Northland Rugby Round-About

Northern Advocate, 25 May 1938, Page 2

Northland Rugby Round-About

JTIK REP. TEAM. rpHE team which will step out at „ Dargavillc to meet Northern Wairoa in a friendly game next Saturday, will be the strongest that has represented Whangarei for some years past. The forwards*, without exception, have got both weight and ability, and ii will be surprising if they do not win the ball from the .scrums and more than hold their own in the loose. With so many excellent packmen available. Mr Cowan's problem was who to leave out. It is indeed

a good pack, in which room cannot Pe found for McTnnes. who. hpwcwer, was beaten continually by Scarborough as a hooker on Saturday, It must be recognised, however, that Scarborough had a tighter-packing seven pushing.

Perhaps the most unfortunate forward on Saturday’s showing is Bradley. who was right back to his best North Auckland form. Bradley has only to keep it up to be a certainty for future games.

Whangarei's three policemen forwards are in on their merits—in fact it would toe difficult to find a better trio in the North than Callanan. Wilson and Kelk.

The team is also particularly strong in retaining the Codling-Gibson combination which has worked miracles for Hikurangi and would do justice to any team.

The question was to discover a second five-eighth to keep company with this brilliant pair, and M. Corban is hardly the solution. Although he played magnificently in junior football last season,' Corban has not been very impressive as yet this season. and it is doubtful whether he has the pace to follow Gibson. Rarity or Patteron, perhaps, would have been an improvement. Roos would be the man for the job if he got his pass away quicker and varied his play to a greater extent.

In recent matches W. Alison has fulfilled the promise of his High School days. The weakness in Whangarei football this season has been in the wing-three-quarters, and the selector made a wise move in staffing one of the positions with Cunningham. The Hikurangi man requires room to move, and his.fend, which often puts him out of his stijide and prevents him getting a good pass away at centre, will be a decided acquisition. K. Rika . thoroughly deserves his place and is a coming footballer. Hutchings, too. has been going well in his new position. So long as he is playing, Masters is the logical first pick for full-back. ALL BLACK NOMINATIONS. There is considerable disappointment that Mr K, Ifwersen, sole selector for North Auckland, has not seen fit to nominate either or both Codling and Gibson for the All Black trials.

These lads have indisputable claims for consideration in big football. On a heavy ground, as he proved against the South Africans last year. Codling has few peers as a half-back. Ho is a player who can bo relied upon never to got. his side into trouble, and. like Gibson, has the anticipativo sense that is a match-winning force. Both tackle like limpets and have the pace to upset the inside backs on the opposing side. It was often noticeable on Saturday that Gibson, darted through and had Masters collared as the Old Boys’ custodian was in the act of gathering in a long punt.

Masters, himself, is a decided possibility for the All Black side. Ho is playing magnificently this season. Waller Cooper, leader of the Awanui Club, should bo certain either of a trip to Australia or to Fiji with the Maori team. This player was inclined to overweight last season, but is fining down after solid practice. Great a forward as Mick Morresey is, it is rather surprising to see him nominated this season. He is still good enough to represent New Zealand. certainly, as hard as nails and one of the most dependable forwards in the game. Still young according to South African standards, Morresey, nevertheless, must be approaching the zenith of his active career.

Plucky as he is. V. Johns was fortunate in securing nomination ahead of the Hikurangi lads. Apart from his tackling, which is deadly at all times, he hardly measures up to the standards of an international fiveright li. MANGONm, Kniinia A stood up to their much heavier opponents in fine style, and it is. safe to say that they will yet upset some of the leading teams. Ahipnra, too, were a much improved team and with Saturday’s success to carry them on, might yet repeat last year’s feat and win the championship. Well led by their captain and sole white member, Greensmith, who. by the way, is a very ab le hooker, the pack must be (ho heaviest in the county. Steve Urlich. P. Clark and King Allen arc a fine trio. The lastnamed. when he played in the backs, was simply wasted.

Tne Ahi para backs are much the same combination who have played for the club for the past few seasons, but forward passes and an inclination tc play the man. spoilt much of their play.

Dan Ui'lich, who played so well in the North Auckland trials last year, is in oven better form. On one occasion only splendid tackling by Mclntosh stopped him from scoring in a solo run right through the Kaltaia team. Kaitaia's full-back. R. Campbell, a newcomer from Rodney, is just the player they have been looking for 1 and came through the game with flying colours. • Moss Costello was the best back on the field and if he escapes being injured, for there is not a “gamer” footballer anywhere, he should catch the North Auckland selector’s eye ’ere long. Mclntosh, who plays centre, is a beautiful tackier. The way he grassed Ahipara’s heavyweights was an absolute treat. T. Flinn, on the wing, did not see much of the ball but more will be heard of this player in the near future.

Sim Gibb was the best forward. Very fast in the loose, this player has improved immensely by not shirking the rucks as ho used to in the past. Buckle and Richter were the pick of the others. Owing to Saturday closing coming into force in Kaitaia, several shop hands have formed a junior team, to be known as. the Old Boys. They will commence playing in the competition on Saturday, OTAMATEA. The defection of Waipu has left only three senior teams, and it is to be regretted that this team have been compelled to take a step they were extremely loth to take. Waipu, howcver, will still be represented in the Union by a junior team, and it is hoped that next season will see the seniors once more in the field. Western’s triumph over Central on Saturday brings the three senior teams level in the ladder for the opening of the second round. There is little between any of the teams and the issue this year is more open than it has been for years.

Saturday’s game between Central and Western was remarkable for the manner in which the lighter Western pack more than held their opponents, who were many stone heavier. In the set scrums Wilson hooked more than his share of the ball and it is unquestionable that today he is the best hooker in the Union.

Control have a solid pack of bustling burly forwards, ably led by Lcs Snelling and the Fergus brothers. A new departure is the appearance of Alby Fergus in the front row, along with his brother Neal. Both have filled out considerably and yet have lost nothing of their speed. They are a decided acquisition to the blue and black pack. Moses, another newcomer, is a fine all-round forward, but his penchant for tripping will earn him the displeasure of local referees, Burke was rather weak in the first spell but improved considerably in the second. He was rather overshadowed by Homan, who played a sound safe game, his handling and kicking being especially good. sS * * There was little between Weir and Dufty Smith, the two half-backs. Weir has oceans of pluck and will go down to anything. Smith played a j sound orthodox game, his defence being safe at all times. Hamlin is a certainty for local representative honours and will be unlucky on his present form to miss North Auckland honours as well. As a wing three-quarter he is in a class of his own in Otamatea at present. Guerney was obviously out of place and did not impress at second fiveeighth. Hauraki beat him badly on ] three occasions. Some re-arrange-ment of the Western back line with Guerney on the wing seems necessary.

Sterling did all ho was asked to do and more. On defence he was impregnable and Knightbridgo, who is a first-class, centre with all his football ahead of him, could do nothing with him. Tassell was having his first run of the season which perhaps accounts for his weak handling. Hauraki is a hard man to stop once in his stride. A fine straight runner, he has all earmarks of a really good inside back and with V. Cullen gave Western some anxious moments in the second half. D. Neil had an oil' day and was only a shadow of the Noil seen in action last; year. Row a was the weak link in the Western back line. His defence was quite sound, but his erratic passes to Guorney were the rock upon which many Western attacking movements crashed. -v

At a meeting of the management committee on Monday evening Pat Smith and K. C. Smith were regraded from senior to junior. School football will start on. Saturday. June 4, with lour teams. Paparoa, Maungaturoto. Waipu and Mangawai. Another step forward in the administrative side of the game was taken on Monday evening when local referees formed an Otnmatea Referees’ Association. Mr W. A. D. Cole was elected chairman and Mr R Julian secretary. All referees are members of the committee. In future all referees for the various matches will be appointed by the association ' and submitted to the union. Mr Snowy Pikea has been If appointed Maori representative on the management committee of the Otamatoa Union. * WHANGAREI. Old Boys have only to rectify a few blemishes to be on top of Hikurangl when these two teams meet in the second round—-the world and his wife will be there to see it after Saturday’s thriller. * * * * Their chief weaknesses lay in the five-eighths, where, most of the movements halted on Saturday. Admittedly, j Gibson and Codling were in fine dei fensive form, and that the Hikurangl breakaways broke quickly—rather too quickly one thought at times—but still Tapper, and particularly Collins, should have made more ground and ladeled out better passes. ❖ ♦ Every game on Saturday saw the forwards taking a holiday and the backs doing most of the work. Dry grounds allowed plenty of scope for runners, kickers, speculators, fieldgoalers and loose forwards oscillating between the pack and the five-eighths position. Result was an extraordinai’y number of drop-kicks, one in particular being responsible for the winning of a senior match. « * * » Smith played a .snappy game, and is unlucky in having such opposition for the representative position. Two of the Hikurangi men had good alibis. Gisbon was just out of bed with the ’flu. While an hour before the match started Rarity had returned from a motor tour as far as Nelson. The strain told on Rarity towards the end, and he failed to impress as a second-five-eighth. « * * * Barney Redwood is back from town, and will be assisting Hikurangi again shortly. . * * c * Kelk and the Morresey Brothers played more in the back line than in the pack for ’Karamea, and shone throughout. Boyd, behind the ’Karamea scrum, played brilliantly, putting up the best performance on the field. •With him was Danks, left-winger, who excelled 1 , in side-line dashes and was a sound defensive factor. Mortimer, first-five-eighths, gave some good displays of effective tackling. t* / * Lorrimer, Doel and N. Ross were City’s best men in the junior contest at Waikiekie. Waikiekie’s stars were J. Leech, Russek and Pamplin.

* An oddity in the junior, match between Onerahi and Hikurangi was the scoring of 14 points out of the 17 for Onerahi by C. Joass, all being done by the boot. He kicked two penalties and two field goals, the only other points scored in the game being an unconverted try by Connolly. Joass’ kicking prowess has always hold l%is team in good stead, but Saturday’s accomplishment was outstanding in itself. Country United has some likely players. K. Heta throws a clean pass and is a tricky five-eighth; Thompson is a good rush-stopper at fullback, while Rudolph and Pickin are talented forwards. Pickin has the right idea of keeping the ball at toe, taut oh several occasions his colleague spoilt his good work by trying to handle too soon. The provision of seating accommodation at Hikurangi was appreciated on Saturday. Dickson Park is rapidly becoming a first-class ground, and small improvements to its preparation —cutting the grass, marking the 23’s, etc—will no doubt be undertaken if the union pursues its wise policy of allocating important matches to Hikurangi.

City missed its forwards, Clotworthy, Callinan and Bennett, although Callinan came on at half-time. Roos and Lane were City’s outstanding backs, but their activities were marred by the inability of the halfback to got the ball out to them cleanly. Roos’ kicking was a feature of City’s game, and meant much in gaining ground as well as registering the only points, and, incidentally, the winning points, for his side. (Continued on Page 3).