A Draw

NZ Truth, Issue 1030, 22 August 1925, Page 13

A Draw

■ \ Wairarapa and Southland /following their', defeat of Canterbury on the previous Wednesday, Wairarapa were responsible for another good performance m sharing the honors with: Southland on Saturday. The game was very even right , through, but m the last ten minutes Wairarapa were unlucky not to win. ■. . '.

i. The conditions were the -worst possible, the ground being a veritable hog. A bitter southerly blew throughout (he game, accompanied by occasional howers. ■' : ■/■•' : _ . ■ With the wind behind them, Wairaapa had slightly the. better of the jxst half, but neither side recorded a |ore. . '■•".',.■ '■,:■ *The second spell opened rather sensationally. • iWJairarapa scored m ;'the first three ■■nutes, and before the spell was five ■Bnute's old Southland .had equalised. through Wairarapa added anBj ier try and within, five minutes Hiuthland again drew level. Hpiay see-sawed, till m the last ten when Wairarapa assumed but were unable to turn their BB)ortun"ities to advantage. JKouthland secured most of the i»ull BHm the scrums, but while their backs ■■wed- good defence, they found the King too heavy to turn their oppor-| Blfci tie's to advantage. HH'hough beaten m the scrums, the! HHJirarapa. forwards were better m 9H loose work and generally -proved active' and nimble. SBthc Wairarapa backs showed just Hg good defence as their opponents, gßp. their attack possessed ::iore and sting. . . j Htalthough playing totally clisgames, Richardson and J. Bfeonald must be bracketed as the Hbest forwards on the ground. flM^rdson played the solid pack game Hj^Htfection and led practically every ■Hflpancl rush. Donald was always where he was most waritHEsometimes leading the pack :ind at Ht'hers materially assisting the backs R^carrying out an offensive moveH.The Southland pack averaged the jßapectable weight of 13st lOlbs. Next MT Richardson, Alley, the 15.7 lock, [Hught the eye most, while Batchclor, Hurt and Rice were good throughout. HKzlett spoilt a good display by hia use of the boot. '

The Wairarapa pack compensated for their deficiency m weight by their smart footwork, and m this connection Donald, Desmond, O'Dowd and Fairbrother were especially prominent. Kilby, the Southland half, played a very clever game and was always dangerous near the line. He made the opening from which MacDpnald scored and it certainly was no fault of his that he didn't get through on his own a couple of times. At full-back Oughton was generally reliable. The other backs were fair m defence, but m attack showed a decided lack of finish. For the home side, Hood, at fullback, proved himself a great mudlark and played easily his best game to date. But for a slight lack of finish, which was occasionally apparent, Stringfellow's play could only have been described as great. He handled the greasy leather with certainty. Unfortunately he was sometimes tempted to try his luck just a -little too, far, and when cornered threw his passes wildly. Randal Booth is playing at the top of his form lately, and was one of The outstanding backs on the field. Jury has been spelling lately as the result of a poisoned hand, and m his reappearance against Southland did not produce his best form. With the exception of Cundy, who was a bit weak at times, the other backs did all that was expected of them. Asked what he thought of the refereeing a well-known Southland supporter expressed himself as follows.: "Bert MacKenzie is the. best refevee our team has played under — bar none!" Iris . Corsets mould the figure into graceful, shapely lines — you cannot buy a/better designed corset. Made for all types of figures and m svery popular style. , These corsets are made m Britain from the highest quality materials and are guaranteed for lasting service. At your draper's.*