ONLY ONE TRY

Opunake Times, 16 August 1938, Page 2

ONLY ONE TRY

THIRD GRADE SEMI-FINAL

SUCCESS OF OPUNAKE

Principally duo to the sound' Bl«jiiHive tactics, of both teams. ie highseoring generally anticlatod of the third grade seminal r-ontested by Opunake and .thletic at the Donmiu on Saturay did not materialize, but a

latere crowd of spectators nevertheless was treated to a blight, fairly open display of the Rugby code. The first halt ended in "a pointless draw, and expectations were that, as in the final of the southern division, Athletic would be unable to obtain a decision. With half ihe second spell played, however, Opunake came with a gr"at rush, and L. Hohaia fol-

lowed up a solo penetration to score the. only and deciding try of the day. For making- its opportunities, rather than waiting for them,

the Opunake back-line deserved the success it enjoyed and it was by far the more enterprising'. There was little individualism, however, and for the first half every endeavour was made to bring the wings into action. Such a vigorous, defence was offered hv the visitor* that little headwav was made, while, evidently .affected by the nervousness, the 1 imoortance of the fixture wejgliinp- heavily upon them, the backs wore occasionally guilty of handling lapses. R. Barraclough's fame had | «eejningly preceded him, for Trass and Gibson, opposing inside backs, were set to watch him, and he, found the defence too solid to crash through. Onc<? the tendency towards wing attacks, had been established, however, some of the tension w:is relaxed, and during the second half, when somewhat different tactics, were adopted, Barraclough was able to slip through on occasions, but ever then he was not allowed to go tar. The hero of the day was. Elgar, who was responsible for varying the play of the backline to the consternation of the visitors. His. passes from the base of the serum were practically faultless, and it is. a pity that Bailey did not always hand the ball on, in like manner. With keen anticipation, Elgar nipped many attacking attempts in the bud, ge.tting through, on his opposite number frequently, but he never left the central scene, of action. The way he kepi up with play was astounding, and he

showed sound football sense throughout. Scoring a try which was a gem, L. Hohaia was the outstanding forward on the field, and besides, taking a considerable part in the attach, he was the saviour of his. side on many occasions. He corresponds exactly with the type of loose forward Ommake develops consistently, and he appears to have a bright football future. Accompanying him in the loose rushes which •rained large slices of territory

and worried the defence were Melienzie and Ross, but all the forwards figure on the merit list

for their fine concerted pkiv in t i "lit and loose. With, their weight advantage, they were able to push Athletic over the ball in many scrummages, but the visitors,, had an effective counter in screwing the scrum. Line-out work was a feature of the home pack's, play. Three amazing drop-kicks from penalties, just inside the half-way mark, one. Jutting the upright just below the cross-bar marked Walsdorf as, one of the finest kicks seen qn the local ground for many years. His touch-finding als.o was accurate, and lengthy, and he was a particularly sound defender. Ansley, avlio was without question the fastest back on the field, had very bad luck on occasions, and few opportunities, came his way. Despite a tendency to over run the bjiU, a fault which was responsible fqr the award of penalties to Opunake when hard pressed, the visiting forwards put up a commendable show against heavy odds. McLeod,

Be.tteridge and J. Oakes appeareo most pioniinentlv iu loose rush-

Tlie teams were : \ Opunake (green)i: Harris; Butteriiii, Dudley, Byars; Barraclough, Bailey; Elgar;' AlcKenzie; L. Hohaia, Ross, Robson, Hewson; Corkill, S. Hohaia, Croud. Athletic (re.d, white and bluel: AValsdorf; Eden, Landers, Ansley; Goodwin, Trass: Ross; Mer^eod; Betteritloe, Hunt, Hill, J. Oakee: R. Oakes. Milium. Ware. Referee: Mr. 11. Vause. Favoured by sun. wind and fall of the, ground, Opunake was first t.o attack. Butterini eluding Eden and sending on to Bailey, whose cross-field kick was nol backed up. Two penalties enabled Opunake tq »-ain more ground, L. Hohaia missing a shot at syoal from just inside half-way and fifteen yards from touch. When the ball was kicked from a ruck on the line., Harris picked up and ran strongly, being brought down inches short, ond Athletic finally cleared when Ross worked the blind side with Ansley. Anticipating well, Dudley was up to take a forcing mint bv L. Hohaia on the bounce, and the backs lined out in support, solid tackling checking the advance. Eden made a with the ball at foe and cleverly beat Harris. Bvars cominar round to «leav. Trass fielded the ball nnd «et off for the line but he was effectively bottled up by the pack,

Elgar clearing. Barraclough came off temporarily to receive first aid treatment, on ihe sideline and on his return he put Opunake again on the attack with a long kick into touch.

Two furl her opportunities tw.** goal from a penalty came _ tjp way of Opunake but ueithei Barraclough nor L. Hohaia succeeded. Following a tight forward struggle. Walsdorf found touch at the home 25, Barraclough equalling the performance with a left-foot kick to the sideline at half-way. Barraclough and S. Hohaia shared the' next* two penalties, good backing up in the former case almost produdcing ooints, but Butterini was closest to a score when he was crashed out of bounds two yards from the corner flag. A sharp back movement brought, relief to. Athletic,, smd the spell ended with the scores Opunake 0, Athletic 0.

Athletic had the natural advantages, at the change-over, arid soon after the resumption Trass fiqlded Bailey's punt ahead and sent Ansley away, the winger being caught by Bailey who doubled back in quick time. Harris and L. Hohaia combined to dear. The visiting pack came again, and the ball was kicked into touch in goal. Shortly afterwards. Walsdorf took a pot at •tal from a penalty just inside half-wav, the ball striking the Mist a few inches below the crossbar. Subsequently, hq repeated the attempt twice, and both kicks were rlose. Attacking from a line kick by Baile.y, Opunake swung into attack from the line-out, and Dudley was unfortunate to be ousvled when he angled for a pot. The drop-out bounced and found touch at the home 25 and when Harris mi** fielded a penalty kick by Walsdorf. Opunake was in trouble, a side-line run by Butterini easing the pressure. A cut-in by Bailey allowed Barraclough to make ground, but he was grassed and Fden set away, kicking on to Harris who speculated to save. L. Hohaia burst through from a loose ruck to be forced out of bounds near the corner. Trass and Gibson broke up the attack and sent. Ansley away. The pla(f came back infield, and Landers was unfortunate to kick too far.. Twice Opunake was hard pressed when the visiting forwards carried on movements initiated bv iho backs, but penalties, enabled the home side to clear. In neutral ground, Bailey burst through with the ball at toe. running up to the full-back who was beaten by the rolling ball. L. Hohaia was in close attendance, and in a flash he picked up and ran over to score. Barraclough failed to convert, and with half the spell gone, the scores were upunake -'l, Athletic 0.

j The visitors wore quick to ! o,»cn a hot attack, and McKeiizie just ran back in time to beat Lane ers as the centre raced for the ball oyer the line. I. R oss sulicred injury m one of t]i& tierce exchanges, and with Tov ro-Plac ll)ff R. Oakes in the pack,' the back-lme was re-an Wed to him. Athletic continued -lie attack and Opunake was orced to defend with extreme ZohJf befol » a ,crum aclscd down on the line, and tl»* souther,, r, noks h amlle{l Landers kicking for the comer f flair, n.e ball rolled over the '""'. however. ond B yars forced 0,1 tl1 " "«" of «"«e, when the scores were

Opunake 3. Athletic oV Ike successful Opunake f Pani wdl now meet in the provincial final of the competition the winner of the northern-central semifinal™ winch the contestants are Tukapa and Eltham