Sports Commentary

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26774, 18 May 1948, Page 8

Sports Commentary

L By The Sports Editor

Strong Forward Pack History has a habit of repeating itself. It is just about 10 years since the Union Rugby Football Club’s senior team was plodding along at the bottom of the competition, but stalwarts like J. Grainger and F. H. (“Did”) Vorrath were quietly engaged in the process of team-building, and within a year or so Union had won the premiership, in 1939, to be precise. This season the same two men are associated in the preparation of the club’s youthful senior fifteen, and although the team has not yet succeeded in winning a game it has impressed with the constructive -play of its forwards and the dogged defence of its young backs. The forwards were not mastered by either the Kaikorai or Southern packs on their recent appearances at Carisbrook, and Union was distinctly unlucky not to win against Kaikorai, and gave Southern a close call last Saturday. The backs suffer from a lack of experience, but their tackling was a feature of last week’s game. Bv no means the least doughty was the 9st 61b halfback, W. Woods. The inside backs, however, will find that it will pay them to devote time to an improvement of their handling. The Union team may not win many matches this season, but it is just the side to cause an upset before the competition closes, and if the players are kept together they should be a force to be reckoned with in a season hr two. Australian Cricketers The Australian cricket team will enter on tne seventh match of its English tour when it meets Oxford University at Oxford to-morrow. The match will conclude on Friday, and the Australians will make their first appearance at Lord’s during the present tour when they play the M.C.C. from May 22 to 25.

Promising Soccer Player Watcrsiders have registered a young Scottish player, T. 'Gilchrist, who was observed by the Daily Times Soccer writer when playing for Watersiders’ Third Grade eleven. He was tried out in the first eleven last Saturday at fullback, but his place is at halfback. His placing, ability to keep the ball in play, and throwing in from touch were an object lesson, as he was correct in all his movements. He hails from the precincts of Hampden Park, the home ground of Queen’s Park amateurs, and should be an acquisition to the Waterside team. Brilliant Golf by R. Deacon With a fine homeward journey of nine holes played in 33 strokes, R. Deacon, who had an individual score of 41 points in the combined Stableford played at Balmac.ewen on Saturday, carded the best second-half score returned in club competition in a long time. With his partner, R. S. M. Sinclair, Deacon shared the honours of the day with J. Byers and L. C. Brown, both pairs returning scores of 72 points. Deacon went out in a steady 40, and over the last nine holes his card compared with bogey was as follows: Bogey: 3,5, 4,5, 4,4, 3,4, 5—37 Deacon: 3,6, 3,4, 3,4, 3,3, 4—33 Although Deacon took a 6 at Tipperary (586 yards), his five birdies, particularly at the thirteenth and seventeenth holes, more than made up for his solitary lapse in a brilliant sequence of- holes. Match-winning Player A. Howley, the Southern wing threequarter, proved himself a matchwinner in the Rugby match against Union on Saturday, as he was responsible for all of the eight points registered by his side. His try was a first-class effort, culminating from passing in which all the backs joined. Howley clapped on the pace quickly, and, kicking ahead of an opponent, regained possession and went across well out, adding the extra points himself. Later he kicked a goal from a penalty. He is a strong-running wing three-quarter, and exploited fully the openings made for him by the resourceful centre. •J. Graham. An improvement has also been noticed in his defence

Northern Rugby Selectors Several former Otago Rugby players will help to select representative sides in the north this year. A. McDonald, who played for New Zealand in 1905-07-08-13, was first appointed as a New Zealand selector in 1929, and has figured fairly regularly on All Black Selection Committees ever since, being one of the three members appointed this year. L. Heazlewood, who represented Otago'•in 1926-27, and later played for Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury, is a Canterbury selector. He is one of the few players who have represented both the North and South Islands. In 1927, he replaced .S. R. Carleton in the South Island team when the latter was injured, and in 1929 he played for the North Island. U. Walker, who .represented Otago in the 1924-25-26 seasons, has been appointed to the Taranaki Selection Committee, and should be a good choice, as he has a thorough knowledge of the requirements of country Rugby. Golf Title to Mrs Wilson In the final of the Eastern Southland women’s senior golf championship, played at the Croydon links, Gore, last week, Mrs D. M. Wilson (Invercargill) defeated Mrs J. K. Dolan (Otago) by 2 holes. Mrs Dolan was one up at the turn, but Mrs Wilson squared the match and went into a lead of one up with a bogey 3 at the short twelfth. At the next Mrs Dolan had a bad lie at the base of a tree and had to concede" the hole. Playing the seventeenth hole she was one down and missed a great chance to square the match by three-putting from the back of the green. Mrs Wilson made no mistake at the last, which she won in four to take a hard-fought final, 2 up. Once again the result of the match was a story of greater accuracy on and around the greens. Mrs Dolan played magnificent tee shots, and for most of the way she was 20 to 30 yards in front of hpr opponent, but she could not foot it against Mrs Wilson’s greater accuracy with irons and putter.

Versatile Rugby Back J. W. Paterson, who was full-back in the Southern Rugby Football Club’s senior team for several seasons after his return from the war, has been playing good football in his club’s second fifteen, generally at first fiveeighth or centre three-quarter. He is too good a player to be languishing in the Second Grade, however, and it will occasion no surprise if he wins his way back into the higher grade before the season is over.