DASHING FORWARDS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24619, 29 May 1941, Page 4

DASHING FORWARDS

With W. Bissett turning out again, and with some extra weight to help in holding the scrum together, the Taien pack showed form against Dunedin last Saturday that would have given it an advantage against any side in the competition. It is a solid pack all the way through. According to the official guide there are two forwards, frontrankers, below 12st, two 13st odd, three over 14st, and one 15st. When such a fair measure of bulk is combined with plenty of height and pace, it should be possible to mould a dangerous unit R. Barnes and J. Grant showed out particularly in this game and they set a "fine example of controlling the ball on the ground and at pace. K. Waldran was another tall, dashing player and K, Giles again did much valuable work in opening up play and covering up his backs. H. Bruhns is a young front-row forward who has been playing with a good deal of promise. He is not very big. but he is a great worker. If these forwards do not allow their.success to entice them into neglecting their scrummaging in favour of showing up in the loose, they should upset a few more calculations as the season progresses. A Game Fighter Pilot Officer T. McGillivray, who is now fighting with the Bomber Command of the Roval Air Force, will be remembered by Otago boxing enthusiasts as Don .Stirling, who was formerly professional welter-weight champion of New Zealand, and who in his last fight in Dunedin was responsible for an exhibition of sheer pluck that will long remain in the memory of those who witnessed it. He was lighting that hard-hitting little welter Alf. Blatch, and when, at the end of the third round, his second threw in the towel, the crowd voiced its disapproval in no uncertain manner*. It was then that Stirling .arose, and, going to the ropes, announced as best he could that he had been fighting throughout the round with a broken jaw. What a hearing he received! University Hockey The home teams won all the prizes in the annual interuniversity hockey tournament which was held last week in Auckland. In the men's section, however, Auckland A team did not secure the Seddon Stick without a struggle. Auckland A beat Otago by 3 goals to 2 and that was the only match Otago looked like losing. Auckland A'scored 30 goals and had 9 scored against it, and in this connection, Otago's reord of 29 for and 6 against was a little better. It is a tribute to the excellence of Otago's forward line that it scored the highest tally in any one game—l2 against Massey College. The tournament divided the contestants into three pairs of approximately the same strength. There was little to choose between the winning team and Otago, while Canterbury and Victoria each scored four points and Auckland B and Massey two each. The women's contest found Otago well down the list. It lost two matches, to Auckland A and Canter•> bury, and won against Auckland B. More Enterprising It was pleasing to see the Southern forwards and backs so keen to open up play at every opportunity against Pirates on Saturday. The scrum won a good share of the ball, and the backs handled with more confidence and made more ground with their rushes than they had in the previous two or three games. The Southern backs are a young lot this season and have a good deal to iearn, but in this game they showed promise of developing into quite a good combination. The forwards, too, worked with more cohesion. R. Nieper is an energetic pack leader, and he is working into his best form. H. J. Tyrie is scarcely reproducing his dash of a season or two ago, but he appears to be working solidly in the tight. One of the most promising young forwards in the side is 1.. Douglas. Although he is not very heavy, he works all the time and is seldom far away.from the ball.

Basketball Rules A basketball player last week received the ball within shooting distance of the goal, took aim at goal, and held the ball about four seconds before passing to a team mate whom she considered to be in a handier position. The question was asked: "Should the pass be interpreted as a shot at goal and a throw-in awarded, or should the player be penalised for holding ? " The penalty would be a free pass to an opponent for a "held ball"—" held ball" implying holding the ball for more than three seconds in bounds. When out of bounds a ball may also be held for only three seconds when once in a position to play. In this particular case the action of the player was quite definite, and only one interpretation could be given. If she had thrown for goal she would not then 1-fave infringed, as she is allowed five seconds in which to take her shot after gaining possession. Improving Combination The display of the Dunedin backs against Taieri on Saturday must have been satisfying to the side's supporters. The raggedness near the scrum is gradually being smoothed out. and with the experience of A. Manion at first five-eighths valuable in many ways, the ball is travelling out to the wing three-quarters far more cleanly. Thi> two wingers, L. Thomson and G. Reynolds, both showed in this game thai they are fast and dangerous scoring men. and altogether it was no fault of the back division that the side could not make up its one-point deficit. J. Strathern. at second five-eighths, is improving with every game and he staged some speedy thrusts in this match. He is a little inclined to lose contact with .his supports, but that might be because he is too fast for his immediate colleagues. When h= learns to link up again with his threequarters or to swing back to his forwards, his penetration will be valuable Women's Hockey The women's A Grade hockey competition will be at full strength next Saturday after the absence for a fortnight of the Training College and University teams. Dunedin showed up well against Kings I two Saturdays ago, and last week-end met Momona I in a drawn game, neither side scoring. Probably Momona had some little advantage in the forward line, but this was offset by the excellent defence of the Dunedin backs. Last Saturday Otago beat Brighton in the first half. The latter part of the same was not so one-sided, and if the Brighton players had mishit less frequently Otago's territorial superiority would have been less marked. Otago's forward strength lay on the left side, and the other side missed ssveral chances towards the end. Kings I marked up two more points against Kings 11, but the game was not taken serious, and the winners could not afford to be so generous against a stronger side. Service to Basketball A well-known basketball representative player. Miss Aynsley Kerr, who for many seasons was one of the mainstays of the Otago team and later of the Taranaki Association's nine, is now resident in Auckland and giving valuable assistance to the Auckland Association in the refereeing of the weekly competitions. While in Dunedin Miss Kerr was an enthusiastic member of the Albany Club, and it was during her association with this club that her basketball career was so firmly established. She played a strong, spectacular, defensive game, and was one of the responsible agents in maintaining the high position which the Albany first grade team attained to during this period. While in Taranaki Miss Kerr also assisted on the administrative side of the association's work, and from this section she will be particularly missed.