FOOTBALL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIL, Issue 7296, 3 June 1895, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

TURANGANUI F. TE RAU.

As expected a great game resulted on Saturday, far exceeding the expectations of moßt footballers. Turanganui went on the field the favorites, and it took them all they knew to hold their own against Te Rau. The latter have improved wonderfully this season, and in the first spell on Saturday showed some good combination. They play unselfishly, and with a bit of coaching great things may be expected from them. Turanganui m the first spell were all at sea, but in the latter end of the game h»d regained their wellknown - combination, this undoubtedly being the 1 means of their winning. A great feature of the Native team is their splendid kicking. The goal kicked by Katane being a " dandy." The respective teams were :- Turanganui : Full-back, Lysnar ; three-quarters, Crawford, O JNeil, Hepburn ;■ halves, Ovenden, Burns ; forwards, Weston, Fairlie, Poynter, Eaton, Rodgers, Walker, Cockroft, Griffiths, and McLachlan. Te Rau : Full-back, Babbington ; three-quarters, Tuteari, Pahoe, Stewart ; halves, Tuhoi, Rua ; forwards, Nisbett, Tait, Katane, Hare, Herewinia, Kokere, Higgs, Karauria, and Riki. FIRST SPELL. Katane kicked off for Te Rau. A scrum resulting in mid-field, Eaton got through and took the ball on to Te Rau s line, another scrum being formed in front of the coal. Te Rau had the best of this, and took play back to centre, Tuhoi making a smart kick out of bounds. Walker got the ball from the throw in and carried it down the line, and passing to Poynter, enabled the latter to get over the line. He took the kick hunself, but failed.— 3o. From the kick off Te Rau rushed right up the field, Kokere m front. This rush enabled Nisbett to get in. Katane kicked a grand goal. -5-3. Tuhoi received, and made a great dash through the blue and white (Turanganui) forwards, but Burns grassed him, and Crawford coming on the scene picked up the ball and kicked out. Several Turanganui rushes were stopped by Tuhoi's quick returns. Hepburn received the ball from one of these, and kicking too hard forced Te Rau. Fairlie now gob under way and went at a great rate for a short distance and then fell, and the Natives took play to the pakeha end. Here Hepburn got the oval and passed to Burns, the latter going as far as Tuteari, who halted him. Ball went out near Te Rau's line. Foot . by foot it was worked back to centre From a scrum Burns passed to UJNeill .-who kicked, resulting in another force. Weston and Cockroft now inaugurated a slashing rush and again took play on Te Bail's line, but Nisbett came to the relief, play being centred. At this juncture Tuhoi was awarded a well-desorved round of applause for a very pretty goal he potted, thus making Te Rau's score stand 9-3. The game now went back to the maroons' territory, where a free kick relieved them somewhat. From a scrum Ovenden got the ball and passed to Burns who handed it on to O'Neill, and the latter repeated Tuhoi's performance by landing a splendid" goal. Half-time was sounded, and the scores stood Turanganui 7, Te Rail 9. SECOND SPELL. Walker opened the play in the second spell, and the oval being returned Ovenden carried it up the field and was sent out. Poynter got it from the throw-in and made a bold dash for the line, but got into trouble. A scrum resulted. The Turanganui forwards heeled the ball out fco O'Neill, who attempted to pot again. Failing in this, Crawford, by smartly following the kick up, arrived on the scene in time to receive the leather, and after a struggle succeeded in placing it on the other side of the coveted line. Burns failed to increase. 10-9. Eaton next . shone" by a dribble, but over-ran the oval, and Stewart kicked it out well up in the blue and whites ground. Walker was the foremost man in a rush which forced Te Rau. From a scrum in front of Te Rau goal Hepburn got the ball and kicked, again forcing the Natives. Rua, for being off-side, gave Turanganui a free kick. Burns had a good shot at goal. Play for a time was kept in Te ttau's 25, they being again forced. Another free kick for Turanganui. Higgs caught it and passed to Kua, who made a dash down the fine, but Poynter proved a snag. With about five minutes to go the game became fast and furious, Te Rau making frantio efforts to increase their score. The Turanganui backs met their onslaughts in first-class style, and never 7 gave them a chance. Then Turanganui came out of their quarters, and made an attack on the Te Rau goal. The com- * bination of the forwards helped them a lot, and like a wedge they made their way back to their opponents' 25, and then at last, after great efforts, got the play on to the line. Then down went all the heads, and the last scrum of the day took place. On the ball being placed in, Turanganui managed to secure it, heeled it out to Crawford, and before the scrum was / broken the latter had the oval over the line; Burns took the kick, but it fell short. Time was called, and Turanganui thus won a hard-fought match by 13 points *° 9. . . Of the backs on the winning side Ovenden, Crawford, and Burns deserve special mention, and Poynter, Eaton, and Rodgers in the forwards. Stewart and Tuhoi were undoubtedly the mainstay of the Te Rau backs, and in the heavy work Hare, Katene, and Higgs were foremost. Mr A. Rees acted as referee, and the Rev. H. Williams and Mr Nutting as line umpires, each performing their duties satisfactorily.