Wellington (46) Manawatu (5).

NZ Truth, Issue 169, 12 September 1908, Page 3

Wellington (46) Manawatu (5).

J[t onlytiva.nts two'or three matches of me abbyd nauseating . description, and Rijghy fr ; We.Uingtpny so far as the p. unite Is cbncejtned: will soon be as dead as Julius <J^esai.> { A good few nails have already beeli driven'; m the- amateur Rug-: J»y coffin this seasbni, but the spike Jjamnier.ed hard Tiotne oh Saturday- has just fttout lett'tbe corpse m a position for Jfoceftt Kiiria]. If matters get any wprjje.'tne ruling authorities will have to 4t^,nge -vtar .stro.ng pleasures for. its dispjjsal lest the ' stljik therefrom complete-; ly puts wem out of <action on this moi> ta, plan^. Rugby m Wellington is fast tiiconvng a cjrpus show, and science and kjtedineas are things of the past, Manawatu was abotit >the sickest-cor-n back ana forward, that has cpihe to the Capital City for a gpph |atrd. The rawnesg :6f the players m ftiiiier division wap awful. Only on one did the backs' giye a display of 9ancec^d passing and combination and it finished up" In a?try .whicb was imprpved ¥$90. iM ?upert> style, by Tpny ItfcMinn. The ; defensive combination of the Man»w^tu back? wa(i shockingly weak, while «Bipir »y£ftem : f|Jr try-getting purposes ttould 'have done eternal disgrace to t wldieg 1 'organisation irpm "slumtown." We art of blocking tfe invasions of the lMicks.V?as lost completly on the ManawatuiW, the men never once haying the

"savvy" to move into Correct position for cutting off the passing so frequently engineered by Roberts. In. the matter of tackling, the visitors were . just afaout as expert as ,they were m other branches of the game. No nip*. piness, dash, or cleverness was apparent m .their work, and the want of headiness when the' tactics of the Blacks brought them promising chances was most noticeable. •

\ Some of the forwards played robustly and strongly, but there was. no solidity m the scrums, due ■to ineffective packing by the lock and- back-rankers. The • rocky formation was easily busted up by the opposing forward division, which encountered little opposition when oh a loose rush.

4 Wellington's display against a very weak combination was nothing to . enthuse over. Mistakes were as ■ \ plentiful as blackberries, and against a slicker, subtler, and more strenuous foe would ■ have entailed disastrous consequences. ;: Chances of, getting the ball out m the open were • enhanced by the Black rearguard, but it was not always able; to put those finishing touches ion the work which leads up to scoring. Some "ol the passing rushes were neat; and wellexecuted, the ball being . tfafhsferred deftly: and accurately from -player to iplayeif. The checking^of' the otheir'side was so lamentably^ weak, however,, that the Blacks were seldom hard put , to it to cross Wie chalkmark once, they were past the half or five-eigh-ths. . ...... The Wellington vanguard completely 1 outclassed Manawatu's scrummaging brigade, proving much more soli 4 m the scrum, and distinctly, superior m - the. loose and on the line-out. Still, the men; did not play together as they might have done.. V , ~ J .

.Freddy Roberts's great kick frpnV about 4! yard inside the centre, flag, which not ched a goal for .Wellinjjtpji, reminded 'the vyriter of „ Wallaces ' similar . feat iij a match played by the N<ef Zealaaders m ff;s.W, m 1903. > It waM purely a mat? ter ' of distance, of coursef but, ■ 'all t)se came, we don't >cc " many" kicks of v this kind m present Rugby contests: Two members of the New Zealand team which invaded Australia m IWi \yere playing on, the ; : Maijawatti side, vizV, Tony McMintf and Jack Stalker; Tony was an awful "frost" on that tour, ahdj judging by Saturday* display, he h£s improved his position for . the worse since that period. . \ }Tony" might shape a/heap better at pjhgVpoiig gp?£ ,th|n Rugb?. His converted try was' the' re-: suit of a "bosker". kiclt,^ r The lbn£»un can punt well, his, pepUliaf scretv action with the leather made it a matter, of difficulty wi,thl the" Wellington backs to take it on the foll.\ .

Waldegrave gave th'e neatest exhibition among the Manawatu backs. In good company, the Palmerston man would probably develop into a first flighter.; ; i Mitchinson didn ? t Tjreak his duck m the match, though his elusiveness',, dash, and sprinting put more than one -try? pn the Wellington slate. . Evenson lost .two easy chances of getting over v the Manawal;h chalkmark by his inability to cutjin quickly when pressed towards the touctihhe. He scored a -legitimate try, however, but Referee Howe,/ for. some' reason or the other, robbed him" of it. „ ,

"Freddy Roberts had the Manawatumen absolutely "wet" when operating 1 tbte "silly" side. T^fie visitors cpuldn^t tumble, somehow, to the necessity ' for moving their forces m such 'a way as to counteract the half-bact's: tactics. Freddy bade his opponents look small, top, when he successfully essayed a -'/.strong; dashing run fcqm nearly half-Way .-and over .me '• visitors' goal^lihe. What th| Manawatu wing three-quarter was doing not to come m. and attempt to block tis progress I can't think. . . , ' / (