SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20869, 11 May 1931, Page 11

SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL.

RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP.

NO SURPRISES REGISTERED.

UNIVERSITY FULLY EXTENDED. COLLEGE RIFLES IMPROVES. i No surprises wore registered in ihe senior championship matches played under I lie control of (he Auckland Rugby Union on Saturday, but flie general closeness of (lie matches proved that this year's championship is going to be more keenly contesled than has been the case for (he past few years. The teams this season appear to be very evenly matched

and it is hard to say which fifteen will eventually gain the honours. Moro than ono ot tho teams has the makings of a good side and Eden Park patrons appear to be in for an interesting season. University's showing against Manukau on Saturday showed that there is good talent in the combination, but the players have not yet settled down. Tho forwards displayed much dash, Peacock, Anderson, Stacey and Barker showing up well. The team's strength undoubtedly lies in its backs, and the sooner Stotter realises this the better it will be for his side. lie was caught in possession much too frequently on Saturday. Leys fed the backs smartly from behind the scrum. Tho back who impressed most was Caughey, who handles splendidly and runs straight and hard. He was always looking for the ball and it is a pity he did not see a little more of it. Caughey looks like developing into a, high grade player.

Milliken showed a lot. of speed 011 the wing and was unlucky in not scoring on more than one occasion. Butler gave a sound display at fullback. The outstanding feature about Manu-

:au's exhibition was the remarkably fine

handling and passing of C. and R. Stuart. Both took almost impossible passes brilliantly and were quick off the mark. Such fine handling as theirs is seen all too infrequently in present-day football. Satherly also played well, but Turei was not in his best form at fullback. Fine Passing.

The Manukau forwards infused plenty of life into their work and were a continual source of worry to the opposing backs. McPherson, Kaa and Johnston were particularly prominent, but the display of the team as a whole pleased the crowd immensely. In its match with Grammar Old Boys the College Rifles team showed that it had greatly improved since last year. The tackling of both backs and forwards was very fine indeed and was responsible for keeping the Grammar total down to such small proportions. As usual, Grammar displayed most of its strength in the forward division, and two new hookers, Scarborough and Mansell, both promoted juniors, proved highly capable exponents. With the opportunities at their disposal the Grammar backs should have, done a great deal better, but their handling and passing left much to be desired. In the second spell especially Grammar did everything but cross the opposing line. College Rifles' Showing.

Garling, the speedy winger, was missing from the Grammar backs and this made a big difference, as he would have been able to take advantage of some good opportunities. Corner was very nippy and fed the backs well. Bell also played well at five-eighths and deserved better support. W. Batty, Knight and Potter were outstanding in the forwards. The whole College Rifles leam made a surprisingly good showing ard that the crowd appreciated its efforts was demonstrated by the applause which greeted the players as they left the field. With a little luck College Rifles would have

scored more than once, while Hallhvell narrowly missed with penalty kicks on a few occasions. This player was promin-

ent all through at centre, as also was Kirk behind the scrum. The forwards

all deserve credit for the manner in which they stood up to the solid opposition. Fairly evenly matched, particularly in the forwards, Ponsonby and Marist gave an interesting display.. Neither side

settled down very well for some time, but later the play became open and bright, although both sets of backs were lacking in finish. The Marist pack gained tho ad-

vantage from the majority of the scrums in the first spell and there were many

promising back movements in which Ryan figured prominently. However, passes frequently went astray and there was little combination. Conway got the ball away smartly, but the Ponsonby forwards were quick in breaking up and frequently

managed to smother the back movements,

Tho Hadley brothers were always promin ent and led the Marist forwards in num erous spirited rushes. Solomon Prominent.

The second spell saw the Ponsonby backs receiving the greater share of the ball from the scrums and line-outs. They

combined with more precision and tested the Marist defence thoroughly. Jamieson did a lot of good work and was always dangerous. The forwards made a good showing, particularly in the loose. Solomon was always in the play, supporting his backs and upsetting many of the Marist movements. The deciding factor in tho game between- Technical Old Boys and Grafton

was the superiority of tho Technical backs, particularly in the latter part of the game. The Technical forwards worked well in the looso and broke fast from the scrums, with the result that the Grafton backs were at a disadvantage throughout; The outstanding player on the field was D. Keane, the Technical rover, who was strong 011 both attack and defence, his speed in seizing an opportunity giving his side three scores. The backs were an even lot. In the first spell there was a strong tendency to run across field, but after half-timo the inside men ran straighter. Mishandling Spoils Chances.

The Grafton pack worked hard throughout, Finlnyson being the most prominent. Fraser, the rover, was at the head of .1 number of attacks, while he was called on to do a great deal of defensive work. Finnell made a number of good openings, while Farmer showed initiative and Larsen was sound behind (lie scrum. Mishandling, however, rendered their efforts unsuccessful. All Grafton's points came from penalties for infringements by Technical in its own twenty-five, Moore making no mistakes with his kicks. In spite of the fact that Training College won by a margin of nine points, there was little to choose between the two teams and competition was keen between the rival sets of forwards. There was a lack of understanding between backs and forwards in both teams. The forwards worked well, but the backs were very patchy, although there were several good individual efforts. Kerr-Taylor, the City fullback, was particularly safe, while Berlidge was the mainstay of the threequarter line. There was a good deal of wild passing and members of both teams kicked aimlessly 011 occasions when they were bustled. '