rover, played very well. He was quick to harass the opposing inside backs and his tackling was sure. The good collaring by the premier team as a whole was indeed an outstanding feature of the game. Hemphill and Hilliam were often noticeable for genuine hard graft. Brady was too much inclined to get off-side, and the referee did not fail to see it. The Wairoa backs were sound i on the defence, but in attack they gave •■ 'I less indication of combination than the j opposition. Simonson did a lion's share J ami play went across to his wing more j often than to Pearce's. Wade at foil- ; back and Harding at centre both ac- I quitted themselves well, and Gould's i cleverness was more noticeable at fiveeighths than when he was behind the pack. Taken all round the Wairoa team is a good one. The Whangarei side was fairly beaten. The standard of play was much higher than in the match against the Bay of Islands, and there was n> cause for complaint regarding the ' amount of energy put into their efforts. : In fact amongst the forwards it wonl.l be unfair to single out any in particular for special approval in that respect. They had a strenuous time of it and difficulty in getting the ball away to the backs owing to the tactics of the Wairoa men in (hnliinir for the ball and keening if close. The low

tackling brought Bunny and Tote Fin- j laysnn down when, as they did fro- j quently, they attempted to wrench their way clear and to start passing rushes. Bunny Finlayson especially did good work throughout, but in such a game it was a pity perhaps that he was not amongst the backs, where j

ho would have had more chances of getting into his stride. O'Shea ani Sowman played their usual sterling

game, while Sheriff and McLeod, in addition to grafting hard, were on several occasions, noticeable for good tackling. Cunningham was at his best behind the scrum and stopped many rushes. He, Meyer and Hamilton were a good trio, and they emerged well considering the manner in which they were harassed by the fast following forwards. Nelson played well, bu 1 did not show up to advantage as he has done on the wing. Of the wing-three-quarters, both of whom were disappointing. Collins was the weaker, and the manner in which he checked in .front of Wade and Simonson ended several rushes. Ridings, although his misjudgnxent in waiting for the bounce was mainly responsible for the winning try, played a fairly sound game, but his tackling was seemingly rather luckily not tested very often. The •Whangarei side as a whole played well in contributing towards a game well worth watching and they were beaten by tactics similar to those which losf the Harding Shield to them last year.