NORTHERN UNION GAME.

Otago Witness, Issue 3148, 15 July 1914, Page 53

NORTHERN UNION GAME.

ENGLISH FOOTBALLERS

FIRST APPEARANCE IN NEW ZEALAND.

VICTORY AGAINST WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, July 12. England defeated- Wellington yesterday in the opening match of the tour by 14 points to 7. Rain fell part of the timp, and the ground was slippery, but a good game was nevertheless played. The following were the teams:— England.—Full back, G. Thomas; threequarters —J. O’Garra, W. A. Davis (captain), W. Hall, and S. B. Houghton ; fiveeighths, S. Prosser; half back, F. Smith; forwards—W. Jarman, J. Ghilcott, J. W. Smalcs, J. W. Guerin, J. L. Clampit, and A; Johnson.

Wellington.—Full back, F. Strickland; three-quarters —B. Whatly, J. Parker, G Bradley, and W. Wilson; five-eighths. A. O. Murdock; half, J. Barber (captain); forwards —G. Lawlor, J. Spencer, A. Donaldson, F. Manning, L. Campbell, and J. Ashton.

The Blades got right away off the mark, and rushed over the line, but the ball went dead. The Blacks ouiokly followed up, and from a scrum on the twenty-five line got the ball. Barber passed to Murdoch, and from him the ball went to Parker, and on to Bradley. A tackle brought down the “winger,” but from a return Bradley marked'. Campbell attempted a kick at goal, but did not achieve success. The Englishmen took up the running from their own twenty-rfive, and with' smart passing right across the line to the wing reached Wellington territory. From the halfway the ball flashed from back to back—Smith to Prosser, to Hall, to Houghton, and back to Thomas, the full back, who ran in and scored a beautiful try behind the posts. His gick'at goal failed. England 3, Wellington nil. The rain now came down in sheets, and spectators and players alike were drenched. Still the handling of the ball —on the English side, at least—was marvellous for such a day. The Rods opened up a passing movement in their own territory, and flinging the ball about with the greatest abandon, to the delight of the crowd, the forwards participating too, swept forward near the Wellington goal line. The passing evolutions broke down, but Chilcott managed to pick up and score the second try. Guerin failed with the kick. England 6 points, Wellington nil. From the kick-off Wellington temporarily assorted their claims, but when they reached the danger zone the Englishmen were always ready. The excellent, tackling of the Blacks for a time prevented a score, but the machine operated like clockwork, and with lightning speed the oval slipped fror^.

Hall right out by means of Prosser and Davis to Houghton on the wing. The speedy outside man cut in and round, outstripping Strickland, and grounded safely in a fair position. Guerin just missed the posts with his kick. England 9 points, Wellington nil. Then the Black forwards rallied, and went through the English defence like an oldtime Auckland pack. They did not get right through, blit England were penalised for infringing the rules in a dangerous position. Strickland took the kick, and put the ball high between the posts. England 9 points, Wellington 2. Half-time went immediately afterwards. The weather improved slightly in the second spell. The Blacks made the pace willing for a while. Strickland secured ground with a well-judged kick, and on the return Bradley' marked well between the twenty-five and half-way. From within about three yards of half-way Les Campbell drove the ball beautifully between the posts —the best place-kick by far of the day. —England 9 points, Wellington 4. This was encouraging, and both sides went out to “do things.” The Englishmen gave a taste of their best on the one hand. Whitley and Jack Spencer, back and forward, co-operated with some useful work. Then Ogarra got away from his own twentyfive, and, dodging and twisting, reached nearly the half-way /‘on his own”; then, seeing further progress barred, dropped the ball and sent it along with a dribble. The Blacks got back again, and in the rush Donaldson waslfcndcd off with a straight arm, which caught him under the jaw. The crowd, unused to such apparently quite legitimate tactics, hooted vigorously. Smalos and Clampit, with the Red pack at their back, carried an effective forward rush, showing what the Englishmen could do forward when they choose that form of play. Near the Wellington line Smith passed to\ Prosser, and Prosser, at the inside three-quarter, eluded Strickland and scored the fourth try in a position which enabled Guerin to kick a goal without much effort. —England 14 points, Wellington 4.

From the kick-off tlie, ball came to Ogarra, who skipped away and made an opening, passing then to Davis, and from the captain the ball shot in and out from arm to arm till it came to Houghton. That player was well tackled by Parker, and the Wellington forwards seized the opportunity to push and dribble their way back to midfield. There was a melee on the goal line when the reinforcements carire, and out of this came, by good luck, the ball to Whitley, who had only a yard to go to score, and he scored Wellington’s only try. Campbell failed with a fairly easy kick. — England 14 points, Wellington 7. This was the final score, though both sides tried hard, and Les Campbell had another chance from a penalty, buL did not quite manage the kick. Eng’and retaliated with some brilliant passing, but nothing came of it in the shape of scores, and the irame ended soon after. Mi- Duncan M‘Gregor was referee. ASSOCIATION. By Left Wing. The following table shows the positions of the teams in the Association Senior Cup competition; o to -| ag d S. c> • • k Js £ ' 1 2 o § §■ P£PP O P O Northern ... 11 9 2 32 15 18 Kaitangata* ... 11 8 3 Ravensbourne ... 11 8 2 1 27 16 17 High School Old Boys 11 5 5 1 29 29 11 Green Island ... 10 4 4 2 21 19 10 Roslyn-Wakari ... 11 5 6 Mo-.nmgton A ... 11 3 6 2 20 26 8 Christian Brothers 10 3 6 1 22 34 7 Mornington B ... 11 3 7 1 18 32 7 Maori Hill ...11 1 8 2 17 42 4 *Kaitangata won against Mornington by default.

The acquisition of the Caledonian Ground for the Soccer game has up to the present been specially pleasurable for RoslynWakari, who have been fortunate enough -to have a large proportion of their matches on the chief ground. This week they will again appear on the Caledonian Ground, facing the High School Old Boys, who with their full team should account for the Whites m the course of what should be an interesting fixture. Kaitangata will entertain Christian Brothers, Maori Hill’s whetted appetite will bo turned upon Ravensbourne at The Clear, and Northern will face the present representatives of the Mornington B team, which surprised them so much in a previous season. Green Island and Mornington A will occupy Culling Park. If Otago can annex the Brown Shield from Canterbury it is tolerably certain that we shall receive a visit from Wellington as a challenge by Wellington for the shield has been accepted by the New Zealand Football Association. Here is an additional incentiv o to plaj'ors to get into the best possible form to represent Otago. Jf the press report is correct, Otago’s challenge against Canterbury is not likely to eventuate until about tho end of August, in which case the proposed trial match may bo postponed. Personally I favour the view that the team should be picked now, and the members brought together, in a gymnasium and in the open as often as possible from now onward, m order to talk over and practise methods best calculated to do honur to Otago. The unexpected defeat of Kaitangata by Mornington A was tho arresting feature of the senior matches on Saturday. As a consequence of this Ravcnsbourno have advanced to a. rung above Kaitangata, usurping the position of runner-up to Northern on the rung next higher. Roslyn-Wakari by their non-success have lost any. chance they may have had of getting into the van. At the other end, Maori Hill have again gained honour, counting a point for a 3-goal draw against Mornington B, who beat the Maroons by 2 goals to nil in tho first round. Mornington A have gained a point on their B team, and are that much to the good in the tail-end competition to qualify as eighth team in the proposed knock-out tournament, They now have below them three teams, Christian Brothers having dropped behind, level with Mornington B. The critic who promised to Northern three successive defeats—a species of hat trick disaster—must bo written down a false prophet. For five-sixths of the game Northern always looked the winning side in their duel with Roslyn-Wakari. Whites' backs were almost continually on defence, and their forwards, when they d’d break away, rarely got far enough to look dangerous. As a. matter of fact, they seemed to lack confidence in their ability to get to the zone ■of effective shooting, and carted with tho

ball too soon, kicking goalwards when they should have kept the ball and advanced with it. The new centre forward, Anderson, was a costly experiment. M‘Gregor’s clever dribbling gained openings, for himself, but ho shared the despair of getting near goal, and hustled in harmless shots born out of due season.

- The game was decided in the final 15 minutes. Northern’s small one goal lead was looking a bit shaky, for Roslyn-Wakari had begun to bulk much more importantly in the game, and seemed quite capable of at least levelling up the scores. Oddly enough, however ; it was not until RosiynWakari were beginning to be dangerous that Northern commenced to score. And, stranger still, it was Roslyn-Wakari’s attacking that enabled Northern to got goals. Wlhite hacks and forwards closed iipon Northern’s goal, with the result that a big clearance gave Northern’s fast forwards the ball at halfway with no backs to bar their progress, and Northern forwards don’t miss many opportunities of that order. At least one of the goals w T as manifestly offside. Spectators were interested in the display of Monaghan. Although four goals got past him, ho gave a very good display of alert, clean goalkecping. Harrison, at the other end, was very capably with a smaller measure of responsibility. Northern have apparently decided to retain Smith in the room of Wyness at centre half meantime. Ho and Auld (also retained as full back) did fairly well, but Smith had not the judgment of Wyness. The striking figure in Northern’s team was Donald as right wing forward. He made a complete success of the position, combining speed with weight and accurate centring. Northern forwards showed -touches of nice combination. In this respect Roslyn-Wakari did not appear to advantage. In the first round Northern beat Roslyn-Wakari by 3 goals to 1. Kaitangata will always be able to claim that their matches at Dunedin produce the biggest “gates.” Certainly on Saturday the attendance at the Caledonian Ground was much improved. In the matter of upholding the -Otago Football Association in their forward move involving the securing of the Caledonian Ground supporters of Association football have behaved shabbily. The move meant great expense, and the association had reason to expect that the large number of persons interested in the welfare of Association football would show practical approval by attending matches on the Caledonian Ground. So far the evidence of this practical interest is very slight, and if at the end of the two years’ lease clubs have to revert to their old paddocks they will have to blame the apathy of their supporters.

The folk at Kaitangata must have learned with ■ surprise and disappointment that Mornington A, who defaulted to Kaitangata in the first round, had roundly beaten the chosen of Kaitangata at the Caledonian Ground. Weak shooting against strong backs and failure' to hold, dashing forwards will account for Kaitangata’s downfall in this match. In general survey the position was that Kaitangata attacked most of the time, but could not get goals—Jack rarely handled the ball,—rwhilo Mornington made sudden raids which they turned to profit. Kaitangata had to contend against a more effective pair of backs than those which Mornington faced. Mornington’s wing forwards served them well. Booker kept to his line, and was always in position, the opposing half being frequently too far into the field. Booker had fine command of the ball and centred well. Young made a very good job of the left wing, but occasionally could not resist a desire to exercise his activities nearer the centre of the field. The whole forward line did well, Duohrass being conspicuous, as usual, for break-away runs. If he would cultivate the art of beating a goalkeeper at the end of a solo run he would be an exceedingly dangerous foe. Another Cup point to Maori Hill—more power to them. It’s a pity it takes the Maroons three-quarters of a season to strike form. It is also curious. Last year the case was the same. If the Hill team were to start about Christmas they might be winning matches at the beginning instead of the end of the season, and might be leading at the other end of the cup table. According to reports, Maori Hill had hard luck in not beating Mornington E. They had the opportunities, which were narrowly missed. As it was. they just made a draw of it by a hair’s-breadth, the final whistle sounding immediately the ball was brought to the centre of the field after the scoring of Maori Hill’s ••bird goal. It would be interesting to sec tlvs uluoky team squeeze its way into the eight. If is not impossible. In the first round Maori Hill were beaten by Mornington B by 2 goals to nil.

In the first round Ravensbourne inflicted a heavy defeat (6 —1) on Christian Brothers. In tho return encounter on '.Saturday Ravensbourne had to be content with a 2—l victory, a narrow shave, remembering that Christian Brothers had a penalty kick, of which Tarleton made a sorry nrss Ravensbourne were dominant mrst of the game, but Christian Brothers’ backs resisted manfully and •kept the score down Towards tho end Christian Brothers brightened up, and, their ehanoos looked mere promising, but M‘lvor and French, with their supports, preserved Ravensbonrne’s lead unto tho end. Campbell, playing centre forward for Ravensbourne, was in rare form. Defeated bv Green Island, by 3 coals to nil in the first round. High 'School Old Bovs turned the tables comfortably on Saturday, w'nni.ng by 4 goals to 2. despite the loss of Clark during the second spell. /.Hen and Hey were back In th» team, and their presence told. A W. Alloo_ was in good shooting form. Ha.rkness again made ceme brilliant saves in Green Island's goal. The goal areas were in a vevv sloop” condition. It he® been promised that sand wdl be pl.-f.of] there before next Saturday. Green Island missed the services of Pratt, OTAGO FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION! The week'- meeting of the Otago Football Association Executive Committee, held on Monday evening, was attended by Messrs A. M‘Hutebon fehai rtn a •A. Cook : eg. Ran. Jno. Haig. B. Connor. Wilson, Booby, Rigby, Da.noey and Sinclair. The inquiry into A. Camp hell’s connection with the circumstances surrounding the playing of a suspended player. Dallas, in a Wednesday match was proceeded with. Mr Jno. Haig had stated that, prior to the match at tlm Caledonian Ground he had seen Campbell. Dalles, and another, in company, entering the Caledonian Hotel. Letters from C. Aitchison and W. M'Kenzie were read confirming Campbell’s version, and cbm-mg Mr Haig’s allegation as to Dallas and Campbell being in company prim l to tho match.—Mr Beebv said it appeared tho more they inquired into the matter the deeper into the miro they got. He moved—" That no further notion be taken.”—Mr Cocking, in seconding the motion, said he was satisfied

it was a put up job, and that they would b© unable to get to the bottom of it. —The motion was carried. Attention was called to the press report concerning the meeting of the Mew Zealand Football Association, in which it had been stated that Wanganui’s challenge to Canterbury for the Brown Shield would be played on August 8. The secretary read from the minutes an intimation, from the secretary of the New Zealand Football Association that the approximate dates for the Brown Shield cliallengcd'were: Wanganui, July 18; Otago, August B.—The Secretary was instructed to write to tile New Zealand Football Association in reference to dates, and meantime! notice of motion to rescind the resolution arranging for a trial match on July 25 was given, in ease such action was desirably henceforward.