RUGBY FOOTBALL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21799, 14 May 1934, Page 13

RUGBY FOOTBALL

third series of matches it GRAMMAR beats university MARIST TEAM'S IMPROVEMENT Fine weather prevailed for the plsiyincr of the third series of matches in the Auckland Rugby Union's senior championship on Saturday afternoon. There was the largest attendance of the season at Eden Park, where the principal attraction was tho meeting of Graininjfr and t niversity. Contrary to (general expectations. Grammar scored a comfortable win, its forwards being too good for the opposition. In the curtaiu-i'aiser. Grafton outclassed Ponsonby, the winning team showing improvement upon its earlier form. Playing oil, No.'2 ground, Marist surprised College Rifles,'although its margin was not large. Marist displayed improvement after suffering two early defeats. Technical Old Boys gave Manukau a keen contest at the Show Grounds, the latter team winning by a converted try to a. penalty goal. Otahuhu had a bye. Following are the results of the matches: — Grammar Old Boys, 130, University, 1-1. Grafton, 24, Ponsonby, 6. Marist, 12, College Rifles, 9.® Manukau, 5, Technical, 3. FORWARDS IN FORM GRAMMAR'S SUPERIORITY Grammar Old Boys triumphed o-ver University by six tries, four of them converted, and a field goal. 30 points, to three tries, one converted, and a penalty goal, 14 points. Although the result was somewhat unexpected. the margin of victory by no means flattered Grammar, which held the upper hand in I • practically every department throughout' the game . The first try came to University as a result of brilliant play by Caughey. He cut through perfectly in a passing movement, and then changed the direction of the attack across field to the right wing. Kedglev was held upon the line, but Jensen was handy to sco"re. The second try was the most unusual ot the day. Green madu a quick dash . ]™en University won from a scrum in midfielcj and passed to Mulvihill. Apparently misled by the sounding of the referee's .whistle on No 2 grouna. Matheson stood still and the University five-eighths scored unopposed. Grammar retaliated when Slyfield made a line run. breaking through Caugheys tackle and drawing Bush before passing to Buckley. who scored. Slyfield kicked a. fine goal. Just before Half-time A. Knight broke away from a line-out and paved the way for a smart try by Corner, the spell ending with Grammar in tho lead. The second spell saw Grammar strengthen its hold on the game. The forwards played magnificently, and Bash and Caughey weie called on to perform some heroic work in defence But the pressure was too groat. In spite of the wide margin of victory, the game was always The Grammar forwards. reinforced by A. Ivnight, were reminiscent of the fine packs of four or five seasons ago. and it was their unrelenting play which was chiefly responsible for their eide's victory. The line-out work was a revelation: full advantage was taken of height and weight, and there was no senseless tapping back of tho ball to the scrum half. With forward dominance assured. Corner ■was aisle to give a brilliant display and to Fliine as easily the best back on the field. His lightning dashes, from the scrum were always /Well judged and he showed sound tactical judgment in keeping the ball away from /the University_ threeauarter line as much as possible. His perfect fielding and accurate punts to touch were other features of a fine exhibition. ~ The other Grammar backs played well and should develop into a fine combination. Clapham was sound lit first five-eighths, and Stehr. outside him. Bhowed flashes of brilliance. although he was inclined to run Mcross field at times. Slyfield and Caughey hod a great duel at centre, and. although the University man. with fewer real opportunitfes. gave slightly the # better allround display. Slyfield showed himself to be still a dangerous attacking player. Matheson was cool and resourceful at fullback, and his greater accuracy more than compensated for Bush' 4 superior length in kicking. The University forwards were outclassed, hut the pack fought gamely throughout. The successive defeats by Manukau t and Grammar -indicate that more "devil' is needed. Faster breaking would certainly be nn advantage on occasions. Colgan, Peacocke and/ Drake showed up at times. Even allowing for the fact that the forwards were generally overshadowed, there was not' excuse for the slow passing, which made Grammar's task much easier in keeping the University inside backs in check. The fault lay primarily with Inglis and Green and. as a result, the University backs were often forced across field and Caughey had to attempt to run . round his men or kick for the line to gain ground. His display under the circumstances was really exceptional and only once was his defence at fault. Bush had an immense amount of work to do. and, although he was only once beaten outright. hi« kicking was by no means as good ae usual. At half-time Grammai led B—6, and the final score was: Grammar Old Boys, 30; University. 14. Tries for Grammar were scored Vy Corner (2). Buckley. A. Knight. Morgan and Macbeath. Slyfield converting four and Stehr kicking a field goal. For ' University. Jensen Mulvihill and Caughey scored tries. Bush Converting one and kicking a penalty. Mr. J. G. 0. Wale 3 was referee.

. PONSONBY DOWN AGAIN GRAFTON'S EASY VICTORY While the Grafton side was definitely superior to Ponsonby throughout their game, there was a lack of finish, which brought/ promising movements to nothing. No fewer than five certain scoring rushes, headed by Dick, Currey and McLean, broke down through carelessness right on tho Ponsonby lint:, and it was not until well on in the first spell that a try came to either From a scrambled melc-e on the Ponsonby line Stuart dived over. Paton converted and later kicked a penalty goal. The half-time score was B—o in Grafton's favour. With the aid of the sun in the second aoell, _ PoMonby put more dash and accuracy into its play, but the fast-breaking prnfton forwards, McLean, Smith and Finlayson, ■ harassed Frankham, who worked yard behind the Ponsonby scrum, and Janiieson, who should have had more supPort. Solomon received the ball from Franktif m n ?/ ar Grafton lino and raced round the semjm to score. Pearman missed the "it* Ponsoaby'g only other score was a penalty goal. Of the fullbacks, Pearman definitely outclassed Paton, who was frequentV out of position, and whose kicking was somewhat '•ild and aimless. Players in both teams ■splayed a tendency to play ofl-side, and tl6s were numerous, although each Be ''red therefrom only once. The Pon- ' nil nvar d 3 secured the ball from nearly vie lit Se ' scrurnp . hut in face of the pace. r "t and opportunism of the Grafton this v/as no great, advantage. Hook. _ 3CC °nd five-eighths for Ponsonby, was t, v v. n3 Jve and resourceful. »av.ng. gained the ascendancy, Grafton r ip" with more accuracy, throwing the if about with easy abandon. However, onsonby defence, notably the forwards, RrnrO 10 ] 0 ' I'rase I- and Thomas, kept the I ' e 0 1 w "..Likely movements were checked "/ good i ack]in T , f j j wns ._ T-:'/ 21 ■ Ponsonby, fi. ■r J? 3 *°r Grafton were Bcored by Stuart, inr» Eraser and Davis, Paton convertc; 7 and kicking (wo penally goals. I-, B cored for Ponsonby and Lendrum M k : cd p a Jxm.iKy goal. vj. P. Stratford was referee. /an exciting match MANUKA IT'S NA RROW WIN (till 1 - 'a " i ' rne Packed wilh excitement from twin J .j whistle Manukau mainm unbeaten record by narrowly detn Technical Old Boys by five points «r'irl!irfs a crowd which filled the T„ a t the Epsom Show Grounds, to respects Technical was unlucky tbp ,n , spcori d half, in spite of eln«,T fi p ." n ' T ' ,f> lermi '"any (imes went boß.i A, BCO " n B- 'ho three-quarter line arinn'rakt l 0 I" 118 ' 1 movemenls begun so suit L ? ,two five-eighths, the re\r~ , K have been different, tn'no nu i a "', *°°' share of misfor.l:rp, ' ./ieazlev.-ood narrowly missing three lri« k • Dena ,H ie " aml one of tlle team's ~e in g disallowed because n forward cen(i«»«! OU t. r , un forward before, ac(hrren I niafi passing (o' the wingtim» , r - who crossed the line. At halfAl»k l i". u hy five points to three. wn« InnV i garnp wns full of thrills, it n K °i , a! \ va ys »°d, Jootball. Over engertpndmiL jj°th foni.'ards and backs and a tendency to nso fists robbed many of tho

movements of precision and smoothness. '1 he forwards bore the brunt of the play, both packs working with a will, and their spoiling tactics were very effective. For Manukau, Pepper, who invariably works like a trojan, was head and shoulders above the rest of the players, and made the opening for Manukau's one try. Of the others. Pearce and Kereopa put in a lot of solid battling. Heazlewood, fullback, played with his customary confidence, his long-range kicking again standing his side in good stead. Bcrridge, second five-eighths, played more consistently than usual, and was always in the picture. Brimble, the nippy first fiveeighths, and Hatfield, halfback, also played resourceful games. The best of the threequarters was Poulton, who showed plenty of speed at centre. All the Technical forwards worked tirelessly, and it was their efforts which brought the team so near to victory. Although they conceded weight to their opponents, they prevailed in the majority of scrums. Both the five-eighths, Murdoch, and Huslam, second, played splendidly. Haslam, particularly, showed thrust and determination. The three-quarters, although getting plenty of the ball, lacked the brilliance which would have enabled them to score against the strong opposition. At fullback Lord played a sound but not very enterprising game. , , Por Manukau, Sutherland scored a try which was converted by Heazlewood, and Tech'nical's points came from a penaltykicked by Murdoch, the final score being: —Mauuknu. 5: Technical, 3. Mr. J. A. Malcolm was referee. MARIST TEAM'S SUCCESS KEENLY CONTESTED GAME A particularly keen and exciting finish marked tho match between College Rifles and Marist oil the No. 2 ground at Eden Park, when K. Smith snatched a victory for Marist with a try scored between the posts a few minutes before time. Right .from the kick-off Marist displayed a willingness and determination lacking in its earlier games this season, and with a reorganised back line, put up quite a commendable showing against the hitherto unbeaten College Rifles team. A feature of the game was the brilliant back work of College Rifles, which, for the most part, was the aggressor. McCormick, the second five-eighths, gave an especially good exhibition, and was ably supported by his inside men. Albrecht and Thompson, tho last-named rendering consistently good service from benincT the scrum. Wales was at times erratic, but redeemed himself with a fine penalty kick which gave his side a handy three points early in the second half. Brown on the wing proved dangerous, and gave Marist some anxious _ moments.

The new Marist combination, with Rogers and Curtayne in the five-eighths line, and K. Smith at centre, showed distinct promise. and offered a more solid resistance to the repeated attacks. Bell-Booth. who played on the wing, seemed more at home than at five-eighths, and for a young player was plucky on defence. Elliot, who replaced Rogers at fullback, gave a sound display of kicking, although rather unlucky with some of his place-kicks. Marist missed the hooking of W. Hadley. who was indisposed, but the pack provided a fairly solid opposition for the fast-moving College Rifles forwards who. especially in the second half, made some very determined attempts to push their way over the Mnrist line. Stone and Stewart used their weight to advantage, and toward the end Batty was playing a fine game, although he was not prominent in the early stages. Fleming and Cossil again showed up well in the Marist. pack, but McGrory was outstanding until lie was injured and replaced by Toye. At half-time Marist was leading by 6—3, but shortly after play was resumed Wales put a nice kick over from outside the Marist twenty-five. A try scored by Vear then put College Rifles ahead, until Elliot evened for Marist with a penalty. Smith intercepted a pass and gave Marist a three-points lead, which they held to the finish, making the final score: Marist. 12: College Rifles. 9. Mr. C. F. Paull was referee.

LOWER GRADE RESULTS Senior Grade B.—Grammar Old Boys. 22. Parnell. 0; University won from Eastern Suburbs by default; Eden, 9. Technical Old Boys, 0; North Shore, 15, Manukau. 9. Second Grade.—Eden, 20. Gratia, 0: Newton won from Trinity College by default; University A, 9, Technical Old Boys. 0: Grafton A, 19, Northcote. 8; College Rifles. 5, Grammar Old Boys. 0; Waitemata. 8. Otahuhu, 6; Grafton Colts, 9, Mnrist, 3: Takapuna, 15, University B, 11; Suburbs, S, Manukau, 6. Third Grade, Open.—Eden, 31, Howick, 3; College Rifles, 9, Technical Old Boys, 9; North Shore, 13, Manukau, 9. Third Grade Intermediate.—Grafton. 16. College Rifle 3, 3; Y.M.C.A.. 12. University. 6; Ponsonby, 14, Parnell, 11; North Shore. 13, Northcote, 6; Suburbs, 3 ; Technical Old Boys, 3; Manukau, 0, Otahuhu, 0. Fourth Grade.—Suburbs, 17, Northcote. 11: Marist, 9, Manukau. 3; Technical Old Boys, 6, Takapuna, 0. Fifth Grade.—Ponsonby, 11, Takapuna. 3: Technical Old Boys, 23. Grammar Old Boys, S; Suburbs, 8, Eden, 6. Sixth Grade.—Northcote. 11, Technical Old Boys, 0; Suburbs, 27, Ponsonby, 0.