NOTES BY FULL-BACK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2524, 30 July 1902, Page 52

NOTES BY FULL-BACK.

The senior club fixtures were concluded on Saturday, and from the following table it will be seen that Alhambra win the Flag for the reason of 1902. with a splendid reoord of 12 v.ws out of 12 matches played : —

* The unplayed match Pirates v. Union ha 3 been awarded to Pirates by default.

+ The Southern-Zing.in match has been declared " no contest," ar>d has been ordered to be re-played

The following table is published to show Jhe position the various senior clubs occupied at the conclusion of Flag matchc 'ist year : —

Club matches for the season of 1902 concluded on Saturday last. Alhambra accounted for Zingari by 8 points to ml ; Dunedin and Southern played a drawn game without scoring; Pirates went, down to Kaikor.u by a margin of 2 points, Iho game concluding, Kaikorai 5 points, Pirates 3 ; Union and University contested ai Tahuna Park, the advantage being on the lide of 'Varsity, point* being 9 to 8.

Scobie Mackenzie, the ex Otago reprerentative, has won his way into the Avck land team, to play against Canterbury on Saturday next.

Mr A. C. Kbrris, of "Wellington, has lgreed to referee in the inter •nrount-ial

match between Otago and Canterbury in ChristehuTch on August 30.

Pirates had great difficulty in getting a team together to meet Kaikorai laet week, and on Saturday morning were hunting round the town for members to make up a fifteen. Result was that the weakest team of the season stripped at Bishopcourt to battle on behalf of the B!aek«; yet they made a good fight, and played one of their be jD gaia*?.

A Wellington correspondent, writing to a southern eveuiug paper, endeavours to point out that the news itP-m appearing in tl.ese columns last week with reference to George Smith, the Auckland and New Zeaiand three-qua.--ter back, having been approached by Manningham (Eng ) is incorrect, and says that .Tacobs is the player referred to. Apparently tho northern correspondent is wise aftor tho event — a lou^ way after The paragraph in our column* is correct in so far a« it refers to (Jrorga .Smith, of Auckland, having be-en approached by Manningham. The ncv.s item was a direct communication from an ex Otago player in England who had bt-eu sent down to London on, purpose to get tho New Zealai.der to sign on. Mauninghdni ana Jjcobt^. of Southland, may have come to an an-ang^ment, but with that our pan graph, has nothing to do.

The Wairarapa representative full back of this season is rather a. so.id gentleman for opposing players to bump up against. His name is M'Konz'o. and his weight 15.8. In reference to the North v. South Island match, to be played m Wellington on September 13, it was decided at tho last meeting^ of the New Zca'and Union to a^k tho union* to defray the- transit exp uses of any of it? repre=eiitati\ c-s. the Ne.v Zra.land Union to bear the expends incurred in the maintenance of the team during the stay ni Wellington. Tho selectors of the North v. South Island teams — Mosstb KHikcii, Haiiamore. and Murray (North), and Messrs Evans, Harris, and Galbraith (South) — aro to be asked to have both teams ciiofacn by Srpienrfcpr 1. Ben Bain, tho Southland wing tl.reequart^r back, who had the misfortune to break his am by coi>id'ng with Jacobs in a recent matrh in Southland, has been suggested for the position of manager of the Southland team while, on the northern tour. Bain in all probability would have been selected as oiip of the Southland team to make tho northern tour but for the unfortunate "cciueiii. Tn \iew nf this, and in the hi^lit of tho fnc-t that he has done yeornan'e sen ire for the- uthern pro\ince, no more- graceful way of appreciating his past services and pympsthy for present mcapacitotion could be shown than that of offering him the post of manager to the Southland team while on tour.

The following players will represent Auckland in the interproiineial match against the Canterbury touring team on Saturday next:— Full back. W. Harrison; threequarters — Thompson, Mackenzie, A^her; fa\ M'Gregor : half back Kicrnrn; wings — Laing. Doran : forwards — Brady. Taylor. Cunningham. Nicholson, M'Duff, A. Wilson, Long. The team (wires my Auckland correspondent) is a sound one all round, the backs being ppeedy and aggressive, with defence above the average : while the forwards ore powerful and weighty, averaging upwards of 13 stone. If they play up to their be?t form and are beaten, then about as good a team as Auckland could put in the field^jvill go under.

Harold Judd, who toured New Zealand with the New South Wales team last year, is, ?aid to have a knack of placing in big football much above his club form In the recent inter-State ma.ch — New South Wales v. Queensland — Judd played the strongest forward »amo on the- ground. While in New Zealand Judd was singled out as the finest forward tho Welshmen possessed.

T. Costello, who captained the New South Wales team in New Zealand la&t winter, wa« elected captain of the Welshmen i>g<i'nst Queensland. He makes a good 'kipper, and in the forwards is now playing a good solid game.

A few weeks ago (says a writer in St. James's Gazetie) a football team tia\elled from the noith to play a match on the southern seaboard. They were provided « ith a ep<<ial saloon carriage for the greater part of the way: but towards their journey's end, there being a short distance to tra\el on a branch line, the company's officsals requested them to change* into ordinary first class carriages reKjr\*?d for them. The manager of the team refused to do so, for [par, as he said, that the fresh carriages might be damp ' Dot's ;\ bridegri,om on his honeymoon e\ er have such tender solicitude for his bride

Ref erring to the fir!?t inter-State rrateh. New South Wales \ Queon^'and. "•Cyi.ie," in Sydney Referee, says : —Com me: to the play of the individual, it will, I think', bo generally admitted that the soundest back on the fie-ld was F. G. Finley, the New South Wales i-eruin half, whose defensive work was not only great in quality but great in quantity. His pluck is undoubted ; his ability to stop rushes and to tackle undoubted ; besides, ho is remarkably smart on his feet and quick in passing. If all our backs were as ture in defi nee as Fmley, New Zealand v. New South Wales on the Sydney Ground next season might be the match of one's life.

A sensational development in connection with the Ibrox Park disaster at Glasgow: Alexander M 'Donald, gaw miller, of Partick, was charged before the sheriff with culpable homicide. It is alleged that, as contractor for the stand which collapsed and caused death to 25 persons and injuries to 50 others, he mod yellow pine instead of red pine at the joists. He was to ha.\e come up for trial at the Glasgow Circuit Court on July 7.

The following account of a match (New Zealanders v Military) in South Africa, by Captain Philip Trevor ("Dux") in the Sportsman, will be read with interest: — "The match ended in the hollow victory of the Military, and in many ways it presented few pomt? of general interest. What chiefly struck me was the fact that the New Zcalander (the Soldier Fifteen included no fewer than 11 New Zoalanders) has a national aptitude for Rugby Union football. It was not decided until the team took the field—l rfiould say took the beaten carth — who should play in the back aVid who shooild play in the front division. Yet, after halftime, the soldiers showed, both forward and behind the scrummage, an amount of combination that was quite surprising. They passed admirably, and. as a general rule, the passing was about hip-high. Their tackling powers were not seriously tested, but on the few occasions on which they were called upon to pull an opponent down, they responded in hearty and conclusive fashion The game, though a hard one, was never really rough, and from start to finish there was not a tinge of vindictn eness in it. The

fact that this was so was indicative of a rather welcome surprise. The oversea colonial does not especially love the South African colonial, and it is quite possible for prejudices to appear in a game- of Rugby Union football. Possibly had the New Zealand's opponents been a South African colonial corps j»nd not a team of civilians, my duties as leferee might have been more onerous. As matters stood, I had a complete sinecure."

The chief feature of the Alhambra-Zi.i-gan contest was the excellent show ma^e by the Zingari forwards against the powerful Alhambra pack. In the loc=c the Colour? ran over the x^remier forwards, and frequently gained stretches of ground by clever foot work. The raking All.anfibr.-i plajers beat Zingari on the line- and in the heavy work. Both sides hjd an equal share of the ball from the scrum?, but th-e Alhambra. backs handled the greasy leather with. greater precision and passed to much better purpose than did their opponents. The Zmgari three-quarter line was painfully weak, and therefore the play of the team was chiefly confined to the forwards. Smith, the Zirgari full back, had not a. great deal to do, but he was conspicuous for h;s splendid tackling? of M'Kay, when th.it player, under full speed, was making across the line. The half back division— Collie, Mason, and Austin — came through a hard game with much credit, fighting desperately for their side throughout. The forwards, after warming to work, played their best game this eeason. In the forefront of e\cry rnsh were Abbott and Mason, with Spiers, Stewart, and Caradus clnee at hand, while Alttchell. m tire pack, bore the lion's share of tho heavy v.ork. Altogether, the Zmgari are to be commended for an excellent stand against the premier team. For the Alhambra Ber.net showed marked superiority o\ er the other hacks, and played a capital game throughout, cutting in and dodging in his test style. M'Kay put m s.me powerful kicks and ran strongly in a clear field, but collapsed at the approach of the first opposition. This player is also very weak on defence. Knowles, King, and Dey acquitted themselves creditably. As fullback J. Dey had a lucky time, and on two occasions should have been penalised for lying on rhe ball. The Alhambra forwards, though working hard, and at times playing brilliantly, lacked the dash of former exhibition?. No one was more prominent than Given in the open, who was we.l supported by Connell and Roddick; while Hobson and Mitchell did more than their share of scrum pnd heavy work. Mr J. Williams controlled the game. If the few spectators who found their way to BishoD-eourt expected to be rewarded with an "interesting" exposition of football they must haie been disappointed, as with very few exceptions the game was rather dull throughout. The back play was for the moft part confined to kicking, although in the first spell the Kaikorai indulged in a fair amount of passing. The absence of a man to make openings was, however, all too apparent, with the result that their efforts in this direction were without much effect. The forwards on both rides worked steadily throughout, but their combination was anything but perfect, and only on a few occasions did they show what they are really capable of. The only backs on the Kaikorai side to sustain their reputation were Booth and Baxter, and these two players did excellent service for tneir side in all departments. Wilkinson was, however, handicapped owing to an injured leg, so that it would be unfair to expect very much from him. The forwards had rather the best of the scrum work, but otherwise were not much better than their opponents. Adams,on, M'Conald, Porteous. and Spiers were the pick. Miller, the Pirates' full back. play>d his usual safe game, and saved his side Hplendidiy when playing against the- wind. None of the three-quarters was responsible for any brilliant work ; while, of the halves, Hislop and Buchanan were both very serviceable. Burt plays with plenty of dash, but would be of more value in the forward division. Fen wick and Matthewson, who both played very well, were the most conspicuous of the forwards. Mr J Alexander controlled the game to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Tho condition of the Carisbrook Ground, where the Dunedm and Southern played their return match, on Saturday was not fuch as to assist in making the game an attracthe one. The ground was very wet in parts, and exceedingly muddy. This, of course, made the ball very difficult to handle, and running after it very tiring for tho players. However, if the pprctators did not see a very fast and interesting game, they saw one that was hardly fought, and at times rather exciting. The two teams were well rratched. the Dunedin having the advantage in the first spell and th© Southern in the second. The best feature of the play was the capital handling of the ball in the first spell by the Dunedin backs. Wet and greasy aB it was, mistakes were only to be expected, but in quite a number of instances the leather went through the handp of four or five men without a fault. Had the collaring been nt all weak thpy would have scored several times, but thp Southern backs always took their men. Without exception, the Dunedin backs played well, and M'Laren and Stalker particularly =o. The Blue forwards held their own in the first spell, and gave the backs numerous opportunities, but in the second "fipe-il they were overmatched, and rarely got the ball. Dunne played very well, and s>o also did Churchill. Tlie Southern forwards did not s=hine by any means in the fir»t sp-pll, but in the second they worked most vigorously. Taylor and M'Ewen wore second to none of all the forwards taking part. The three-quarters, as has been indicated, showed strong defensive abilities, Chambers being very noticeable. On the attack they suffered in comparison with their Blue opponents. Mr P. J. Priest undertook the duties of referee, and carried them out satisfactorily.

The combination of the T'niversity team was seriously affected on Saturday owing to the absence of several players, which npcessitated substitutes being pressed into service. Some of tho vacancies in the ranks were filled by retired players of a few years ago, but they were, of course, very much out of form. The Union played with only 14- men, including two substitutes. The winners had the best of the first spell, but towards the end of tho game appeared to tire considerably, and for the last quarter of an hour the Maroons gave them a busy time keeping their line clear. The forwards were pretty evenly matched in all departments, and the University owe their victory to the superiority of their backs. Wi Rcpa. at full back, played really well, his kicking being splendid, and of the remaining backs Uttley, Thomson and Fairrlough were the best. Of the forwards, Gregg, Gordon, and Shand were tiie most prominent. The be§t of. .the

Union backs were W 7 . Munro, Duthie, and Wheeler, all of whom were of material service to their side right through the game. The pick of the forwards wore D. Munro, George, and Brown. Mr W. Mahone had control of the game, his decisions giving general satisfaction.

A strong wind considerably interfered with the game Kaikorai Second v. Ravensbourne, played at Ravensbourne. The home side, having a strong wind behind them in the first half of the game, pressed, but very little use was made of the chancea which piesented themselves, and it was some considerable time before Blackic (Ravensbourne) opened the scoring with an uncomertod try, which was the only score registered in the first spell. Kaikorai opened the second half in good style, bub their play when near goal was poor. Jackson, howe\ pr, kicked a gcnl from a penalty, making the score 3 points each. Just before time the same player potted a splendid goal. This being the final score, Kaikorai thus won by 7 points to 3 points. R.'gby, Jackson, Matthew, M'Donald, Yorston, and Torrance -were prominent for Kaikorai, while Little, George, Blackic, Low. Hans-iii, and Osborne played splendidly for Raveasbournc. Mr Wilson controlled the game efficiently.

Alhambra Second defeated Union Second by 27 points to nil. Tries were scored I y Heron (4), Johrston and Clements, while J. Stuart converted a goal and placed another from a mark. Abnm kicked & penalty goal.

The Zingan-Rielimond met and defeated the Taieri Rovers at Montecillo, after sn iuterr-sting game, by 10 points to 7 points. For the winners. Marshall potted a goal, and Biown and Campbell scored tries.

The Z;ngari Richmond defeated the Tai-. s ri Rovers at Mosgiel by 3 r>omt3 to nil. For the winners Thorn kicked a penalty goal.

Alhambra Third A defeated High School B by 38 points to nil.

Alhambra Third B defeated Pirates Third by 12 points to ml.

The Albion defeated the Kaituna by 8 points to 3 pomt 0 .

The match /Wakan Rovers v. Northern was won by the former club by 6 points to nil, Knowles and Freeman being responsible for the E-coro.

Maori Hill met the Engineer Cadets on the Tramshed Ground and defeated them by 18 points to 11 point". For the winners Adamson, Telfer, Aspinall. Beeby, and Thomson scored tries, and Miiennan kicked a penalty goal; while Collie and Law->on scored tries for tho losers. Lawson converted one try and also kicked a penalty goal. A Wanganui telegram states that tho representative football match Wanganui v. Rangitikei was played on Saturday afternoon, and resulted in a victory for Wanganui by 53 to 3. Several tries were not converted. Wangonui had 17 points to thoir credit at the end of the- first quarter of an hour.

Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs that in the A r soeiation matches Queen's Park beat Marit>t Brothers by 2 to -nil; Diamonds beat Rovers by 3 to 1 ; Swifts beat Peton-e by 5 to nil. \

A Dannevirke telegram states that Ilawke's Bay defeated Dannevirke by 13 points to 7.

A Masterton telegram state? that the interur.ion match between 'the Wnirarapa Thursday and Saturday Unions, played at Masterton, resulted in a win for the former* by 7 points to 6 points. Tn the second spell J. Wicken, of Magterton; 'broke his- right arm:

ilb».ml>ra [aikorai 7niversity lineal ihiucia 'irates .. outbern fnion... Wat che-. ft « ~ I pk, j a ... 12 12 0 0 ... 12 0 3 0 ... 12 5 6 1 ... til 4 5 2 ... 12 4 6 2 ... 11 4 6 2 . til 3 5 3 . 11 1 Ml 0 Points. . rf §^ . - §£• 150 6 24 81 55 18 43 (52 11 31 38 10 61 s'* 10 25 74 10 33 41 3 2o 115 2

Matches. j. •a . = SI 3 S Keikorai .„ ft 7 2 0 Alhambra ... 9 6 2 1 Zingari ... 9 4 2 3 Son hern ... 9 4 4 1 Univerr.ity... 9 4 4 1 Pira'es ... 9 3 4 2 Union ... 9 4 5 0 Dunediu ... 9 0 9 0 Points. ■_ <^~^"~^ 5 a i ill 57 25 14 81 24 13 41 43 11 37 32 9 £0 52 9 25 35 8 45 39 8 14 100 0