NOTES ON SATURDAY'S PLAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 57

NOTES ON SATURDAY'S PLAY.

Those present at the Caledonian Ground > en Saturday afternoon had the pleasure of j •witnessing good and exciting football, and | a game well contested and well played by i both teams. " The result came evidently as * good deal of a surprise to the majority of followers of the game, but no one seeing the play could do "otherwise than acknow- | ledge that Alhambra, on their play, tho- ' roughly deserved their splendid win, which was quite one of the best achievements in this season's > interclub football. The Alhambra forwards played with a combination which, added to their superiority in weight, made them irresistible, the Blues ( being consequently in a quandary almost 1 the ,whole of~the first spell, and apparently J quite unable to cope with Alhambra's style j of play. As the ball came out to the ! Reds every time, and the backs handled it ' cleverly, the defence, which was none too good, could not avert the scoring of four tries. In their one brief look-in during" the spell, University showed their brilliancy , in v attack, and put a try to their credit. , In the second spell play was on the whole in favour of the Blues, who, with nine points of a deficiency to wipe out, and with the ball generally coming out their way, might well have made the game asopen as possible, and taken risks. However, it was only when the spell was more than half through that the Blues' backs began to throw the ball about in their usual Bfcyle,., and then they were always dangerous.' * Combination was the feature ofAlhambra's play throughout.^ The game was, >very fast, especially so in the second spell; and both teams had had enough" when the whistle, sounded. Of the Alham--bra backs Bennet was as clever as usual, King played a sound game, and Slattery showed himself a valuable three-quarter in attack. The backs all handled the ball unusually well, and the forwards played a came that won the match, their play being characterised by dash and pace. Given played a particularly fine game. The University forwards were a badly-beaten lot in the first spell, which, considering their lightness, was not surprising ; but they lasted well, and were holdinar their own subsequently, Harrison. Foote. G. Thomson, and A. Thomson being very prominent. The backs played their usual sterling game, Adams being in fine form. Wi Rena was not too reliable as full back, and Borrie might have got the ball away, more smarfclv, hvii his line-kicking was excellent. Although seven tries wer« scored during the match, and several shots were made at goal from penalty awards, neither Harrhv nor Adams could once Dilot the bail precisely where it was wanted, apparently owing to its being too lisrht. The game was played in an excellent spirit, the only paloablo blemish in this respect being the manner in which an AUiarr.bra forward on one occasion taoVW the University scrum half. Mr "W. J. Wilson a^ted a.« reier-ci. Alhambra 15 points. University 6 points.

The victory of the Southern over tho Kaikorai probably crime as a surprise to most people, but on the day's play the superiority of Jthe winning team was undoubted. The Southern played a spjendid game, especially in the' second spell, 'and when they had three points to their credit it was recognised that the Kaikorai would have an extremely difficult task to avert defeat. The victory of the Southern was chiefly due to their forwards, whose display must" have reminded the spectators of the days when the team was at its best. The dashing loose rushes of the winners were a, treat to witness, and their following up and tackling were also admirable, while the combination they showed left nothing to h& desired. The Southern backs, while they did not excel at the passing game, supported their forwards very well, their running, fielding, and kicking throughout being very creditable. The Kaikorai forwards showed up to advantage" at times, but their combination was not as good as that of their opponents, and consequently the latter, as a rule, had little difficulty in clearing their lines when danger threatened. The Southern attack was go deadly that the Kaikorai backs had their hands pretty full, and when tha latter made any mistakes they rarely had a chance of recovering ; but apart from this the hill team did not appear at their b&st. Chambers, the Southern three-quarter, ■was not playing, and it is worthy of note that this was the first time for seven years that he was not in his place with his team. His absence was due to a poisoned .'egHi 3 place on the wing was ably filled by ■Kindley, and Fullerton played full back, in which position he acquitted himself ireally well, making no mistakes. The threequarters and halves all played splendidly, «nd, as indicated above, the forwards excelled themselves. Leyden, Lawson, Bailey, Morrison, and M. Casey were possibly the foest, but the others were very littfe, if a* all. inferior to them. Smith, the Kaikorai full back, was quite safe, and did all that was required of him. Dobson played a good game at wing three-quarter, his kicking in particular being of immense service to his rid©. Armit also played well, but Don, who

played centre three-quarter at first and afterwards five-eighths, was decidedly weak. His handling of the ball was far from being good, and this defect handicapped the- hill team very considerably. Duncan, M'Hardy, and Beeby were- all reliable, but the lastnamed held the ball too long at times. His rush-stopping was, however, very good. Tho Kaikorai forwards suffered through lack of combination, though individually they played well at times. Porteous, Morrison, and Adamson were probably the best. Mr M'Farlane had control of the game. Southern ... 3 points. Kaikorai ... Nil. The match between the Zingari-Richmond and Dunedin was well congested throughout, although the former team had a good deal the best of the game. The ground was in splendid condition for football, consequently a fast, open game was the result. This seemed tc^ suit the Zingari-Richmond players^^pirheir forwards worked with a will^^Jßn start to finish. Foremost R^B^st were Caradus, Low. Stewart, Abbott. For Dunedin, Dunne, flrallaV Fitzpatrick, and Whelan were in the jfchick of it all through. The passing 'yamongst the Blues' backs, especially in the first spell, was very weak, Kelly being no doubt missed from his place. The ZingariRichmond backs, on the other hand, gave a very fair exhibition of the open game, and had the ball been sent out quicker by the scrum half better results would probably have been obtained. Thompson, at full back, was safe, whilst Bolt, Smith, and Wilkins6n, the three-quarters, all played soundly. Gollie and Low worked well together, and were strongly in evidence all through. Clarke, the Blues' full back, had his hands full, and performed creditably. Teasdale was the best of the three-quarters. Morgan also playing well. Morrison O'Sullivan were the pick of the others. MiFacer refereed for the first time in senior matches, and appeared io give general satisfaction. Zingari ... 5 points. Dunedin ... 3 points. Little need be said about the match between the Pirates and Union. For the most part, though the conditions under which the game was played were almost ideal, the play was of a nondescript character, ( though occasionally there was some fair individual work. On the Pirates side, Cohen, at full back, did very well, his long kicks into touch and reliability in taking the ball being the chief features of his play. Fairclough, on the wing, was quite the best of the other backs, and is, indeed, a player above the ordinary. Oramond handled the ball well and kicked nicely. Denniston and Butterworth were the pick of the forwards. Shelton. Sullivan, and Lifctlejohn were the pick of the Maroon backs ; while of the forwards Dryclen and Harris were the most conspicuous for good play. The Union were not fully represented, the places of Gray and Oorbett being filled by M'Laren and Rowlatt respectively. Pirates Nil. Union Nil.