SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20271, 3 June 1929, Page 12

SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY* GAME.

COMPETITION STILL OPEN.

1 TWO TEAMS EQUAL IN LEAD.

' K. 1 FWERSGN'S '-GREAT GAME

,-jrldeal conditions again prevailed for play r,ti Saturday. There was an attendance'of ; bout 4000 at, Erfe» Park, which was a ■ ,ood crowd for a .race- day. -With Pon:onby and University eqml, tollo.wed by ■'.'raining College one point, away, the competition still- remains very. open .-as* any i no of tho leading teams is liable to bo "'■eaten by clubs lower down on the championship table .V feattiro of- Saturday's .football was tho brilliant! fohn of' 1 K. If- / werson, who, in tho words of; a spectator, •"practically beat Training Collogo yoJiis < Wll." ' " There wero' only 'flashes of good'football iu tho pamo' between "I'oiis-ortby and Marist and for keenness and exeitnicnt it could not match the City-Training' Col3'go encounter on tho adjoining ground, ./'on son by obtained tho ball from tho .majority of tho scrums and line-outs, but 'ho backs sac% missed the services of Lucas, who was standing down with a light anklo injury. Only occasionally did tho Ponsouby hacks play with accustomed dash and precision. McManus has not yot. settled down behind tho scrum, and Jamicson on Saturday was inclined to run across Held. He did not appear to be as sure of himself as usual. Outside him, Cammick was the best back of tho ground and it was left to him to engineer most of Poni.onby's attacking movements. His plav suggested that ho should bo worth con- / : for ,a Dlaco in tho representative team. Much of his good work on •'Saturday was spoiled by L. Hook, who .'played a somewhat patchy game. A Good Wing-threequarter. McLeod did sorao excellent work on tho %ing and outshono R. Ilook, who appears to bo suffering from a recent injury. Solomon worked well with his backs throughout the game and Symo acquitted himself well at fullback. 110 stopped ono or two Marist forward rushes in fino stvlo juid made sure of taking the ball alwavs «n-.the full. Tho Ponsonby forwards, led by McWliliams, worked//as a pack and after tho first spell asserted a superiority over the Marist vanguard The Marist- forwards were rather disappointing, but Hadley and IMalloy worked hard. Wright mado tho Triost of his opportunities for his backs, but the five men outsido him were chiefly -individualists. For the greater part of tho game they had to bo content to stand up close and hem in the Ponsonbv backs. -3>or a while they wero successful, but tho resourcefulness of Cammick , and the swerving of McLc-od found weaknesses in tho defenco before tho game ended. Great interest, was taken in the match ' between Training Collego and City, and if play was not very finished, it was at least fast and willing. Any superiority in the City forwards was counteracted by a corresponding A-advantage held by tho Training Collogo backs. Tho' game was f consequently very even and the result was in doubt until tho last. Excitement scarcely flagged at any time and it was only during the Inst few minutes that City gained its lead of three points. Ifwerson and Berridge.

The roost prominent figure of the City hacks, and really of the game, was K Ifwerson, who showed almost a complete return to his old form. He received able snpport from Berridtre and the two wera always clangorous. Both kicked well, Ifwersob particularly; and .had they received better*' support, from' thb wings their efforts would have been more successful. Lookie played' a splendid game at half, but he received every protection, and until his retirement in the second spell Allan was always dangerous. Kerr-Taylor was safe in every situation and he was called uponfrequently. The weakness was Hercwini, on the wing. Onlv once did lie show any initiative and lie was frequently caught" out of. postion. Conceding /a considerable amount of weight, the Training Coliego pack found their opponents a difficult proposition, but they packed quickly and well, a fact, which accounted chiefly for their good showing. In,the scrum they held their own, but there was a weakness in the iineout . which lost them a lot of ground. • The Trailing College backs all required careful watching, and Rao at halfbackplayed a particularly good game. They failed to show their usual finish, however, and many passes went astray. Butler was called upon to savo many a dangerous situation, and gave a good" allround display. University's Poor Form.

'As 1 one of the two leading teams in the competition, University displayed very poor form in its game against Technical Old Boys. In the tight its forwards did not seem to be. using their weight, while ■Edivards was practically the only'forward who followed up all the game. In the lineouts University .allowed tho opposing forwards to break through, with the result that Jenkin's passes were often hasty or low. Owing to erratic' handling the ball rarely travelled further' than D'Authreau. who did not seem able to draw his man before ho passed out. Unti! the last quarter Minns and Good,win were starved. .Technical Old Boys played sounder fooh'dj] than its opponents. Its forwards all displayed initiative, but Halm played an outstanding 'game. Tho inside backs, although somewhat inclined to stand still with (he ball, generally succeeded in feed' ing their wings, R. C'ouper and Morgan, both of whom were solid on attack. . Tho game between College Rifles and Manukau attracted a large crowd to tho latter team's ground at Onehungn. A comfortable win for Manukau was pre-

■dieted, but ; tho game . proved to be a yely even ope. College Rifles Was playing tho stronger at. the finish, and was unlucky in not adding to its score. The game, was mostly a forward orio, as the majority of the passing rushes attempted by the backs of either side gained.little ground. In fact, much ground was lost very often through faulty handling and passing. The tackling, too, was very sound, -particularly that of College Rifles. 1 Tho last quarter was exciting, with both tides struggling hard to score. The 1 pectators, become worked up and some of'.thd home,.players became over-keen as :>■ result, tho referee findjng il. necessary to administer severe cautions to a, .Manukau forward and back. " ■ Front Rankers Penalised. / •

Both packs of forwards descrvo-credit, for their .work, which was very Chjo, apart from' the fact that, tho front-rnnkcrs were freely penalised- for preventing-the ball going into the scrums. The outstanding bayk on Hie field was Gillespie, trio "College" Hifles .custodian, who played, a . brilliant, .game right through. Apart from one or two in;,t.ances of faulty handling lie jjieyer. made 4 mistake. His. well-directed kicking :.aVed his forwards "a . deal.'and he tackled beaut rfii'lly." Altogether it was one of tho "best, fullback"'dispfays" of tho reason. Bryers arid Falwnsser were not a happy combination at half and first five-eighths and they will need to irtfproVo to retain fheir places in. the representative- team. Berridge, however, will separate the pair at Hamilton to-rlay. .:■«. i' 1 .. . At the "Show...Grounds: Grammar, met Grafton,', out Set, ruidc the |)agp; The game..;vvas- i urvfp)'Jt}j.iia.tft:«.i that A. Finlay.wn,..lim.Graftoxi.leader and ono M-. Auckland's, front-row ,ineu„.had to re with a broken noso. earfy .in. tho first: Wl',; Wanoa, who ivas on. tho. .sick list wee}?,, was tho life of tho Grafton pack. Grammar packed a far more solid wura than Grafton, which was inclined too quickly. Potter, tho Gram %as y * d a fino B anle an(i Corner Gardiner r iit?-°P en up play, while bitioD* ' fullback, gave a. sterling eslii-