ATHLETIC SPORTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9142, 25 August 1888, Page 6

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

FIXTURES. August 25—City R.C. v. Ponsonby E.C. August KoyiU Irish v. City Guards. August 25—Auckland Navals v. Otahuhu. August 25—Civil Service v. PanmuTO. August 25—Auckland "Reps" v. Next Sixteen. September B.—Auckland y. English Team, third match. ———Auckland Club v. Thames. FOOTBALL. The one subject of discussion that is at present in the minds and on the tongues of my football friends is the forthcoming English match and the probable chances of success that the local team will have against the champions from the old country. As on the advent of the Englishmen to our shores in May last, there are . a number of pessimists who loudly proclaim that Auckland is quite out of the running, that she will in fact be quite " wiped out,' and all sorts of disastrous consequences will result; from her third meeting of the visitors in the Rugby field. Others again just as readily aver that the local men will win in the approaching contest, while a third seotion, which perhaps equals in number the other two put together, incline to the more sensible view of affairs, and are* of opinion that a very close struggle will be the result, and that victory will be stubbornly fought for and hardly won by either side. To this third view 1 myself incline, with this condition, that Auckland will have to be in first-class bodily condition, and thoroughly versed iu all the little details of combined play, to make anything like a good bid for victory. If the fifteen chosen by the selection committee come into the field in as good fettle as our " reps." did in the second match against the English players, they will take a tremendous lot of beating, ana will at the same time go very near to winning; but if the present lukewarm spirit as regards practices continues, they may at once resign any hopes of making a respectable stand, and expect to < be as thoroughly beaten as they deserve. The Selection Committee are to be congratulated upon the excellent team they have chosen, and if defeat results to Auckland, the blame must lie upon the players themselves, and not on the three gentlemen who chose the fifteen. I am glad to hear that the committee are determined to insist upon regular practice, and have stated their resolve to cast out any player who persistently absents himself from training and in this matter they may rest assured they will have the support both of the Rugby Union and the football public. Now, a word in regard to the chosen team, which I will criticise first as regards its defensive, and then concerning its aggressive or more plainly its scoring, abilities. The quality of making a stubborn defence, wkich embodies four things— tackling by all. prompt getting onsideof forwards, quick and careful returns by the backs, and concerted packing of scrums—is to my mind the first essential to be considered in choosing a representative or, in fact, any team. On paper the Auckland reps, as chosen are not lacking in this important respect. Lusk, the full-back, has proved himself to be a tower of strength in this responsible position, and will, if fit, doubtless acquit himself again with honour. His recent accident, since which he has not yet Elayed, has caused many doubts concerning im to arise, and I will watch him eagerly this afternoon to see if there is any serious falling off in his play. Of the threequarters Masefield comes first. , and in him Auckland has a player possessing good kicking powers, splendid and fearless tackling, while he is a very hard worker, covering lota of ground and hacking up well.. His only fault is ft trifle too much impetuosity, and when I caution him not to be rash, he will, I am sure, accept the advice in the friendly

spirit it is. given. :T. , Brow though ftot nearly so speedy, is also a sure player, and his collaring and tackling are alike good, while he appears to hate got Over his besetting sin of over-eagerness which used . to cause him to leave his place. As a defensive player the third three-quarter, Mackie, is not of bo high an order as his two ( comrades. He is ■ quick, and clean at picking up, and kicks well, though he should aim more for touch, but his collaring iB weak. This defeot I hope to see him overcome before the match comes off, as I believe it to be a fault more of nervousness than of ignorance. In Stephenson and Herrold we have a couple of good halves, while A. Braund is also excellent at stopping the onslaughts of his opponents. All three will have their work cut out to neutralise the fieroe, sharp dashes round the scrum of Messrs. Bumby, Kent, and Nolan. It is a pity the trio has not about a atone moro weight each. For protective tactics, the forwards have only two lessons to bear in mind, which are—to pack their scrums promptly, and according to a pre-arranged method, always watching the ball, and to lose no time in getting on-side when the leather ' has been suddenly transferred to their rear. If they practice these liwo manoeuvres well, I do not fear the result. In regard to offensive play, with a view to scoring, the chief requirements are good packing, judicious heeling-out, j quick following by the forwards, and judicious punting, sharp yet careful passing, running ana seconding one another by the backs. To the forward division I will at once aay that the best back team that ever wore jerseys will never score unless the forwards do their share of the work. This consists in honest scrum wo?k, combined and prompt lining-up, and stopping in their onset the rushes of opposing forwards and halves. So far they will assist their backs in giving them room and time to pass or punt, but they must also follow up at top speed, and dribble in concert. In this connection I will point out two faults often seen in local play. These are trotting up when the ball in Bent down field instead of charging with all speed. The latter method frequently stops a return or obtains a score, but leisurely following never does so. The second mistake is in dribbling. When a team gets on a forward rush it is not the slightest use for one man to dribble by himself, for one back can certainly stop him; but if three, four or five players, well spread out, rush down the field with the ball at their feet, keeping well on-side, they are safe to carry the oval past any single back who may oppose them. lining-up at the throw-in, or rather the taking of the ball at the throw in, is a weak point in Auckland play, which arises from poor catching. This can only be remedied by practice, which should be rigidly insisted upon by the Selection Committee. But the bulk of scoring is generally done, and tightly so, by the halves and threequarters of a team, and their plan of operations is confined to good passing, quick catching or clean picking up, and fast running, and then passing, before being collared, to the man who backs them up. I take it for granted that it depends entirely upon the forwards whether our centre-half gets away the ball promptly to his wing halves, for with good scrum men before he has hitherto been singularly successful in this direction. Herrold and Stephenson will also not fail to make the most of their opportunities, and as both are good men to play to their threequarters, they will not fail to send the leather to Masefield and Mackie. While at this point, I would advocate to the two halves mentioned the advisability of passing out to their threequarters the instant they get the ball, and then following for a second pass, as I am convinced that better work can be done by this method than if the halves attempt to always run before they pass. More passing should also be done from the line up. It is always an excellent opportunity for a back to run, as. if he gets the leather smartly, he is past all the opposing forwards before they can get away from their stations, and has consequently but one half, one threequarter, and the full backthree men in all— stop him, and if promptly followed, may depend on gaining at least 25 yards, if not more. Both in Mackie and Masefield, the threequarters are well chosen, as botn are fast runners and good backers up, the former excelling in clean picking up and smartly getting off, relying on his speed and dodging, while the latter is more conspicuous for dashing straightforward runs, in which he fends with great success, though he has more than once showed clever feinting tactics. I should advise him to practice the latter style as well as fending. The centre threequarter, T. Brown, and the full back, R. Lusk, are from their positions not expected to score, and should not leave their places save on very rare occasions. In regard to Saturday's practice, owing to the absence of some of the reps," and other engagements of the Possibles, I hear there is likely to be a dearth of forwards, so that club men who have our football honour at heart will do well to take their uniforms to the ground, in order that a good practice may be made up. On Wednesday afternoon a match was played in the Domain between the Auckland College and Grammar School and the Domain Grammar School second fifteens, and after a good game the latter won by one point to nil, a try being obtained by Brabant. A most exciting match was played last Saturday between the Ellerslie and Panmure Clubs oh the ground of the former, and resulted in a draw, neither side scoring. The play of the brothers Loomb, Kilkenny, and Stewart, for Panmure was first-class, while for Ellerslie, Donaldson, Riley, Farrell, Brimner, and Fefgusson (2) were very conspicuous. A communication was this week received by Mr. W. W. Robinson from a well-known Canterbury cricketer, relative to a proposed tour of a New Zealand team of cricketers to Tasmania and Victoria. It is suggested that a couple or so of Aucklanders should join in the undertaking, which is, I understand, purely a private one, and that matches should be played against Victorian clubs, or thirteen against a Victorian eleven. Mr. Robinson will supply all particulars to those who can spare the time and money to join in the trip. In the Sydney Referee a most flattering notice appears of E. Mills, the wall-known Ponsonby footballer and Holland cricketer. His advent is hailed with delight; and the writer of the " par" goes so far as to say that he will, in tne absence of Turner and Ferris, be the best bowler in New South Wales. This is flying high, but stranger things have happened, and we all know Mills to be very clever with the ball. This afternoon a very interesting contest is expected to result from the meeting in the field of teams representing the City and Ponsonby Rowing Clubs. Both have a fair fifteen, mostly regular players of football, # and all will fight hard for the honour of their clubs. The city are slight favourites. • Jason.