FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17253, 1 September 1919, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAjfe.

■SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.

DEFAULTS IN THREE MATCHES

The senior championships of ills Auckland Rugby Union were continued on Saturday in very wet weather. I'arnell defaulted to Oraft.cn. and University, under the impression that their match would not ba played on account of the' weather, did not turn ou. to meet Marist Bros. Ponsonby could no; get a full team, and officially defaulted to College Rifles, but they later obtained ths services of a. number of Grafton players, and it was decided to play a game for the benefit of the small number of spectators who assembled at Eden Park. This match ended in a win for College Rifles by 11 points to 9. Grammar Schood Old Boys defeated Newton at Eden Park by 21 points to 0. The match between Sacred Heart College Old Boys and Present Pupils, played at the college grounds, resulted in a win for the former by 8 points to 6. f GRAMMAR SCHOOL V. NEWTON. Grammar School Old Boys defeated Newton by 21 points to 0. The game was not a very interesting one, the heavy ground and greasy ball making combined play practically impossible. Newton attacked at the commencement, and for some time play was in Old Boys' territory, where Cleal gained possession. He put in a good run and sent out to Woo!ley, who got over, Ross converting. A little later Newton were penalised near their own goal posts, and Ross kicked a penalty goal. There was no further score when, half-time sounded. Grammar Old Boys . . . . . , 8 Newton ",". '' n Soon after the commencement of the second spell Badeley picked up the ball in his own twenty-five, and after a good run transferred to Arnold, who scored. Badeley converted, Ihe game continued through water and mud for another 20 minutes. Grammar School having much the better of the play. From the loose in Newton's twenty-five Harrison got the ball and added another try. which (.leal converted. A little later Woolley got over and converted his own try, making the finis! scores: — Grammar School* 21 Newton , . . 0 ' Mr. Brewer was referee. COLLEGE RIFLES V. PONSONBY. College Rifles defeated Ponsonby by 11 points to 0. College kicked off, and play was taken to Ponsonby's twenty-five, where, from a mark Laxon had an unsuccessful shot at goal. A little later Grierson secured possession and passed to Wilson., who scored between the posts. Watson failed with the kick. Almost immediately a forward rush by Ponsonby had College Rifles on the defensive. The ball was kicked over by Person and Donovan scored. Kelly failed to convert. Ponsonby kept up the pressure, and a passing rush ended in Clarke crossing the line. The kick at goal failed, and the first spell ended : — Ponsonby g College Rifles " ! 3 On resuming play was again taken to College Rifles' territory, where Ponsonby were awarded a free kick, and Kelly dropped a goal. College Rifles then began to take the game more seriously, and a passing rush ended in Heard scoring, but he failed to improve on his try. A little later Harty broke away with the ball, and added another try to College Rifles' score, which Laxon converted, the game ending: — College Rifles n I Ponsonby . . 9 | Mr. Saunders was referee. ! SACRED HEART COLLEGE GAME. ' The annual match. Past v. Present Pupils of the Sacred Heart College was played at the college grounds, and resulted in a win for the former by 8 points to 6. The rain made the handling of the ball during the first half rather difficult, but in the second spell the present pupils apparently became used to the conditions and developed splendid combination, throwing the ball about in good style. The Old Boys had the advantage in weight, but taken on the whole this was counter-balanced by the manner in which the younger team handled the ball. Old Boys set the game in motion, and a good kick by Burns resulted in play settling near the present pupils' line. From a line- { out Russell secured possession and forced his way over. Burns failed with the kick. Old Boys maintained the pressure, and on two occasions went very close to scoring. However, the attack was repelled, and short bouts of passing shifted operations to the other end of the field, where Hart had a shot at goal, but the ball went wide. A little later they were awarded a free kick, and Hart again attempted to kick a penalty goal, but the ball struck the cross-bar and rebounded into the field. However, present pupils were rewarded a few minutes later, for. by good footwork, they carried the ball across the line, Reynolds equalising the scores. O'Shea failed to convert. Ok' Boys then made a determined attack, Rus.'ei: and Tobin carrying play well into their opponents' territory. A melee ensued, and Tobin again getting possession touched down in a handy position. Malloy easily converted, making the half-time scores: — Old Boys .8 Present Pupils 3 On resuming play was confined to the forwards, the game remaining in midfield for some considerable time. Eventually a passing rush by the Present Pupils shifted play to their opponents' twenty-five. *nd Tobin carried the ball across the linn a,! his toes, but after a scramble a. force resulted. The younger team made several efforts to score in the next few minutes, but a force was the best they could do. Desultory play followed, but later O'Shea cot the ball and scored for Present Pupils. Hart failed with the kick, the game ending— Old Boy« ft Present Pupils 6 Mr. B. Donovan was referee. SECOND GRADE. Grammar, 14 points, beat Albany, S. THIRD <*RADE. Ellerslie. 5 points, beat Parnell. 0; Grammar Old Boys B won by default from University. FOURTH GRADE. Suburbs. 9 points, beat Marists. 0: Grammar A, 12 points, beat Ponsonby, 0. PRIMARY SCHOOLS. A GRADE. Ponsonby, 9 points, beat Epsom, 0. THE RANFURLY SHIELD. WELLINGTON V. CANTERBURY.

A WIN FOR THE HOLDERS.

[by telegraph• — PRESS -ASSOCIATION".] ! WELLINGTON". Saturday. | The first Ilanfurly Challenge Shield match! r>laved since 1915 took place at. Athletic ! Park to-day, when Wellington, the holders, defeated Canterbury by 2] points to 8. The i ■weather was beautifully fine and the ground in excellent condition. There was a largo gathering to witness the game, including the ) Governor-General, the Earl of Liverpool, and Admiral Jelhcoe. ; Shortly after the kick off a free, kick was ' given against Wellington for off-side play. I but via <harged down by De Clifton. From i the ruck Davis secured and initiated a Can- j terbury attack. Algar snapped up the ball, but was promptly pushed out of bounds. A I passing rush by "Roberts, Tiiyard. and MeArthur wa'j stopped by Buchanan, and Can-terbti'-y wore thon penalised. Green's kick fell short. Another Wellington rush was admirably negatived by Buchanan, who intercepted a. pa?-, ami the visitors took charge. but Chrisp kicked to the line. From a, hard tussle in In nt of Canterbury's goal Algar attempted 'o pot. but Murray interfered with tin. l.m'l. Canterbury were penalised for off- , side play, but Green's attempt just, failed. ' Soon alie- Roberts fielded too ball nicely] ! rind a pushing rush by Tiiyard. Corner, 'arid '• M.-Arthur ended in 1 he last-named easily beating Buchanan and scoring. Roberts converted. Wellington. 5-. Canterbury. 0. After the kick out Canterbury set. up an attack, the ball passing between Fitzgerald. McCor- ! mack. Yates, Dan?, and Buchanan, who dashed over. Davis's kick failed. Welling- I •on. .i ; ' auterbury. ■'.. Wellington aga n : became agL-n-ssivc, and a Spectacular sweeping movement ensued between Corner, T:iyard- and Algar. Algar was grassed' near the comer flair, but got rid of the ball Quick.lv. and Comer gathered it up and freaked over the line. Green converted will a beautiful Kick Wellington, 10; Cant< -bury. ~ A strong torward rush by Cant corny Ha, cd Wellington id jeopardy for ii . ", nK ' tJ hc blaks saved the situation- but at las.) bit Wild picked up ajid passed to C.umminge .who transferred to Jackson. The ball tame back to Crunminsa, who dodged firer. Davis converted. Wellington. loTcm. 1

terbury, 8. Shortly after, from an exciting passing rush in which all the Wellington backs had a hand, McArthur scored. Green converted. Wellington, 15; Canterbury, 8. A little later Chrisp nearly scored after following his own. kick. Canterbury pressed hard for a time, but Wellington obtained •relief, and the black forwards carried the ball to Canterbury's end. From a dribbling rash Elliott forced his way over. Green's kick missed. At half-time the scores were: Wellington . . . . • . 18 Canterbury . . 9 On resuming, the Wellington forwards attacked, but a free kick to Canterbury relieved. Carnegie started a. forward rush and Wellington, were compelled to force. From close work near half-way Tilyard picked un the ball and made a. fast run for the hne Brosnahau overhauled him within a yard of the line, and the ball rolled over. There was a great scramble, but Davis saved by kicking into the field. Canterbury swarmed into Wellington's twenty-rive, but Crisp proved safe. A pretty passing rush by Canterbury backs nearly proved decisive, but the Wellington defence was sound. Soon after MiArthur dashed for the line, but, was thrown out at the corner. Canterbury attacked strongly, but a dribbling rush averted trouble. Within two minutes of the conclusion of the game the Welington forwards dashed into Canterbury's twenty-five, and Ryan scored at the corner. Green's kick just missed, and the game ended: — Wellington -1 Canterbury 8

MARLBOROUGH V. WELLINGTON. WIN FOR THE FORMER, [by TELEGRAPH. —rRESS ASSOCIATION.] BLENHEIM. Saturday. The representative match, Marlborough v. Wellington, played here to-day, resulted in a win for the former by 18 points to 15. The weather was fine, but the ground was very greasy aiter the recent heavy rain. Wellington played with the sun in their favour, but showed no outstanding superiority, the local backs having the best of the exchanges. Marlborough scored the whole of their points in the first half, and Wellington scored two tries. In the second spell Wellington played with better dash. Their backs combined effectively, and iheir forwards vrere superior in the loose. They added three mere trier-, all of which were unconverted. In the final stages the visitors made, energetic efforts to equalise the scores, but poor place-kicking was responsible for their failure to turn the game in their favour. NORTH V. SOUTH ISLAND. SOUTHERN TEAM SELECTED. [BY TELEGRAPH.— PRESS ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDIN. Sunday. The following team has been selected to represent the South Island in the match against the North Island, to lie played at Wellington this week:— Full-back. Brosnahan (Canterbury) ; threequarters. Steele (West Coast). Makereth lOtago). Valentine (Otago) : five-eighths, McCormack (Canterbury); Bryne (Nelson): half-back. Begg (Otago): forwards. Bain (Otago). Ellis (Canterbury). Peterson (Canterbury). Bndd (Southland). Campbell (Otago), Fisher (Buller). Henry (Marlborough); wing-forward, Scott (South Canterbury). THE SEDDON SHIELD. [BT TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WESTT'ORT. Saturday. The Buller Rugby team stalled off the second attempt to take the Seddon Shield by defeating West Coast this afternoon by 14 points to 6. Throughout the match the Buller forwards were masters of the situation, and never let the speedy Coast backs get properly away. For Buller. Colvin and Young scored tries. Schadick converting one of them, and kicking two goals from the field. Steele kicked a goal from field for West Coast, and also scored. MANIAPOTO CHAMPIONSHIP. i.: - TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] TE KUITI. Saturday. The final for the Rugby championship, cup. and banner, was contested this afternoon between Otorohanga and Nehenehe. the two leading teams in Maniapoto Union's competition. Nehenehe won by 9 points to 3. though Otorohanga showed remarkably good combination. Mr. Wei.hcrih. of Auckland, was Tefcree.

RANGITIKEI V. WANGANUI. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WANGANUI. Saturday. The Rugby representative match. Rangitikei v. Wanganui, which was played here to-day, was won by Wanpamii by 14 points to 6.

MATCHES AT HAMILTON.

[BT TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

' HAMILTON. Saturday. The results of football matches to-day are as follows: Cambridge B beat Hamilton B by 11 points to 9. Hamilton Juniors beat Cambridge Juniors by 11 points to 5. N.S.W. DEFEATS QUEENSLAND. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Reed. 9 p.m.) BRISBANE. Aug. 30. New South Wales defeated Queensland by 17 poults to eight. UNDER LEAGUE RULES.

ROOPE ROOSTER COMPETITION

FINAL WON BY NEWTON

GAME PLAYED IN DOWNPOUR,

The final game in. the Boope Rooster compfctiticn under League rules was played at the Domain on Saturday afternoon between Newton and Maritime, the former winning a close contest by 8 joints to 5. Rain fell steadily during practically the whole game, rendering both ground and ball extremely greasy. Clever open play was impossible under the conditions, the sodden ball being very difficult to handle and the state of the ground making it impossible for the players to attempt any side-slepping or dodging. Occasionally the Newton backs flung the ball about U. good effect, and in this style of play were superior to their opponents. There was little to choose between the aides, however, and either team might, have won on the day's play. The game started slowly, the ball being kept on the ground most of the time, rush and ocunter-rush carrying it up artd down the field without raateria.l advantage to cither side. A good piece of work by the Newton forwards, among whoiii Homers was prominent, carried play to Maritime quarters. a.nd exciting play in front of Maritime goal followed. The ball was cross-kicked out to Eeenan on the wing, but he failed to take, it cleanly and a score was lost. Maritime rallied, and some good passing saw the ball taken to Newton territory. Lunn came through with a. fine dribble and the ball was taken to the Newton line, where Keenan got back and saved. Hard kicking sent the ball over the Newton line twice in succession, Newton forcing. A Newton rush and a hard kick past the fullback looked like a score resulting, but Gre> and Davidson got back past it and saved t'ne situation. A Maritim& rush carried play to the other end of the field, and a. fierce struggle in the corner saw , the leather kicked over the line. a. force I resulting. A good dash bv the two Keenans i transferred play to Maritime quarters, the ball going into touch. A good passing rush I by Newton was stopped just on the line, and I the forwards taking the ball over, Newdick ■ dived for the leather and just missed scoring. The game continued fast, the Newton playerd I handling the leather bpttcr than their opponI ent«. but the latter tackled well and the fori wards put in some fine work. The first score j came from loose play at halfway, Delaney ; nicking up and breaking through to Mansil'i ; Cargill backed up and, taking Delaney' s pass . cleanly, raced over the r near the posts I A. Sutton converted with a good kick just as j naif-time sounded with, the score: I Maritime .. £ Newton . . . . . . . . '' 0 Scrambling play characterised the beginning v°o the sec:d spell, the Players finding the ba 1 very difficult to handle. Maritime took play to the Newton, twenty-five, where a free kick gave A. Sutton a shot a; goal which went wide. Newton cleared to midrield' but Davidson by a gooa kick, well followed up again invaded Newton territory. A tree kick- removed the scene of action to half-way and a Newton rush, » which Newdick and ; us were prominent, took the leather to i the Maritime twenty-five. A good passing ; run. started by Condon and carried on by ' ji s, i tl th «, latter cross the line. Cloke added the goal points, making the scoresMaritime 5, Newton 5. After the drop out" Newton secured the ball from a scrum and h.e<man setting the backs in motion the leather went out to Thomas, who was tackled just before he reached the Maritime line &rey, with a smart dodging run, relieved the situation, but the Newton backs were not to be denied and, handling the wet ball in good style, came back to the attack, a store bein"missed through Keenan failing to take the final pass. A period of forward play followed till Grey got the ball on the wing and. kicking it hard over the line, compelled Newton to force. Combination on the part of the Newton backs brought, play to the Maritime twenty-five, where Cloke was almost over, but Sutton tackled him well. Davidson cleared the line by a good kick, and following fast, smothered the return. A hard forward '■/ash by Newton threatened tile, Maritime- line i A. Button ud Gtrey ferok* away with a. good

run and following; up a good kick smothered Mansill's return on the Hrte. A penalty Kick removed the danger, aid play settled in midfield till the Newton forwards broke through with a rush. Grey went down on the ball, but it was kicked from him over the line and Somers scored. The kick at goal failed. Newton 8, Maritime 5. Davidson, by a good kick, sent the ball into touch near the Newton Sine, and the Maritime forwards setting possession from the scrum, it was sent out to Delaney who made a good dash for the line and just failed to reach it. Close play on the Newton line followed, but a peualtv kick was sent over the line and Newton forced. I'lav swung up and down the field for the remainder of the spell, with little, material advantage to either side, the game ending without further scoringNewton . . ." 8 Maritime 5 Mr. A. Ball was referee. FIFTH GRADE. Maritime. ." points, heat Ponsonby. 3. M.--Guire scored lor Maritime and Morrin converted. .SIXTH GRADE. I'onsonby. 6 points, drew with North Shore, 6 For Ponsonby, Pannock and Hewson each scored a try.

j .JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES. AUCKLAND V. HAWKE'S BAY. [BT TELKGBAra.— PRESS association.] NAPIER, Saturday. In the junior representative League match. Auckland defeated Hawke's Bay by 12 points to 5. The ground was very heavy, tuit Auckland had the best of the game throughout. VISIT OF ENGLISH TEAM. Details of the meeting of Northern, Union flubs to consider the determination of the union to despatch a team to Australia and New Zealand next sea-son are to hand. preventatives oi Northern Rugby Union clubs turned up fairly -.veil on May 34 to th<j ..onference at the Mansion House. York, called by the Ix>rd Mayor, Alderman Sir W. A. Forster Todd, to discuss the question of the proposed Australian team. The meeting was purely informal, and though the attitude of the ruling council was not upheld, the tone of the speeches was. favourable to the official body. The Lord Mayor said that it had been urged that Australia, was faced with a hard struggle between the Northern «nd Rugby Union codes, and that open professional football in that, country was badly in need of a fillip. The Ruling Council entrusted with the work of the. Northern Union in I rash ire and Yorkshire had decided to send out. a touring team next season. The wisdom or otherwise of this decision was debatable. It had to be borne in mind that owing to the ravages of war 'i^ C l ?! ) ? cr ' or ' °f 'our an d a-taalf seasons, football in this country had suffered a severe set-back. As one who had experienced something of that set-back, he ventured to state that British football was also in need of a fillip. It was difficult to see what object there could be in having a council. He was inclined to the view that the arguments which brought about the decision of the council to send a team to Australia in preference to a tour in this country had not been brought to notice. He was unable to attend the meeting when tie council discussed the invitation, hut having since considered the pros and cons, he had come to 'he conclusion that the council acted wisely. •• It 8 said," he continued, "that, it is the. Australians' turn to visit this country. I don't think there is anything in this. As a matter of fact, the colonials nave already paid three visits to England against pur two to Australia. It is argued that it is in the inteh. Is t>f the clubs that the tour should b© in \i ß country. On this point we must remember that the two last tours here were not a financial success; indeed, I believe each resulted in a loss. Again, there are few clubs her» who can hope to make much out of a match with the visitors, who have hitherto received 70 per cent, of the gross gate. After payment of expenses there can be little to most clubs <ra ',°'.,?M remaining 30 per cent. In ell probability the council would have to ask our clubs to guarantee a larger share to the visitors than in previous tours. Supposing The amount was doubled? How could we expect the poorer clubs to deposit 100 for ft mid-week match, or £'200 for a Saturday match, in which case the clubs would have M». pay their det.. sits next month. I have tried 6to show that a tour here is not, general speaking, the financial success to our clubs that we would desire, and I do not see that, as a tour here will be considerably more costly than hitherto, there being no cheap railway fares and hotel charges having gone up by leaps and bounds, it would be possible to give our clubs a larger percentage: nay, it would appear that the colonials might themselves require an increased share to meet the heavy expenditure they will undoubtedly be subjected to. Speaking generally, the only advantage to our clubs, individually, is the possibility of an increased membership, which, again, tends against the colonials' interest, and this fact has caused trouble on previous visits. Now consider the arguments against a tour in this country which must be borne in mind by the council before an invitation is sent. (1) 1 have already referred to trie increased ■cost of railway fares and hotel charges, which the visitors would have to meet. In addition, the shipping fares will also be much greater. It may be argued that this will equally apply to our team. I agree, but the difference is that whilst we could hardly expect bigger gates than on previous tours, we could confidently look forward to a tour in Australia without incurring any risk of a financial loss. 12) The entertainment tax will have some bearing on the gates, and this does not. I understand, apply to the colonies. (3) There is a good deal of unrest in this country, and it is difficult to say how we should be affected next year. (4) We have had conscription, not so the co'onies. Our losses have been tremendous, not only actually, but comparatively, and this again affects the position in favour of Australia. (5) It would be unwise to extend an invitation to this country unless we are assured that, a visit would be a financial) success. '6) It is the intention of the council to consider the advisability of inviting the colonials here at an early date. There is every prospect of a successful tour. It has been stated that the profits of the previous tours have been for the benefit of the union, and not for the clubs. This is not true, as the union voted £1000 to the poor clubs to help them during the war, and if it had not been for those .profits the union could not have done so. Again, 1 contend that if a tour results in the advantage to the union it is equally for the good of the clubs. The union is the clubs. Nearly all our players are desirous of making the trip, hence all aspirants are likely to exert themselves to the utmost in the hope of catching the selector's eye. and this tends to improve club football. A successful touring team brings added prosperity to the clubs, especially those clubs who have members in the team. Now the Question arises, will the proposed conference tend to create harmony and unity at a time when we should all be thinking of reconstructing— building up not of pulling down, and when all our eflorts should bo guided in one direction, that of improving the status of the union and of every club in membership.'' Mr. J. B. Cook* stated that next season with a view to brightening the game, the ball would be rolled into the scrummage and instructions would be given to referees to see that, the forwards kept their feet on the ground while the halfback was putting the ball in. b

THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

FINAL FOR THE FALCON CUP.

A WIN FOR NORTH SHORE.

The final of the Falcon Cup was played on Saturday .afternoon and resulted in a win for North Shore by 1 .goals to 1. Despite the unfavourable weather a. considerable number of spectators assembled to witness the match and were rewarded with a good game. The teams were:— North Shore: Williams, Samson. Roberts Haycock. Cooke: Jackson. Innis Dacre' Perritt. Goldwater. Northcote: Ridings. tae.tge. Colvir.. Exlcy ( adness. Davidson. Burford. Austin Tr'emain. Corrin. Cross. Shore forced the race from the start Dacre getting his right wing in motion a centre being picked un by Perrifct. whose attempt was safely cleared bv Ridings Aprtheote dashed away to Shore territory where Cross tried Williams, and hot plav ensued round the goal posts. Try as they would Aorthcote could not penetrate the stout defence of Samson and Koberts. every man in the defence working hard. Suddenly breaking away, the Shore forwards dashed to the other end of the field, and after some ""ting play Dacre drove in a hard shot which Ridings was unable to stop, giving shore >.he lead. Northcote were not discouraged.by this setback, tut attacked a.gain and a-gain and attempted to equalise the scores Fast end to end nlay resulted in bhore forcing a, corner, from which Ridings effected a great save at close quarters on the ground. Again changing the venue, the speedy Tvortbeote forwards worked down for Cross to try e. shot, but his elevation was iaulty and no score resulted. Immediately after hidings was called upon. Dacre testing the keeper, who saved in workmanlike ityle. Away went the blue forwards into Shore s ground, and after some strenuous pay Corrm drove in a splendid long shot which beat Williams all ends up. thus equalising th* scores. A good run by Innie the speedy Shore right wing, was watched with intense interest as he beat man after man of the Northcote team and scored, giv-; ing his side the lead. It was a splendid effort. Northcote now put in some verv hard work, and f rom a free kick Corrin had the hardest of luck, a fine drive striking the bar. Had it been-inches lower Williams would have been hard out to it to save Shore Tallied again but the Northcote backs £ e . re . safe a , nd the bine right, wing tested Williams, who just managed to get the ball in time save. The half-time scores were: North Shore .. . . j. o Xorthcot-e .'. 1

Play for a, few minutes was up and down the field with Shore slightly more prominent. Innis being very hard to hold on the right. Cross tested William in the Shore goal-month, the keeper Blearing. Burford had a great chance to equalise for Northcote. but a greasy ball caused him to nuskick, and Shore relieved. Sharp exchanges in midfield resulted in Cross being given possession, and the Northcote speedy.

wing ran -down the field and gave William* a. long drive from the extreme wins. The Shore keeper rose to the occasion and saved. With a few minutes to go Shore bent all fheir energies to retain the lead and the game ended : — North Shore .. .. .. 2 Northcote .. 1 Mr. Richardson was referee. BOUSKILL CUP FINAL. The final for the Bouskiil Cup between Technical College Old Boy? a.nd Y.M.C.A. Rangers was played at the Domain and resuited in a, win {or the former by '2 goals to ]. For the winners. O'Leajy and Baker scored coals and Lambert netted a goal for Y.M.C A. WIN FOR H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND. [BT TELEGRAPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Saturday. A team from H.M.S. New Zealand defeated a. Wellington representative team by 6 goals to 5.