RUGBY FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23501, 16 May 1938, Page 5

RUGBY FOOTBALL

SOUTHERN’S HANDSOME WIN KAIKORAI SHOWS IMPROVED FORM UNIVERSITY A DEFEATS TAIERI Dunedin Rugby teams are being given every opportunity to provide attractive displays this season. Again on Saturday, conditions were almost ideal for fast Rugby—a dull sky, no .wind, and grounds in splendid order. The result was good wins for the two leading teams in the Otago Rugby Union’s senior competition and several bright games. Southern accounted for the promising University B team by 43 points to nil, and Kaikorai showed more impressive form than in its previous games by beating Union by 19 points to 6. D. Trevathan had a field day, making an individual contribution of 19 points. 1 University A and Taieri met on, Carisbrook, and the greater pace and cohesion of the students won them an interesting match by 11 points to 3. Pirates beat Dunedin by 6 points to 3 in the early game at Carisbrook, and the consistent ZingariRichmond side won against Alhambra, also by 6 points to 3. The results were as follows: Southern .... .. 43 University 8.. .. 0. Kaikorai .. 19 Union .. .. ... 6 University A.. .. 11 Taieri .. .. .. 3 Pirates 6 Dunedin 3 Zingari-Richmond .. 6 Alhambra .. .. > 3

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS SOUTHERN AND KAIKORAI UNBEATEN Southern and; Kaikorai are the only ; t'eams 'unbeaten with four matches, played. The competition details at this stage are as follows: ■Poiiits Ch.

UNIVERSITY A TAIERI FAST. OPEN PLAY The 3 o’clock match at Carisbrook was between University A and iTaieri, and the spectators were ■treated to a fast, open game. Both rearguards were always willing to start passing, and though many of the movements, were stopped by solid tackling and badly-timed passes there was no lack of action from start to finish. Judging by the cheering, the spectators, to the number of about 2500, were well pleased with the game. I The teams were as follows: . University A. Backs—Egan, Steele, Jones, Bissett, Berghan, Mee, Howden; forwards Valentine, Bums, Dunn, Mack, Trott, Borrie, .Foote, Adams. TaierL—Backs—Wilkins, McCartney, Murray, Grant, Johnstone, Campbell, Frew; forwards—Henderson, Giles, Cursey, Barron, Bisset, Broadley, Boyd, Barnes. Both sides started off with plenty of confidence. Mee and then Berghan showed out in penetrating runs, a hard ground kick by a Taieri forward sending play back to halfway. The Blues attacked strongly and Bissett held his side in position with a good line kick; Adams broke away from a scrum and Jones was dragged down on the line. Good work by Wilkins and Cursey took play past the halfway, where Murray tried a short punt, Egan kicking back to the line. The Blue backs were trying hard to come through in passing, but solid tackling by Campbell. Johnstone and Murray were holding up the attacks. The Taieri forwards were indulging in too much hard ground kicking, giving Egan plenty of time to return. The Taieri backs were not afraid to try passing when on defence. Murray saved well in the face of an attack, but the Colours could not lift the pressure. Wilkins was collared near the line, and after a scramble Taieri had to force. A good bit of passing out to McCartney ended with an infield pass to Johnstone, who ran along the stand wing and centred; and the Blues were in trouble. A solid tackle by Egan prevented Grant from crossing the line, and P Foote broke into a Taieri passing rush. Murray and Grant were prominent in another thrust, and the Blues had to force. Play swung to the other end of the field. Bissett was thrown out near the corner flag, and then from a scrum Howden passed to Berghan, who fended off a Taieri back and scored near the posts. Egan kicked a goal. The game had been .in progress 30 minutes. '/Howden cleared after Egan had got,into trouble near the Blues goal, and a well-placed punt by Mee drove back another attack. Barron missed with a penalty kick for a scrum 'infringement, and then a Blue man was palpably offside in front of the Taieri goal. Barron making no mistake with the penalty kick. 5—3 The half-time whistle went shortly after.

' Barron missed with a penalty kick at goal from 45 yards out. and then Johnstone went down gamely to a rush led by Burns. A good line kick by Berghan, who was playing a fine game, put his side in position. The country team now had a difficult time. Jones knocked on right on the line, and Howden and then Berghan were almost over, McCartney at last saving well. Three times Taieri had had to force in a few minutes Bissett was also almost over and then play swung to midfield, where McCartney made a strong run along his right wing, throwing off two attempts to stop him. Passing swung out ni front of the Colours goal, but it broke down, and Jones and Bis-> sett dribbled the ball the length of the field. Right on the Colours line Jones tried to pick up the ball and knocked it on, A scrum was formed, and Howden passed to Berghan, who caught the defenders, out of positions and scored. Egan missed an tasy shot. B—3. Play swung up and down the field, and Adams

scored in a good dribbling rush in which Borrie and Foote were prominent. Egan missed the goal kick. 11—3. Then, amidst great cheering, Taieri dominated the play for a period, the country backs staging some fine passing movements. McCartney came away with strong runs, and three times he was collared near the Blues’ line. Murray was also in evidence, Egan stopping him close to the line. The defence held and play ended with the ball in midfield. University A .. 11 points Taieri .. .. 3 points Mr J. B. Burton was the referee. PIRATES DEFEATS DUNEDIN LITTLE EXCITING PLAY Except for some occasional bright movements among the backs, the early game at Carisbrook on Saturday between Pirates and Dunedin was devoid of play of an exciting nature. Pirates won by 6 points to 3, and went near- to increasing their total on at least three occasions, but they failed to make the best advantage of their opportunities. At the same time, however, the Dunedin team gave an improved showing and displayed better combination than previously. Pirates. —Backs:. Taylor, McLeod, Perriam, Duff, Bathgate, Thorburn, Campbell; forwards—Neilson, Graham, Shand, Harkess, Parkhill, Beadle, Grant, Kennedy. Dunedin.—Backs: Lowe. Wallace, Spillane, Smith, Black, Manion, Wright; forwards—Carter, O’Connor, Ray, Brosnan, Aitken, Collett. Lahment, Berry Taylor kicked off for Pirates, and for the first 15 minutes there was a fair amount of broken play, neither side showing out to any advantage. Both teams endeavoured to open up the game, but faulty handling spoilt a number of promising movements. Campbell, Perriam and Duff were associated in a bright bout of passing, but when Duff threw a wild pass infield a chance of scoring was lost. Shortly afterwards Thorbum made a fine opening, which enabled McLeod to score at the corner. Taylor missed with the kick at goal, making the scores: Pirates 3 points, Dunedin nil. Dunedin then took a turn at attacking, Spillane cutting in nicely before handing on to 'Wallace, who, however, was brought down a few yards short of the line. Dunedin kept Pirates hemmed in their own territory for a short spell until Taylor relieved the pressure with a good Ijne kick. The spell ended with the scores: Pirates 3 points, Dtinedin nil. The second spell commenced more brightly, and the backs of both teams threw the ball about with greater freedom. Pirates swept play to their opponent’s goal line several times, but Dunedin stood up to the attack and retaliated. Out u, front of Pirates’ goal posts a scrum infringement enabled Wallace to kick a goal, making the scores 3 all. Play centred around midfield for a period until the Pirates forwards, led by Grant and Parkhill, shifted the scene to Dunedin’s twenty-five, where offside play gave Taylor the oppor tunity to kick an easy goal Pirates G Dunedin 3. Perriam and Duff were prominent in another bright movement before the spell ended, the winger making a determined run only to lose possession after striking the corner flag. Pirates kept up the pressure, but the spell ended without further addition to the scores. The final scores were:— Pirates .. ~ 6 points Dunedin .. ~ 3 points Mr D. McKay was the referee. KAIKORAI DEFEATS UNION A DULL FIRST HALF The first half of the game between Union and Kaikorai at Bishopscourt was patchy and uninteresting, with Union getting the better of the exchanges. But after the start of the second spell, the Kaikorai pack brightened up and ended by winning convincingly with a score of 19 —6. W. Ruff gave a good exhibition of his skill as a defensive player, and was also responsible for an excellent try, Murray being the p l ayer who actually scored. The teams were as follows; Kaikorai.—Backs W Ruff, B Ruff Manning, N. Kean, Murray Chapman, Scott; forwards —Jamieson, Davie, Leatham. Barnes, 1 Murray, Reid, Mclntosh, Souness. Union.—Backs —Trevathan, Saul, Carter, McKay, Coding, Martin, Homer; forwards—Campbell, Fans, Walker, Richards, Vorrath, Gensik, Martin, Thompson.

The game opened with rather lifeless up-and-down play, and it was not until almost a quarter of an hour after the commencement that there was any incident, Coding (Union) being successful with a penalty kick from a rather unfavourable position. Union were ready for opportunities, but their backs were not alert, although they were definitely superior to their opposing backs, who showed very poor knowledge of tactics and gave no suggestion that they had any “ tricks of the trade.” Gensik, of Union, and Vorrath. also of Union, were probably the best forwards on the field, and, although the Union forwards were getting the ball out from the scrum well, they were not getting co-operation from their backs. Shortly before the end of the first spell W. Ruff was responsible for Kaikorai’s first try, with a brilliant race up the side line, passing out to Murray, who succeeded in scoring, the attempt at converting failing. The second half saw the Kaikorai backs brightening up, and in a series of good attacking movements Manning, Klau and Scott all came near to scoring. The backs were showing better judgment in following up, and, after Murray had succeeded in kicking a penalty, there were two scores made. Souness was lucky in getting over near to the corner, and soon after, as a result of good work by Chapman and Klau, Kean crossed the line. The first try was converted by Murray. The score stood at 14—3 in Kaikorai’s favour when Coding (Union) kicked a penalty goal. But the Kaikorai side was now finding form and, after a run by Murray, Manning dived over the line, Chapman converting the try. The scores when the final whistle blew were:— Kaikorai .. .. 19 points Union .. .. 6 points. The referee was Mr W. Baxter.

UNIVERSITY B OVERWHELMED SOUTHERN’S LARGE SCORE Taking complete charge of the game from the kick-off, Southern overwhelmed University B at the Caledonian ground, running up the large score of 43 points to nil. The Black and White backs had a feast of the ball and as a result most of the eight tries came from good back movements. Trevathan played a brilliant game and besides converting three tries and kicking two penalties, he potted a goal and scored a try—giving him a total of 19 points. Black, the Southern winger, scored four tries and was again in good form. The teams were as follows:

Southern.—Backs: Bolton, Black, Inglis, Deans, Trevathan, Robert, Simon; forwards—Wallace, Lawson, McDonald, Neiper, Hill, Tyrie, Edwards, Niven. University B.—Backs: Falvey, Gowland, Taylor, Kawe, Moore, Fyffe, Simpson;. forwards—Galloway, Wilson, Wall, Howden, Thodey, Baragwanath, Anderson, McKee, Southern attacked right at the start, Trevathan failing with a quick pot inside the twenty-five. -From a. line out close to the University B line, Black struggled across to score at the corner five minutes after the game had commenced. Trevathan missed the kick. Southern 3, University B nil. A minute later Trevathan cut through after a scrum and handed to Niven, who went across wide out. Trevathan again failed to convert. Southern 6, University B nil. The Black and Whites continued to have the better of the game and scored again from a beautiful passing rush started from a scrum by Simon. Robert cut through brilliantly and passed to Black, who ran across at the corner and went round behind the posts. Trevathan converted. Southern 11, University B nil. The Blues attacked strongly with a series of passing movements, but a long kick by Trevathan put them on the defensive, and when the full-back fumbled McDonald scored in a handy position after a scramble, Trevathan converted. Southern 16, University B nil. Barely two minutes later Deans went across at the corner after a good back movemefit, the kick failing. Southern 19, University B nil. A pretty scissors movement gave Black Southern’s next try, Trevathan adding the extra points, and two minutes later the Southern winger went over at the corner in a tackle after a strong run. Trevathan failed to convert. Southern 27, University B nil. Hill went off with an injured finger and was replaced by Quaid. Just before half time Trevathan kicked a goal from a penalty, making the score Southern 30, University B nil. A scrum infringement gave Southern its first score in the second spell, Trevathan putting over a free kick from, just inside the twentyfive. Southern 33, University B nil. Trevathan attempted to pot, but the ball hit an upright and bounced back, a Southern forward knocking on when a try seemed certain Wallace (Southern) and Falvey (University) left the field with injuries, and then Bolton was hurl when tackled by two men and was carried off on a stretcher with slight concussion. Hill, who had been injured in the first half, came on again in the Southern pack, Neiper going to full-back. The Colours played 14 men. Stewart replaced Falvey. A strong run by Deans gave him a good try in the corner, but Tre vathan’s kick was wide Southern 36, University B nil. Southern’s score was brought up to 40 when Trevathan potted a neat goal from the twenty-five. The Blues re mained on the defensive right until the end of the game, only good tackling keeping down the score Just before the final whistle, however. Trevathan forced his way over wide out, his own attempt at conversion hitting an upright. Th<final score was:— Southern .. .. 43 point? University B .. Nil Mr L. E. Macassey was the ro ferce. GOOD WIN FOR ZINGARI ALHAMBRA’S FOURTH DEFEAT Due principally to the weakness of the opposing inside backs and the sluggishness of the Alhambra pack, Zingari-Richmond scored a well-dc-served victory ov<jr the Opoho fifteen by 6 points to 3 at Tahuna Park on Saturday. Playing conditions were practically ideal, but the game was patchy, and it was not until the closing stages that the spectators were given any cause for enthusiasm. Zin-gari-Richmond gained the ball regularly in the first half and the backs were decidedly superior in thrust and combination Alhambra tried in the dying stages of the game to pull the match out of the fire but failed The game was notable for the number of stoppages for injuries, but though several players left the field, no one was seriously hurt. The following were the teams:— Zingari-Richmond. Backs Campbell, Idour, Mehalski, Ander-

son, Mason, Rapson, Robertson; forwards —Freeman, Homer, Pollock, Short, Topi, Wilson, Hennessey, White. Alhambra. Backs: Broadfoot, Flint, N, Mitchell, Tappin, Orange, Robinson, McKeich; forwards— Stewart, Frood, Bain, Lament, Skinner, Polworth, Mitchell, J. Robinson. Alhambra kicked off, but Zingari was the first to show up, and it was only through a good save by Tappin that a try was averted. The Alhambra winger kicked well downfield and Flint followed up smartly. Zingari was in trouble, but Mehalski kicked for touch, N. Mitchell just failing to gather in the kick when ho had a clear run down the touchline. Following a nice opening by Pollock, the Zingari forwards set up a strong attack and took play right to the corner flag, where Topi forced his way over for a well-deserved try. Campbell failed with the kick. Zingari-Richmond 3, Alhambra nil. Zingafri hooked the ball repeatedly, hut Mason at second five-eighths spoilt several movements by hanging on too long and by his lack of dash. On the opposing side, however, the inside backs were extremely slow in getting the ball out to N Mitchell, who had little ground to work in. Just before half time, Alhambra set up a strong attack. Mitchell drew the opposing backs cleverly and then sent the ball on to Tappin, who made a bold bid for the line. He side-stepped his way down the touch to within five yards of the line, where the ball was kicked over the dead-ball line by a defender. From the ensuing scrum McKeich got the ball away, but Tappm, who had moved across as an extra five-eighths, held on too long and the Zingari forwards were able to clear with a good rush. Half time was sounded without alteration to the score. Homer retired at die interval and Mac Lean took hi" place, and Mehalski and Mason changed places in the Zingari back division. The spell had not been in progress many minutes when Zingari set up a strong attack. From a scrum on the southern touch line, Robertson sent his backs away in a pretty movement. Anderson, who had gone across as an extra five-eighths, made an excellent run before sending Mason over for a good try in a fairly handy position. Mason failed with the kick, the score thus being ZingariRichmond 6, Alhambra nil. In a desecrate effort to open their account the Alhambra players attacked strongly. N. Mitchell went out to wing and McKeich sent him away on the blind side. With a characteristic dive he threw himself over the line, but was forced into touch in goal. Zingari then came away in an attractive movement, and backs and forwards combined effectively in a spectacular passing rush. Mehalski finally secured possession and crossed the line, but was called back for a knock on. Alhambra returned play to Zingari territory, where a Zingari forward was penalised. From 40 yards out Broadfoot kicked an excellent goal, thus making the score, Zingari-Richmond 6, Alhambra 3. Spurred on by his success, Alhambra attacked strongly and Campbell had to mark in the face of a hot - attack. Mitchell was making every endeavour to get the necessary points, but the Zingari defence held and the final whistle was sounded with the' scores: Zingari-Richmond 6 points Alhambra .. ..3 points Mr H. Williamson was the referee.

LOWER GRADE RESULTS SECOND GRADE Pirates A 19. Union nil. Port Chalmers 3. Dunedin 3. THIRD GRADE Union 6, Pirates B 3. Ravensbourne 6, Southern 3. Pirates A 11, Kaikorai 3. Dunedin 11, Port Chalmers 5. FOURTH GRADE Union 22, Ravensbourne 3. Dunedin 15, Pirates A 3. Southern A. 8, Alhambra A 5. Green Island 9, Port Chalmers 8. Pirates B 3, Zingari nil. Taieri 39, Southern B nil. FIFTH GRADE Technical 12. Kaikorai 5. Alhambra 24, Taieri 4. Union 36, Green Island 10. Pirates A 44, Zingari nil. IN OTHER CENTRES <Peb United Press association) AUCKLAND Grafton 9, Marist 6. Ponsonby 28, Manukau 5. North Shore 9, Otahuhu 6. Grammar 14. University 6. WELLINGTON Poncke 10. Petone 3. Athletic 20, Johnsonville 8. Hutt 14, College Old Boys 6. Wellington 14, Marist Old Boys 14. CHRISTCHURCH Sydenham 23, Albion 3. Sunnyside 18. Technical Old Boys Old Boys 25, Athletic 3. Air Force 3, Merivalc 0. Linwood IG. Christchurch 6. INVERCARGILL Pirates 17, Blues 16. Old Boys 28, Marist 3. Bluff "22. Star 0.

TIMARU Geraldine 15, Old Boys 3. Temuka 16. Waim'ate 0. Celtic 15, Zingari 0. THE SPRINGBOKS’ TOUR DOMINION GIFT APPRECIATED (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 14. The Under-secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs (Mr J. W. Heenan) has received from Mr A. F. Pienaar, president of the South African Rugby Board, a letter slating that he has been directed by his board to convey to the Prime Minister (Mr Savage) on behalf of the Government of New Zealand the sincere thanks and appreciation of the board for the kindly gift of three volumes of press clippings representing the story of the Springboks’ tour of New Zealand in 1937. No more suitable and acceptable memento could have -been conceived, he stated, and be had no doubt that this lasting record of a memorable tour would retain its interest to Rugby enthusiasts for all time.

p. W. L. Fr. Ast. Pts. Southern ... 4 4 —. 84 14 8 Kaikorai .. 4 4 — 35 18 8 Pirates .. 4 3 1 25 21 6 University A 4 3 1 59 25 6 Taieri . . .. 4 Zingari- *• 2 2 23 28 4 Richmond 4 2 2 25 20 4 University B 4 2 2 51 68 4 Alhambra .. 4 — 4 16 47 _ Dunedin ., 4 _ 4 14 36 —. Union .. .. 4 4 15 71