RUGBY FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20369, 25 September 1929, Page 15

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

IfESiOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

PLAYERS' POOR EXHIBITION.

ANNUAL INTER-ISLAND MATCH.

>n, P liirse crowd which attended Edou '' last Saturday to see the final for tie „\ndd»-nd Rugby Union's senior c.h.un-r-ioiwbip was wit disappointed witli the exhibitions given by the trams. A good }i;a/(v of the players had not been playjnj regularly lor some» w«eks, -while others iwn playing continuously. The latt.i>r seemed to be tired of football for the s-asoii, ami the result was an entire lack <,/ combinaU-m. and the good passing and l.armlhig which led to the many exciting i:u'ide>ua which characterised the matches I.?!%\Kn-se loams las: seuson was cont.tieuoas by its absence. /Tbc Uaivwrsity forwards storied o5 in pi-uimsing fashion, and secured possession <•)" t/ie bail in the majority of the scrams. The passing of the backs, however, was ■> "ty pocr, and some shocking transfers

v. <•■!•£ fired high at tie heads of the Tviiig--1 t'lrwequarfcrs. The University forwards t, ere ai.«o very good ia ilia loose, their rushes taknig a Jot of stopping. It was ' uoly to be expected,, however, the pack nouitl crack up in the later stages, seeing I'm backs oontinuaih* lost ground with <jtc:r passing rushes. ' Hit! Ponsonby forwards played hard and. solid lootbaO all tbe ■n ay along, and tii'.' rßsu.lt was tbe backs received many cDiwitunities. Tbe Pensonby passing, ifuwevcr, was very Ikue better than that oi University. and it was only in tbe later stages of the game that Punsonby asserted its superiority. Up to that; particular time it looked as though either it de alight win. Ponsonby was the better ail-round side ou the day, and thoroughly «icserred its win. Kicking on Attack. Eraser played a sound game for lbs ■primers at fullback. He was unfortunate iii being knocked oat by what was a late * iiarge bordering on tile 'SegaL T.negs; was easily the best-ai the Ponsonby backs, playing one of his best games of the b-sason, both on attack and defence. McLeod showed speed on occasions, but lucked determination. Hook played spasmodically on the other wing. ' The five-eighths, Cammick and Jamiepm. did not reveal their club fonu of earlier iu the season. Jamieson's persistant kicking when on attack must have 1 '.'en annoying to Lucas and company. Pope, who went on when Jamieson was .hurt, displayed plenty of dash. McManus \ as nippy behind the scruia. The whole paca went well. Palmer was as prominent as evsr at following up. Mcy Williams, Eigbton, Bunting, Edgars, Heyv;ood and Ashley all worked hard to secure success for their team. Solomon played an outstanding game as rover. He v as always on the bail, which he handled vith greater precisian than the big majority of the cocks on vae ik-JcL His ioai■svork. too. tos very .fine indeed. Bush was the outstanding hack on the Tdiversity side. Ha demonstrated that Lis change to eenfere-thresqnarter for the team had ..not affected his fallback play in the slightest degree. He was very safe, indeed, and errr.ica.ted his side from difficulties very cleverly on numerous occasions. Minns and Goodwin, die wing-threeqiuatfirSj suffered an account- af the bad passing of the backs inside them.

Carter handled and passed indifferently iii'icentae.. Sfcetizi aad McKay were in—('•insistent, although the last-named made , one or Cwo nice runs. Jtmkin ga~e a solid difpiav behind tie scrum, and his defence i.ad backing ap saved bis side several rimes. Although outshone at wing-xorward, //Stone was frequently prominent, at thai brai of loose rushes, while his tackling, rvas strong and determined. Linton, An- | < iersan, Clarke and Brooker were the pick. : c.i the forwards later-lslidd Prospects. The twenty-fifth arnmaJ inter-Island match will be played in Wellington on '' ,Sa tarda v. Auckland will be representcsd by four players—two backs and two forwards. Lucas and Minns should gi~e & coDd account of themselves in the three- ' quarter line, while solid games can be relied upon from Batry and Finlsyson in Ihe forwards. Everyone in Auckland will bo pleased to see Finlayson get his chance to make good in a class a little above i epresentativa footbaiL McWiTiiams, Auckland's fifth representative, -was nnubie to make the trip. The four Anck- ,* binders -will leave for Wellington toil inrruw night. At first glance the .North Isiand locks the stronger aide on paper. If has a good fr-tt of backs, a much better attacking lot tiian those of the South. Bat how far will these backs go if they do not receive the ball ? the South Island pack is indeed a formidable one, and it looks any odds on. it controlling the ball in 7 the sennas If, however, North secures the ball, the South backs will hava a l.veiy time of it. The North threenuart-er line, Mums, Lucas and is probably the strongest attacking combination that has represented father island since the war. With Mill, Johnson and Cooko inside this trio anything is liable to happen. * But they v. i;l first have to secure the balL / Without detracting from the merits*oi the players comprising the North Island ji'itk, it certainly looks as though the ■Sontb forwards ate the more formidable

<">rnbination. Burrows and Ccttrell, two Jibe ktokos, will have great support an* mediately behind them in Stewart, Sonn■tag and Hazieti. Stewart is over lost. "<~eight. and the other two are bordering <r: it.. Frtsi.as and Snow, both honest tor- / v.-avds, are in the back row. Summed np, therefore. it would appear thai, the inter-island name will be North, *v;ih the belter set of backs, but weaker forwards, against South, with ths better i.:t of forwards, but weaker backs. "Wnt.fhf": js. Hamilton. /' Five Peace Cup challenge gamps have V"v been played in Hamilton and in each Kamillott, tiic holder, ha 3 succesßi utly defended the trophy. In the first i iii game of the season the holder, Morrrnsrille, played a drawn game with a challenging Thames team. Hamilton them t"fured the trophy, defeating Monins- ' rills by 12 points to G. Sincfl then Mnta'oala, Frankhi:, Cambridge and Plato 3ikv<: each failed in an attempt to wrest "he -"in from the holder. The only regaining cap challenge jaine to be played ' "his st'Xiaan is ag&imt TanpirL It ss not expected this team will field a vary strong combination. The possession oi the rap has resulted in increased gate receipts iur the Hamilton Union. DISAPPOINTING TENNIS. DEFEAT OF E. D. ANDREWS. ITJHMB WJS. OWS COHHESPOOTSENT.] - LO23DOI*. Ave. 15. ' Ths New Zealand tennis player, E. D. • . 'AnrfrcwK, who was holder of the Hampshire Lawn Tennis Championship men's singles, was defeated in the semi-finals at- BoarnfEtDonth by C. "Peters, 6—o, '6—SI" Tie New Zealander gave a dis■ppcnntdng exMMiicm.