Western Overwhelm In Otamatea

Northern Advocate, 17 July 1939, Page 3

Western Overwhelm In Otamatea

RUGBY FOOTBALL

| Games in the Ctamatea Rugby Un- | i ion’s area were played on Saturday on | j fields made heavy by recent rains, | i but, taken on the whole, playing con- | j ditions were greatly improved when | j compared with the previous week. | j Results:— I : Seniors. | j Hakaru 8, Waipu 6. | j Western 16, Central 0. j Juniors. I Western 12, Central 11, | Hakaru defaulted to Waipu. j Third Grade, j Central 6, Western 0. j Scores From Good i | Back Movements Not for many years has Central been so completely overwhelmed and so crushingly defeated as they were on Saturday when Western rattled on 16 l points and Central could not open j their account. Decisive factors in their defeat was J the speed of the Western backline and j the sluggishness of their own. Had it j not been for the fine defensive game ox Ken Fergus, the final figures would have been considerably higher in favour of the local boys. The game was played at Paparoa before a fair crowd and on a sticky, but not muddy, field. Central had the better of the for- j | ward exchanges, for, besides winning I the scrums, they were superior in the I tight and in loose scrummaging rushes, j All their hard work, however, was j nullified by the backline. Time and time Ken Fergus whipped the ball out to his backs only to see Western smother them, and more often than not take the ball off them and turn defence into attack with bewildering I rapidity. * j The Central five-eighths stood flatfooted to take their passes, and allowed Tassell and Gurney to bo on top of them before they could get going. The match proved a triumph for the Western backline and, to a lesser degree, the Central pack, who battled away all afternoon. Tassell Scores Well. The first try came from a spoiling effort by Gurney, who raced through to bustle the opposing backs. When his opponent stooped to gather the ball, Gurney kicked ahead, gathered in on the bounce and went over for a snappy try wide out, but not too wide j for Hamlin to convert, and Western were five up. A few minutes later Tassell took his pass at top speed from Gurney and cut right through the defence to score the best try seen this season. Hamlin added the major points, and at halftime Western led 10—nil. Soon after the resumption, Sundberg surprised two defenders, and perhaps himself, by slipping through between them when they converged to smother and, clapping on the pace, raced away for a glorious try under the posts. Hamlin missed a sitter. Towards the end of the game, Tassell followed up a high punt, bustled the Central full-back, kicked thfe ( leather over the line and won a race to score a try that was a fine example of the fruits of following up all the time. Once more Hamlin faded with the kick, and the end came soon after with the score: Western 16, Central 0. Mr D. Cole refereed. Hakaru Narrowly Beat Waipu , At Waipu, Hakaru defeated the local t fifteen by B—G after a rather un- j enterprising exhibition. The ground c was heavy and greasy, and little back play was seen, the game in the main beiug confined to two evenly-matched packs. o For Hakaru, Joe Topia scored a tx-y, which was converted by Hook, while p Topi'a also kicked a penalty. Waipu’s a six points came from two unconverted v tries by Laing and Campbell. p