RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21309, 10 October 1932, Page 13

RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

GRAMMAR TEAM SUCCESSFUL DRAWN GAME WITH PONSONBY SENSATIONAL ENDING TO MATCH The 'Auckland Rugby Union's senior championship competition for 1932 was brought to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon when Grammar and Ponsonby met at the Western Springs Stadium. The game ended in a draw and, as Grammar was previously two points ahead of its rival, it gained the honours by Chat margin. The weather was fine and warm and the match was watched by a large gathering of spectators. The gamo throughout was very evenly contested, neither side being able to claim much of a territorial advantage, taking the game on tho whole. A draw, therefore, was a fair indication of the. merits of the two teams, although Grammar was perhaps a little .fortunate in pulling tho game out of tlie fire in tho manner ifc did. The last, three minutes were full of thrills and sensations for the spectators. Ponsonby was leading, 6—3, and Grammar mado a most determined effort to scoro again. The ball was kept in play and it swung across field and back again almost hall a dozen times without reaching tho touch lines. A man would be tackled in possession, and out tho ball would come to tho Grammar backs. Another rush would be checked for a few seconds, but, as if by magic, the ball came out again on Grammar's side. This went on continually throughout those last three minutes. Sensational Try Eventually Lendrum cross-kicked to Savoury's wing. Savoury caught the ball, darted for the line, and, when tackled, he sent tho ball to one of the forwards, who was waiting outside him. This forward was brought down, but not before he had passed infield to A. Knight, who fell over the line unopposed. The sensational try was not converted, but-a draw was just as got>d as a win to Grammar, whose supporters cheered lustily as the bell rang immediately after the kick had missed. It was a finish to a busy season in Auckland. It was anybody's game at any stage. There were a few ragged patches of play, but there were also some very bright movements, and the closeness of the scoring throughout held the interest of the crowd right until the final whistle. Grammar certainlv gave a much better display than it against Poneke the previous Saturday. Owing to injuries its team had to be re-arranged, two juniors, Stehr and Slvfield, playing at five-eighths, while Weir was relegated to fullback. Another junior,- W. Knight, a cousin of A. Knight, found a place in the forwards, | and he gave a splendid exhibition, being; one of the liest forwards on the ground. Hie Grammar pack, however, was in its top form, and every man played, well. Individual Players Weir gave a very sound display at fullback, and, thanks to his fins tackling, Grammar was extricated from some tight corners. Hutchison and Savory both tackled well' and ran strongly when the opportunity came their way. Lendrum was sound, but. he was tackled in possession far too often. Slyfield was very solid at first five-eighths, and used his head, well. Stehr overdid the kicking a little, ; and he passed much too soon on occa- , sions instead of running up to his man. 1 Corner played a fine all-round game, checking the Ponsonby forwards well and getting the ball away smartly to the' backs. Kerr-Taylor made no mistakes at fullback for Ponsonby, fielding the ball nicely and finding the line accurately. The threequarter line displayed much dash without getting the chances due to them. Tetley was responsible for checking many Grammar rushes bv getting Lftiidrum, ball and all. Fraser ,"dropped passes at critical moments, after Jamieson had made some nice openings, and these mistakes proved costly to Ponsonby! ;" Jamieson again - played brilliantly, nisfiood handling, followed by tricky'running, having the opposition guessing on numerous occasions. He injured his hand early in the second spell, but played on. It was subsequently ascertained he ha' broken a small bone. McManus played splendidly, both on attack and defence, and he was on© of the best backs on the ground. The forwards all worked hard for victory, the Solomon brothers, T. Cartel and Cooper being outstanding. Penalty' to Grammar • Grammar won the toss and playsd with the wind. Ponsonby attacked early, ..but a scrum penalty enabled Grammar .to remove play into their opponents half. Loose rushes by the forwards took Pon : sonby back again, but Fraser dropped his pass and Grammar attacked. A passing rush looked like resulting in a try when Kerr-Tavlof saved, although he knockerl on in doing so. Jamieson made a fine opening but held on too long, and Yv eir brought him . down. F. Solomon met a similar fate immediately afterwards. Ponsonby lost ground when Fraser dropped play w*as very fast, each side attacking in turn. Good following by the Grammar forward caught Jamieson in possession. A. Knight kicked the ball out of Jamieson s hands, and for some unaccountable reason a section of the spectators hooted him for doing so. A penalty for offside enabled Ponsonby to once more v -entcr Grammar s territory. A kick by Solomon was followed" up and Weir failed to find touch. -This let Ponsonby, right up to the hne, where from a scrum Slyfield kicked to halfway. A Grammar passing rush saw _ L.endrum tackled in possession. Kerr-laylOr knocked on near his own line. McManus gained a few yards along the touch line, and then from a scrum Fealty from just bevond the twenty-five Slyfield kicked a goal from a wide angle. Grammar, O; Pon.sonbv, 0. . Following the kick-off a Grammar forward was offside, but Jamieson missed the posts. McManus made a run past severs opponents and sent T. Carter away and ho was brought down a few yards shoit. Cooper cot possession from a scrum ana forced his way over, but was held up by Lendrum and Slyfield. Grammar cleared from the five yards' scrum. Half-time sounded with plav at Grammar s twentyfive, the 6core being: Grammar, 3; 1 onion by, 0. , Ponsonby Takes Lead Grammar attempted to open up pl a .V < resuming, but tho tackling of the Ponlonby backs was sound. Ponsonby attacked when Ramsay followed up, secured the ball and centred, Savory stopping the rush W Knight then dribHled clear to near halftvav Jamieson broke through, but Fi knocked on the pass and a good, opportuftky went astray. K. Carter raced up nnd caught Savory in possession. X<. Solomon secured possession an ",P a A ssec ;. Bomers. but the pass was forward. Another Ponsonbv forward got across, bu wa held up and tbo Grammar forwards cleared from the fWe yards' scrum. S. Soloinon broke avvav from the loose, and J? Bhort-puntea., K. Carter obtained the ba I and sent on to F. Solomon, Jamieson failed at goal. Grammar, 3, Ponsonbv 'came again, but W. Batty kicked clear after Weir had been tackled in possession. McManus made pood run from a scrum and sent i.. Solomon away; but Weir brought the lastnamed to earth. W. Knight broke away from a line-out and passing between him and A. Knight took play, right to Ponsonby's line, where A. Kniftht just f * to gather the final pass. The Ponsonby forwards cleared to halfway. £ as | ' tween Jamieson, Tetley and F. Sol look play into Grammar s twenty-u\ e.

Passing from a loose scrum Jamieson and Fraser met with weak tackling, and the last-named sent on to F. Solomon, who scored in a t handy position. Newdick missed the shot. Ponsonby, 6; Grammar, 3. Play livened up and feeling crept into the forward tussles, fists being in evidence. The last three minutes were productive of sensational football. Play swung across the field and back three or four times before A. Knight scored. Slyfield failed at goal, and the game ended: Grammar, 6; Ponsonby, 6. Mr. C. F. Paull was referee. WHAKATANE BEATS MANUKAU FAST MATCH AT ONEHUNGA A Maori Rugby team from Whakatane defeated the Manukau senior fifteen in a fo«t match played at Onehunga on Pnfurday afternoon by 17 points to 8. Thero was a largo attendance of tho local public. The Maoris were a heavier all-round side than Manukau and their weight told in the scrums, 'l'lio Mayor of Onehunga. Mr. E. Morton, kicked ofT. • The scoro at half-timo was 6—5 in favour of Whakatane. . for whom Hohapata and Biddle scored tries. Harawera converting tho last. Speight scored for Manukau. Berridge adding tho extra point's. Merito. Biddle and Tate added tries for Whakatane in tho second spell, while Sergeant scored for Manukau. making tho final score: Whakatane, 17; Manukau. 8. SENIOR STATUS RETAINED GRAFTON DEFEATS PARNELL A keen contest took placo in a curtainraiser match at Western Springs Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when Grafton nnd Parnell met to decide which should Play in tho first-grade competition next season. Grafton finished last on tho senior championship table, while Parnell won tho senior grade B championship, thereby earning tho right to challenge tho lowest team in the higher grade. Grafton won a. keen game by 23 points to 10. For Grafton tries were scored by Clarke, Finlayson, l'raser and Dick (2), Paton con%erting four tries Lockie. Faucett, Beatty and Rhodes scored for Parnell. Faucett nnd Dyett each converting a try. Mr. G. Pcaco was referee. LOWER GRADE RESULTS Third Grade.—Manukau. 6. 'Nganiawakia. S. Schoolboys' Grade.—lntermediate grade. E Junior Boys.—Manukau. 3, Combined One--12, W Window Company, 7; McKendrick s. 10, Bridgen s. 5, Lovett's. 18. Entrican'S. 16: CONTESTS IN COUNTRY •v final games of season TAURANGA DEFEATS WAIHI Kugby competitions are drawing to a close in tho country centres and some final games were played on Saturday. Tho following results were forwarded by correspondents ot the Herald: — Tauranga.—The final Rugby representative match of the season, played between the Tauranga and Waihi teams, was won by Tauranga by 16 points to 6. I-or the winners tries were gained by C. Cameron 2). Rhodes n „ l niQf*n Tries "were converted py ,v. Cameron and McKearney. were registered by Ashby and Weedm. M . T Milne was referee. A fame between tho Eden third trade team and Tauranga, Junior a was won by Lden by 22 noints to 15. At half-time Tauranga led by, 9 points to. 6. but the Eden backs Droved superior m the second half. for the winners were gcored by Wyatt (4) and Brown, while Smith kicked a penalty goal and converted two trieSJ For Tauranga Nukaere and Cunningham (2) scored tries and Hare kicked two penalty goals. Mr. G. Fisher was referee. The football season has proved yei? successful. In competition contests athletics seniors won tho Gilbey Cup. Jordan. Cup and Phelan Memorial Cup, Athletic Junior* won the Oliver Cup, Green Cun and Mcintosh Shield. The Shalfoon Shield was won bv Tauranga juniors. Paeroa.—The final football match of the season was played in Paeroa. when teams representing the Post and Telegraph Department and the Railway met in the final for the Sprague Shield. The game resulted in a win lor the Railway team by 10 points to 3. The gale takings were in aid ot charity and a fairly substantial sum would result. ' Rotorua.—Great interest was centred in tho final football match of the season between two Maori teams. Te Teko and' Whaka seniors, at Arawa Park. There was a cood attendance. Light rain fell throughout the afternoon and this somewhat handicapped the players. The teams were very evenly matched and play was spectacular and exciting throughout. Several interruptions . occurred in the second half owing to minor casualties, mostly to To Teko players, Iho Whaka team secured nine points before its opponents scored and the Te Teko ran up 14 points. Great excitement prevailed m the closing stages of the game. From a scrum Whaka scored a further try. after which play centred mostly in Te Teko territory A few minutes from the call of time \> haka scored another try. which made the final score:—Whaka. Te Teko. 14 At a. tribal Fathering after tho match the Meihana Memorial Cup was presented to the whaka team, which had won it on tho season s play. Thames.—The season was brought to a close on Saturday when Thames defeated an Auckland team by 15 points to 12 after an interesting game. At halftime, Auckland led 0 to nil, two penalty goals by Vear and a try by Stewart Shortly after resumption. Strange scored and IJu fly kicked a penalty goal for Thames. Auckland's total was increased to .12 when Stone scored, but in the closing stages Thames were superior. trie 3 being added by Percy (2). and Abraham. Other results were:—Thames 11.. 9. Ponsonby 111.. C; Ellerslie IV., 13. Thames 111, o. WANGANUI CHAMPIONSHIP [by TELEGRAPH —I'IVESS association] WAXGANUI, Sunday Kaierau, last year's runners-up, beat Technical Old Boys, last year's champions, in the final match for the Rngby oenior Cup yesterday by 1G points to 9. Iho score indicates the respective merits of the sides.