FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17831, 12 July 1921, Page 9

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAME.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Auckland - Thames representative match on Saturday was fairly interesting, but as an exposition of Rugby the display was anything but brilliant. As contemplated last week when tho Auckland team was reviewed, the forwards were not nearly good enough to cope with the Thames van, and for three-quarters of the game the latter held control. They went through the opposing pack, and never gave Pitman a chance to feed his backs, while in the loose they tackled vigorously and upset the combination of tho Auckland backs altogether. It was not till well on in the last quarter, when they tired, that the Auckland backs got a chance to show what they were capable pi doing, two brilliant passing bouts ending in tries which equalised the scores, lhames again rallied, but were unable to improve on a draw. On the day Thames vere the better team in the last loose game that resulted, and were unlucky not to have won.

The Auckland pack was not solid enough and it will have to undergo a change if Auckland is to succeed in more important fixtures this seasoi. The hooking was poor, and when the bail reached Pitman the opposing forwards were with it, and he had little chance cf feeding las backs. In the . loose Auckland were outplayed. The lhames forwards carried the ball along at a great pace, and disorganised the combination of the Auckland rearguard, who tor the most part were compelled to play a defensive game. Frequently H. Hayward would snap up the ball and start a passing rush which gained considerable ground, the forwards showing to great advantage in this department on occasions.

Prominent Thames Players. In the visitors' backs Prussing played a aae game He took some beautilul long Passes and. in company with Tate. Marwick and tj hSuchan, provided some very bright interludes Tate, at was a,so good, while Marwick ana G. Buchan, on the wings, played excellent games. Both are speedy, and the former scored a good try. trnffen, at half, lest few opportunit.es and was conspicuous throughout. Of the forwards. H. Hayward, the veteran player, was the most conspicuous and he put in an immense amount of hard solid work, rio was always on the ball and frequently gathered up to start passing rushes which considerably improved Thames' position. M Mayward was not as conspicuous as when he played against New Zealand and Wel--1 ngton at Auckland last year. Lomas and Alexander played well. • it Ba . de! fT was tbe outstanding player m the Auckland backs, but he did not get a great many .opportunities. He imade some good openings, but the opposing forwards spoiling tactics stopped the otJhqr backs from taking advantage of them He saved one try when he sprinted after Marwick and caught him just ota the line. trnerson was inclined to get out of position, and thus spoil the combination while ferry, for the most paH. played a poor HHv** u f 13,l 3 ,, 110 * a S°°d defensive plaver Pilling, at fallback, took the ball well, 'but j n< ?- *1 eood ta ckler. Mclnnes, McLean, and Jjintott were the best of the forwards.

The Match Against Goldflelds. rSI M match .. p . lay ? d at Paeroa between S?ivK d! \ and /" c^ nd - though not what might be termed brilliant, was on the whole L^ g M met 0 wa \ ch - The 1500 spectators apparently were pleased with the display, and roundly applauded the Auckland backs alter a bout of good passing. At times the passing was quite a treat, while at others it was very ragged, due in a great measure to want of knowledge of each other's play, though weight was against them, the Auckland forwards almost invariably hooked the ball and shot it clean out before the nZI Z e '£ h n m J™ 111 . °L them was applied. Both McCullough and Casey were in good torm. traUagher was seen in a new role in this match, being played as lock, and failed his position satisfactorily, while Pardington and Thomas (Newton) on the sides and • Arnold and Nicolas in the back row! put solid wejght into the pack. In the open both Thomas and Arnold were in the thick, of it. Earl had some very heavy stopping to do. and did it well. He did not throw the ball about too freely during the first two quarters, but later showed great improvement, and fully warranted the' good opinion frequently expressed as to his capabilities. Muir, owing to slight indisposirSP".. dld not B quite so good an exhibition as usual. Lucas was up to his usual form, but found it hard to meet the hefty team, in attack. Hughes showed fine form, putting m some useful runs, while his passing was really good. Malloy failed to reproduce the dash he has so often -shown during the season, and Williams failed m taking the ball clean 1 ?. At fullback Fmdlay was again safe, and rescued the team on several occasions when the position looked dangerous. Of the five tries scored no fewer than four were secured by forwards. Padrington. Culpan, Thomas and Arnold scoring, while Hushes was responsible for the. odd try. McCullough converted one

The Goldfields team were very solid especially in the van. If the ball dwelt in the. scram at all they had the better of it. They put in some strong forward rnsEes, and though at times they looked like on-i-niT. knowledge of the finer noints was lacking, and tie work was nullified. The same want of fmsh wax apparent amoner the backs, though at times, some forceful runs were made. Winder was probably the headiest player in the team. The Piako Union would like a. visit from on= of the Auckland senior clubs this season. This should bo easily arranged by one of the teams lower down in the senior championship. " Snowy " Lucas is making a good recovery from his recent injury, aJid says he ""'"1 oe able to take the field on Saturday. July 30. The Springboks will be looking forward to playing against him, for he was one of the military team that toured South Africa.

The Junior Bepresentatives. The first Auckland junior representative team to play in Auckland foT_ a number of years opposed tne Thames junior representatives at Eden Park on Saturday, and the Auckland selectors are to be congratulated on setting sucn a good team together at such short notice. ' Both teams were rather glow in pett'ing down to their work, but •when they did they played, good football, aud threw the ball about with good effect. One of Auckland's tries came after the ball had travelled right acrosa the field and been handled by at. ieast 10 of tho team. McCoy, as fullback for Auckland, played > a good game; in fact, the only weak link in the •jacks was Mclnne3. His try at the start of the game was a fine effort, but his subsequent defence and handling of the ball was very weak- Gregory's tendency to hang on too long spoiled some fine chances, otherwise he was very solid. With a few games together the backs would give a good account of themselves. Of the forwards, Keary and Hediey were most in the limelight,* but tho others, with one exception, played equally as well. Emirah was inclined to play offside too much- A feature of the game was Av-cklscd's kicking, 3eager (2) Hecley, Keary and Gregory all registering goals- Tho Thames team played well, but did not have the necessary dash to finish off their attacks successfully. The next representative match in Auckland will be the Springboks v. Auckland, North Auckland, and South Auckland, on August 20. and this will be fol'owed by the second test on the following Saturday. The Taranaki team _ will play here on September 5. and Wellington on September 17. Tho Auckland team then goes South, and will play Tiranaki and Wellington. The postponement of the visit of the Maori team to Australia was referred to last evening bv Mr. Ned Parata. who stated that it was due to the New South Wales team coming to New Zealand next month. The 'our would take place next year. The Maoris would probably play the " Springboks" at Wellington later in the season. Mr. Parata stated that the Bay of Plenty union was in a flourishing state at present. There were 72 teams playing under itß jurisdiction and they included sojae fine players. The Bay of Plenty union wished to arrange a match with Auckland at Auckland or Kotorua this season.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. The senior Association games on Saturday provided some interesting football, and with one ecxeption resulted in close finishes. Northcote still head the championship list with 17 points, Huntiy bieng second with 16 and Ponsonby third with 15. The best match o£ the day was that between North Shore and Northcote, played on the Devonport Domain before a large number of spectators. North Shore sire a much improved team, and on the day s play were unlucky to lose. They had much tho better of matters during the first half, and were one up at half-time. It was not until the last 25 minutes of the game that Northcote showed anything like their true form, scoring two goals in ouick succession. On the North Shore side the honours of the day must go to Dacre and Sampson, the fullbacks. Heir stopping and clearing work was of a very hirh order. Dacre being particularly brilliant throughout. This player ha.s played consistently well throughout the season, and should be hard to keep out of the representative team. The half line all played well, while Perritt, at centre, stood out among the forwards. He held the attacking line toeether well, starting most of the attacks. and hie goal was the result of fast, finished football. He was ably supported by Woolley. Alison. aDd McKenzie. For Xorthcoie. Tremain played a sterling game at centre forward. _ The inside men did not combine so well as in previous matches, but played up well during the latter stages when goals weTe needed. McMillan was the i better of the wings, although Cross scored a splendid goal. Corrin was tie pick of the half line, tackling well and placing the ball , to his forwards with great judgment. Colvin played well at fullback, while Craxton in goal was very safe With a side much weakened by injuries to players. Y.M.C-A- Old Boys went down to LH.ILS. Philomel by two clear soaia. Xha

earn* was fast and intcrestine, but the exceptionally rough state of the playing area Pit ou *;S, r Domain was all against skilful football. The sailors held the advantage throughout, and -wore unfortunate not to score- more often. For Phiomel. Hooper was tne most prominent forward. He displayed great pace and etaying- power, playing his best game this season. The two wings. ■Hopkins and Heatley. were always dangerous, and the inside men also did well. Marsh an _-i c £ rbet t were the pick of the halves, whole Bore© and Batty got through some fine saving work. The mainstay of Old Boys was i lebig at centre half. He tackled splendidly and consistently sent his forwards away with well-directed passes. The two fullbacks, Opltman and Shenkin. defended well, while Henderson, in goal, played brilliantly and did much to keep down the score against his side, rhe forwards were not up to form, Woods being easily the best. The Huntly-Y.M.C.A. match at Victoria Park was a good game to watch. Huntly were well extended, and were lucky to win by the odd goal in three. Play was very even, the sides having an ecrual share of the game, two shots by Y.M.C.A.'s outside right striking the crossbar. For Huntly all the forwards played well. Porteous and Hayes being perhaps more prominent than the rest. Porteous scored both goals, and Hayes was to a large extent responsible for the good work which led up to them. The three halfbacks did well, while Green and Steele, on the back line, proved themselves very hard to pass. All sop. in goal, was also in good form. On the Y.M.C.A. side Catt. at centre forward, played splendidly, until an injury to his leg made it difficult for him to keep up with the game. Pitken. at outside right, played well, but a tendency to hang on to the ball too long lost chances for his side. Hillcoat was the better of the two inside men. playing hi 3 best game this season. Renshaw. on the left wing, did not get the ball frequently enough, and the way he was starved was hard to account for. Clanochan and Walbran in the half line played at top form, consistently breaking up the opposing forwards' passing movements. The fullbacks. Braithwaite and Neesham. were very safe. Mills, in goal, played a fine game, and could pot be blamed for either goal scored against him. Kohimarama deserve great credit for the plucky manner in which they fought out their game with Ponsonby. Although the score a-gainst them ran into double figures, they kept.gome till the final whistle, and in the opening stages more than held their own. A very clever exhibition of the code was witnessed in the Sixth Division match Mount Eden v. St. Hehers Bay. at Victoria Park, the latter winning by 3 goals to 2 after a most exciting game. Both sides have players of undoubted merit, who. if they keep to the code, will improve the game greatly when (hey reach the.fenior division. For St. Heliere Welsh. White. Neil, and Corban played well, and for Mount Eden Waush. Sharpies, Fox. and Pollard were the most prominent.

UNDER LEAGUE RULES. THE AUSTRALIAN TOUR. RETURN OF THE TEAM. The New Zealand Rugby League football team which toured Australia returned by the Ulimaroa last evening. The tour was financially and socially a great success. Discussing the standard of League football in Australia, the manager of the team. R J. Stirling, said the local men appeared to have one object in view, namely, qualifying for the Australasian team to tour Britain, and therefore there was very little concerted play. In the match Queensland and JNew Zealand combined against New South Wales, the former team was unfortunate in having its best five-eighths knocked out in the latter half of the game when the soore was 24 against New South Wales' 26 an i one of the best forwards was also disabled. The combined team played the remainder of the match a man short, and it was during this spell that the New South Wales team, increased its score to 36. Mr i 5 s sald the Newcastle match was Played under very unfavourable conditions A? 6 fI ou ?T d wa s heavy, but notwithstanding this the New Zealanders. who won; gavtj a very good display

NOTES AND COMMENTS. The forrn shown by the senior grade Players on Saturday indicates that considermi?nr,l^ Pr £ Vement . 1S takLnE *> lace the majority of the teams as the season adR^ 065 - aU e • maton between Marist Old isoys and Maritime was one of the fastest and mostexciting witnessed for a very lon» ™ ei ,, T* l6 Paca was on from the start? ?? k if re wa \ no sickening of speed til the bell rang to cease play. A gratifying feature was the fact that there wasles? aimless kicking of the ball than ha 7 been the case m the majority of matches this season. At times there were sustained exchanges of long kicks by the opposing H+fE?' i but th^ e v wer ? occasions on Vhich {,££- el f e °°^ li , b , e done - Th ese kicking boots also afforded welcome relief to both tiiiw lniß ' T no °bviously needed a short spell from such sustained effort as had been required of them. ,m« i iL M,M:ißt - °i d u o*s-lj»ve shown such improvement m form in the last two games that the team is now Being nicked by manv league supporters to win the J*7ope RoosSfr m. m £ e ,V< U ° t n - a l \ certa Possesses toe material to develop into a champion team lhe forwards are a fine powerful lot but will require to improve in hooking before they can render the best service to the side On baturaay the Maritime hookers were beating them badly for the ball in thl DroLri *J he s Marißt £E department in the second « a " st e U J* , long way fr °m being as adept as a first-class team should be ;S„ + 00ler . res Peeta they are excellent and continue to show improved pace and Precision m handling the bail. Some of tnem snouid indulge more in low tackling than they have been in the habit of doing. The Marist backs are capable of. developing into a winning combination against an» l»™ in in* sTts^A^rfP^^^s-a £ ii back chain whioh prevents tne ball reaching the often as it should m attach. Both Eustace and Gallagher are fine scoring backs iUi^L the opportunity and the oftener the bail Sod? to them the better chance will the teambavo l„H C °? ng - ° n Saturday both men played good, games and rarely got the ball sent cleariy out to them. Only ». player with the dash that Eustace possesses could have scored the first try obtained by Marist It centre threequarer Puha showed weaknel, in takmg the ball. If he this defect he should develop into a fine ulaver Stormont, at fullback, gave £jgg: tion He is certainly a useful man in the wW 10 ?' * but f ° ne ca , nnot remembering what a fine forward game he plays when i" JS™ 11 - a L^?s <* nd Loveridge,. at fiv" eighths. and. Ghent, at halfback" all played and dash 8 ' ™ pßiTtlcaUT - showing cleverness The Maritime players, as usual, foueht hard to avert defeat but their combinatfon was not. equal to that of their opponents Considering the manner in which ffiebal came out of the scrum to MariW backs the latter should have made more of their opportunities. As £eni Maritime., m the .first spell, werf more fre* quently in scoring positions than their opponents. Time and again thev invarSil ,the Marist twenty-five, but were tuish home the attack. Among the backs Vm ft playo<i a *Ssd gam,.He fielded the ball in good style and d£[ no aimless kicking. Incidentally he did %m° B6't side-stepping- and frequently eluded t.v» high tackling Manst forwards. Little-old! McGregor, and Bnen, . at threequarters proved a. sound trio, but there w4 s Uttii combined work among the backs as a whole The .forwards put up a good Sent ?' j .f lr opponents. They hooked vrril and showed fine dash in the open. The team may yet have to be reckoned with in the Eoope Booster competition. The City team showed excellent form against Newton on Saturday, and justified the position they hold as winners of the championship conipetit;pn. The City players both forwards and backs, have consistently endeavoured to develop tho proper League game, and are reaping the reward. The backs are fast and handle- the ball wed They are well supported in this respect by the forwards, and should go very close to winning the Roope Rooster competition. The only team that seems to have a chance of checking their victorious career is the Marist Old Boys, and the latter 3 tiil require to improve in team work to come np US tho City standard m this respect. Ponsonby'a victory over Fire Brigade was weh anticipated, but the latter are to be commended, for putting up a good battle, ine team is steadily acquiring combination and wul eventually strike good form. Bonsonby cannot afford to be without the services of McClymont and Delgrosso. Tho former is the pivot man. of the back combination, and the team has not yet unearthed a man to replace him. With the return of the players mentioned Ponsonby ehoula show to more advantage m the Eoope Rooster competition than it has in the cli»b games this season. The team alwaja plays a nice open game, and -with & little luck will keep the best of the opposing teams busy to avert defeat. Commenting on the Australian team chosen for the English tour, the SydneyReferee has the following:— "Every man selected, backs and forwards, is a first-class footballer. Possibly, in some cases, many will contend that better players havo been omitted. Form varies from week to week. and it is eJways possible that a man among the top flight to-day may be down the list a bit a few weeks hence. Still, on the latest form, one cannot see how W. Avery, the New Zea'.ander. has been omitted. For the Combined team egainst New South Wales he played, as a champion. And he has been consistent. I would have preferred him to R- Latta, whose form has not been quits what one expected this season. It is understood that emergencies have been j cho&en to take the place of any back or forward who may be unable to make the 1 trip. A Queensland back and a Queensland forward have been mentioned in this respect." Rugby League players everywhere will peruse with interest tho following extract from the latest Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic Kews to hand from London:— "As a final cote cm the season's Kusby may I express a hope that something will be done to facilitate gettins the ball into the scrum- The difficulty of doing so hag been increßsingly obvious, this season, and much trouble and delay ha* been caused. Some of the best judges of Rugby agree with me in believing that the remedy is very simple —three men only in the front rank, and penalise without hesitation if either of the outside men lifts either foot. A strict administration of such a rale would speedily bring about the much-desired result, and the greatest blot of the preseal dag would be removed from Basbx."