CITY RUGBY PLAYERS NOW STRIKING FORM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27112, 21 June 1949, Page 8

CITY RUGBY PLAYERS NOW STRIKING FORM

Sports Commentary

By the Sports Editor

In less than six weeks’ time, Otago will face Buller’s challenge for the Ranfurly Shield. With 11 members of last year’s side now in South Africa with the All Blacks, the selectors—Messrs V. G. Cavanagh, Jun., W. Duncan, and C. K. Saxton—will be faced with the process of building an almost entirely new team. Fortunately, however, many of those likely to be called upon are seasoned players,, and the younger men in the reckoning are players of considerable promise. In the next few weeks, the sub-unions’ strength will be revealed by a number of virtual trial games that have been arranged, culminating in the NorthernSouthern Sub-unions’ match on July 16, and the Metropolitan-Combined Sub-unions’ game on July 20.

While the country is again expected to provide considerable stiffening in the pack, and there are some promising sub-union backs besides L. S. Haig, it will not be surprising' if the majority of the rear division are drawn from city clubs. The problem of replacing I. J. Botting and W. A. Meates may be simplified if the selectors decide to bring G. J. T. Moore from fullback to wing three-quarter. MoOre has be.en the outstanding winger in the Dunedin competition this season, and the two tries the University captain scored against Southern on Saturday bore the hall-mark of real class. He is a strong and determined runner, uses a powerful fend-oif. and is a nerve-shattering tackier. He has given some fine displays on the wing this season.

A. L. Mclndoe, who was behind the Otago scrum' in the shield games against’ Southland and North Auckland in 1947, has returned to his best form and may be Woodhouse’s most serious rival for .the position behind the scrum. Other good town halves are B. Haig (Dunedin), who played against Hawke’s Bay last year, T. Moore, the Zingari-Richmond captain, and J. Averill, of Training College. Any of these players „ would perform creditably in a representative side.

For the other wing, R. Church, the University A player, should be in the reckoning. Church is a fast and resourceful player with good coverdefence. and looks the type of player to improve. R. Matchett (Dunedin) is a big, strong player, who takes a lot of stopping, and L. Couper, the Taieri player, is another who has attracted more than passing notice this year. Couper’s usefulness is enhanced by his ability as a place-kick, the lack of which cost Otago many points in the shield games last season.

It should be possible for Metropolitan to field a well-balanced pack of forwards, and the re-appearance of A. H. Foster, the University A hooker, may aid the task of finding a successor to N. L. Wilson, ndw in South Africa... Foster filled the bill in 1947 and in both games against Southland last year, and if he can maintain his present form must be strongly in the running. C. Todd (Dunedin) is a skilful hooker, but his efforts are marred by his inclination to play too loosely. A young hooker who has shown promising form is T. Hunt, the Taieri player. T. Wallace (Southern) is at home anywhere in the front row. He first represented Otago in 1941 and is still a useful forward.

Should Moore be played on the wing in the Metropolitan team. R. Orr (Zin-gari-Richmond) looks the most likelv choice hs full-back. He played for Otago in eight representative games in 1947, and in two shield matches last year, and his line, kicks have length and direction. Although not the relentless tackier that Moore is, Orr is a fine player who would grace »any representative side in the. country. A recent discovery is C. Bayley (University A), who has been doing some really phenomenal kicking in'the club games. Were his defence a little more solid and his positional play better, he might receive some consideration.

C, J. McDonald is not likely to have any serious rival for the position of centre three-quarter in the Metropolitan team, and the Pirates player should prove a worthy successor to R. R. Elvidge in the Otago team. Like Elvidge, McDonald is also at home at second five-eighth, but with more room to work he shows his best form in the outside berth. McDonald has been playing first-class football, and there is good reason to think he may be one of the successes in big Rugby this season.

A young player who has shown encouraging form in the centre position is D. J. Simpson, of Training College, who has natural ability and is worthy of encouragement. The selectors may be faced with a problem in finding a second five-eighth of representative, calibre. There are several likely players, but none has shown up in really outstanding fashion. R. F. Waldron, who gave a good display at first five-eighth for Kaikorai on Saturday, is • equally at home at' second five-eighth, and other second five-eighths who show promise are J. Fitzgerald (University A) and K. F. McCormack (Dunedin). Fitzgerald .has great possibilities, but would be more effective if he overcame a tendency to go too far after making the opening. McCormack played in the trials last year, but has been in Hamilton for most of the present season. In form, McCormack might be in the running. The Varsity A player, R. Wightman, who has figured at second five-eighth or centre three-quarter in the club matches, has shown encouraging form. Were it not for the shrapnel wound in his ankle, W. I. Perriam would receive consideration for. he is still a fine footballer.

Allowing that Waldron were to be considered as a second five-eighth, no first five-eighth has shown better form locally than S. A. Sutherland, the Pirates player, who represented Otago in 1945 soon after leaving school. He is a strong and penetrating runner and a solid tackier. L. D. Lawrence (Dunedin) is a first five-eighth whose play is marked by steadiness and dependability.

L. S. Woodhouse is the popular choice as the No. 1 half-back. The Southern captain, who is now a tine all-round player, benefited from his experience in the All Black trials last year. Woodhouse first represented Otago in 1941, and after service with '.he forces, he reappeared in 1946 as understudy for All Black J. Haig. He has been the shield team’s regular halfback in most of the games in the last two seasons, and has played consistently good football this season.

For the positions of “props,” however, the two strongest claimants'may be C. M. Garden (Zingari-Richmond) and R. D. Fraser (University A), both forwards of the 6ft, 14-stone odd type, and members .of the Otago B team against North Otago last season. Since then, Fraser has gained selection in the New Zealand Universities team. Both, are grand rucking forwards with plenty of dash and vigour in the loose. D. Smith (Southern) is another tireless front-ranker who plays consistently good football. The choice of locks may cause the selectors some concern, but two of the most consistent have been B. Doherty (University A) and-.D. Lowe (Dunedin), both of whom display plenty of dash in the open. Forwards who are likely to be in the running for places in the middle row are A. E. Hellyer and W. Brown (Zingari-Richmond), E. Michie and W. Neame (Alhambra), L. L. Thompson and E. P. Lovett (Training College), J. C. Pilling and D. R. Sapsford (Pirates). J. Riach (Dunedin), and G. Johnstone (Taieri). Hellyer has represented Otago for the past three seasons and is likely to be one of the breakaways, and Michie may be the other. Michie is a powerful packman, but still inclined to rove a little. For the No. 8 position, K. J. O’Connor is the obvious choice. He invarably rises to the occasion in big football, and it is doubtful if there is a more powerful forward playing in Otago ta-day. The next few weeks may see others pressing their claims, and when the Metropolitan team is finally chosen it should be capable of being moulded into a strong combination. An Unsettling Influence It is a great pity that some other method of playing local Chatham Cup games could not be evolved, as each year there is the same'upsetting of the local Fletcher Cup competitigns, writes the Daily Times soccer writer. This year the trouble has been aggravated by teams from the Senior A and B divisions entering the Chatham Cup competition. With two senior divisions, it would be better for every team to enter and make a complete round. This would take four Saturdays and the draw would enable A and B teams to oppose each other. At present there will be three rounds in the Fletcher Cup series of matches. The Chatham Cup draw affects all centres similarly, but to date no solution of the problem has been found.