THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21897, 5 September 1934, Page 17

THE LEAGUE CODE

INTER-ISLAND FIXTURE SOUTH'S FORM FALLS AWAY , FINE GAME BY P. SCOTT The inter-Island Rugby League match at Carlaw Park last Saturday provided some fast and thrilling play, and, although defeated by 36 points to 18, the South team was by no means disgraced. In fact, when it led at the interval by 13 points to 3, South had played by far the better football in- the first spell. This no doubt was due to tho fine play of the forwards whose great work in the loose, dribbling, £.nd sound, low tackling continually harassed the North team. South gained possession from most 4>f the scrums in the first spell and, although doing well at times, the backs as a combination lacked the understanding and thrust of the North rearguard. The South forwards played themselves out at the end and it was only halfway through the second spell that the North vanguard gained any ascendancy. > After the interval the North hooker was changed, Hutt going into the position and getting the ball regularly from the scrums. This gave the North backs plenty of opportunities and their good combination saw 33 points added to the side's total in the second 6pell. South scored a converted try during this period. Although still lacking a little in the finer points, it was evident the South players had improved in this connection during the past two years. i Impressive Players At fullback for North C. Hunt, Taranaki, played well. His kicking and handling were good,. while he proved a reliable. tackier. He was a great asset to the team by running up many times and sotting his backs in motion. R. Smith, Hawke's Bay, showed plenty of speed on the wing, and G. Tittleton, South Auckland, who replaced Stephens, Auckland, on the other wing, made the best of his opportunities. An impressive game was played by W. Tittleton, South Auckland, at centre. He was very clever and tricky on, attack and frequently beat several tacklers, while his defence was sound. Cooke played his usual heady game and although his handling was not so sure as usual, he was in the picture throughout. Prentice played one of • his best games and a pleasing feature was that he did not kick and lose possession. Powell, halfback, fulfilled expectations and made some clever openings from the scrum, while he had a hard time on defence against the strong South pack. C. Satherley, Clark and O'Callaghan were always to the fore among the forwards, although Satherley at times tried to go too far before passing. T. McKenzie, fullback for the South, played a disappointing game. His kicking was not sound, while his positional play was bad and. he often had to fun about a deal through lack of : Morris, Inabest of the threequarter linci proving a fast and determined' wing. H 6 ; combined effectively with O'Connor at half several times on the blind side. Neither Ayres, nor Wellsmore, ■ Canterbury, was impressive. . Tine Forwards One of the outstanding players on the ground was P. Scott, Inangahua, at first five-eighths. He was clever on attack, tackled well, and often came into attacking movements twice. His allround play waa of a similar type to that of Cooke for the North. Amos was as solid as usual and his scissors passing with Scott twice badly nonplussed the defence. On one occasion Amos was very unlucky not to score. O'Connor, halfback, with the exception of being a little slow in getting the ball away, played well and did some clever at- ■ tacking work. He also defended ably, but one fault was a tendency to overwork the blind side. Two fine forwards were Glynn, Greymouth, and Hamberger, Canterbury,. The former was well to the fore in the tight, loose and in support of the backs. His dribbling was good and his two tries were richly deserved. Hamberger has improved considerably and is also a good all-round' player. Qwing'to complications arising out of several challenges for the Waitangi Shield, a recent competition between representatives of the Maori race, the New Zealand.Council, has decided to set up a special board of control to deal with the competition.-In the meantime the executive will deal with future challenges. • •