FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15679, 5 August 1914, Page 5

FOOTBALL.

the rugby game.

notes and comments.

'S The Rugby Union had every reason to be . pleased with tho attendance at Eden Park ■ on Saturday, for, in spito of the strong • counter attraction at the Domain, tho enthusiasts turned up in force, and the gate, £158, was eminently satisfactory. Tho ground was not in first-class order, and jho muddy patch in the middle spoiled many attempts at picking up the ball and passing, and the frequently showers kept [l, e ball slippery. In the face of these drawbacks the display of the 'Varsity backs was very creditable, for such conditions were right against their stylo of play. Some mention should be made of the disreputable appearance of some of tho players. Football is not a game to be played in dress suits, but some of the jerseys worn by 'Varsity players gave no sign of their original colour. The cup final produced one of the best exhibitions of Rugby that has been seen for some time in Eden Park. The opposing forwards worked hard, and although the blues 'the best of the first half, City showed fine dash later' in the game. It was tho superiority of the 'Varsity backs that won the game. They got off the mark well, showed great dash, and were unlucky in not adding to their score. On the other hand the City backs were very disappointing. Each man took his pass standing still, on those few occasions when a passing rush was started, and, of course, was tackled with the ball in possession. City cannot be said to have had bad luck, ; for fumbling and wild passing lost them several good chances of scoring. The worst instance of this was in the last quarter • when nearly the whole of the City team were away, and if one man had gone on by himself a try must have resulted, but they crowded in on one another, and the ball was eventually thrown forward. The blue forwards were a good, honest lot, and were lead by Muir, Bilkoy, and ' Inkster. , | Ross, the small but sturdy half, was 'the hero of the day. This player seems .able to stand an unlimited amount of 'knocking about, and the way ho went down to ever}' rush was praiseworthy. He got tho ball away from the scrum, and made numberless openings, and all through his heady work was the featuro of the game. ■ Geddes was the weak spot in the team. He mulled • his passes, and transferred wretchedly, thus losing several, opportuni- : ties. * Macky played with his usual dash and brilliance, and it was the superb defence of this player, with Gray and Ross, that kept City out. ' Lambert's try was a fine - effort; he showed great speed, and dived for the ball in determined fashion. The City fallback, Moffit, stood out as the team's best back. His defence was .very solid, and his coolness saved several ■ dangerous situations. / His line kicking was accurate, and tho speed and dash that he showed several times indicate that this player is far too valuable a man to be in the extreme rear. D. Stewart did some good work, and Godfrey, at half, made many openings which were not made use of. Campbell and Moore were the pick of a good lot of forwards, to whom the loss of the game cannot be attributed. Mr. Conway handled the game in an impartial manner, but might have been more severe in regard to dirty play. Several incidents were noticed from the line, and these led to demonstrations of disapproval ' from the spectators. . The representative game developed into a forward tussle, in which Taranaki were much superior. Their loose rashes kept Auckland 'defending during the whole of the second spell, and although their score was augmented with penalty goals they had much the better of the game. They played two wing-forwards, and although Auckland's only try was the outcome of this as it left them an extra man in the threeqnarter line, the extra weigHt in loose scrums was of great value to Taranaki.

George, fullback for the visitors, gave i great display, His line and goal kicking jras' the feature of the game, and his defence was especially safe. He was ably supported by Wells and Stewart. The pick of the forwards were Rowlands, Carey, and Crowley, these three players being prominent' at all stages. Candy and Slieahan were the best backs cm the home side, and Manro and Hansch did the' lion's share of work in the vanguard. Sellara showed a disposition . to shirk the tight work and indulge in gallery play. The selection of a representative team to play Thames on Saturday has not given much indication of the personnel of the teams for tho big matches later in the season. The University Club is engaged to play Clifton Club, the Taranaki champion team on Saturday, therefore the members were not available for selection. Mr. T. P. Walfihe, who represented the province in 1912, and who has been associated with the Marist Brothers Old Boys Club during the past three years, left, on Sunday evening for Otorohanga, whero he intends to practice his profession as solicitor. Ho represented the Marists Club as a player for two years and this year he acted as secretary. '"ALL BLACKS" AUSTRALIAN TOUR VISIT TO QUEENSLAND. [from OUR special correspondent.] Brisbane, July 27. "The greatest footballers on earth," recording to tho advertisement!) in Brisbane, rarrived in that city at nine o'clock on , Thursday night, after a train journey of ; .16 hours It was found that the hotel . • accommodation arranged by the local union w as unsuitable, so Mr. Isaacs got to work early on Friday morning, and after lunch wo .removed to more congenial quarters, ; where we are very comfortable. ; 'i, lie warm', almost summer-like, weather ; on Friday livened the team up consider*' a %> and at the practice held after lunch • even th.a cripples joined in. All are now \ fit to play except Barrett, whose broken ; : finger will probably precludo his taking part in matches for the rest of the tour. Everything was in favour of gocd football on Saturday. Although the local team was probably the best that has played , Against New Zoalaud it was not considered / 'hey would extend the visitors, and in , consequence thero were not more than . . '000 spectators at the match, ■ •rr-c-f'9° fur as our backs were concerned the display of football was the brightest of . the tour, and several of the tries wero . * ' scored after the ball had been handled by ; lv players. As against this tho forwards ,'' wok tilings easy in the second spoil, and were content to let the backs do most of , .tho work. Francis and McNeece, howover, stuck to their work right through, >- _ and wero easily the most prominent for- , „ wards on the ground. The former is improving with every game, and will return jLto New Zealand a consistent and dashing U; ' player. , - ,> All the backs were at the top of their ! < ? rn )' j> Roberts, in particular, playing "" best game of the tour. 1 | Alter the first fiiteen minutes Cockroft i ' /'} proved a worthy successor to O'Brien, his heldjng .kicking, and collaring being all .aJt'.that could bo desired. ; '' ■ ' ' • • ' '

Taylor had very little to do, most of j the work going to Lynch's wing. Strangely enough most of the home backs kicked to Lynch, who invariably found touch with a good kick. Altogether tho Timaru man had few idle moments during the game. Ryan and E. Roberts were as effective as ever, and McKonzio showed an provement on his previous game, his play being free from selfishness. Tho forwards did not take the game seriously, though they never failed to come to the rescue when necessary. Murray did good work on tho Wing, and with Francis and McNeece was prominent throughout. Cain and Francis beat their opponents for the ball, which, however, was hung up in the back row of the scrum very often.

The referee, who was quick and effective, earned the disapproval of a section of tho spectators, a not uncommon experience for an unbiased Rugby refcreo in this part of the world. N

So far we have seen but little of the local officials and players, and contrary to custom tho two teams did not dine together after tho match. The evening was spent at the Stadium as tho guests of the union.

Tho team is a very happy family, and consequently the tour is proving very enjoyable. The latest accounts from Armidale indicate that O'Brien is being well looked after by the local Rugbyites.

UNDER LEAGUE RULES.

REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS.

The following teams have been chosen to represent the Auckland Rugby Leaguo ill Saturday's matches

Auckland A: V —Fullback, H'ardgrave; threequarters, Woolley, Il'wersen, Fox, Weston; halfbacks, E. Ashcr, J. McDonald; forwards, Savory, Bennett, Walters, Mitchell, Clarke, Seagar. Auckland B: V. Rotorua— Perry; threequartors, McCollum, Cross, Wynyard, Corby; halfbacks, Webb, A. At,her; forwards, Fricker, 51. Stannaway, Denize, Cross, Warner, Griffin. Emergenciesßacks, Rogers, Stewart, Olsen; forwards Walker, Baskiville, Pub len, Rogers.

Tho Country teams to play against Auckland at the Domain on Saturday are as follows: —

Waikato: V- Auckland AFullback, Amaru; threequarters, Cook, Bookluimj Littlewood; five-eighths,» Morse, Smith; halfback, Pockham; forwards, Burt, Henderson Raynor, Hadden, Fuller, Wilson. Rotorua: V. Auckland 13—Fullback, P. Munro; threequarters, B. Harp, B. Armor, and Kira; five-eighths, F. Woodward and Rcke; halfback, B. Gordon; forwards, Mason, W. Walker, R. Tucker, J. Poland, M. Johnson, and Hato; emergency, 'I', Sheehan.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. The surprisingly good display made by /he Now Zealand representative team (gainst the Englishmen at the Domain on Saturday delighted all local followers of lie game, most of whom paid their ihillings with the expectation of seeing iomething clever in. the way of football in the part of the visitors, but never expecting a contest of a thrilling nature, it is small wonder that the crowd became ixcited when the wearers of the fern leaf jave an exhibition of football worthy of the best traditions of the older code. From the first five minutes of play it was apparent to most people that New Zealand had adopted the correct tactics to win if they had_the condition. The defence to the repeated passing runs of the fast, sure-handling English backs was on conservative lines, such as have been proved by experience to bo safe practiceThere was on most occasions a man for a man, and it was not until Wagstaff beat three backs that the visitors scored. The hard tackling took the sting out of the attack, and the New ZealanderS before the first spell ended commenced to play the Englishmen at their own game. Some pretty runs, marked by clean passing and clever handling, were eventually -responsible for the Dominion team's "first score. Towards the end of the game it was only a question of time when the New Zealand team would gain tho majority of points, and it was while they were attacking that England scored the final try from beyond half-way in a very simple manner. The English hacks lost all their dash and cleverness of handling in the second half, and even Wagstaff's fend was mastered. The English fullback, Wood, who takes the ball so well and .is such a good line kick, was rattled by the charges of tho tireless "All Black forwards. The English team generally make little pretence to defence closer up than the fallback, therefore it is not surprising that Wood, who had an immense amount of work to do, should get sick of the handling he received. The glory of Wagstaff waned under pressure, and towards the last he was playing' a very mediocre T i.: j T\ i_.it

game. Jenkins and. Davios lasted better 1 and played the game out. Smith was ' always dangerous, and he was responsible for England's last try. Of the forwards the best work was done by Johnson, Long- , staffe, and Coldrick. The New Zealand team as a whole must be given credit for the very fine effort they made. No doubt the shaking up the team got at the hands of the North Shore 1 Club- last Wednesday helped materially ■towards this end, for it revealed the weaknesses of the placing of the men. Tho popular hero of the match was Wilson, the speedy wing threequarter, but in the writer's opinion the most praiseworthy effort in the back division was that of Hard grave at fullback. Hard--1 grave was at his beat, and to anyone who ' knows anything at all about cither Union : or League matters it should not bo necessary to say more- Hardgrave Rave, a magnificent display of tackling, and never failed to bring down a man that ho got his hands on. He .was also successful 9 in stopping two men on more than one j occasion. . He is undoubtedly the best fullback playing cither code in tho ' Dominion to-day. ', Wilson scored two brilliant tries and was chaired from the ground, while Brad--3 ley, Ifwersen, and Weston were alf 3 1 equally good in defence and attack. Barclay at five-eighths was the weak spot in the" backs, and in the first spell the >• Englishmen frequently worked their way past him. Bussell, although small in size, played with much uippiness behind the scrum and gave one the impression that his hacks would have no complaints to make when ho was getting a fair share of the ball. The forwards as a pack and individually • were great, the only weakness being Parker's inability to get the ball in the first spoil. He mado up for this in looso f play. Tho deadly tackling of Walters I and Savory certainly disconcerted the | visiting backs. Button, Banks, and Mitchell all proved the wisdom of their selection. Banks's try showed that he has learned the usefulness of being able to join in a passing run. That football runs in families is well- • known, and two further instances were iriven in Saturday's matches in which Union and Lo:iguo New Zealand represent a- | tivo teams were engaged. Wilson, the » brilliant League wing-threcquartov, is a ' brother of " Rangi" Wilson, the equally , brilliant Union forward, who wafi playing against tho Australian team in tho test match at Brisbane on Saturday. Weston, who played a good game against the Englishmen at the Domain on Saturday, is a brother to tho member of the Now Zealand Union team now touring Australia. Such , instances makes one wish that an under--1 standing could he arrived at by Union and League whereby the New Zealand ■Rugby world could show an unbroken i front to visiting teams. The defeat of Australia at the hands of the Union ( team ! bv 17 points to nil, and the magnificont effort of tho League team against the pick of the Northern Union, shows the great- . ness of New Zealand as a Rugby country. ■ The growth of the New Zealand Busby ; Football League has been rapid. It was ■ farmed two years ago with two clubs ' under its jurisdiction. Now there are 29 • Hubs affiliated with a number of provin- ; cial and district leagues. Mr. J. Clifford, one of the managers of , the English team, said, prior to departure, i that it should npt- be long before another 1 team came out to Australia and New Zealand* j

New Zealand is receiving no lack of offers for visits this season. The Englishmen finish their tour, to-day, and there are still two more offers before the New Zealand Council, namely, from the Sydney Eastern Suburbs Club, and from the South Sydney Club. Both of these clubs are very strong,'and would' bo certain to creato much interest in the Dominion, but it is hard to say whether it would be possible to secure the necessary grounds so lato in the season, Consideration of the offers has, however, been deferred, pending further information regarding tho proposed tours. ' Although the two otters were separate, it is just possible tlrat the Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney clubs contemplate sending over a combined team, and among tho players mentioned by the former club as likely to make the' tour were several South Sydney men.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The fourth series of games in the second round of tho senior competition did not produce any surprises on Saturday. Y.M.C.A. now has four points to their credit, as the Corinthian team was forced to default, only four men being" present. This was very disappointing to , tho .Y.M.C.A. team, the members of which are full of enthusiasm. They had been looking forward to their second match with Corinthian. The contest ■ between Brotherhood and North Shore proved to be closer than was generally expected ; especially as the North Shore team played • one forward short all through, and for a considerable time Caudie, their clever defender, was off with a broken nose. Credit must be given to" the loser's halfbacks and fullbacks, for the solid defence they presented. Another contributing cause for tho small score was that many shots of the Brotherhood forwards just missed scoring. The ball during the greater portion of the'game was kept in tho vicinity of the North Shore goal. The Adult School did not play up to. their usual standard against Everton, and so suffered defeat. Everton kept the school team oil the defence, and fine play between Hudson and Dance, kept the score | low. A feature of the first half was tho consistent good play of Booth, at halfback. ! Ho was always in evidence, and gave a good display," both in attack and defence. The school forwards played with pluck and enthusiasm, but at times they were slow in making the most of opportunities. McAneny, in goal for Adult School, gave a creditable display, and effected some really clever saves, and with practice and experience should develop into a first-class keeper. Thistle wOn tho game against Carlton by 5 goals to 2, but for the first 20 minutes it looked as though Carlton would be credited with a victory. With a 2goal lead it looked a good thing for Carlton, but it was not long before the Scotchmen equalised the scores, and after halftime the latter had considerably the better of the play. The Thistle players did not give a creditable display for a team at the top of the league. They will have to improvo considerably if they wish to keep, their club in the premier position. It is a pity the Thistle Club has so few playing members, but it is bad policy to weaken the defence to play the usual front line. The best defence Thistle has yet played is McWhirter and Jack Byers, as they both tackle well and clear effectively.

JUNIOR DIVISION. By reason t their respective wins on Saturday last the St. John's and North Shore A teams have qualified for the final tie, which will probably bo played on Saturday week. St. John's had an easy win against North Shore B. Tho size and build of the winners suggested that they are fully qualified for the senior division. They gave a good display, and should annex the junior trophy. Tho Brotherhood A Club had a re--arranged team in their match against the other semi-finalists, North Shore A, and lost by 2 goals to 1. The game was fairly fast, 'and on the run of the play North Shore deserved its win, but Brotherhood was severely handicapped by having a rearranged defence, and probably this upset their "play. ' _ Keen interest is being taken in the junior representative match against Whangarei at Bayswater next Saturday, and as the Northern Association is sending a strong eleven a good game should result. It is hoped that a good crowd will bo present to encourago the juniors, as it ii to their ranks the senior clubs have to look for their future players.