NOTES ON SATURDAY'S PLAY

Otago Witness, Issue 2622, 15 June 1904, Page 56

NOTES ON SATURDAY'S PLAY

Had not the football public learned to accept the extraordinary vagaries of the University team as a matter of course, the result of their match with tho ZingariHichmond on Saturday rnusi have come as a- surprise to tho majority of the supporters of both teams. There is not the slightest | doiibt that the 'Varsity deserved their sue- ! cc : «. Jn the first spell the play was very ! even, but in the second spell the Bluos certainly did most of the "attacking. The chief credit is due to tho forwards, who, one and all, worked like Trojans from 3tart to finish. They were beaten in the scrums, but in the loose there was no resisting 1 them. Pe-rhaps Foote. Dunbar. and Andrew might be singled out for special mention. Scannell, at scrum half, was the best of the 'Vaisity backs, his attack and defence being equally good. Lomas. and Faiclough played well together at fivoeightbs. but their passing wa^, weak Shaw played hi? best game this season, though there is still plenty of 100 m for improvement in his attack. Cilray and Wi Repa both did good woik on the wing, the latter's kicking being the subject of mu< h admiration. Lindsay \ game at full back i\as good, but not up to lus usual standard. Of thp. Zragari forwards Caradus and Abbott were far .'<nd away the br-'. Ma-oil, bohind the semm, was lery safe, but some of his methods are not Mich as commend themselves to the casual spectator. Collie and 801 l were the mainstay of the Zingari backs, the former's dodgy work especially being a source of great annoyance to the oppo-mg backs. Smith, at centre, played a souir 1 game, but did not feed his winaa

enough. Neither ot the wings had much 3 work of any sore to do. George, at full , back, was ieiy safe, bul ha^ no idea of i running be-fore, kicking Mr Dowries oont trolled the game in his usual efficient i manner. i The splendid exhibition of fcotball by •' these two teams on Saturday gives rise to 3 the question, Why aro the. 'Varsity ?o badly treated in the matter of grounds? l Their matches this year have been divided > between three grounds— Montecillo, the r North Ground, and Tahuna Part, the three ; worst grounds m Dunedin. Not once have • they played on either the Caledonian or > Cansbrook Ground. Surely it is only fair ' to a team that can draw with the leading I team that they should be given their turn with the best ground I*.1 *. A. feature of the Southern-Pirates match I was the dash that the forwards on both side 3 !• put into tho:r work, the gamo being a for- " ward one almost entirely, the Southern - backs handling the ball to a comparatively > small extent, and their efforts to pass being 1 generally quite fruitless. On the whole, ; Southern had certainly the best of the game, especially in the second spell, but ' the Pirate's' forwards gave them m the first spell a very bad quarter of an hour. In ■ the first spell Pirates were under the dis- ' advantage of playing with 14- men, Fair- ' dough at the outset having to retire as remit of a collision with Olson, though abla 1 to resumo play in the second spell. Behind 1 the serum all the Southern team did sound ' work, Kindley having the makings of a first-rate full back. The forwards, particularly perhaps il'Ewen and Isaac, all played ' a Lord game. Hisl^p was the mainstay of tho Pirates team behind the scrum, and the best back on the ground, his defensive work being of a. very high order. Logan and Fen wick might be singled out among tho forwards, who all played a capital game. Mr H. White gave every satisfaction as ■ referee. The first spell of the match between the Alliamhra and Kaikorai was on the whole very interesting, though the standard of play was not particularly high, and when the teams chunged ends it was almost an. impossibility to forecast the final issue. In fa-et, it was noi until near the end of the game, when th^ Alhambra scored their second try, that it was recognised that the Kaikorai had no chance of victory. The Alhambra wer© fully entitled to their win on the day's play, but if the Kaikorad had been represented by their usual strtngth it is quite possible that the result would have been different. The hill team were without the services of Porteous, Adamson, and Spiers, tiie vacancies being filled by lorrar.ee, Wilkinson, and Ferguson. The Alhambra had a good deal the best of the scrum work, their forwards hooking the ball very well, and when they got possession the leather was sent out smartly, thu3 giving the backs good opportunities. The Kaikorai, on the other hand, failed to send the ball out properly, and Sinclair was in consequence seriously handicapped. The hne-out play on both sides was very ragged, hut in t-he loose the Alhambra appeared to advantage. The Alhambra backs had better chances than those on the Kaikorai side, and they also made better u=-e of the ball than their opponents did, their fielding, kicking, and running being very good. The ICa'korai backs, individually, played cxcelleiitly at times, but their lack of combination was very evident, and the Alhambra, by eonoei'ted play, genera l ly made up the los*; ground without much difficulty. Dobson, the Alhambra full back, played very well, m-ver getting his side into difficulties. B^nnc-*. played one of his best games, and his fielding, kicking, and running were of imirjeiiso service to his fcide. Heenan also made good use of his chances, which were not numerous. King was in splendid form, v.nd did a full sharo of fcha work; while Coulter behind the scrum, also put in a great deal of good work. The best of the forwards wore Watson, Johnston, and I M'KV»wcn. Strang, the Kaikorai full back, ( was quite safo, and did all that; could have 1 been expected of him. Booth was the most piominent of the three-quarters, but M'Haxdie and Arm it had very few chances. Dobson played probably his best game this season, his kicking and running being decidedly good; an>T Baxter, as usva-1, was very serviceable. Sinclair was handicapped on account; of tho forwards failing, to get the ball out cleanly from tho scrum, bvrt he did a, lot of hard work in the open. Torrancc was one of the best forwards on his side, and, considering that he had not played football for a long time, his display was remarkably good. Contrary to all expectations, he lasted out the game very well, and he was several times conspicuous for fast following up and good tackling. M'Donald and Thomson were probably the best of the other forwards. Mr H. Harris controlled the gam© in a first-class manner. A good game of football is generally •expected when tho Dnnedin and Union team 3 meet, and the few hundred enthusiasts who found their way to Bkhopscourfe on Saturday were in nowise disappointed. The game was played in true sportsmanlike spirit, as football should be played, and proved fast and interesting throughout. Both teams w-ere without the services of

some of their best men. and were severely handicapped in consequence. The ground being in splendid order, the. teams mad© the game open, giving the backs as much of the ball as possible. The forwards on both sides were evenly matched, and played a hard game throughout. The most prominent on the Union side were Green (full back), who played a very safe game, and Fish and Watts (backs). The last-named made some splendid openings for his side, but >vas inclined to hold on to the ball too long, and enabled the opposition to prevent the pass out. The pick of the forwards wera Murdoch, Rowlatt, Harris, and Dryden. M'Queen was not up to his usual plaoe-kieking form. For the Dunedin, Kelly (full back) played a splendid game. iWatson, Don, and Turnbull were prominent among the backs ; J. Reid, Fitzpatrick, iWhelan, Morrison, and Dunne showing good "ierm. among the forwards. Paton upheld his reputation as a place-kicker by landing a good 'goal from half-way at a difficult angle. Sir Wilkinson had charge of the game.