RUGBY FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25553, 5 June 1944, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL

SENIOR COMPETITION DUNEDIN BEATS UNIVERSITY MEDICAL The Otago Rugby Football Union’s Senior Competition was continued on Saturday in fine weather, but on grounds which were fairly heavy after recent rain. Dunedin defeated University Medical by seven points to nil after a bright match at Carisbrook. Air Force, fielding its strongest side this season, beat Union atßishopscourt, and wins were also scored by University Combined Faculties, Pirates, Training College, Zingari-Richmond, and Southern. The results were:— Dunedin 7, University Medical nil. University C.F. 34, Alhambra 12. Air Force 16, Union 6. Training College 12, Kaikoral 9. Pirates 33, University D 5. Zingari-Richmond 18. University C nil. Southern 8, Port Chalmers 7. DUNEDIN’S WELL-DESERVED WIN Dunedin showed definite superiority over University Medical in the main match at Carisbrook, and scored a well-deserved win by seven points to nil. University held an advantage in hooking, the work of G. Gordon in this department being a feature of the play, but with the exception of Gordon, T. Milliken, and G. Beetham, the forwards did not play with with their usual dash in the loose, although they staged some lively rushes in the closing stages. The University backs suffered from slowness near the scrum, but J. Prentice, D. Wood, and T. Savage combined well in the three-quarter line, and Prentice and Savage made several strong runs along the wings. The Dunedin pack gave a fine exhibition of concerted forward play, L. Connolly being outstanding in all departments. He was well supported by K. Thompson, C. McHerron. and J. Sinclair. In the later stages of the second spell Dunedin played with 14 men, one of its forwards having been ordered off. At half-back, I. Gray prayed a serviceable game, and in the first spell he kicked a field goal and scored a try on the blind side of the scrum. J. Riach was a dependable full-back. In the closing stages University tried hard to score, but' the Dunedin defence was equal to the strain. Mr G. McDowell was the referee. NARROW WIN FOR TRAINING COLLEGE

Playing at the Caledonian Ground in a match which was characterised by good forward play by both sides and some bright individual efforts by the backs. Training College defeated Kaikorai by 12 points to 9. Training College fielded a changed back line and, although the team won with a last-minute try, the experiment nearly brought disaster. Although they secured most of the ball, the Training College backs gave up any serious attempt at combination early in the match, as few movements took the ball beyond the centre-tiireequarter. The first points came to Kaikorai with a try by A. Chapman. Then for Training College J. Gibson kicked a goal from a penalty. K. Burke (Kaikorai) kicked a goal from a penalty and a try was scored by R. Walker for Training College. With the scores level at the commencement of the second spell, both teams staged a good display, with Training College mainly on the offensive. Tries by N. Johnson for Kaikorai and by C. Spanhake for Training College again brought the scores level, and in the last five minutes M. Toomey scored the winning try for Training College. Mr E. Prebble was the referee. EASY VICTORY FOR PIRATES

Pirates scored a very easy win by 35 points to 5 against University D in the early match at Carisbrook. The Light Blues were outclassed in all departments, and given a good supply of ball the Pirates backs took part in some bright passing movements. J. Morton (first five-eighths) and L. Milnes (centre) shaped impressively, and the former initiated most of the attacks. In the forwards, D. Hamilton, D. Matheson, and J. Campbell were a good trio. The scorers for Pirates were E. Dawson (2), J. Campbell (2). J. Geary, A. McAuliffe, L. Milnes, J. Morton, and D. Matheson. Morton converted’ four of the tries. J. Thompson scored for University and A. Joel added the extra points. Mr J. Mattingly was the referee. IMPROVED DISPLAY BY AIR FORCE Fielding its strongest side this season Air Force gave a fine display at Biijhopscourt and scored a well merited win over Union by 16 points to 6. The first spell was fairly evenly contested, Air Force leading by 5 points to 3 at half-time. It was not until well on into the second spell that the Air Force backs took charge of the game, and in the last quarter of an hour of play they scored three good tries in quick succession. T. Barth, the Air Force half-back, and E. Hickson at first five-eighths were prominent, while R. Pettit (second five-eighths), R. Goddard at centre, and J. Whitmore and I. Johnson on the wings, also played good football. R. Hazlett, in the Air Force pack, was the outstanding forward on the field. He was given able support by R. S. Pittaway, A. Scaife, and T. Rush. Union relied mostly on their forwards, the best of them being V. Newell, N. Trewick, and J. Walker. The scorers for Air Force were R. Pettit, J. Whitmore, I. Johnson, and R. Hazlett. J Newell converting two of the tries. Union’s points were made up of a try by N. Trewick and a penalty goal by T. Freeman. Mr A. Halligan was the referee. ZINGARI DEFEATS UNIVERSITY C

In a match that was fast and open throughout, Zingari-Richmond defeated University C by 18 points to nil at Montecillo. The Zingari feam played with a better understanding among both backs and forwards. The winning team’s points were made up of six unconverted tries, these being scored by A. Fleming (3), K. Matheson (2), and W. de Bazin (1). These three, with L. Barbara, were outstanding among the backs, and P, Williams, A. Scandrett; and T. McQueen were prominent in the forward play. S. Gray and H. England combined well as half-back and first five-eighth for University, and three good forwards were W. Meldrum, R. Gudex, and N. Brook. Mr J. Burton was the referee.

CLOSELY-CONTESTED MATCH A very closely-contested match at Bathgate Park resuited in a win for Southern over Port Chalmers by 8 points to 7. Play throughout was fairly fast, and both back lines combined well. The forwards were evenly matched, but Southern gained a slight advantage from the scrum. Port Chalmers opened the scoring with a penalty goal, kicked by J. Murphy. This was followed by a determined attack by Southern, which ended in D. Young going over for a try. T. Wallace failed to convert, making the half-time score 3—3. Early in the second spell Young again scored, and this time Wallace converted. Towards the end Port Chalmers made several strong attacks on Southern’s line, and their efforts were rewarded when E Holden kicked an excellent field goal from well outside the twenty-five. Mr A. McCambridge was the referee. COMBINED FACULTIES VICTORIOUS In a scrambling and uneven match, which was enlivened on a few occasions by individual displays of initiative and dash, University Combined Faculties defeated Alhambra on the University Oval by the substantial margin of 34 points to 12. Alhambra had lost several of its key players, and could not reproduce the form shown on the previous Saturday, and the superior speed of the University backs enabled them to break through on many occasions. E. Peterson was again the outstanding University back, and scored no fewer than five tries. R. Elvidge scored two tries, and D. Crisp and H. Skinner each scored one. D. Murdoch converted two tries and kicked a penaltv goal. Alhambra’s 12 points came from four penalty goals, kicked by L. Smith. Mr H. Palenskl was the referee. LOWER GRADES Third Grade.—Alhambra A 15, Ulversity H 3; Pirates B 36, Alhambra B nil: Taieri 16, University nil Fifth Grade.—Taieri 11, Port Chalmers 9.