FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15667, 22 July 1914, Page 5

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAME. NOTES AND COMMENTS. It may havo been the state of the ground, or it may have been the poor attendance, but there certainly was something depressing the players on the No. 1 ground at Eden Park on Saturday. The teams in the field, City and Marist -Brothers Old Boys, have boon keen rivals for years and, as one side was most anxious to win this game to tie for championship honours, and the other was admittedly in favour of the new aspirants to the championship, it was reasonable to expect a much kooner game than that which was played. The state of the ground was against a bright display of football, and as the ball became increasingly difficult to handle both sides developed forward tactics, but there wag nothing in the endless succession of scrums, lino-outs, and loose rushes to compare with the similar series in the match between these teams earlier in the season. There was an absence of dash and devil and when the ball worked into the enormous "glue-pot" in the middle of the field, there was more than hesitation evident. It could not be said of either team that I on Saturday it was good in the mud. i Forwards and backs showed a distinct ' aversion to play in—not on— part of the playing area, and small wonder for the annoyance and inconvenience of having one's uniform covered with ooze of octopuslike tenacity was only equalled by the offence to the senso of smell, when the semi-liquid mass was stirred. Something will have to be done by the Union to remedy this state of affairs. The small margin of points in City's favour, has been freely remarked on, be- ! cause of the known weakness of the Marist i Brothers team. With an early score it looked as if City might run up a large total, but it by no means had an easy time in winning tho match, for in two quarters in particular Marists kept City on the defensive for a considerable time. The City team scored a try in each of thetwo first quarters and Clarke kicked a penalty I goal for Marists in the third quarter. It 'was during this period that Marists seemed likely to equalise tho scores. The last quarter, however, while devoid of scoring, was in City's favour, and they had no difficulty in keeping tho two blues iin check. | VVhilo there was nothing brilliant in the I play of the City backs it must bo admitj ted that as a combination tho football was | sound. Moftitt was safe at fullback, even I though the heavy ball caused him to occa- ' sionally misjudge his line-kicking, and the threequarters worked well together. D. Stewart was again in scoring mood. His ji'un and dash were both good. Barclay I again showed that ho is a good defeni sive nlayer. Lowe was the best of the j five-eighths, and he has all the natural 1 abilitv for the position. He plays with i tho right idea. Godfrey was solid at halfback, but was inclined to rush into the forj wards before setting his backs going. French was the most prominent of the

City forwards, probably because of Kir position in the pack. Rasmussen, Suthcr ■ land, and Campbell were all good in pacl work, but wero very little superior t< j l'oi'sythe and McNab. Veteran J. Maguiri played as lock, and held tho scrum well but was obviously too big in condition The Marist Brothers backs as a corabina tion left a good deal to be desired. Sic Donald, in attack and defence, and B O'Brien, in attack, were about the best but some creditable work was also don< | by Earlly. Clarke, who came on whet Sheahan was injured, and scored Maristx ! points, is a junior player who has a greai I goal-kicking record this year. The line I kicking of the backs was very poor. I Among tho forwards Ryan was ttiemosl prominent, but good solid work was als< done bv Courtnay, Casey, and Cleave, ■ whil< a glimpse of Cornaga was also occasionall) caught. The City team by defeating Maris! Brothers has finished the season equal with Univorsity in championship points, and i play-off will be necessary to decide whicl shall be declared the champion team foi 1914. Each has scored 14 out of a pos sible 18 points, while of tho other team; in the competition Ponsonby scored 11 points, Marist Brothers Old Boys 7 points, and College Rifles 4 points. The deciding match between City and University will probably be played next Saturday. In the first round of matches City was defeated by University, and since thou has played two drawn games against Ponsonbv and University. The latter team is the only one in the competition which ha* not been beaten by City. The largest margin of points in either round was secured by Citv. when Parnell was defeated in its j last match by 21 points to 0. City shares with University the honour of having the ! lowest aggregate number of points scored [ against it. I The University team has also sustained one loss. and played two drawn games. Tho team was surprisingly beaten by College Rifles. The drawn games were played against Marist Brothers Old Boys and City. While the team's total of points is not nearly as large as cither that of City or Ponsonby it must be remembered that these teams scored 21 and 22 points respectively against the defunct Parnell team, from which University won by default. Tho Ponsonby team, wllich has finished third in the competition, had three losses and one draw. Tho team was beaten twice by University and onco by City. The latter team also played a drawn game with Ponsonby. After deducting the points scored in the Parnell match, 22 to 3, the beam's average of points per gamo is larger than any other side, but it has had a much larger number of points scored igainst it than either of the leading teams. 1 The Marist Brothers Old Boys team, which started the season so promisingly by playing a drawn gamo against University, and was only beaten by Ponsonby by a point find by City by 3 points, lost the cream of its players when the North and South Island testa were commenced and the New Zealand team was chosen. The team only gained two points in the second round. ■iTio College Rifles team has won the wooden spoon, but curiously enough the two wins secured by the side were gained against the extremities of the competition, tho University and defunct Parnell teams. J'hey have never been disgracefully beaten, tho largest margin of points against the side being gained by Ponsonby in last Saturday's match, when the differenc/3 in points was 14. This team also sustained •v serious loss when tho club's captain, L. Weston, was chosen to represent the Dominion during the Australian tour. The ■ilay of the team has earned for it many admirers. The match between College Rifles and Ponsonby, played on No. 2 ground, was perchance the most uninteresting display of football given in the senior competition it Eden Park this season. The game, which was limited to two extended spells, for the most part consisted of forward play, in which innumerable scrums and lino-outs were features. The careless work af the backs was particularly noticeable, the Ponsonby rear division being tho worst offenders in this respect. Perhaps it was the depleted strength of the respective teams, and their position on the jhampionship list, that caused this state )f affairs, but nevertheless the exhibition Drovided was hardly worthy of senior football teams, the scores being the result if the weakness of the opposition rather ihan the good play of the winners. With iie exception of an occasional meteoric lash of play by the College Rifles, the ?onsonby vanguard had control oi the ;amo throughout. Credit, however, must \& given to the stubborn defence of thp osing team. Auckland's challenge for a Ranfnrly Shield match has been replied to by the

Taranaki Rugby Union. The secretary o has written to say that September 17 is b the only available date for a Shield match between Auckland and Taranaki. F Country week promises to be as success- f< ful this season as in the past. The secre- c tary of the Auckland Rugby Union has t received communications from the Otama- i tea, Bay of Islands, Hokianoa, Northern s Wairoa, Mamikau,; and Kaipara sub-unions [ expressing their willingness to tako part in * the series of game 3. * The Thames Union asked the local t union to arrange the Auckland match be- { tween the senior representatives of the a two districts for next Saturday. The Auckland Union had arranged for the < Thames junior representatives to come to t Auckland on that day, but the Thames t Union desired to play the senior match l instead. Owing to the probability of a 1 tie in the senior grade championship, the i union deferred the matter until af'er last Saturday's play. The tio having occurred, t it is not likely that the application of the 6 Thames Union will bo granted. c - " ALL BLACKS' " AUSTRALIAN TOUR, c MATCH AT ARMTDALE TO DAY. * The "All Black" football team now touring ! Australia will play a fifteen representing ' the Northern Districts of New South j Wales at Armidalo to-day. This match ' should provide good practice for the New 1 Zealanders. j FUTURE MATCHES. ' The remaining matches of the tour are ! as follows: — July 25 and 29 : Play Queensland at j Brisbane. , August 1: Play Australia at Brisbane. i August 5: Olympic fund match at Syd- < ney. , August 8: Play New South Wales at j Sydney. ] August 15: Piay Australia at Sydney. i RESULTS OP TOUR. ! July 11: Beat New South Wales, 27 ; points to 6. July 15: Beat Western Districts, 59 < points to 10. July 18: Beat Australia. 5 points to 0. PROTEST WITHDRAWN. [by TELEGRAPH.—rBE&S ASSOCIATION'.] CinusTCinmcii, Tuesday. The Christohurch Rugby Club, after a further meeting, decided to withdraw the protest against the Old Boys' last try in the Rugby semi-final. UNDER LEAGUE RULES. NOTES AND COMMENTS. Even tho moat sanguine, supporters of the North Shore Club's first thirteen did not hope for such an easy victory as tho j team gained over Ponsonby on Saturday! in the final of tho Auckland Rugby: League's first-grado competition. It was , generally anticipated that the game would! t>c a very close and evenly-con tested one, I with very few points between the teams at tho finish, but the reverse was the case, j as North Shoro held fcho upper hand all: through, and wero superior in all depart-. ments. Ponsonby played about their worst gamo of the season. By virtue of, ...eir victory, North Shoro secured the championship for the second year in sue-1 cession. j Ponsonby made a mistake in playing I Gillett in the five-eighth line. To start ', , with, he played too far away from Webb, j who,' when he got the ball from a scrum, j had to give a pass of about 10yds or! 15yds before ho set his backs in motion. J The result was tliat jNortb Shoro had 1 1 plenty of timo to organise the defence, j i and the Ponsonby backs rarely got very , far. All tho blue-and-black backs, in fact, played too far away from one another, ami the result was detrimental to their | , efforts at passing. Many times the ball went right across tho field, the backs all candling it well, but practically no pro-: \ gross was made, Gillett also made a misi take of kicking far too much, his kicks i nearly always being directed right to a: , North Shore man. I Another fault on the part of tho Pon- j sonoy backs was their failure to keep in i position. Every few minutes a Song kick i jy North Shore would find tho lino when > it should never hare dono so had the, - wing-threequartor been in his proper' place. This was particularly noticeable on ieecham's wing, that player being usually I among the forwards when noedod. j i North Shore, on the other hand, made , very few mistakes. Their backs lined up . woU, and their short, snappy passes were . of much greater valuo than tho long lobs i of Ponsonby. They kept their places well. and wherever tho ball went a man was , there to take it. The backs combined > yory well, and at timos their passing, in 1 which tho forwards often took a hand, was good to see. The forwards played a fine I bustling game, and, though the Ponsonby , forwards kept to their work well, they had met a stronger pack, i Tho game, especially in the second spell, i was very hard, and injuries were surpris- . ingly few. At times the play was unneoes-1 I sarily hard, and when the refereo was not j ; looking a player occasionally gavo his i whole-hearted attention to an opponent.. j Such incidents, however, wero not very I frequent. In the last quarter of an hour Bailey, a member of tho North Shore I pack, dislocated his shoulder, but played on till tbo end of the game, and Seager ' received a kick on tho hip which stopped: ! the gamo for some time. j > Of the North Shoro backs, Stewart and j •> Paul stood out prominently, though all I [ Were in their best form. The former, who : 1 has hardly been playing up to form in I i somo of tho recent matches, was seen at | I his best. Ho fielded and tackled in great, - style, and also made several nice openings, j in addition to playing a prominent part in j I all tie passing bouts. Paul played by far! s his best game of the'season. He was ! always on the spot when noedod. Tho i most versatile back of them all, howover,

was Fox, who has been playing a consistently good game all the season. Possessed of plenty of pace and clovemoss, he was always to the fore, and bis good work, together with his unselfishness, proved of inestimable value to his side. Weston did not have so much to do as usual, but ho acquitted himself well, and was responsible for sevoral good individual efforts. Wynyard made several good openings, but was inclined to bo a little spectacular. Vincent played a good gamo behind the pack until ho received a severe knock in the second spell, and his condition then appeared to desert him. Millar was very safe at full-

The evergreen Seager was a tower of strength in the forwards, and was usually seen where the game was thickest. Later in the game, when North Shore decided to play four threequarters, he played a fair game at five-eighth. He gcneralled his team well, but gave Paul far too many Bbots at goal from almost impossible ranges. Walters seems to improve every year ho plays, and on Saturday he played his usual fast bustling game, into which he put plenty of hard tackling, which his victims hardly appreciated. Bailey, Pallen, and Griffon all put their energies into their play and did their honest share of the work. Tho only failing: of the forwards was their tendency to lift in the scrum— a fault which has marked the team's play all through the season. MeClymont was the bright spot in the Ponsonby rearguard. He played a clever gamo, and at times his clover corkscrew runs made tho strong North Shore defence look lamentably weak. Ho has, however, one fault, which detracts considerably from the merit of his openings, and that is the bad pass he gives when brought to a full stop. The nature of his lone-handed efforts is such that it is hard for the other backs

to follow him closely in order to take his transfers, but, notwithstanding this, he very often merely throws the ball over his head and trusts to luck; otherwise his play is beyond reproach. Gillett, at fiveeighth, disorganised the backs considerably by his methods. Very little was seen of McCollum and Corby, though Cross played a good game all through. Montgomery, for once, was not up to form. Webb stuck to his task behind the pack and took a lot of gruelling, as-Was only natural when his forwards were having the worst

of matters. Beeoham was very much below his usual standard. Among the forwards, Clarke stood out prominently, and was, . perhaps, the best forward on the ground. Ho has, however, developed a tendency to pay too much attention to the man, which may get him into trouble before long if he does not restrain himself. Savory and Flicker put plenty of energy into their play, and Dunning was also prominent at times, but, on the whole, the forwards were not equal to ; those of North Shore, who during the , greater part of the game held the advant- ■ age both in the scrums and in the loose. ] Taken all round, tho game was a very ; disappointing one for a cup final after the two teams had been level practically all , through the season. Had Ponsonby played , up as well as they did in the previous match against North Shore, tho game would, indeed, have been worth seeing. < Tho Auckland League has every reason to congratulate itself on the financial result of the match. Contrary to its usual custom, it made a gate charge 0f la instead of 6d, but this made no difference to the attendance. Shortly after one o'clock the spectators began to arrive, and when the gamo started the stand was full and the lines were black with enthusiasts. Tho attendance was estimated at over 7000, and the league's coffers will be swelled by some £300. Both the attendance and the takings constitute Auckland records for a cup match, and may be taken as ample proof of the growing popularity of the game. Taken as a whole, tho team selected by Messrs. McDonald, Blakey, and Rowe to moet the Englishmen next Saturday should give general satisfaction, though no doubt the selectors will have to stand with a certain amount of criticism. Oillett's inclusion will probably form tho chief cause for dissent, and it would certainly appear that he has been selected on his reputation. While ho has been in the Ponsonby ranks, h&wever, he has not been in his proper position. It must be admitted that his fielding and tackling have been good, and his kicking has been all that could be desired, when it was needed. His chief faults wore too much kicking and lob passing, Had he played in the fullback position all through, his reputation would probably be as good as over. Ono would", howover, have liked to see such men as Millar or Montgomery, who have been playing oxtremely well at fullback, given a chance. The threequarter line is undoubtedly a good one. Woolley is perhapo the most promising young player in Auckland at the present time. Very solidly built, a strong runner, and possessed of plenty of determination, he should make an ideal wing threequarter. In that position he would have been of moro value to City throughout the season than at five-eighth, Fox, on the other wing, has been about the most consistent player in this season's competition. He has plenty of pace, is a deadly and fearless tackier, and uses his head. Ho is also a firstclass centre of five-eighth, and a. good half, and has certainly justified his selection by his past performances. Ifwcrsen needs no comment. McClymont, on present form, is one of the most capable backs available, and could not have been left out of the I team, though his lack of weight may tell i against him when ho is opposed to such j heavy men as the English players. Very : little has been seen in Auckland of Hard--1 grave during tho season, as he has played I most of his games at Otahuhu, but from ! all accounts ho has been playing better | than ever. It is to bo hoped that his j display in the "trial" match last Saturday may not bo taken as an indication of his true fenn, as he handled the ball shockingly during the first part of the ■ game. Of a very mediocre collection of I hafbacks, Webb "is about the best selection that could bo made. Auckland's I trouble seems to be the lack of a good ! halfback, and two good five-eighths who i have sufficient weight. There are several I first-class five-eighths at present playing | the gamo who would be invincible were t-hev a little heavier, but a really good halfback is not to be found. Webb is i tho best defensive half of them all, but Iho still keeps n little too closely to the Rugby methods in attack. With one exception, the forwards all deserve their places in the team, though 'why Bennett was selected one finds it hard to understand. The Newton man has passed his best long since, and there oro i a dozen bettor forwards now in Auckland who should have had consideration before him. Clarke, Mitchell, Savory, and j Walters are all in great form just now, and tho three last-named have been conI sidored good enough by the New Zealand selectors for inclusion in the Now Zealand team. Morgan Havward's capabilities are well known. Ho has not been seen lin action in Auckland this season, but ' is said to be in great form, and if suoh is tho case, he could not have been overlooked. On the whole, the team is a j strong one, and should do as well against ' its doughty opponents as any 13 that could be selected in Auckland. THE SUBSTITUTE SYSTEM. AN ENGLISH SUGGESTION. Times and Sydney Sun Services. (Received July 21, 6.45 p.m.) London, July 20. Campbell, the captain of the Leeds Foot ball Club, has written to the press, urging ! that the Northern Union should adopt the i substitute system. The suggestion has j been coldly received.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME. | NOTES AND COMMENTS. j The chief feature of last Saturdays ! games was the first defeat of Thistle this | season, the Brotherhood team beating a ; hitherto invincible fide. The game was I full of interest throughout, and attracted j a fair crowd of spectators, but it was re- | grettablc to see so much of the rough clei mont introduced into the play. Brother- | hood's front rank and halfbacks gave a 1 good exhibition of the combined game, j and the defensivo players especially were lin fine form. In the second half Thistle had by far the better of the game, and McPherson and Stewart initiated several ! good movements. Altogether it was a | good display, and there is no doubt but i that the Auckland selectors would be wise to follow tho play of several men who participated in the game. Wall work gave a good display, as also did Orrock, Lee, and Knaggs for Brotherhood, while conspicuous on tho Thistle side were Mcpherson, Stewart, and Cameron. It has often been said the Adult School toain is tho most improved side this season, and on Saturday it kept up this reputation by defeating a strong Corinthian eleven. The school was entirely on the attack in the first half, and Tantrum, Morris, and Prosser were nearly through jon several occasions. Roberts, however, I was in great form at back, and saved his side from a bigger defeat. Holiday was the pick of tho Corinthian forwards, and Drake and Marshall figured well in the halfback line.

Y.M.C.A. experienced hard luck in losing to North Shore by the odd goal in seven, but on the run of the day s play Shore should have had a much easier win. A feature of the game was the lusty kicking of the Shore backs, and it was mainly due to them that the ball was kept at the Y.M.C.A. end. The young mon have considerably improved in the combination of the front rank, and Temperton and Jackson gave a good display. The Everton and Carlton match produced nine goals,, the former winning by 3 goals, but on the run of the play Everton deserved. to just win, and probably 4 to 3 would have better represented the game, for two of the goals were "gifts," the Carlton backs kicking into their own net. The Carlton forwards gave t, much improved displayed, and should, if they keep up their form, improve their position. The game all through was fairly even, and the glut of goals was mainly due to the superiority of the respective front ranks, Tho Carlton goalkeeper was decidedly offcolour, and should have saved some of the shots that scored. SECOND DIVISION. The second round of the second division matches were finished on Saturday, and there now remains the semi-final and final to be played out between the leaders and runners up in A and B sections to decide tho championship.