RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19503, 11 June 1925, Page 4

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

By Ftji.li Back-

FIXTURES. July 22.—Otago v. Southland at Invercargill. Aagust 23.—Otago v. Southland at Dunedin. OTAGO’S NOETHEEN TOTTE. September 3.—Play Canterbnrv at Christchurch. September 9.—Play Hawke's bay at Napier. September 13.—Play Wellington nt Wellington. September 13.—Play Walrarapa at Carterton. PAINE THOPHT MATCH. August 29 Between the premier teams ol Dunedin and Chrlstohnrch. pt Christchurch. NEW SOUTH WALES TOTTE. August 23.—Otago rnd Southland at Dunedin. EANTTHLT SHIELD MATCHES. Hawhea Bav, the present holder of the Banfurly Shield, 'have a big list ot representative matches. Those in which they will bo called upon to defend the trophy are as follow : July 29, —v. Waikato, in Hiiwkea Bay. . August s.—v. Canterbury, ut Napier. August B.—v. Southland, at Napier. August 15, —v. Poverty Bay, in Hawkes Bay, August 22.—v- Taranaki, at Hastings. September 9.—v. Otago, at Hastings. September 19.—v. Wellington, at Wellington. HIGH SCHOOLS’ TOURNAMENT AT CHRISTCHURCH. August 13.—Southland v. Timaru. Christchurch T. Otago. August 13. —Losers v. Losers. Winners v. Winners. By losing to the Pirate® last Saturday the Kaikorai settled any chance they may have had of securing premiership honours this season. The game itself does not call for much comment, beyond the poor display given by tho Kaikorai backs. For some unaccountable reason or other they dropped and fumbled the ball the whole of the game, with tho result that even the forwards seemed to lose heart, and did not play with their usual dash and determination. Johnson, whose play I favourably commented upon in last week’s notes, gave a wretched display at full-back, and continually got his side into trouble through dropping the ball. Instead of finding touch when in nis own twenty-five he would persist in dilly-dallying about trying to beat the men 4bat were coming at him. with the inevitable result that ho was tackled in possession, letting his side down. Aitken. at half, is too slow, and although plucky enough at stopping rushes or tackling lie seems to have no other method of attack other than giving the ball to his five-eighths, and this is a weakness in other backs in Dunedin football. Gordon I was the only back who handled the boll with any degree of accuracy and judgment. He was alwava cool and safe. ' Williams and Sonntag played well in tho forwards, as did Quirk, a promoted junior. The Pirates, on, the day’s play, were easily 15 points the better team. St. George gave a nice display of halt-back play. He varied his attack well, and was not afraid to give it a “go” on his own. He also has-a good turn of speed, which he uses to advantage.He uses a well-judged cross tick, and on Saturday he did not forget to pick out the weak spots in his opponents’ armour. The Pirates’ captain also did a lot of saving by going back, but I am inclined to think he is apt to overdo anticipating tactics, for at times when play came to a sudden stop .and there was a loose scrum he had to race 20yds or 30yds to get up to his forwards. A half-back should keep handy to his forwards. St. George, however, gave a very fine all round display. The majority of half-backs I have seen this year play as if their only qualifications were to stop a rush and send the ball out from the scrum. Morgan and Wise wore both absent from tho three-quarter line, where they were replaced by Walker and Allan, who, with Robinson as centre, showed good combination, Robinson made openings for the Blacks time after time. The forwards gave a good display of combined play and it was a fine sight to see them following up hard all the time, and all together. It was that tho Kaikorai forwards lacked in a marked degree. Another new player for Pirates was J. Brown, at full-back. This position was not hard to fill on Saturday, but what ho was called upon to do. Brown did creditably. The Blacks seemed a bit blown in the later stages of the game, but this falling off came too late for the Blue and Blacks to make anything of it. Pirates had a great number of penalties imposed from time to time, but the Kaikorai kickers could not niake use of tho opportunities thus afforded, A noticeable feature of the game *1 was that there was’ not one stoppage through a player being hurt or through loss of jerseys or knickers. The play itself was very clean, and the spectators must have appreciated the punctuality with which the game was commenced in both spells. The match between Otago and North Otago played at Carisbrook on the King’s Birthday was a disappointing display of Rugby. Tile Otago team was not the best side which oould be picked, but it proved itself much too strong for the visiting team. Of the North Otago team Sumpter was easily the best. At centre three-quarter he was the-only one to make an opening worth while for his side. His cut-ins were really brilliant, and were worth much more to North Otago than the meagre three points which resulted. With belter backing up the fleet three-quarter would have added materially to the score. Grainger, at full-bflok for the visitors, was watched closely, but he had little to do and was consequently unable to impress the spectators. His play was not out of the ordinary, and he was not above fumbling ai times in critical positions, though this may. have boon caused through nervousness. His line kicking was good, but it was hard to judge his attitude to forward rushes, as there were so few combined attacks by tho Otago front-rankers. Still he showed in the match against Otago at Oamam last year that he is a fearless rush-stopper. The Otago team were little better off as far as outstanding players are concerned. Morgan on the wing, could not get going though he had several chances, which ho spoilt by over-running. On tho other wing, Peterson' showed up well. He has a fine turn of speed and played with judgment. Several times he completely beat the opposition with his clever side-stepping and cutting in. Soott returned to an old game of his, potting at every opportunity, though only one attempt was successful Ho was very slow at five-eighths. Prebble, at halfback, was useful, and got the ball more often to his colleagues than they could get it away Taken all through the match waa disappointing. The match between Southern and Alhambra, played ax tho Caledonian Ground, did not provide many exciting incidents. The backs on each side tried passing, but the ball generally went straight across the field Southern did most of the attacking in the first spell, the Red-and-Blaoks only getting into their opponents’ twenty-five twice, and from free kicks Callander kicked two goals. The Southern had their fair share of free kicks iu tho first half, but the kicks at goal were unsuccessful. The north-end forwards wore getting the ball from the scrums in tho second half, but the passing of the backs was slow and not accurate, and they failed mostly to (rain ground. Tho Alhambra had the advantage of six points at the end of the first half. In the second spell the Southern forwards, with Bain and Highley prominent, carried play to the Alhambra lino, and Prebble kicked a penalty goal shortly after. This was the last score. There was not much difference between the teams. Certainly tho backs on both sides tried to open up an uninterestjng game, but they will have to improve if they are to drive heme their attack. Union put up a sturdy defence against Dunedin at tho North Ground, but once again loft the field a defeated team. Tho ground was very muddy and spoiled most attempts at the passing game. The Dunedin forwards were heavier than the Union pack, and their backs were also speedier and more certain than the opposing rearguard. Still, the Union put up the best game they have played so far this season. MTDermoft was- in most of the heavy work ry the Maroon forwards, and Templeton and Ashton also played a good game for choir side. O’Connor (scrum half), MTlroy (second five-eighths), Brooks, Collett, and Baker were most prominent on the Dunedin side. Notes. The match between Potone and Ponekc reminded one of tho story of a famous match between two old rivals in other parts (says the Wellington Times). The ball after being booted became fast in a High tree. No other hall was available, but tho situation was relieved on the suggestion of one of tho players that they should not trouble about tho ball, but should got on with tho game. “Jock” Richardson, the All Black deputycaptain, is a versatile sort of chap (says yr-rj-.-sr in the Southland NewaJ The giant

forward made his first appearance since his accident on Saturday week, and filled the centre three-quarter position, and his display was- quite convincing. On Wednesday the Central District were a buck short at the last minute and “Jock” came on aa full back. His powerful kicking saved Central heaps of ground and tie followed up in great style. Nopia and Pacwai, who were said to have decided to play at Ratana, are both playing in Duke. Other players in Duke are Craven, well-known university player, and Culpan, an Auckland representative forward, Hawke’s Bay won the Ranfurly Shield from Wellington in 1922, and has since defended it successfully 13 times. The challengen last season, and the scores against and for them, were as follow: Walrarapa, 30-14; Nelson, 35-3; Poverty Bay, 46-10; Auckland, 23-6; Manavvalu. 31-5-CHRISTCHURCH FOOTBALL. Tho oval at Lancaster Park on Saturday was the scene of one of the most exciting games of football seen in inter-club competitions for some years, Old Boys, who are regarded by many as the probable winners of the competitions, achieving victory over Linwood, who are at present in the lead, by 14 points to 9. The game was a delight to followers of tho code (says the Press), and so long as suoh football is provided there need be no fear of Rugby waning in popularity. The weather was fine and there was again a large attendance. Albion scored a long-overduo win, defeating ’Varsity by 24 points to 3 on the south Bd. At Rangiora Merivale defeated Canterbury by 29 to nil. The following table shows the positions of the various teams engaged in the first grade competition:— Points Flag

WEST OTAGO SUB-UNION. The first round of *he West Otago SubUnion’s competitions was completed on Saturday. The following are .the scores: Heriot 15 points defeated Waikoikoi nil; Tapanui 6 points drew Grookston 6 points. The Kelso and Waikaka match was postponed- The position of the teams at tho end of the first round is as follows:

NEW ZEALAND TEAM IN SYDNEY. The weights of tho 25 players comprising the New Zealand Rugby team at present touring New South Wales aro os follow:

The average weight of the forwards is about 15st 71b and of the backs list 51b. _ The average weight of tho forwards in the New Zealand team which visited England last year was 13st 61b, while the backs averaged list. CHRISTCHURCH NOTES. (Feom Ou.e Own Coebespondent.) Taking into consideration the largo number of counter-attractions which were on on Saturday, a surprisingly large number of spectators turned up to Lancaster Park to see the Linvvood-Old Boys match. Linwood had not lost a match, and Old Boys had lost only one. On the day’s play Linwood were unlucky in going under (14-9) —a draw would have been about tho correct result. The Old Boys, aided- by Parker and Dailey, started the game at a tremendous pace. Tho Old Boys backs threw the ball about and took decided risks. Linwood sadly missed Elvoy. The pace of the Old Boys 'backs was too much for the Linwood backs in the first half. The Linwood forwards dominated the play in the second half. They came time and time again, and were unfortunate in not driving their attack homo more often. Hay was about the pick of the Old Boys’ backs. Dailey did a lot of good work at half. Parker made himself felt at wingforward, though ho was not in the picture as often as usual. J. Turpin was watching Parker too closely to let him pot awav with very much. The whole Linwood mack played splendidly. Perhaps A. Fraser (late of Union, Dunedin) was tho best. Fraser has improved out of sight since coming to Christchurch., Davis (centre) was about the best of the Linwood backs. It was a red-letter day for Albion oi: Saturday. It was their first win this season. They downed 'Varsity 24—3 'Varsity certainly fielded a weak team, but Albion have been showing improved form each . week. Great credit is due to Read Masters for the way he has brought this team on. He is captain, secretary, and coach of the forwards, in fact he is the father and mother of the club and there was no happier man playing on Saturday than this popular player. Merivale played North Canterbury at Rangiora and won easily 29—0. The Canterbury Union have protested re the proposed Maori tour being dropped, not so much on their own behalf, but for the West Coast unions, who were eagerly looking forward to the tour. LEAGUE. The League competition is in an interesting state. Hornby, Addington, and Marists A are all equal, with Waimairi and Sydenham not far behind. Marists have lost several players through injuries, and their present team, is but a shadow of the one that was so successful in tho Union game two ycarp ago. The now ground has not taken many patrons away from Lancaster I’ark, and has not ns yet proved the boon for League that was expected. STEEL ORDERED OFF Saturday's matches at Victoria Bark (Grey mouth) were played in perfect weather, ami there was a a good attend ance of the public. The senior match between United and Star had had a sensational ending, the former, winning by tho narrow margin of one point, after J. Steel the All Black, had been ordered off early in the second spell for allegedly kicking an opponent. At half-time the score was g_3 in favour of Star, Steel being responsible for the whole of Star’s score. In the second half United compiled nine points and Star three. M. Jamison scored two tries for United and Warnes kicked two penalty goals, while Reynolds was responsible for the score for Star after the interval. Mr E. W. liceuuii, Hokitika, was referee.

W. Ij. D. For. Agst. pts. Linwood ... 5 0 77 43 5 Old Boys ... ... 4 1 0 37 no 4 Merirnlo ... ... 4 0 00 48 4 Christchnrch a 2 0 65 43 3 Albion 1 4 0 57 64 1 'Tarsitr 0 4 1 .14 86 i N, Cantorbury .... ... 0 4 1 20 107 I

r. w. B. i. Points Flag For. Agst pts. Beriot ... „ 5 5 0 0 143 14 10 Tupanul ... 5 3 1 1 50 23 7 Crookston ... 4 2 1 1 33 43 o Waikoikoi ... 5 2 0 3 34 38 4 Kelso ... 3 0 0 3 6 75 0 Waikaka — ... 4 0 0 4 16 85 0 WELLINGTON COMPETITIONS. r. w. Ik B. Points Ch. For. Agst. pts. ’Varsity _ 0 6 0 0 112 40 12 .... (5 5 0 1 122 Jetono ... ... .... G 4 2 0 fK> 63 8 Athletic 7 4 3 0 78 38 8 Borhampore .... 7 4 3 0 85 68 8 Marist .... 6 1 Old Boys .... 6 3 3 0 117 48 B Hurt — ... .... 7 2 4 1 45 Oriental ... 6 1 4 1 48 'll 3 Wellington 7 i 6 0 4ft 101 2 Sclwyu ... 6 0 6 0 17 IBO U

st. lb. J. A. Archer (Southland) ... _. Blake (Hawke’s Bay) ... ... 13 2 J. n 0 T. Corkill (Hawke’s Bay) n 0 M‘K. Dickson (Otago) 13 11 J. Donald (Wairarapa) 13 6 W Elvey (Canterbury) ... ... 11 7 B. Einlayson (North Auckland) 13 0 J. Harris (Canterbury) 11 6 L. Johnson (Wellington) 10 10 D. Johnson (Taranki) — 11 1 L. Knight (Auckland) 13 7 A. Kirkpatrick (Hawke’s Bay) ... 11 12 A. G. Law (Manawatu) P. Lawson (South Canterbury) 12 11 u 8 A. Lomas (Thames) - ••• 13 5 H. Matson (Auckland) 11 0 A. M'Cormack (Canterbury) ... M’Na'b (Hawke’s Bay) ... ~ 14 0 J. 13 6 L. Righton (Auckland) 13 8 A. Thomas (Wellington) 13 C J. Walters (Taranaki) 13 8 G. D. Wise (Otago) 11 0 D. Wright (Auckland) 10 8