FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13277, 8 September 1906, Page 8

FOOTBALL.

THE AUCKLAND-WELLINGTON MATCH.

The great match of the year has been lost and won, and the Ranfurly Shield is still in the hands of the Auckland Union. It is undoubtedly a source of gratification to possess the coveted trophy,' especially when our representatives have battled so strenuously and triumphed so decisively , in three of tho four games played. The outstanding feature of all the interprovincial contests was tho fine- form displayed by the Auckland forwards. Probably at no time during the history of Rugby football in Auckland havo wo had such ft splendid set of scrummagers. Fast, heady, and weighty, with plenty of - : dash, they are equally good in defence or attack, and also possess a powerful scoring element which few forward combinations are endowed with. Last Saturday's game with Wellington tested the Auckland vanguard very highly, and it must be granted that they answered the. question in no uncertain manner. It took the pack a few minutes to settle down to work. At. first the Wellington men were claiming scrums instead of throwing in from touch, and they were successful in securing the leather. They were soon disillusioned, however, and after the first few scrums the local men were seen to hook the ball with great regularity during the remainder of the game. The sweeping forward rushes of the blue and whites took a wonderful amount of stopping. Time after time they broke away with the ball well under command and seldom was a hard kick used. It says much for the defensive powers of the visiting backs that they were able to stop them. Roberts and Wallace were taxed to the utmost, and got down to the ball splendidly. Small wonder they were unable to use their recognised strong attacking powers. Thanks to the local forwards they were generally kept otherwise engaged, and It is a well-known axiom that the best of men cannot do two things at once and do them well. It must not be forgotten that the visiting forwards were a formidable lot, and Wellington supporters made no secret of their opinion that the combination was the strongest that had left, the Empire City for many years. It ; s contended by some that it was a. mistake to play Wallace five-eighths instead of wing threequartor, a position at. which ho has no superior in the colony. . That may he so, but with a weaker defensive player at five-eighths there is every reason to think that some of those formidable forward rushes of Auckland's would have meant trouble. That the back combination of the visitors was an excellent one there can be no two opinions, and the fact that they were so seldom dangerous, and Rot so few' chances in attack, is pointed evidence that there was a powerful organisation operating against them. The local backs did fully as well as they were expected to, and had they been given the bail oftcner , would probably havo shown to greater ad- ' vantage. However, with a substantial lead in the first spell it was the best policy to allow the forwards to have a good share of the leather. S;> much has already Wen writtO'J about Duffy's kicking that it is needless to remark upon that feature of the game. The GoldfiOlds representative has either reduced the art to a science or possesses a magic boot. There is one danger hovering on The football horizon, as a result of the past season's play, arid that is the possibility of allowing the" back play to deteriorate, owing to the possession of first-class forwards. The past season has seen forward play dominate the club competitions and to a very great extent the interprovinicals as well. Nobody will deny that had our backs been equal to our forwards this season the local representatives would have teen considerably stronger. It is to be devoutly hoped that in future, while striving to maintain the .high standard attained by our forwards, our backs- will be given full opportunities of reaching a correspondingly high grade in the most attractive department of the game. THROUGH WELLINGTON GLASSES. The special correspondent of the New Zea- ' land iTimes in the course of bis notes on the Auckland-Wollingtor match says:—"The pace of the Auckland forwards won the game. Wellington equalled them in solidity, and held their own in the scrums. At the beginning of the game honours were easy. "In the lineout tho Auckland forwards invariably broke through or ' worked a point' by knocking back to Kiernan. In the open play the* were much superior. This is where. pace told. They obtained more chances for their backs, who made the most of them, and handled the ball.even better than out backs. The Wellington back combination did not work smoothly. A confession of weakness was the changing of the combination—Roberts (half), Wallace,' Mitchinson, Ramsdcn, at the beginning of the second spell to Ramsden (half). Roberts, Wallace, Mitchinson. etc. This did not improve • matters. Individually the Wellington forwards were as good as Auckland's,' but as a combination they were much inferior. A ""Wellington forward rush was engineered by one man. generally out on his own. In an Auckland one four or five men took part." • The i Post's correspondent says : —"Never" in the history of Auckland interprovincial football has so great an interest been centred in a match as that which surrounded ; the Homeric contest for the Ranfurly shield. Homeric indeed! For not for one moment did interest or players flag, and from whistle to bell the plav was as hard and as keen as the most critical could desire. If any':'thing, the winners had a little the best ot the game, but there was very little indeed between them, • and the slight advantage held by the home team was due to their for- * ward play. • A fine close game was expected. * That anticipation was realised to the full. Wellington started off with a great rattle, rind for a-tiuarter of an hour attacked solidly and strongly, but. the defence was as solid and as strong, and it. could not be pierced. The visiting forwards played well together at the outset, and kept play in the neighbourhood of the home twenty-five. Then the blt*o and whites got. their measure, and, gradually forcing them back, worked play- . to the opposite end of the field, and. beating the visitors in the onen, had something Ilia .best of the. plav at the end of the spell. In , the lineout and the loose the Auckland pack were far too good for Wellington, and very few attacks were started from the throw-in by the black and golds. If was in .the scrum work-that tho. visiting front- division shone.. Watkins and Galium beating Tyler and Dunning for the ball continually, but the Auckland pack'broke up so quickly that thev were among the backs before the ball could be thrown about. Hence it was that the rear attack got very few chauces of opening out the play in the first spell. Wellington had only .one forward on the lineoutJ. Spencer, who played magnificently when on the line and in the open, taking the ball oftoner than any forward on the ground, and making some very nice openings for his side. In the second half Watkins •was also prominent on the line, but.- taken all through, the home team held a great, advantage in this important branch of plav. Again in the open the Wellington forwards, notwithstanding their fine start, failed to get round the ball as well as their fast, opponents, and seldom when a man broke away was he adequately supported. The homo forwards.on .he other hand broke away in clumps, and time and again beat their opponents. They were too eager, however, and either ikicked too hard, enabling the backs to find touch, or overran the ball, and failed to pet back quick enough: Seeling, who was slightly injured in the second spell and was off the field for a time, Francis, and Hayward w°re the bright particular stars of the Auckland combination, and these three did a. rare amount of back-spoil-ing. ~-:; . Hardham, on the wing, suffered by comparison with his vis-a-vis, Gillett, who heat him continually, 'both in protect-: ing hi" half and in getting around tho scrum ■ when the visitors hooked. The Auckland ■ backs, who wore not hopefully looked upon, rose to the. occasion, and suffered nothing bv comparison with their opponents, except . that their passim? was at times rather wild, several chances being thus lost. .'•-. . Tlk. game was won. as the scores show, by Duftv's good kicking, but this apart, Auckland deserved to win. though not by half-a-dozen points. Duftv's first goal was a fine effort slight angle from the near halfway, while the third was- scarcely inferior, tho fullback having to run from over the line, so acute was trie angle. Altogether it was a great game, brimful of interest and excitement, and one that will live loner in the memory of those who saw it. Right up tc the finish the excitement continued, for . Wellington, though they could not have won, were attacking very strongly in the last five minutes, after having been in their own territory for the greatei part of the spell; but the fine work of the Auckland forwards in the loose brought relief, and after the visitors had worked the ball to a yard or two from the lino they were forced back to ' the quarter and then the bell sounded, Auckland winning by 11 points to 5."

AUCKLAND'S FIXE RECORD. The interprovincial matches arc over and the rugby season in Auckland has practically closed. In turn our representatives defeated the Canterbury, Taranaki, Southland,' and Wellington.touring teams, and on the results of interprovincial fixtures played in both islands during the season are justly entitled to the Ranfurly shield, and to take rank as the ohampion Rugby team of New Zealand for 1906. The first mentioned three matches were won by substantial margins, but in the game with Wellington the wearers of the blue and white uniform were fully extended, and only carried the day after one of the most strenuous and keenly-contested matches ever witnessed between the Rugby exponents of the two provinces. At the same time no impartial critic will deny that the better team won, thanks largely to the superiority of the Auckland forwards and the goalkicking of the fullback-, J. Dufty. And now that it is all over we can warmly congratulate the Aucklanders on their success, and the selector, Mr. D. Gallaher, on having got together such a fine combination to defend the shield. The' forwards played grandly in all four matches, and the back division also rose to the occasion, showing sound defence throughout and combining well in attack in the Southland and Wellington matches. In the games with Canterbury and Taranaki the two five-eighths system could hardly have been termed an unqualified success in attacking work owing to the tendency of the five-eighths to crowd the threequarters on to the touchline in passing rushes, but after these matches Wyuyard and Magee evidently recognised that. the new order of things— to Auckland football—could only be made effective by running straight, and shaped their course accordingly. There were those— myself among the number—who were inclined to question the wisdom of the selector in adopting the experiment of playing two five-eighths, but on the whole it must be admitted that Mr. Gallaher has had something the best of the o-gument, and now that our players have grasped the points essential to success in the new style it is to be hoped that the system will continue in force in future .seasons. That it opens up the game and leads to more attractive football cannot be denied, and that is just what the Auckland public want. Its introduction into club competitions next season should further improve matters, and I trust that the club teams will play the two five-eighths. But to return to tho record of the team, it is one of which our representatives may justly feel proud: Played 4 matches, won 4, and "scored 106 points against 28. The details are as follow: —

Against Canterbury : Won by 29 points (4 goals, a try, goal from a mark, and a penalty goal) to 6 (a penalty goal and a goal from a mark). Against Taranaki: Won by 18 points (5 goals and a goal from a mark) to 5 (a goal). Against Southland: Won by 48 points (7 goals, 3 tries, and ,j-oal from field) to 12 (a goal, goal from field, and penalty goal). Against Wellington: Won by 11 points (a goaf, penalty goal, and goal from mark) to 5 (a goal). In all the Aucklanders scored 19 tries (57 points) and had but 3 tries (9 points) scored against them (one each by Taranaki, Southland, and Wellington), an average of just, over six to one, the only match _in which honours were easy in try-getting being that with Wellington, in which each side stored one try. The try-getters for Auckland were:—Nicholson (4), Wvnvard (3), McKonzio (3), Seeling (2), Smith (2), Gillstt, Magee, Kiernan, Wilson, and W. Tyler (one each). The remaining 49 points stand to the credit of the Auckland fullback, Dufty, who in the Canterbury match had seven shots at goal and converted six. In the Taranaki match ho kicked 4 of 7, against Southland 8 of 12, and against Wellington 3 of 5, making in all 21 goal* from 31 kicks, or an average of 2 in 3. This is truly a splendid goal-kicking record for interprovincial matches, and it may safely be said that since the days of C. "Ponnalligan (represented Auckland 1891-92) we. have seen no player who could approach Dufty as a goal-kicker. Hud the goals kicked by tho Goldfields player been all put over the bar from comparatively easy positions the record would have been a very good one, but when it is remembered that in view of the Auckland fullback's recognised capabilities the ball was often placed at extremely difficult angles, and not. infrequently close on hair the length of the field, it may be said that J. Dufty has reason to feel proud of his fine performance. It may interest readers to have the record in tabulated form. Here it is: — ' From From From From Total Penalties. Marks. Field. Trie*. Goal*. 2 of 4 3 of .7 1 15 of 19 21 «of 31 Before concluding it may be mentioned that several of the players who assisted Auckland to retain the Ranfurly Shield intend folding up' their jersevs for all time. G. W. Smith. W. H. McKenzie (threequarters), H. Kiernan (halfback), G. Gillett (wing forward), and G. Tyler (forward) have announced their intention of retiring, while others who will probably not be seen on Auckland fields in 1907 season are W. Cunningham, G. Nicholson, and C. Seeling (the latter having still some idea of goincr to the Old Country in a few weeks). That so many prominent players should be retiring in one season is a matter for regret, but it must not bo forgotten that, we have still quite a number of good forwards in reserve and two or three promising backs to fill the vacancies next year. WEDNESDAY RUGBY UNION. There was no fixture at Alexandra Park on Wednesday last, the "rep." team having journeyed to Rotorua, where they were beaten by a substantial margin. The Wednesday supporters wore confident of victory, and the result came as a great surprise. .-Allowing for the fact that the town team were minus two men for the greater part of the game, they were nevertheless an inferior side, the Rotorua fifteen beating them both front and rear. In the backs the country players were very pood and possess some good exponents of Rugby in their rearguard. The Mitchell brothers performed to most advantage, and were instrumental in securing most of the points. Piongi at five-eighths was exceptionally good; he is an old Te Aute College boy. Tho Wednesday backs played below form, and for the first time this year defended poorly. Todd and Littleiohn put in good work. In the forwards Savoury stood by himself, and was the finest forward on the ground. Trauc also played finely, and maintained his. form through a hard game. The junior representatives will play a team selected from the Maori college on Wednesday next, and should the Whangarei match not eventuate this will be the only fixture. Tho Maori boys have a good record this year, and their play has been consistently bright and interesting. At the present time none, of the remaining fixtures with the various country unions have been definitely decided upon, and their prospects of being plaved are not verv bright. V ,' * HERE AND' THERE. The proposed match between the Sydney University and Auckland City Club teams has been abandoned. The Sydney University team play their first match in New Zealand this afternoon against thi Otago University fifteen at Dunedin. ' The North Shore District Football Club'* second fifteen will celebrate their winning of the championship for the season by a smoke concert to bo held in the Foresters' Hall, Dcvonport, this evening. .Members of the Canterbury Rugby Union favour the. abandonment of the North v. South Island match this year, feeling that the teams will not be thoroughly representative. The match North v. South Island will bo played at Wellington on Saturday, September 22, and if interprovincial form to date goes for anything should lie won rather easily by the Northerners, provided the best players are available. The North Island team is to be selected by Messrs. D.'Gallaher (Auckland), A. Bayly (Taranaki), and H. Kelly (Wellington). G. W. Smith, • who was sounded during the week, has informed the selectors that he will not be able to play in tho inter-island fixture. The Wellington Rugby Union has £320 due from the Athletic Park Company to date. The takings at the Park to date arc roughly 50,' made up of £409 from representative matches, £43 balance from last year, and £300 from cup matches. It should not bo a difficult matter for the selectors of the North Island team to arrive at something like unanimity in choosing the Northern representatives, and should the best talent be available the following may be in the :— Fullback, Hardgravo (Taranaki): threequarters, Wallace (Wellington), Smith (Auckland), Thomson (Wellington) ; five-eighths, Huntor (Tarantula), Mynott (Taranaki); halfback, Roberts (Wellington) : wing-forward, Gillett (Auckland); forwards, Watkins (Wellington), Tyler (Auckland), Cunningham (Auckland), Spencer (Wellington), Francis (Auckland). Seeling (Auckland), Nicholson (Auckland), or Hayward (Thames). Personally I would prefer Kiernan at halfback, behind a powerful forward division, as the Aucklander— though not the equal to Roberts as a defensive player—is undoubtedly more versatile in attack. However, ho has been persistently overlooked, and is hardly likely to claim attention now. In the absence of G. Smith, who is not a candidate, Dive (Taranaki) will probably get a place in the thrccquarter-back line.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME. With the termination,of the Brown Shield tournament, played last, week in Taranaki, the season, as far as Aucklanders are concerned, closed. ,'. The- competition for the Brown Shield was opened at Hawera on August 29, , when Taranaki met and defeated Ruahine by four goals to one. The second match, Wellington v. Auckland, was played at New Plymouth on the following day, and resulted in . a win for Wellington by five goals to one. The final game, that between Wellington and Taranaki, was played at Elthani, Wellington winning by four goals to nil. The winners therefore hold the shield for another year. There is some dispute, however, regarding the match between Auckland and Wellington. It appears that the Taranaki team objected to Scholefield playing for Wellington, and it is said that Auckland joined forces with Taranaki, so that the match was played under protest. Scholefield is claimed as a Taranaki player. He played in previous seasons and part of this season for that province, but has lately been playing in club matches in Wellington. I have not yet heard whether the dispute lias been settled. The previous Brown Shield tournament was hold in 1903 and Wellington were successful on that occasion. Their first, match was, as this year, against Auckland, whom they succeeded in beating by four goals to one". . . The Wellington representatives have not suffered defeat since 1902. when they were beaten bv Otago at Duncdin. An Auckland second-grade eleven played a match with Waikino at Waikino last Saturday, the home team being beaten by three goals to nil. The Auckland representative team played Taranaki at Hawera on Tuesday last (lie game ending in a win for Auckland by three goals to one. The scorers for Auckland were Sale and Harvey (2) and for Taranaki Mao Lagan. ,_ ... In the match Auckland v. Wellington Sale is credited with having been the best forward on the field. Latest exchanges from the Cape show that the South African Association team continues to meet with success in their Argentine tour. On .luly 19 they met the Combinaclo3 Uruguayos team at Monte Video, and beat them by six goals to one. and on July 23 they beat the Alumni team at Buenos Avre's by two goals to otic Mr. AfcKeon has accepted the position of secretary to the governing body of New Zealand, and, in consequence, intends to resign the position which he holds to the Auckland body.