TEN-A-SIDE PROVIDES BRIGHT RUGBY

Northern Advocate, 8 June 1936, Page 3

TEN-A-SIDE PROVIDES BRIGHT RUGBY

OLD BOYS ARE COMFORTABLE WINNERS The experiment made by the Whangarei Rugby Union in arranging a ten-a-side competition for senior players while the representative team was in Dargaville proved a great success on Saturday. The afternoon was too perfect to waste, the players were given an opportunity to lose some of their condition, but none of their keenness, and the public was treated to football which was, almost as fast and quite as interesting as that provided on seven-a-side days. Hikurangi did not com-j pete, eliminating a bye. Two spells of 20 minutes each were played. Superior fitness gave Old Boys success, and. they won both their matches rather comfortably. CITY—KIA TOA. In the first game the teams were: Kia Toa: Tikeria, J. Rika, W. Williams, Cherrington, H. Williams, Te Paa, S. Alison, P. Rika, Brown, B. Ricketts.

City: Morris, Shepherd, McKenzie, Williams, Harrison, Thorpe, Potter, Strange, Dent, Clotworthy. This was probably the most spectacular of the series. City obtained the ball from the majority of the scrums, but there was too much bad passing and mishandling by the backs for much progress to be made. Harrison created a good opening, cutting through the centre, but hesitated with only the full-back to beat, and J. Rika smothered the pass. With inspired handling the Maoris went looking for a score, and City were in troubled waters, when Strange, tackled in front of his own goalposts, slung a long pass to Shepherd, who, catching the defence out of position, j-an the length of the field, outpaced two tacklers, and scored. McKenzie converted.

rm m m m m mmmm The second spell was still young When W. Williams started a nice movement, Te Paa completing just as he was hauled down. Too frequent kicking cost the Maoris many opportunities, but they held a distinct advantage for the remainder of the game. Ricketts, made several robust runs, and Tikeria and Brown scored from forward melees. The last try was a beauty, W. Williams short punted, recovered the ball, in-passed to J. Rika, who handed back for the Maori five-eighths to fly over. None of the four scores were converted, and the final score was: Kia Toa 12: City 5. KARAMEA—OLD BOYS. For the second match the sides were: Old Boys: Edge, Symes, Massey, Blow, Collins, Knew, Bradley, - McDonald, Boreham and Burns. Maungakaramea: Quinn, Bercich, Campbell, B. Cuff, Mansfield, Thompson, Sloane, Hudson, Benfell and Patterson. V ’Karamea started in winning vein, and Mansfield ran straight down the line for a try, falling on the ball and winding himself at the same time. Old Boys soon gave a taste of their quality, and their forwards carried the ball with them. Bradley, a representative player last season, turning out for the first time, used his weight to battle over. Edge kicked the goal from the sideline. Massey was in full cry for further points, but Campbell brought him down with a splendid tackle. Hudson hooked the ball consistently for Maungakaramea who' played four forwards against the Whites’ three and a rover. Just before the spell, Knew joined in a loose rush to score a pretty try.

Early in the second half, ’Karamea lost one of their best players, Mansfield, a casualty attributable to the hardness of the ground. The countrymen again started off well, and Quinn’s attempt to pot a goal would have gone near the mark had the ball in flight not struck an opposing player. They developed a dangerous back movement, and Patterson, dropping his pass, dribbled over, Old Boys being lucky to force. From then on, Old Boys held the centre of the stage. Edge made a telling run, and sent on to Knew, who crossed for his second try. Symes. who was playing an outstanding game in the open, ran right across the field, to set his opposite wing in actipn, the ball being handled by several for Massey to eventually touch down. Maungakaramea came back in a last rally, and Quinn cut in nicely for an individualistic try, making the score; Old Boys 14, Maungakaramea

THE FINAL. Old Boys again gave an impressive display in the final, the issue being never in doubt. Their combination, the resilience of their defence and the quick manner in which they regained formation demoralised the Natives, who, however, again pleased by the audaciousness of their handling.

The White backs were the first to get moving, and Symes was running strongly for the line when he was brought down by H. Williams. Burns opened ‘the scoring, dashing through a gap to touch down. Hesitation by J. Rika in the face of an Old Boys’ rush, gave Massey the opportunity to pick up, run hard down the line, and wriggle between two opponents to find the objective at the corner. At this stage the Whites were making the game a one-sided affair, and Blow cross-kicked to Massey, who followed through fast but was caught by Alison. However, the ball went loose, and Bradley grabbed it to touch down. Edge converted, giving Old Boys an 11—0 lead. Cherrington made a determined? bid for the Maoris, but Collins lowered him with one of those first-class tackles, which characterised his play throughout the afternoon. However, Kia Toa followed a penalty kick, and Te Paa pounced on the ball for a try. W. Williams missed the easiest of kicks.

When the game resumed, Symes, securing at half-way, ran very powerfully, side-stepped a couple and finished up with a great try near the posts. Edge improved. Collins next cut through, and Burns capped a good piece of combined play with a try. The Maoris rose to heights in the last few minutes, but could not penetrate a sturdy defence. However, J. Rika kicked a good penalty to reduce the gap to—Old Boys 19; Kia Toa 6. The referees were Messrs D. McLeod, R. Flavell and D. Ross.