Whangarei’s Brake Shield

Northern Advocate, 26 August 1946, Page 6

Whangarei’s Brake Shield

Whangarei are the holders of the Brake Shield for the 1946 season. In the final -.natch on Saturday they scored four fries to Bay cf Islands’ one, and definitely proved themselves worthy of the trophy. The final score. 17 —9, was a fair indicat ; cn of the merits of the teams. Both the Whangarei and Bay of Islands Unions are strongly represented in the junicr grade, and the manner in which both sides performed on Saturday is a happy omen for the future. They turned on good football, particularly the Whangarei XV. whose superior teamwork, cohesion and finish wen the day. The home backs were pretty to watch, and there was not a weak link. Their combination, speed and thrust were too much for the boys from the Bay.

The visiting forwards shaded the home eight in the loose play, and were chiefly responsible for the territorial advantage that the side held. They played with spirit and determination. particularly in the opening spell, and for the first 20 minutes of the* second. But the manner in which the Whangarei pack kept a compact formation ensured a solid defence, as was proved by the fact that the Bay scored just the one try. In the last 20 minutest Whangarei were more than holding their own and the result was never really in doubt. The holders had eight points on the board in as many minutes. They seemed to take the visiting boys by surorisc.

Then Bay notched a try and with the breeze against them maintained the disparity at five points until just before the interval, when Whangarei added another to their tally. The home side went further ahead early in the second session but then the Bay collected a couple of penalty goals to reduce the deficit to five points again. but Whangarei were in control and towards the end Gibson capped off a nice back movement for his third try to make it 17—9. THE WHANGAREI BACKS The younger brother of tire Hikurangi champion. “Nipper.” played a splendid game on the wing. His speed and sharp swerve were 100 much for the opposition and his three tries were all good ones. Beazley. Langdon. Povcy and Garry all played nicely and were superior to the Bay formation. Each figured in many piercing runs and their tackling was flawless. The line-kicking of the fullback. Wood, was superior to that of many senior custodians, All the Whangarei forwards went well and there was not one who dodged the hard work in the light. The Bay back line was not as happy a combination as the Whangarei set but showed excellent speed on occasions. Herbert, in particular, was very fast but he was not in the same class as Beazley, his opposite number, who left him standing several times with penetrating runs. Hayes, Sigley and Smeath were the best visiting forwards, Hayes, in particular. being in the van when the pack was endeavouring to break down the Whangarei defences. Whangarei’s first try came from a brilliant run by Beazley. who raced over half the length of the field and whipped a pass infield lo Gibson who touched down under the bar. Beazley goaled. Then Beazley kicked a penalty goal and it was 8 nil. The Bay's only try was the result of a splendid run by the centre, Herbert. He left the defence at his heels but Beazley overtook him and brought him down with a nice tackle. The Bay forwards were close up, however, and the ball was dribbled over the line for Twizell to score. Brown missed an easy goal. Just before the interval the Whangarei backs opened up and Howson kicked over the line. The bounce beat the Bay custodian and Howson dived on the ball for a try. Garry worked the blind side of a scrum nicely and sent Gibson over in the corner. Then .Brown kicked two penalty goals for the Bay, but the final points came Whangarei’s way when Povey sent his backs away and Gibson clapped on all speed and sailed across in the corner. Mr S. Faulkner, of Northern Wairoa. refereed.

Friendly Rugby Matches The Hikurangi third-grade Rugby team travelled to Russell on Saturday for a game with the local side. The home team was much heavier all round and won 8-6. At Hikurangi, two teams of oldtimers. representing the Hukerenui and Hikurangi hotels, entertained an enthusiastic gallery. Lack of condition tod against the Hikurangi men in the second spell and Hukerenui ran up the points to win 21-11. In a game at Kensington Park at the week-end. a team of Whangarei railwaymen beat the Public Works Department in the annual fixture, 3-0. M. Conaghan scored the winning try.