LOCAL SENIOR RUGBY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8783, 13 July 1914, Page 10

LOCAL SENIOR RUGBY

ATHLETIC STILL UNBEATEN. The weather was anything but good on Saturday for football, and the grounds were in a very bad state, consequently the games resolved tliomseves into mud scrambles, and they wore anything but interesting to spectators. Athletic had a very narrow .-scape from defeat when they met Poneke. on No. 1 ground at Athletic Park, for when no side was called there was- only three points difference in the scores. Poneke had much the better of the first half, and though beaten in tho second spell they put up a good performance under the circumstances. Wellington had an easy victory over St. James, the latter being quite unable to cope with the fine set of forwards opposed to them. Petone also had a most satisfactory win, beating University by 22 to 0; while Melrose were lucky to defeat Oriental by . a point. The position of the teams is as follows; —

Athletic and Poneke met on No. 1 ground -at Athletic Park, and tho former won by 6 points to 3 after a fairly even game. Tho ground was in a very muddv state,’ and accurate handling of the ball was out of tbo question. Therefore, play was mostly confined to the forwards, and -as a result the game developed into a mud scramble. Under the circumstances both teams played well, and Poneke did very well m running their opponents, who have an unbeaten record, so close. Play was in midfield from the kickoff, but a free kick to Athletic allowed them to invade their opponents’ territory. Fisher, however, got the ball and returned it well in Athletic’s twenty-five, where A. CunniTlgham kicked out. Athletic were penalised almost immediately, and'Gardiner had a shot at goal, but it was unsuccessful. , Athletic then carried play to midfield by a forward rush, and eventually the ball went into Poneke’s territory, where Tilyard kicked out. From a scrum the ball went to S. AVilson, who spoilt a good chance by knocking on. Poneke were awarded a free kick in the next few minutes, and this gave them an, opportunity to shift play to midfield. The Poneke forwards then got on to the hall and took it to Athletic’s quarter, from where it was kicked across the line. Gardiner dashed after it -and touched down. He failed to improve on his try. Poneke 3, Athletic 0. A good kick by Algar allowed Poneke to again invade their opponents’ twenty-five, but from tbe line-out Robinson got the ball and found touch in midfield. Poneke by a good rush again forced Athletic back and Robinson kicked out just in time. Play remained near Athletic’s line for some time, but by -a series of line kicks and forward .rushes, they relieved the pressure and the game settled in Poneko’s territory, where Tilyard took a mark and shifted operations to midfield. Tho Athletic team .were then forced bn the defensive,, and ’after a scramble near their line the ball was kicked over and forced,. Athletic Chen took a hand at attacking and ’ after play in Ppneke’s quarter the ball rolled across’ the line and was forced. A good rush by the Athletic forwards- had Poneke in trouble, and the ball was eventually sent across the line, Luoni scoring. Evenson failed to convert. Athletic 3, Poneke 3. Poneke soon had Athletic back in their own twenty-five after the kick-off, and frem a melee near their line they were compelled .to force. Poneke again assumed the aggressive, and just before half-time the ball was again kicked over. Algar followed up fast, and was jist beaten, Evenson forcing. On resuming Poneke continued their attack, and play settled near Athletic’s line. Poneke were awarded a free kick'and Algar had an unsuccessful shot at goal. Athletic soon forced Poneke to defend their goal line, and from loose play S. AVilson secured a mark, but Evenson failed to place the ball between the posts. Athletic continued their attack, and play remained for some time near Poneke’s line. One of their backs got the ball and tried to find the touch-line, but failed. Adams was quickly in pursuit, and gathering up the oval easily got over. Evenson again failed to convert. Athletic 6, Poneke 3- A good kick by J. Cunningham had Poneke defending, but a. forward rush shifted play to neutral territory. The Athletic hacks then got going, but the ball was kicked over and Tilyard forced. Athletic continued to attack, -and McTaggart forced shortly afterwards. Play was of a fairly even nature from this onward, neither side adding to its score. Mr L. Simpson was referee. AVELLINGTON v; ST. JAMES.

For tho second time this season Wellington defeated St, James by a substantial margin. On this occasion, however, the vanguished earned credit for the stand • they made against a greatly superior team. In the face of a score of 13 to nil, which the winners had accumulated in the first spell, the “Jimmies” got their backs against the wall in the second half, and simply refused to take further punishment. The result was that AVellington, although pounding away at the line most consistently, were quite unable to increase their tally. Apart from this outstanding fact, the game was almost devoid of incident. The ground was soon in a mossy state, and any fine work with the ball was out of tho question. Through some mishap or other the players had to depend on the. same ball throughout the second half, and as the leather was often sent flying over tho southern boundary into an adjacent gully, much time was lost. The conditions were such that forward play necessarily predominated, and lineattacking mostly took place from close scrambling.

The game was onened by Wellington (yellow), and St. James (rod) invaded by moans of a loose forward rush, from which the ball went out of bounds. During a scramble in St. James’ territory tho leather was sent skywards and the yellows were quickly under it. The ball was then hustled over tho hue. and Miller fell on it, securing Wellington’s first score. Drake easily converted. Tho attack was roneated, but as the ball reached the line a Wellington player fumbled it and mis' od a certain score. The red backs go+ to work and secured a temporary respite, and play was kept in midfield for a time. A forward rush by Wellington followed, with a couple of scrums on the line, after which the red' transferred play by careful punting A free kick was given to St. James but Wright’s shot went well away from the goal. Jimmies pressed their

opponents back, and play hovered btween quarter-way and the line. An incursion by Wellington was stavd oil by Mummery, the reds’ full-back, but . were penalised. Their efforts were renewed and they were making a heavy assault, when Griffiths saved by an excellent kick, the ball having boon within inches of tho line and the pack close up. A free kick to Wellington in a nice position proved unsuccessful. A splendid run from half-way | was performed by Beard, Wellington’s ( five-eighth, who beat threo or four tacklers, but lost tho ball when he was almost over. The yellows continued the assault and were given a free kick which was returned by tho opposing full-back. , Some lively play took place in the vicinity of the reds’ line, and from a scramble Miller again secured possession and dived over. Drake failed with tho kick. Just after this Wellington lost tho services of Packer (wing three-quarter), who had his nose broken in a fall. His place was taken by Cotter. Undecisive play in midfield was witnessed for some minutes, followed by a race for the ball, which wont out at tho b’t. James end. Strenuous scrambling took place on the rods’ lino, and Beard got over in a rush. The extra points wore obtained by Drake, and half-time sounded with the scores: Wellington 13, St. James 0. The second spell opened with an invasion by St. James, which was repelled by moans of a dribbling rush. That secured Wellington a favourable position, whore play remained for a while, the reds being forced once or twice. Scrums were frequent near the St. James line, and the hacks were kept busy on the defence. At long last tho reds found an opening and shifted play to midfield. Prom here a fast forward rush took the ball over the St. ‘James line, where several of the Wellington men attempted to stay its progress out of bounds, but without success. A mark gave Drake a shot at goal, which was fruitless. The' leather was booted to midfield once more, and a subsequent rush by Wellington ended with a scrum near the goal. Numerous attempts on the line were made by the yellows, but the defenders wore alert enough to hold their position. Presently the reds’ forwards broke away and with a loose rush took play to the Wellington line. A’ penalty was awarded the attackers, but no goal resulted. St. James kept up the pressure, and displayed a little decent passing. Wellington returned play after a short spell of defending, and tried again to find the weak spots in their opponents’ ranks, but were driven back to midfield, where play w.as in progress when time was called, the scores remaining unaltered; Wellington 13, St. James 0. Mr R. Evenson refereed. PETONE v. UNIVERSITY. This game was played on the Recreation Ground, Petone. The ground was, taking all tilings into consideration, in good condition for football. It was, as was to bo expected, somewhat greasy, but not so much as to seriously interfere with the game. Petone started off wtyh the wind m their favour, and were not going long before Tancred broke away, and, making a fine opening, sent the ball on to Hindlmarsh, who scored a beautiful try, which McFarlane had no difficulty an converting. The game after this was rather ragged, there being very little combined play on either side. Time after time the Petone forwards, headed by W. Ryan, broke through, only to be driven back by P. J. Ryan, who was playing a sterling game. Petone, with the aid of the wind, still continued to'"attack, and McEwan broke away and scored a lone-hand try within easy range. McFarlane was unsuccessful with the kick. For a time University made things very warm, Beard heading inany a, rush, but the Petone forwards were not to be denied, and came along with a great rush into their opponents’ twenty-five, where Eddie Ryan secured, and with mathematical precision sent the ball between the uprights. For the rest of the spell the game was fought out. chiefly in the University’s quarter, and _ P. J. Ryan bore the brunt of tho defensive work. After half-time, although the ■core was in favour of Petone, they certainly d;d not have so much too :better of the deal as the score, would, seem to indicate. Time after time ■the greens were attacking, but .the luck was not with them. Petone, on the other hand, could not do much wrong. Nunn, who was in his element, took a quick, and clever mark, and McFarlane landed the goal, bringing the score to 15 —0. . Petone kept up the attack, and W. Ryan, who was giving an exhibition of how to play the forward game, broke through the ■defence, and brought the score up to 18 For a time the University kept things merry, P. J. Ryan, Fame, and Beard being prominent. The Petone team, however, were not to be denied, and again attacked. From a hne-out the ball went to Bolton, who potted a -beautiful goal. The game ended shortly afterwards, with the score: Petone .20, University 0. Mr T. H. Jones ,was referee. MELROSE v. ORIENTAL. • Heavy showers falling at frequent intervals and a cold bleak wind con-; tributed to the despondency of the handful of spectators who watched Melrose, after a slow and uninteresting game, secure a one-point victory over Oriental at the polo ground. With a strong wind against them, Melrose kicked off, but no advantage was gained, and play remained m neutral territory for some time. Oriental, securing from * Bcru ™’ sparkled momentarily as Little shot the ball out to Sullivan, who transferred it to Avery, but the latter player’s dash for' the lino was a shortlived one, and a free-k.ck for . Melrose saved the situation. got going again and a splendid opportunity was marred through Pearce, who. after a sharp sprint on tha wing, lost the ball when just.on fe line The Oriental forwards persisted m their aggressive and an mfringement by • Melrose, who were battling hard to keep their Ime dear, was put to good purpose by Cowie taking the kick and converting. ’I ery little open play was indulged in, on account of the slippery state of the hall and ground. Through the superiority of the Oriental forwards it was not long before they were again knocking at Melrose’s door, which, however was well guarded. A .mark by Donne on the line looked a certain three for Oriental But Cowie s kick went just under the bar. Half-time went immediately afterwards, the score being Oriental 3, Melrose ml. The opening stages of the second spell saw Melrose making determined efforts to make up their loss, and several times they got to the line, but without success. Loose play on the twenty-five line enabled Houlihan to attempt a drop-kick, which cleared the bar and put Melrose in tho lead. Oriental at once jumped to the attacs and battled vigorously, but many good opportunities of-scoringwere spoiled

by fumbling at the critical moment. In the last five minutes play was taster and more even. A solid forward rush, headed by Church, broke through the Oriental vanguard, but was frustrated by Cowic, a force resulting. A shot’at the goal by Cowie a few minutes later was fruitless, and the game ended Melrose 4, Oriental 3. Mr A. C. Kitto was referee.

IX. W. D. L. Points Ch. foragst pts. Athletic •••• ... 9 9 0 0 173 31 18 Wellington 9 7 0 2 98 62 14 ... 9 6 0 3 141 60 12 Ponoke ... 9 4 0 5 PO 90 8 ... 9 •i 0 5 9’4 84 8 ....9 3 0 6 51 SI 6 Melrose .... .. a 3 0 G 42 113 0 St. James . 9 0 0 9 19 183 ATHLETIC DEFEAT PONEKE.