RUGBY FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22956, 11 August 1936, Page 7

RUGBY FOOTBALL

CANTERBURY BEATS AUCKLAND TWENTY-FOUR POINTS TO FIFTEEN (Per United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, August 10. The Canterbury representative Rugby team showed good form in its first home engagement of the season at Lancaster Park to-day, beating Auckland by 24 points to 15 in a fast and often brilliant game. The home backs were as a combination superior to their opponents, but they saw less of the ball and consequently had fewer chances. The hand-to-hand passing rushes of the Auckland forwards, often in combination with their backs, constantly spelt danger for Canterbury, but apart from one or two lapses the home team's defence was equal to the task. Auckland took the field without two of its best men, B. Killeen and T. Lockington, who have been included in the North Island team, having been compelled to return early to their home city. The visitors, no doubt, must have been a little travel-worn after their tour in the south, but there was no lack of fire and dash in their play, and their form did not belie their excellent record. There was a crowd of about 9000 present. The weather was perfect and the ground firm. Although the play was not always up to the highest standard it was never dull and many of the movements, not confined to those which brought scores, were superb. Canterbury scored five tries, three of which were converted, and one penalty goal to Auckland's three converted tries. Canterbury won the match in the first few minutes of the game. The home team opened with two magnificent passing rushes and from one of these came a converted try. Another try shortly after gave the home side an eight-point lead, and although Auckland for the remainder of the game made heroic efforts to overhaul its opponents, Canterbury invariably replied with movements just as effective. For Canterbury, Eathorne scored a try at the corner, M'Auliffe converting with a great kick. Then Milliken scored after receiving from Rankin in a movement started by Manchester, M'Auliffe failing to convert. Auckland then attacked strongly. Curtayne broke through and handed on to D. Solomon. Cooper and Anderson, the last-named scoring under the posts and Bush convprting. Then came a solo try by Rankin, M'Auliffe converting. Bush came into the Auckland three-quarter line to score and convert his own try. Then M'Auliffe kicked a great penalty goal from the twenty-five near the touchline, and Hart scored a try. Bush missed an easy penalty and Franknam scored a solo try, Bush converting Final'y Manchester scored a try, M'Auliffe converting. The final score was: Canterbury .. .. 24 points Auckland .. •. 15 points NOTES ON THE PLAY CANTERBURY BACKS EXCEL (Special to Daily Times) CHRISTCHURCH, August 10. Hadley's efficient hooking made it inevitable that the Auckland backs should have the lion's share of the ball, but Burke in the second spell won a creditable number of scrums for Canterbury. He will not have so formidable an opponent as Hadley, of course, in future games, and the Canterbury scrummaging is sufficiently sound to ensure reasonable possession. Possession undoubtedly will be important, for Canterbury's strength appears to lie once again in the backs. The Auckland men not only won a majority of the scrums, but they gained possession from a great number of line-outs. In close rucking, however, Canterbury held an advantage, and the hand-to-hand passing of the Auckland forwards was matched by the fine loose dribbling rushes by the Canterbury vanguard. Manchester, the All Black captain last year, was a fine leader, and showed that he is still one of the best forwards in New Zealand. His fine dribbling led to one try, and he scored another after participating in a great passing rush. For brilliant work in the loose, however, Rankin was again unsurpassed, and he clearly out-played his vis-a-vis, Frank Solomon, the former All Black, in a battle which became undisguisedly a wing-forward tussle as the game progressed. In the second spell Rankin and Solomon put the ball in and seldom went down in the scrums. Rankin's try was one of the highlights of the match. Mortlock started a surprise thrust which found Rankin with only D. Solomon to beat. Running close to the touch line he fended his opponent off several times in his dash to the corner. Not content with that Rankin continued his run round to the back of the goal posts, still fending off Solomon and another tackier who made a belated attempt to save a score. Rankin received an ovation for this effort, but throughout the game his play was Canterbury's front-row men—Hattersley, Burke and Mahoney—were always in the thick of the fray. Milliken was one of the best forwards on the field, and Sweeney, more subdued than usual in the loose, was a solid worker. Scandrett, the former West Coast representative, was unlucky in being injured early in the game, and he was replaced by N. J. M'Phail, who made a good showing in hi. first representative match. , ... -u Little fault could be found with the play of the Auckland forwards. The published weights of the teams gave Canterbury a slight weight advantage in the scrum, but the Auckland men looked heavier and certainly they applied their weight well. They excelled in the line out play, Cooper Butler, and August feeding their half-back consistently. As expected, Hadley s hooking was one of Canterbury's most dimcult problems. The Auckland packs tearing rushes in the loose were probably the team's most effective method of attack. The backs used the m-pass to their forwards judiciously,, and frequently this change in direction of attack caught the defence on the wrong foot. Only forward passes and mishandling by the Auckland forwards saved Canterbury from some awkward situations. . . The Canterbury backs handled crisply and cleanly throughout and it was only the extremely solid Auckland defence against the passing rushes that kept the score down. Canterbury s back line was very different from that which played the West Coast, only the five-eighths, Hooper and Mortlock. retaining their positions. M'Auhfle played an excellent game at half-back, being quick to turn to account the least opportunity for initiating an attack. Hooper made some good openings, although inclined to attempt too much on his own, and combined well with Mortlock and M'Phail. Hart was as elusive as ever, and Eathorne, playing his first game for his province as a winger, created an extremely favourable impression. He showed a grand turn of speed in scoring a determined try, and his defence against the North Island representative, Dick, was faultloss. Eathorne, indeed, outplayed Dick who is regarded as one of the stars of the Auckland team. Hart's try was a splendid piece of team-work with C. H M'Phail. Working on the blind side from halfway, the two players exchanged passes four times in an electrifying dash down the line, Hart finally racing over for a score at the corner. Behrns, at full-back, played an outstanding game for Canterbury. He handled faultlessly and made some great saves from the toes of the racing Auckland forwards. His line kicking, too, was long and accurate. In kicking he was in no way inferior to Bush, one of the strongest kickers in New Zealand, and his all-round play was definitely of a higher standard. Frankham's try was a remarkable effort. He received the ball from a scrum close to the Canterbury line, and, after an interchange of passes with his forwards, dived through the Canterbury forwards as they were breaking up. He was tackled on the line, but wrenched himself clear and rolled over for a try, which was thoroughly deserved.