RUGBY FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20055, 19 September 1928, Page 18

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

REPRESENTATIVE GAMES. POOR STANDARD OF PLAY. VICTORY TO NEW SOUTH WALES. The victory obtained by New South Wales in the third test match in Christchurch last Saturday will, no doubt, do a lot of good to the game in Australia, while it will not do any harm so far as New Zealand is concerned. The New Zealand team was a weak one, while the visitors did not have tho services oi Malcolm, their skipper and crack halfback. New South Wales plays Marlborough at Blenheim this afternoon. A match will bo played against the Maoris at Wellington on* Saturday and the tour will closo with a game against Wairarapa next Wednesday. The Auckland representative team made no race of the game against Thames Valley on Saturday last. It was more or less a new combination, but it was quite a successful one. The two hookers, Hammond and Brimble, secured the bull from the majority of the scrams. Righton held the pack together well and also did good work in the loose. L. Knight, Cathcart, Batty and Anderson all played good games. Linton, the « : ing forward, was more prominent than usual. Improved Back Play. The great weakness of the opposition made it difficult to accurately estimate the ability of the Auckland back division, but one thing was plainly evident —the hand ling of the ball was much better than it has been previously this season. r I ho passing, too, showed great improvement, though there were still instances of low transfers. Paewai has a bad habit of giving low- dropping passes, and Minns and Falwasser suffered in this respect. McMauus was in his element behind tho winning pack and he varied his play nicely. Jenkin was solid without being brilliant. Wales made an auspicious debut as a representative at Eden Park. He had previously played in the B team against Northern Wairoa. He handled the ball beautifully on Saturday and his general play indicated he would develop into a good five-eighth-Tho threequarter line was impressive. Paewai, at centre, made some good openings by running his wings into position. He certainly lent to the attack a variety which has been missing from the play of the representative teams this season. Minns had a day out, scoring four tries. He displayed all his usual dash. Falwasser showed a return to his best form, his tricky runs baffling the opposition and at the same time greatly amusing the crowd. He did not get the opportunities Minns had, usually being crowded near the line. Butler played a safe game at fullback, handling the ball well and kicking powerfully. Of Poor Standard. Rugby critics throughout New Zealand have this year written a great deal about the poor standard of representative football. Here is what the Herald's Dnnedin correspondent has to say regarding the. match between Wellington and Otagc last Saturday:— "Whatever the cause, the quality of football seen in the interprovincial games in Dunedin this year has been far belowrepresentative standard, and the Wclling-ton-O'ago match at Carisbrook, won by the visitors by 22 point? to 9, was no exception. Indeed, at times it was a travesty on interprovincial Rugby, and in the end the crowd of 7000 people must have decided they had come to see a comedy instead of a match between the teams of two of the leading provinces. "The weather was ideal for football and ! the ground in its usual splendid order, yet with these advantages the players of both sides failed to slipw any concerted team work. Wellington certainly deserved to win on the day, not because the team was a good one, but because most of its players possessed more initiative than their opponents and were able to profit by their mistakes. At the same time it must be said that Wellington gained many advantages through offside play at which most of their forwards excelled." An Interesting Display. Tn contrast to this match the Herald's I Napier correspondent says the game between Hawke's Bay and Auckland proved the brightest and most interesting display seen in Hawke's Bay this season. The score of 21 to 8 in favour of Hawke's Bay was hardly a fair indication of the play, as the home side put on 10 points in almost as . many minutes toward the close. Just when the Aucklanders were playing their best and seemed to have the opposition bettered Hawke's Bay, ■with lightning rapidity, launched smashing counter-attacks, forwards and backs combining to swamp Auckland territory and put the issue beyond doubt. Played at a spanking pace, the game was open throughout, both sides throwing the ball about with glorious abandon. In this respect Hawke's Bay showed superior ability in polishing off movements. The tackling of both sides was good, that of Hawke's Bay being the deadlier. Bad handling at times spoilt likely moves by both sides, but, considering there was remarkably little kicking and much more handling, even among the forwards, than is usual, not much fault could be found. The Auckland backs were outstanding for their speed and spoiling tactics. Porridge and Cammick initiated most of the attacks, the latter showing more than average ability to create openings. They were well supported and fed on every possible occasion by Mason, the diminutive half, who played a sound, all-round | game. He was well watched bv S. Geminell, the Hawke's Bay captain, who somewhat overshadowed the Auckland skipper. Keene. Nevertheless, the latter broke up several dangerous attacks in fine style and kept Anstis, the Hawke's Bay half, as quiet as possible. Crowding the Wings. Jeffreys, though not conspicuous, was a useful link, until forced to retire, but he showed a tendency to crowd his wings. Goodwin was not impressive to begin with, but improved as the gaino progressed, and made amends near the close with a splendid try. Hook was unable to use his pace owing to lack of opportunities. On almost every occasion the Auckland rearguard opened out tho Hawke's Bay backs stood close up and smothered the movement. Consequently, lit tie ground was gained before either Hook or Goodwin was pushed out. Of the visitors' forwards Fletcher, Fell and Uindenach were the most out.standin i g ', showed no in flashes, while Ivahu's weight was apparent in the scrums, Ihe Auckland pack played a sound orthodox game, but gaps were torn in its ranks when the Hawke's Bay ■vanguard started loose rushes. Moreover, the Auckland forwards failed to combine happily with their backs—at least, they did not show the same mutual understanding that was apparent anions the home team. But the Aucklanders played an honest game and never gave away an rich of ground unless forced to. Ihe best forward on the ground was b. Gemmell who proved a veritable thorn m Aucklana s side of backs. The most polifl.eil display was given by Ya'es (he HawW* Bay fullback, who used a'sure kicking foot to notch 10 points. He played an altogether sounder game than Bush, the Auckland fullback, and for kicking was approached only, bv Berridge The game was played in the best of sporting spirit and on no occasion was it marked by. unsavoury incidents.