SPORTS OF ALL KINDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21020, 8 May 1930, Page 4

SPORTS OF ALL KINDS.

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

By Full Back.

FIXTURES. July 30.—Wanganui, at Dunedin. August 6.—Southland, at Invercargill. August 13. —Hawke’s Bay, at Dunedin. Augustus,—South Canterbury, at Titnaru (Charity Saturday). August 30.—Wellington, at Dunedin. September 6.—Southland, at Dunedin September 13.—Payne Trophy, at Dunedin. September 13.—North Otago, at Oamaru, September 20.—Canterbury, at Dunedin. PIRATES v. TAIERI. The match between Pirates and Taien « Cansbrook, won by the town side by 13 points to 8, probably provided the majority of the spectators with a better game than they expected. At a later stage of the season they would have been entitled to expffct more combination from both teams, but the performances of the sides gave promise of some great contests fv • • ® eason Progresses. While the Taieri backs will have to show some improvement, their forwards are quite as strong as last season’s vanguard. Pirates are stronger in both divisions, and the Backs on Saturday’s performance should develop_ into a fine combination, capable ot playing open and clever football. The teams improvement in' this respect is especially pleasing in view of the failure of its rear division last season, and if it continues to build up on Saturday’s showing it will be a hard side to beat. The game on Saturday provided an exciting tussle between the forwards, with a series of' attractive movements by the Pirates backs. The strong kicking of Walker at fullback for* Pirates was of great service to the side. He fielded cleanly, and invariably gained a good stretch of ground. His ■weight is given as 13st, and he ■ looks every bit of it. The side has two fast and reliable wingers in Clark and M'Donald, Both scored tries, Clark making a fine run through the defence to touch down in a handy position. Easton, the centre three-quarter, has plenty of pace, and takes the ball well. He has a habit of swinging the ball from side to side while he is running, and is just as likely_ to mislead bis own aide as the opposition.' He would be better to run straight up to his man and pass out. Giles, at second five-eighth, showed flashes of his best form, and his kicking- was well judged. There is no reason why, with good support, he should not developed into a first-class player this season, Ewart played a serviceable game at first fiveeighth, and Bouterey sent the ball away well. He was responsible for a clever reverse pass which completely misled Taieri and. resulted in a try. One' of the Pirates’ tries whs scored tinder unusual circumstances. Clark, in the Taieri twenty-five, kicked hard and high, and the spectators and the majority of the players expected the ball to go out of boundd. Easton. followed up fast and took Taieri by surprise, falling bn the ball in the far corner of the scoring area. It was a somewhat lucky try, but Easton must be given' the credit of seeing the possibility of a score. The Pirates forwards did surprisingly well in holding the energetic and heavy country pack as well as they did. Fitz-, gerald, at wing-forward, was outstanding, and in the pack. Noble and More proved to be honest workers. Dunne did a hard day’s work in the tight. A. Scott gave an .excellent performance at full back for Taieri. Kicking Strongly with both feet, he took the ball cleanly and frequently drove back Pirates’ atattacks. Lkldle worked hard behind the scrum, doing fine defensive work. The backs, however, did not combine well, and Bathgate was caught more once in trying to cut in. Campbell, the centre-thfee-quarter, kicked too frequently and would have served the side better by passing out to his wings. L. Scott, at wing-forward, played with plenty of dash.ahoWing speed and sureness in tackling. He was always on the ball. Finlayson again stood out in the pack, giving a fine all-round display, A member of the Taieri pack this season is J. Stewart, the Maori All Black and former Otago representative, yho has put on a great deal of weight. He showed plenty of football knowledge, but did not get into the tight work with his former willingness. UNIVERSITY A v. ZINGARIRICHMOND. Although University A defeated Zin-gan-Kicnmond by- the wide margin of 40 points, the game was not so one-sided as the scores would indicate. The University hookers were greatly superior to the Zingan .pair, and University secured the ball from almost every scrum. With such an advantage and with Loder at halfback’playmg at the top of his form, the Blues backs had every opportunity to display their speed and general football ability During the first half of the game several chances were lost through faulty handling, but as the match proceeded this fault was largely corrected, and in the second half the back line was working like h machine. The , weak link in the chain was Dovi, who does not appear to have quite sufficient speed, for the position of centre three-quarter. On a numher of occasions lie was caught with the ball. One could not but admire, however his gamences. During the game he was brought down heavily on a number of occasions, and in the last quarter of an h ? u /,. he seemed to be feeling the effects ot this hard tackling, but on every occasion on which the ball came to him he ran straight, ■ and there was no suggestion of slowing up when going into a tackle, Lindsay, the University fullback, brought off some mighty punts during the afternoon, but these were generally more spectacular than effective, and it was noticeable that an exchange of kicks between the full-backe generally ended in Zmgari’s favour, and Lindsay** kicking to the touch-line Jacking direction. The Blue forwards were superior in every department of the game, and the fact that they were able to give their backs so much of the ball was largely responsible for University’s huge score, there appeared, however, to be a weakness in the Blue scrum, and it was fre- ■ fluently noticed that when the weight came on it, the middle row of the scrum buckled up. Against a heavy pack this wouH be a very serious defect. Proby rJ ae °J I tstanding exhibition among the Zingari-Rtchmond team was that given by Titcheher, the full-back. His line-kicking was excellent, and his tackling very sound. Titchener hail a very a ‘ tern P on < a nd it was quite impossible for him to stop the Blue rushes, but his play, if not spectacular, was very sound. Among the other backs. Caradu’s was conspicuous for his deadly- tackliiw and general defensive work. ‘With the forwards beaten for the ball, the Zinhad little chance to show their ability; but on those few occasions when they did pet the ball, their passing lacked finish, aiftd was easily broken up by the opposing rearguard. The forwards stuck to their game to the finish, and frequently carried play. onfield with loose rushes, Jl generally they were outclassed by the University paok. A feature of the game was thc excellent tackling bv .both sides. v SOUTHERN v. UNION. Southern deserved its win by 13 points to 6 against Union, The Black and Whites IFe ? o ,«2. t . hoUfc tl,e » erv iccs of Stevenson and M Clymont. The latter, it is stated, is suffering from a font injury winch may keep him out of thp game for the season It will be a great misfortune for Otago if this is correct. Nevertheless the Southeri> inside backs showed an improvement, and it was mainly as a result of their play that their side was enabled to win. Ihe winners backs had plenty of chances, their forwards getting practically a monopoly of the ba|l from the scrums, and in view of this fact Union did well to present a much larger score. Bolton played a serviceable game for the winners at full back, ns did Shanks Jn the wing. Wilson was given a place •xt second five-eighth, proving a determined rfnd elusive runner. Sutherland, at first “Sre-eighth, showed a marked improvement in form and curbed his inclination v kick too ranch. He made a number xf good openings and was the outetandtog back on his side. Prebble shaped excellently in the early part of the game, hilt his display was marred by mistakes in the second half. In the forwards Lewis', Horc, and Cavanagh were most noticeable, but the Southern pack did not follow up as they did on the,previous Saturday. Getting very tittle of the bail, thc Union

V?$ S i.' v ? re ,Isua . ll J r on the defensive. Lullogh, on tile wing, handled well, and he scored a fine try in the second half, Matlncson and "Vorrath both did fine work in the forwards. WHAT HAPPENED 1 M 1 * he London Daily Mail, Mr 11. 1. Marshall makes the following ingemous comments. The wing-forward in the 1024 team might have done what Mr Marshall says he did, but if he did he was standing deliberately offside:— In New Zealand and Australia they study combined tactics far more than wc do in this country. In New Zealand particularly they have developed their game along different Hues. Everyone knows that they play only seven forwards, hut 1 wonder how many spectators, or even players, for that matter, ever rea“s® aow the 1924 All Blacks made use ip. .their extra man outside the scrumV !*»>• is what happened, for example, in attack. The extra man. or rover, put the ball m and the serum half stood bewi i , e e . cn,m - Then, when the All Blacks heeled, the rover remained where he was, the scrum half ran up inside him. an s, lmmed,a^e ty save him a short pass. The rover thereupon ran up to our stand-off half before passing, and by the time the ball reached the All Blacks' wing three-quarter there was an overlap, and the-wmg could run unopposed to the fullback. Time’and again we saw the New Zealand wings go clear away, and that was how they managed it. Now, that theory was strange to us; actually, as the rules stand at present, the rover would have to come back when the ball was heeled, for if he remained where h'e was "'hen he put the ball in he would be offside. As all the_ matches on this tour are definitely being played under Internationn! Board laws, this actual stratagem wfii be impossible, but thepoint is that fke All Blacks and the Waratahs will doubtless have some surprises in store for us. • . ■ Whether the team returns with an un beaten record or not is really beside the point. What does matter is that they should leave an impression of friendli* ness, capability, and sportsmanship wherever they go, and at least we may be certain that they will do this admirably. ALHAMBRA v. DUNEDIN. This match, played at Tahuna, provided a fast and fairly open game, with both sides having good opportunities to score. These, however, mostly went abegging, and Alhambra won by a penalty goal and a try to_ nil. Alhambra played with the wind in the first spell, and the Dark Blues were kept busy in -the opening stages, Souter and Earl leading their pack in great style. Davis, who played a clover game right through, drop-kicked a penalty g6al, and he was mainly instrumental in securing a try for the Colours. He got the ball from a scrum in ’ the Dunedin twenty-five, drew the defence on the blind side, and sent on*'to Johnston to score. Callander (five-eighth) was safe, but was u *9°, often with thc ball, and Faulks (full-back) was sound, but appeared to ta ke matters rather coolly at times. When the sides changed over Dunedin were six points to the bad. Collett might have won the game for his side with penalty kicks, but his efforts lacked direction. Alhambra held off all the attacks, and were in the Dunedin territory when the last whistle went, Delahunty (wine* r°niwt d ri^ a '-T. alway 9 j? the Picture, and Collett, O Reilly and Roughan (who had to go off injured) were also prominent. Hayes, the diminutive full-back, was again playing for Dunedin, and gave a very fine exhibition,-fielding the ball and collaring and kicking in fine style. Cahill, centre three-quarter, shaped well, his tackling being sound. Fulton, the scrumshn improving every Saturday, and he showed up well, bis rush stopping being n Ul fi e <T« f eatu rc. Fulton, indeed, is quite a different player from last year. KAIKORAI V. UNIVERSITY B. firKlf Si v. y ?' PU J: up a solid Game in’the weakenin' bU <a the Bec6nd their d efcnce • • i Some rear rangenient of . the :| a Wt a «,o I( « e tY 3 - 8 . nece , saar y when Sonntag left the field, injured, in the first half Perry, wing-forward, went into the scrum Lamg came m from centre three-quarter to wmg-forward, M'Farlane taking his &v and P ; .? ral U lWaite took thc field as first five-eighth. Ross, it may be added is suffering from an injured knee, and pro’ Hv b y Ti* s.°tP la ? for a Saturday or af; • lh f kaikorai wing three-quarter, baft, is also suffering from an injury and was not playing. M'Farlane made two good runs, to score on each occasion, and appears to be well suited by the centre three-quarter position. Oliver, who left Dunedin yesterday tor Wellington, and whose loss will be severely felt by Kaikorai, made one dashing run towards the end of the game and saved a fine try. Barber’s place kicking was again deserving of mention. In the Hill teams forwards. Glengarry was always noticeable, and Lucy and Watkins proved hard workers in the scrums In the first half the University pack more than held their own in the scrums, and gave Francis plenty of the ball. The B backs could not, however, get moving *9 !i t 1 ! 00 . °f the fast following through of the Kaikorai forwards. The B wing three-quarters, indeed, saw little of thc ball during the afternoon. Francis and Lowndes were the best of the B backs Ihe-Bine forwards did not stick to their game in the second half like they bad done in the first and they were well beaten at the finish. RELICS OF THE PAST. Spectators who visited Swansea for the Wales v. Ireland Rugby international were greatly interested in th Q display in a shop window of “trophies of old international battles,” says an English writer. These included the ball used in the last match in which the brothers James played; the jersey worn by the famous old Welsh full-back. W. J. Bancroft, when he played in his thirty-third consecutive game for Wales; the, jersey of W M. Douglas, of Cardiff, in which ho played as long ago as 1886; and thc ball used when the invincible New Zealanders defeated Wales at Swansea, This, by the way, bears the autographs of the 30 players who took part in that match. A QUESTION OF STATUS. Because at times C. E. Pickrang, the cx-1 oneke and Wellington representative forward, earns a few pounds in the ring as a professional boxer, the New South Wales Rugby Union has been turning the spotlight on him by consideration of the question of whether h e is eligible to play Rugby. There was a good deal of discussion on the matter, and ultimately it was decided to seek an answer from the Eng;sh Rugby Union. Australian files to hand this week record the receipt of a reply from the English body to the effect that Pickrang is eligible. In New Zealancl there have been several cases of professional boxers playing Rugbv. One of the members of the 1924 All Black team which wont to England, Brian M'Cleary, yns a professional, and another, Jack Wteelc, was a professional sprinter. TROUBLE AT SHANNON. Tliq trouble that developed in the soinor match at Shannon as a result of which tour players have been suspended by the Horowhernia Rugby District Council—two tor three playing Saturdays and two lor on L . playing Saturday—for UMitnig and for unnecessary .kicking and tripPing respectively, seems to have been caused partly by the spectators, sonic of whom arc reported to have spurred the players on. At the meeting at which thctonr p ayers wore dealt with the referee UMi iionri) said lie would never referee afrain in’ Shannon. One member said thc match was a disgrace from start to finish, am was not football, but really a (Hitand another stated that the ’local constable had informed him that bad the leleice not taken action lie would ■ have charged sonic of the players with assault, ihe chairman, while regretting the position that had arisen, said that too lenient a view could not be taken of thc incidents in the match. Players should play the game. 1 J AN AUSTRALIAN VIEW. The following comment is made by an Australian writer in referring to the playing of International Board rules in New Zeimnd this season; “ The more one sees of Rugger in both codes, the moie one is impressed with thc fact that the spirit and football mentality of thc referee, and the_ spirit and condition of thc teams, are ol greater importance than changes in the laws, even when some, of the latter may be very advisable. The English laws of Rugby Union interpreted by a firm, yet sympathetic, referee, who thoroughly understands and ably admin-

Liters them, with special attention to the splendid advantage law, provides for a magnificent game when' it ■ is placed by lust-class players imbued with high appreciation of team work and tactics. The ami ot New Zealand and Australia should ho to influence the English Union, and, through it. the International Board, in lavonr of some,of the changes adopted in their countries; but, meanwhile, to concentrate on the essentials 1 have mentioned, which are inseparable from liigliclasa football of any type or class or laws. PANDEMONIUM REIGNED. Describing scenes at the Rugby inteinational in Paris, Wales v. France, special messages to Sydney papers say: French national emotions were aroused even more intensely than when Premier iardieu called on the Frenchmen to beat England at Twickenham, “ for the sake of the international moral effect.” Trains brought excursionists from every French department. Many hundreds of Welshmen, wearing leeks and red favours, crossed the Channel. The crowd was n record and the gates were shut an hour before the start. Overcrowding, however, caused dozens of spectators to faint, and doctors and ambulances were _ constantly occupied. It was a sunny, windless day, and the ground was extra fast. A Welshman introduced a British custom to Colombes by fixing a leek to a goal post, and a light-hearted Frenchman tied a gingerbread teddy bear beside it. The teams took punts about, which \ver e interrupted when the band belatedly played “ God Save the King ” and the “ Marseillaise.” A Union Jack flew on one masthead, with- the Tricolour from the other, though a small Welsh lion flew beneath the Union Jack. France began with great verve, but failed to rush the Welsh defenders off their feet. Honours in the- scrume were fairly even, but the French backs lacked method, and chances went begging, whereas the Welshmen relied on the forwards in the loose. The Welsh also had the better of the loose scrums. The first score was when the Cardiff forward, Skym, dived into the ruck near the French line and was pushed over. The try was not converted. The game became a trifle too willing, and the referee, the Englishman, Halliwell, cautioned a French player. There were other instances of kicking and punching before the interval, when Wales led by three to nil. The rough play before the interval caused the referee to convene a meeting of both teams for a lecture. Early in the second half, France penetrated the Welsh defence, kicked over the line, but a Welsh three-quarter with a flying kick sent the ball dead. A moment later Wales was compelled to touch down. Soon afterwards the referee warned a Welshman for foul tactics and imposed a penalty, but the ball hit a post and rebounded. After that the roughness increased, and the game_ was spoilt by stoppages due to minor injuries, warnings and penalties. ..Then' Wales gave one of the finest exhibitions of characteristic Welsh play seen at Colombes. Morgan, the centre three-quarter, interrupted a great passing rush with a beautiful dropped goal. A few minutes later Davey, Morgan’s centre partner, got the ball from a scrum and dropped another. ■ France got over the line and claimed a try, but the referee ordered a scrum. The crowd.went wild and pandemonium reigned until the finish. NOTES. , JMr E. Gordon Shaw, manager of the Waratahs, will be attached to the British team while it is in Australia as the representative of the New South Wales Union. _ , Dr Hindenach, the Otago University forward, will leave Dunedin by the express to-day on his way to England, where he will take a post-graduate course of study. _ He will act as ship’s doctor on the Kia Ora, which is due to leave Wellington at the end of the week. Australian Rugby enthusiasts have been delighted by the news that Tom Lawton will play’ again this season. He is certain to be seen in the test Australia v. Britain'at /Sydney. - ■ The interservices Rugby tournament was won by the Army, which defeated th e Royal Air Force at Twickenham on March 22 by 14 points to 8. • The Army has now won for three successive years Among the R.A.F. forwards was the New Zealander, Pilot Officer G. E- S- Williams. The R.A.F. Captain (Flightlieutenant G. R. Beamish), who is a member of the British touring team, excels not,only as skipper, but is at the moment looked upon as the best forward of the < day. He was individually dominant in the'.game. He was always there, and Williams was notable among the forwards. Holden (Star) had the honour of scoring the first try of the season in Invercargill. He did not give any other player much chance to head him off, his try being scored within one minute of. the kick-off. The return to unrestricted kicking into touch in .New Zealand Rugby will not be popular with spectators if there are many more club games of the type played by Albion and Linwood on the oval at Lancaster Park on 'Saturday afternoon. No (says the Chrustchurch Sun) .doubt it is useful for men who may play Albion and Linwood on the ovabat Lancaster Park on Saturday afternoon. No. doubt it is useful for men who may play against the British team to get plenty of practice in kicking info but spectators would prefer that more of this practice were got on the practice ground; and less in matches. This particular match was not a good one to wateh. Albion won it by 21 points to nil. According to Paris correspondents, intense interest was taken in the Rugby intornational at Twickenham in February. The match was broadcast, with the result that, besides the crowds which waited outside every newspaper pffice, there were small groups in various parts of the eitv listening to the wireless story from loild speakers in the windows of private houses and outside the wireless shops. I*ranees initial success caused intense enthusiasm, and disappointment with the final result was very bitter, for French sportsmen, despite the warnings of wellinlormed critics, had counted on a Gallic victory. ‘ The better team won,” says L-Echo cles Sports, commenting on England s victory. “The Frenchmen were beaten by opponents who were physically stronger, faster, and, above all. better players. The Matin considers that the Lrencli lost two good opportunities when they were m front of the English goal in the first half by getting excited. Ihe I rench defence also blundered badlv says that paper, in letting Robson run right through from beyond thc halfway line. •

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