RUGBY FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22052, 7 September 1933, Page 4

RUGBY FOOTBALL

By Full-back, FIXTURES July 29. —Otago Sub-unions v. Souths land Sub-unions, at Dunedin, lost 12 points to 9 points. August s.—v. Southland, at Invercargill, lost 23 points to 8 points. August s.—v. Marlborough, at Dunedin. won 21 points to 6 points. August 12.—v. Southland, at Dunedin, lost 13 points to 12 points. August 26. —v. Canterbury, at Christchurch, lost 8 points to 5 points. August • 30—v. Wairarapa, at Wairarapa, lost 19 points to 17 points. September 2.—v. Hawke’s Bay, at Napier, lost 19 points to 8 points. ■ September 2. —v. South Canterbury, at Dunedin, won 17 points to 12 points. September 6.—v. Wanganui, at Wanga- / nui, won 13 points to 8 points. September 9. —v. Wellington, at Wellington. September 13.—v, Taranaki, at Dunedin. September 16.—v. North Otago, at Dunedin.' September 23.—South v. North Island. NOTES The match at Carisbrook on Saturday between South Canterbury and an Otago B team was not productive of much good football, hut it served to bring some of the younger players under the eyes of the Otago selectors. Dawkins shaped well at centre three-quarter, and showed • he had an idea of the requirements of the position. I The Blue forwards worked hard, and well held the opposing pack, but, the scrummaging on both sides was at times rather ragged. The South Canterbury backs have plenty, of dash, and if they could only link up they would have a good attacking side. Local followers of the game would no doubt feel very pleased that. Australia won the fifth test match against South Africa. South Africa won three of the tests and Australia two. When the team left for South Africa it was realised that it would have a very hard task in holding the heavy Springbok forwards, and its record, under the circumstances, is highly gratifying. Auckland will play Wellington on September 16. Auckland has so far beaten North Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, and Taranaki, and Wellington .also has an unbeaten rebord this season. With four senior representative teams, as well as a junior side, in action against teams representing other centres, Wellington will be covering a wide field on Saturday. There will be the match with Otago, at Pahiatua there will be the Wellington touring team’s match with Bush Districts, and at Carterton the junior .representatives will be playing the Wairarapa juniors. The other two engagements, though being played with the Wellington Rugby Union’s permission, are not regarded as official, but they contribute to a regular field day.. One team, selected by Messrs Moffitt and Griffiths, will be playing Marlborough at Blenheim, and the other, chosen by Messrs C. G. Porter and S. D. Shearer, will be playing at Wanganui. , « • ... The following is the team which represented Otago against Wairarapa:—Taylor, Jones, Caradus, Allen, Sutherland, E, M‘Skimining, Rae, Lucy, Here, Hamilton, Vorrath, Slyfield, Abel, Chapman, Finjayson. ; The Wairarapa Times states that the game in the first half was not productive of very interesting football. “The Otago backs, while attacking vigorously, were weak in defence.’’ . . . The Otago backs got plenty of the ball, but their penetration' was generally poor, there being top much of a sameness, with the ball going along the line and no initiative or attempt to cut, through, with the result that each man was collared in turn. The Otago forwards packed well and played vigorous. football, but. Wairarapa did not disgrace themselves. The president of the New Zealand Rugby Union and Canterbury Rugby Union (Mr A. E. MThail), in | proposing the toast of “ The West Coast Rugby team ” at the dinner in the evening, said that the Ranfurly Shield had made Tor good football and sporting games, while it had been held in the South Island. The great Olympic champion Erie Liddell, when asked to make a speech, on his return from the Olympic Games, said, In the dust of defeat, as in the laurels of victory, there os great glory to be won, provided one has done one s best. That applied to that day’s game, and when the time came for Canterbury to.hand oyer the shield it was hoped that it would be handed over to a team that played Rugby football in the manner in which it had been played that day, . Having scored a century in club matches. Fuller, .Wellington wing threequarter, is heading well for a similar achievement in represetnative matches. To a record already exceptional, he added 14 points on Saturday, and brought his aggregate for representative, games this season to 72 points, scored at the remarkable average o,f just over 14 per game. Against Taranaki he converted all four of Wellington’s tries, one of which he scored, and also kicked. a penalty goal. In club and representative matches this season he has scored 178 points. These amazing figures leave ’little doubt ag to his being worth his. place in any team. The description in. the Hawke’s Bay Herald of the incident in .which Bolton failed to ground the balk in the second spell in the match against Hawke’s Bay reads as follows:—“For the next five minutes each set of forwards tested the merits of the other, to the slight advantage of the Magpies. After that Rae secured possession and transferred to Bolton, who covered 30 yards, crossed the line, but wag held up by two forwards the ball eventually being forced down. It. was bad luck for. Otago, for a try seemed practically certain.” SCHOOLBOYS* TOUR ENCOURAGING COUNTRY FOOT,BALL. The manager of the Dunedin Primary Schools’ Rugby team which visited Central Otago last week-end, supplies me with the following interesting report on the tour: — i “Although the boys who had played for Otago against Southland were excluded, the touring side, consisting of. 21 players, was regarded as being a fairly strong one. On our arrival at Naseby on Friday afternoon, a match was played against a . combined’ Maniototo Schools team before a fair number of spectators. Playing with characteristic dash, the country forwards dominated the play in the first spell to lead by 6 points to nil at half' time, and it was not until the concluding stages of the match that the Dunedin forwards could hook the ball cleanly enough to their half to. enable the fast wingers to come into action. A hard-fought game between two evently matched sides resulted in a draw —6 all. For ; Maniototo, Binnie (full-back) played an outstanding game, while’ Clark (fullback) and Lawrence (winger) were prominent for Dunedin. “In the seven-a-side tournament at Ranfurly on Saturday, three Dunedin sevens took part in the schoolboys’ section, the Dunedin A team defeating Patearoa in the final by 5 points to nil. It is worthy of mention that the M'Skimming brothers, who are serving the Otago seniors so well this year, are products of this little country school—Patearoa. “It is quite evident that there is some splendid material.in our country districts, and it is to be hoped that, our tour achieved its purpose in giving some encouragement to school football in Maniototo."' A RUGBY ARMY! SOUTH AFRICAN TRAINING. In the light of what the Rugby football authorities at Home have had to say on the question of teams assembling for training prior to a match, it is interesting to learn of what has been done in South Africa in preparing the, players for the tests with the Australians. Training camps are, not viewed with favour al Home, and some time, ago New Zealand was made aware 'of this, and instructions were issued accordingly, by the New Zealand Rugby Union. Prior to the recent test at Johannes' burg, the following advice was cabled tc Australia: —"The Wallabies are nov recognised as the, best Overseas team tc visit South Africa since the war, not ex cludirtg the 1928 All Blacks. The selector! are.thus making every effort to field the strongest team, aa they fear a possibh

loss of the rubber. They have taken the unprecedented step of assembling; 70 players. They are at Pretoria, which is 1300 feet lower than Johannesburg, for special practice prior to the selection of the team.” 4 ? It was also' reported that, escaping effects of high altitude, the Wallabies left Johannesburg immediately after the Transvaal match for a three days’ visit to Kruger National Park game reserve, where they could see lions, giraffes, zebras, and a variety of buck in a natural habitat. They were to return for two days’ .light practice before the third test. The Wallabies were now showin™ exceptional form in all departments. Unfortunately, their breathing was affected by the ratified Rand air, and it was detrimental to their chances. From the date of the cablegram it was evident that the 70 South African players were at the place of assembly early in the- week in which the test was ployed, the test taking place -on.-a'-Saturday;