ATHLETIC SPORTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18151, 25 July 1922, Page 5

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAME.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The senior championship competitions of the Auckland Rugby Union, which were interrupted by the Auckland-Maori match, will be continued on Saturday. The principal attraction will be the Grammar Old Boys against Marist Brothers. The result of this match will have an important bearing on the championship, and the game i» certain to be keenly contested.

The match between Auckland and the Maori Rugby touring team, of which much waa expected, justified expectations from a spectacular point of view, but as an exhibition of scientific Eugby was disappointing. The play was fast, open and interesting, spectacular always, thrilling and exciting at times, but scarcely up to a high representative standard. The features of the frame were the bright open play of th» backs, the dashing dribbling and fast-follow-ing footwork of the forwards, and the tenacious tackling of both teams.

Tho teams were not at full strength. The Maori combination was weakened by tho absence of one or two of its best players, in eluding Jacobs, the captain, and Barclay, a fine scoring threequarter, through injury. Auckland was without the services of V, Badeley and G". O'Brien, who left on Friday with the New Zealand team for Australia The places of the absent players were well filled, and it is doubtful if their presence would have made material difference, although O'Brien, as lock, would certainly havo strengthened tho Auckland scrum.

Auckland Shows All-Bound Form.

Auckland is to be congratulated "on its win, less, perhaps, on account of the actual victory than for the fine all-round form displayed in the second spell, assuring the material for strong sides in the remaining representative fixtures vmd for the team, on the Southern tour. The form shown against the Maoris was a fair indication of Auckland's possibilities. Weaknesses were displayed which can easily be remedied by mdicious selection, and a stronger team than that which defeated the Maoris can be placed in the field. ~ Tho display of Auckland in the first spell was distinctly disappointing, even allowing for the fact, that the players were handicapped by the sun in their eyes. The bad rarely came out cleanly from the ecrums, the line-out play was ragged, and faulty fielding and erratic passing by the backs let the team down badly on many occasions. There was a strong tendency to overdo the short punt by the five-eighths line while there was a cle«r field and two speedy wing threeqtiarters waiting for the pass. Against a team less daring and less certain in fielding the short punt would have been effective, but against a veam fielding so faultlessly as the Maoris the result was fatal, the Maoris immediately returning with a good lino. In the second spell there was a great improvement in the Auckland play and players, backs and _ forwards settling down to sound combination and having a more intelligent realisation of requirements.

Prominent Individual Players. Of the individual players Findlay. at fullback, was not up to his -usual foTtn. In the first spell, when bustled by the fastfollowing Maori forwards, the Grafton player was uncertain and his fielding was faulty, though his line-kickice lost little in range In the second spell Findlay improved and gave a good exhibition of all-round pl»y f though overshadowed by Matui, the Maori fullback. ,; , The threequarter lme was well served. Williams played a Rood game on the wing, taking the ball well and running with fine dash On the run of the- play he snould have received more of the ball than he did. Wiseman, too, suffered somewhat from paucity of the hall, but ho made the best use of the few chances going his way. Brinaden was sound at centre, his cutting in and dashing runs being well-timed and welldirected. His try. made possible by,the forwards, was a distinctly fine effort. K. Ifwersen was the pick of the five-eighth line, and he was always in the play with fine fielding and bright attack, though somewhat overdoing the short punt. McManus wont down to rushes in good style, but was not specially prominent on attack. One can imagine Ikw Park, the University captain arid fiveeighth, would have revelled in the B*me had he played outside. Fwrl played a bright fame at half, getting the ball away well, but was inclined to overwork tho o'.ind side. Thomas was prominent as rov>■;?, and opened up the play, white the forwards played solidly. McWilliams. Bighton, Enight, and Mclnness standing out for paJtiiijuarly fine work in the loose. A Bright Combination. Of the Maori backs, Matui (fullback), Blake (centre). Potaka (five-eighth), and Akiura (halfback) were the best ta what at the top of its form would be » brilliant back division. It may with justification be said that Matui. at fullback, was a tower of strength to the Maori team. Barely has there been seen anch a sound exhibition of fullback play as that furnished by the stalwart Maori, whose fielding in the face of fast following forwards, long range linekicking and tenacious tackling were features of a fine display. The thrownuarter line was well served with Phillips, Blake and Peina. Phillips took the ball well on all occasions and made sieveral bright dashes, in one of which he scored a fine try. Blake was sound at centre, and while not so spectacular as some of the other Maori players, gave a good exhibition of centre Tlay. fielding well, running straight and making openings before passing out to his wings. Peina on the wing was a player of the meteoric spectacular type, who is a* elusive as he is clever, speedy and resourceful. He fields the ball well, rorinte with rare speed and for his weight ts-nd size tackles well. N Rtead was overshadowed at five-eighth by Pntaka. who played a fine all-ronnJ game, excelling alike on defence and attack. Akiura plaved solidly behind the scrum, and got the b»U away cleverly and with great celerity. Bel! was prominent as rove'; while the forwards we*e a fine pack, excelling in the loose and line, and following ut> fast dribbling wtjll and handling ihe hall like backs Of a good pack. Bannister, Gemmell, Love and Garlick were the pick.

Auckland and Thames Valley. The match played between Auckland and Thames Valley at Pacroa on Satgirday was the first representative contest that the newly-formed union has played. Though the showing of the local team was not up to the standard anticipated, due mainly to the fact that players are drawn from such a wide area and have little opportunity to get the necessary combination, there is. some very fair material from which a. good team could be evolved provided facilities were given for coaching. B. Barrett, well known in Auckland football circles, together with several others, is making efforts in this direction. It is to be hoped he and his assistants will meet with the measure of success their efforts deserve. The union has a live committee, but it is severely handicapped owing to the scattered nature of the district. It is pleasing to know that Rugby enthusiasts are taking a much freener interest in their sport and paying particular attention to the coaching of juniors. Auckland's knowledge of the fin*? points of the name wis the main factor of success. The Valley back division was disappointing, want of cohesion, and a hesitancy in tkvssip.it or fielding allowing the visitors to take full advantage of these errors. t The best player of the back division was Nicols. who captained the team. He got in some nice work, and tEough a. lightweight, went down te the sweeping forward rushes. Goldebury showed good form and should do better. The forwards were a heavy lot. the combined weight being greater than that of Auckland. TV. Heath, lock of the team, is particularly solid. The Auckland players were an even lot. combining well. Peters was in particularly good form at both hooking and goal-kicking, kicking four goals out of five, attempts. The< rest of the forwards worthily upheld their reputation. Wright, who c*.!?tained the Auckland team, fed his backs splendidly, and delighted the spectators wr&a feint passing. Earrly and Gregory combined well with both half and threeqnarters, accepting passes and transferring without too much hanging on. The threequarter line was a fine trio, unselfishness be'ng an outstanding feature of their play. The try scored by Mat?on was a particularly brilliant one. Taking the ball in his own twenty-five, he eluded all opponents andl ecored a fine try. AUCKLAND V. NORTH AUCKLAND. Tfcs first representative match of the season, between Auckland and North Auckland, will be played at Wh*ng»rei on Thursday. A good team has been selected to represent Auckland, including the best of the players available. The team is probably stronger on defence than on attack, but securing a fair shars of the ball from the scrums and the line-out, should give a good account of itself. The backs are clever individually, and If . they combine well, should more than hold their own, while the forwards are a fast pack, which should excel in the loose and on the lino North Auckland will be represented by a stronger side than that which met the Maori team last week, and will certainly put up a sood game against Auckland. The members of the Auckland team will leave to-morrow sight by the felt vThmgarei, returning to Auckland on Friday morning. Mr. W. Wilson, of the Auckland Eugby Union, accompanies th» team a» manager. The following will represent Auckland :— Fullback. Finlay (Graftca.i j threeqaarvera, Williams (Grarumaur Old Boys.). Gregory sad Maieon (Ponsonby}; five-eighths, Gran't (GoHcsa BiSes), McManus (Ponsonby): halfback. Wricht (Grammar Old Beys); rover, ■Riebtc- 'TPmsonhr't: forward*, frcct raw. Casey (MaßKta), McCulymgh fGr*rsT.ar Old Beys). Taylor (College Ri&si. Marsha.'] (Pon&onby). Somervell ''Korth &bor<o. Knight (Grammar Old Bov*). NJcnolaii ?Grafton). Be*exv«a: Eartly (Msnsts). Par. ,dia*-toa {Pmm&ra. Bn&ds} f&s£verti£r).

BAY OF PLENTY UNION. REINSTATEMENT QUESTION. [BT TELEGRAPH. —OWN COEKESPO.VDEKT.] TAURANGA. Monday. A mooting oi the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union was held at Opotiki ou Saturday night, Mr. J. A. Jordan presiding. An application from G. Gardiner for reinstatement from League to Rugby was read. Mr. Tapper said that Rotorua Sub-union was standing firm against reinstatement, It was unanimously resolved that the Bay of Plenty Union send a remit to the New Zealand Rugby Union to the effect that it is opposed to the reinstatement of League players. Mr. J. Ruddy wrote tendering his resignation as secretary. Several members paid a high tribute to the excellent services rendered by Mr. Ruddy as secretary, and a- motion was passed asking him to reconsider his decision. A rearrangement of dates for matches was agreed to as follows: —Auckland v. Bay of Plenty, at Te Puke, August 26; Auckland v. Bay of Plenty, at Auckland, September 23. Fixtures for the semi-finals of the Kusabs Gup were agreed to as follows:—Rotorua v. Tnupo, at Taupo, July 29; Tauranga v. Opotiki, at TauTanga, August 5. It was agreed to hold the next meeting of the union at Tauranga on the evening of the Tauranga-Opotiki match, when it will be decided when the final Kussbs Cup match will be clayed. A long discussion ensued upon _ a letter from the New Zealand Rugby Union, offering a loan of £150 to the Bay of Plenty Union, in lieu of _ a special grant. Mr. Tapper was of opinion that the mother union should invest its profits in playing grounds, and so foster the. frame in the country districts. It was decided that tho Bav of Plenty delegates to the N-w Zealand Ru/by Union apply to that body for financial assisfance in the direction indicated by Mr. Tapper.

UNDER LEAGUE RULES. REPRESENTATIVE MATCH. AUCKLAND V. CAMBRIDGE. The representative League match between a team representing Cambridge and Auckland will be pl_yed to-morrow at Caxlaw Park. The match promises to be of special interest, and a gnod exhibition of the code is expected. The Auckland selectors have chosen a strong including the best of the local players, while Cambridge will also be well represented, The following are the te-nis:— Cambridge.—Fullback. E. Campbell; three quarters, J. Shaw, H. Shostrom, A. McMurtrie: five-eighths, L. Stewart (taptram), C. McMillan; halfback, H. Mclvor; forwards, McDonald. L. Webber. Cave, J> Kelly, R. Meihan. P. J. Hill. Reserves: Backs. 11. Norman, Robinson; forwards, K. Campbell. Auckland.—Fullback. C. Ditfty; threequarters, G. Davidson. W., Davmson. F. D»J grosso; five-eighths. B. Lamg, M. Wetherall; halfback. J. Lang; forwards. W. Stormont, S. Lowry, A. Singe. B Avery, H. Hawkes. N. Bass. Reserves: Backs. S. Webb, F. Wilson; forwards, T. Herring, T Eeid.

LEAGUE REPRESENTATIVE TEAAI. j The first representative team chosen by the three selectors recent.y appointed by the Auckland League, Messrs. L. Asner, 1. iff, j and W. McDonald, should prove a good side provided the members develop the team work that should be the first consideration of every team. It is a pity that a place could not be iound for Wilson, the Citv inside fiveeighth. though B. Lame undoubtedly had •trong claims for consiaeration. \\ilscn has been showing excellent form in club games both in atta k and defence, and is an important link in the back combination of his team. However, he is a young player and his turn w, 11 come, as clever and resourceful inside backs, are hard to find, lno inclusi-n of G. Davidson will add scoring poweT to the side, and that is an extremely important factor. The best defence in the League game is attn.k. and with insiac backs capable of feedm* fast wing-thrce-QuartrTs. the scorins; opportunities are bound to come. For this reason B-. Davidson, and have claims for inclusion in a representative t"am. but the selectors have rhsen a very sound player in Delgiwso. in* forwards are a very.solid lot, who should bo obje to hold their own against strong opposition. NOTES AND COMMENTS. Some fin© football up to the best traditions of the League code was witnessed in the game between City and Ponsonby. at Carlaw Park on Saturday. There wero not many thrills in the first spell, in which the Ponsonby pack hooked tho ball with a-most monotonoua regu-arity. Walsh, the i.oneonby halfback, aent the. ball out well, out the tackling of the City backs nullified many attacking movements. In tact, it was the dashing play of the Ponsonby forwards that troubled the City men in the hnst spell, H&nlon, Sontherwood and Meadows being very prominent. The few occasions on which the City forwards gave the ba.l U> the backs were seized by Mitchell at halfback. He promptly sent the leather away to Wilson, and with an excellent understanding between the latter, Wetherall and W. Davidson, every opportunity was taken to set the City back machine in motion. Three good scoring chances Went to Lity in the first spell. Cn the first occasion B. Davidson dropped tho ball when he should have raced over for a try, but he madeamends by cros«ing the line with the ball shortly afterwards. The other occasion that eaw the City backs movitiT in a concerted attack was when G. Davidson got the bait near the touch-line at ha'f-way and u«ed bis pace to elude Por«*onbys mside baj-k? Wh*n crowded on the line he gave the ball to Wethera'l. who came from the clouds m suonort, <vr>d a trv resulted. Ponsenbrs scoring efforts in the first spell w«to two penary goals, hnt they had had th« best of the came owinsr to the fact that the forwards had seenr-d .the ball from most of the scrums and had orevenW the City backs from combining in attack.

City Seen to Advantage. The second spell aaw a transformation. The City pack succeeded in hooking the ball more frequently and gave tho backs more opportunities m attack. It w particularly noticeable that on the three occ*eions on which the ball went out in passing rushes to G. Davidson, the epecdy threequarter raced over the Ponsonby line. As an attacking combination, the keynote of which is teart work, the City backs are an example to other teams in the competition. Time after time on Saturday they turned defence into attack by starting to pass in their own twenty-Are, at least two of such movements ending with a score. B. Davidson imported • bright touch of indmduaJism into the gams on one occasion by doing an unexpected swerve from the slide, una across to the centre of the field, cutting off most of the defence, and then dashing etraight over the line for a try. The effort was an example of resource supported by pace, a* the player appeared to b* crowded on the touch-line at the timo. The goal kicking of City was not up to the ueual standard, though a couple of difficult ehots by W. Davidson went very close to scoring. It is not often the player mentioned misses an easy shot in front of th* goal, but he did on Saturday, much to the astonishment of the euectatora. The Poneonby forwards made the pace extremely fast in the first spell e.nd gave little opportunity to their opponents to attack. They generally got the ball in the scrums and were hard to stop in the looee rushes. Time and again they (swept up field almost to tho City line, but couid not succeed in putting the finishing touche* on their efforts. Han lon. Cook and Dclgronso in turn had bad luck in not ecoring. and with a dash of good fortune tne Ponsonby score would nave been considerably /water. Among the backs, E. McGregor at fullback performed extremely well. He had a great deal to do and his Vicks were particularly well judged. The threetroarter* defended wll, but were handicapped for paoo a?ain«t- ---| their speedy opponents. The same remark appTia* to the five-eiehthe. Both MrClymont »nd PTiti* V.andled thp ball w»U. V>ut were j nev*r avowed to get far with it. W»]*h, at pli»v«*l a sood gam©, and tln> try iw.m-& by IfeCrffmrtßt catse from a clever bit of work by Welsh, who comnletjly outj hi* <ippoP*nte and eent the bad to I McClymont on the City line. Athletics' Eeturn to Tom. ! The match between Athletics and Marist Old Boys was exomsbid to provide an even land exciting contest, but tcouaii lae game I was eXvit.ng at Vanes the combination of the Atluetici men proved too muca tor the 1 Marist deieuce. The catse is oonsecjuence > enae-d in a comp*r*tiveiy easy victory lor Athletic**- For the winners k iynn at lailI back, except lor one mistake, played wed. i Tne stats of the groiiaa vreveniea bim in- '' dulg'wi in any oi torn »w*mn* runs, but Ite fielded the ball and tackled la good (style. Ail the threesuarters were pound. i with Lonergan moat prominent in attaching movements. Sutton ax tve-eigiitfls piayed well on hi* first appearance UUB season, and I D-ity. betides being prominent ;.n most of tns passins was cone»:caoua for some i very fine line kickins- Mencken at hail--1 back Dlayed a fine game, getting the b»U '{ away to bis backs in fine ety;e. tie aiso bjrke away en his own on several occasions, Una stamped himself as a player worthy oi consideration by the selector.: c£ toe r«y presetrtaiivs teams. The forwards all p»aj«a Iweli. but Avery was eonffiaCWHtt tor bis | pace and dash. cc-op«atmg WSta tea bac«a I ui all the attacking sjoveaent*. For tint k*er* lliacsn* p.ayed well is * i strange positioo, his tarkung being very : toisai. Cialiagser was tne best of the tkrw I qutrter line- losing was nst at his best, s being too much inclined to kick a* ball. I Ghent played well against neavy odes, and i was the best back for Ola BOS _Tfce for- ; -mid* were an even let. w.th Bass conI snicuous fc-r some nne tackling, one e&ort, ■ when he brongbt down Avery, tins averting '■ a certain score.

Tfa«p good form ct the Athletic* m*R wili i add tnieirest to titer meeting w:ifa City next I week. *»d with tie latter team skying ia ! Sue style taere m every piaepedt (4 * Bailie j royal, as Athletic* w«l a© ds-sbt ulrain e*ery 1 nerre *<» reverse the Terdjct at their teat '. aMWbOtg with the leaders in tie e«mp>etitiOT. The eierlina game by Fire Brigade ataisa: j a strans Khmo combination on Saturday J indicates that the hnsratemeni shown 'by •: the latter :a vnttoaM matches fa being : sxir* llama maintained. It is suit* on the ] tan?* tbat the Fire Brisade men w551 hsr« ;to be reckoned «itn sjs the iortkv,mi&jt I '"* knock-out" e«apet,ti3&, Newton is always a hard team to beat, and is MBfSBg a try j, uzt before the end of the match literally iscuM the net est of th« fin.

Devonport, as was expected, had little difficulty in scoring a win against Richmond. The North Shore players are steadily improving, and are deve'opinx team work under the able guidance of B. Laing. Judging by the manner in which this and other teams aro improving there should be aomo great battles for supremiicy in tho " knock-out" contests. Richmond is plugging steadily along in its first season in the. senior grade, and the p'ayers are acquiring valuable experience. They are to be commended for the great battles they are.puttiust up against heavier and more experienced opponents.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME. NOTES AND COMMENTS. The following table shows the relative positions of the teams in the senior division after last Saturday's games: — Goals Ch. P. W. L. D. For. A*t. Pts. H.IT.S. Philomel 10 9 1 0 46 12 18 North S -ore . . 9 S 1 0 20 9 16 l\o:thott .. 9 5 3 1 29 23 11 Y-M.C.A. .. 10 5 4 1 19 It 11 Brotherhood .. 10 4 4 2- IS 21 10 Ponsonby .. 10 3 5 2 24 21 8 C r nthisns .. 10 3 7 0 19 33 6 Ererton .. .. 10 2 7 1 16 43 5 Devon, ort Pres. 10 V S I 14 45 3 The game between YJI-.C.A- and H-M.B. Philomel en Saturday was particularly fast and full of incident throughout. The. fact tnat no score was registered until withm 15 minutes of the finish speaks well for the deience of both side* ' Both goalkeepers were in great form. Batty saving a penalty taken by Pitkeu. in brilliant etyle, fallimr full length in the effort. Henderson rue Y.M.C.A. also saved consistently well, and had practically no chance, of clearng the two shots that heat nun. Th> Y.M.CA. fullbacks, ColUnan and Neesham, both played sterling games, while Fit'sen. who vas moved up to right half, gave an excellent performance, and was eas'ly the beat of the half line. Taken ah round the play of the forwards was disancoint'n?. Stevens and Williams were tho onlv two who nlayed up to true form. The play of the in?ide men lacked finish, and many (Heiid : d opportunities arising out of rerfeet passes to centre from Williams were thrown away.

Of the warship's forwards Lewis, Hooper, and were perhaps the best, but the who"e line worked splendidly, snd the strons m-nner in which they finished, in a very ftren-o'is gave evidence of sound training. Corbett. aa usual, vas the pick of the half line. Ho wa< easily the he?t back on the ground, and his generalship vas a creat psset to h's s"de. His ws a splendid effort, which sueraed to be the factor in th« same. Hopkins and McElligott. in the back line, worked hard throughout, and olaced the ball to their Coi-ward* with precision. Although they played a man short, Devonport Presbyterians made a great stand against Northcote at Victoria Park. The latter team turned out with a very strong side, and looked like winning easily, but although they had much the better of matters for three-quarters of the game, weak shooting by their forwards and, remarkably good defence on the part of their opponents made the result a drawn game. Northcote's best forwards on Saturday were Baker and Knott. The former made a welcome reappearance with his old club, and showed remarkably good form after having been so long out of the game. There cau be no doubt, though, that centre half is the i position he should fill. His style of play is naturally suited to the halfback line, and the club would be well advised to change him to his old position. Tremain at centre forward wns decidedly off colour. His shooting was poor, and a tendency to hang on to the ball too long often got him into difficulties. Corrin was the pick of Ihe half line, but was not up to usual form. Eckmna and Absrnethy did not give very convincing displays, the former's placing being particularly faulty. Colvin was most prominent in the back line, although he was opposed to the weaker wing. Wallwork was brilliant at times, but made several bad mistakes, which in one instance resulted in a goal against his side. Odell, in goal, did not get many chances to shine, but his play on the whole was not convincing. On the Presbyterian side, Fnrnell, in goal, playjd a g*eat game, and was largely responsible for keeping down the soore. Time and again he cleared when a goal looked certain, punting the ball well out to his. forwards. Sparling, who played fullpack in the first half, and went up into the forwards for the second spell, also played a sterling game. He showed a great turn of epeed. and controlled the ball admirably, scoring a great goal. G. Fairgray, in the backs, got .through a titmendous amount of work, being on the bail continuously, and using his head; to advantage. Leggett and furnbull playod well in the half line, while D. Fairgray, Delehedy, and Peebles were tne pick of the forwards. large crowd which assembled to watch the Ponaonhy-Brelherhood match were troated to a fast and keenly-contested game, the result of whioh wmi in doubt right up to the final whistle. The Ponsonby forwards greatly missed tho services of Simm, their outside left, who waa resting on account of injuries. The play of tha substitute, Olhver, was very disappointing. On Saturday honours in the Ponsonby forwards must go to Grant and Innes on the right wing. Watt, at centre, also did well Dickson was not up to hia usual form. Mitchell and Mclvor were the best of the halfbacks, although the former player has a tendency to hang on to the ball too long, while. Mplvor does not assist the fullback sufficiently when the opposing forwards break through. Metkle's play in the back line left nothing to be desired, and hn was ably assisted by Roberts. Andersou, in coal brought off many fine eaves, including one from a penalty kick. On the Brotherhood side, all the back divieion played soundly, the two fullbacks and the centre half being particularly worthy of mention. Mac Donald. Hall aud Peareon did well in th© forwarde, while Tnomas kept bw goal excellently. Nekt Saturday's match between North Shore and H.M.S. Philomel, which practically decides the senior championship, is creating unusual interest for a club game, and should bo well worth witnessing. R Boyne, who has returned to Auckland after fi. mg engagements with firet-class teams in England, will .play centre forward for North Shore, and his inclusion should greatly strengthen that team's attack. If Sexton is able to play for Philomel, their forward line eh-uld aleo ta*e a lot of beating. The backe of both sides contain some of Auckland's best players, while both goalkeepere aro sound. By their defeat of Metropolitan on Saturday, North Shore won the second division championship, and next week will see the commencement of th© Dacro Cup knock-out competition in that grade. The following tab'e gives the aeoond grade record* for the eve-soon.

„-, •. Goal* Ch. P. W. I*. D. For. Ajt. Via. r orth Shore ~ 10 8 } 0 51 12 T« M*tropo , itait . . 10 6 22 18 9 14 . . 10 6 3 1 21 17 13 Y.M.C.A. .. 10 5 4 1 23 18 11 I%rh. Oldßoye 10 4 4 2 27 26 10 F,v»rtoTi ~ 10 3 6 1 18 17 7 rwrmrmrt Prea. 10 2831223 « W.Y.M.I. .. 10 1 9 0 14 36 2