NOT ENCOURAGING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24613, 22 May 1941, Page 4

NOT ENCOURAGING

Without a doubt Southern is missing very much the direction of D, Trevathan at first five-eighth this season. It is unfortunate that he is not there to team up with the most promising young halfback in the competition for years. L. Woodhouse. S. Robert is a keen and useful player, but he is not able to direct play to save his forwards and to cover up weaknesses farther out in the back line. The form of the Southern backs against Dunedin on Saturday was far from encouraging. They had a good share of ball but it travelled out so slowly that rush after rush merely lost ground. C. Inglis must be held largely responsible for this because of his penchant for running across field. Against weak tackling he has been able to push off opponents and so force an overlap, but in the meantime his outside men have been so crowded that they have not been able to use the advantage. Badly directed kicking, too. has caused the forwards to do much unnecessary running, and altogether the side has not .been shaping like a winning combination. There is nothing wrong with the forwards, when they work; but then backs are not giving them sufficient support Advantage Rule in Basketball The necessity for the inclusion of the advantage rule in the basketball rule book was illustrated by incidents which happened in a match last Saturday. It is most important that referees and players should understand and appreciate this rule. The advantage rule states: “ The referee shall refrain from penalising an infringement in cases where he is satisfied that by so penalising he would be placing at a disadvantage the non-offending team. lo have the ball taken back to another third for an unguarded pass when u is well on its way to the goal area and then lose possession is, to say the least of it most tantalising and actually gives' the advantage to the offending team. The rule and its application merit close study, especially by those desirous of obtaining their referee s badge, as the proper application of U is one of the distinguishing marks of a good referee.

A Versatile Trio Three members of Kaikorai’s back division are versatile athletes, and in the match against Zingari-Richmond last Saturday they scored all their side’s points. The three players are R Jaffray. who showed promise in Dunedin cricket last summer W. A. Cox and K. Calder. who have distinguished themselves in athletics in Otago in the past few seasons. On Saturday. Calder cut the defence to ribbons to score a brilliant try. which Jaffray converted Calder. who is one of the best Junior field athletes in Dunedin, is a straight runner and a solid tackier. He is well served by Jaffray at first five-eighth. Jaffray kicked an excellent penalty goal on Saturday.' The third member of the trio. Cox. distinguished himseb bv kicking a brilliant field goal from a difficult angle. Cox played chiefly at full-back last season, but he figures better at centre. These players should develop into a strong combination as the season nrogresses.

Wealth of Full-backs Although perhaps none of the senior Rugby full-backs this year is up to the remarkably high standard tha Otago has had in the past, there wil be no lack of promising full-backs for the selectors to call upon when the representative teams are chosen. T. Webster (Pirates), A. Mason Richmond) ,T. Kawe (University_A). D. Beetham (University B) J. rodd (Dunedin), and J Broadfoot (Alhambra) are all full-backs of a good standard and none would disgrace the Dark Blue jersey. Of these. T. Webster has probably been the most outstanding player ihis season, and he appears to bo well on the way to representative honours. In a Cricket Photograph When the Kaikorai Cricket Club had its first eleven photographed a week or so ago, the players were grouped, whether by accident or design, so that one row consisted of a former All Black Rugby player, a New Zealand cricket representative, an Association football New Zealand representative, and a very prominent hockey player. A. (“Nugget”) Pringle was the Rugby player, C. F. W. Allcott the cricketer, Harold Balk the Association representative, and E. J. Rennick the hockey player—a proud enough record of versatility for any club cricket team The quartet missed-being all “All Blacks” by only a narrow margin, for Rennick has played hockey for the South Island, and. if he had permitted his name to go before the New Zealand selectors when the last team for Australia was being chosen, it is probable that he would have been selected. A Good Five-eighth The best member of the depleted University B rearguard on Saturday was B. Garth, the second five-eighth, who, although he saw little of the ball in concerted back movements, was quick to seize anv opportunities offering in tluj loose play. Garth’s line kicking and handling earned frequent applause from the crowd, but he was inclined to kick to the far touch line too often and thus tire his forwards. While at Christ’s College. Garth was an outstanding player, and earned high praise for his display against Otago Boys’ High School at Dunedin. Since coming to University, little has been heard of him in this sport, but his extremely light build has probably hindered his advancement.