SENIOR BARRY CUP

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18764, 22 July 1935, Page 4

SENIOR BARRY CUP

WAIROA RETAINS TROPHY : bay beaten nine to nil V,EIGHT TELES AT FINISH (Herald fSpf' ial Reporter.) Despite Hu 1 fact Hint for the first I hue in several seasons Hie Po\orl> Bay back division was ilelinilely superior to Hull of the Wuirou subunion re prose nl;it ive teuiii, Wuirou le luiueil the senior Hurry Cup on Sulur duv by u margin of nine points, toe cdia'lengers being unable to register points against the home team. The derisive factor in the game, which was played in Wairon, was the weight ami skill of the Wuirou, forwards, who included W. Collins, one of this year’s All Blacks, and .lack-son. a former East Coast, player whose form oti the day was hardly less striking than that ol Collins. It was Poverty Bay’s best display of the current season, and with a shade more of the luck of the, game, the scores would have been close. The challengers, who go on tour shortly to the southward, gave evidence of a general improvement, and it took a solid Wairon pack, probably one ot the best fielded since PTiO, to beat them on Saturday. With' .more concentrated coaching and also a little more training, the Poverty Bay team should show up well against the southern teams it will meet in the course ot the tour. WAIIIOA’S POINTS Two unconverted tries and a penalty goal accounted Tor Wairoa’s points, all being scored in the second half ot the n-arne. Those responsible for finishin o Cff the successful Wairon attacks were •Jackson and Powdrcll, while Matami, a brother of the Maori All Black, goalee a penalty kick in the last minute ol

l>l Tlic first half of the match was scoreless. anil in fact was all in favor of the visiting team, so far as territorial advantage went, for Poverty Bay spent a great, deal of time in the Wairoa end of the field, ami but for frequent penalties might have, had a If indy lead at the interval. Swinburne showed a tendency not. only to hang on to the ball too long, but also to infringe in other ways, and thus attracted the notice of the referee several limes, with the result that the Bav were sent back by penally kicks. On' the other band, lie proved a strong attacking player, and should bo a valuable man for the district team. Hie Poverty Bay backs as a whole showed excellent form, and had they received the share of the halt they should have had in the second half of the game, might have pulTed the match out of the fire. The visiting forwards were not up to the weight of the Wairoa pack, however, and when the pressure went on m the second half, Wairoa got the ball regularly, and the Bay backs wero forced to do most of their work m defence.

Till'] HOME PACK Of flic Wairoa forwards, Collins and Jackson won' undoubtedly the host, bill, R. I’owdrell and Rika 'wore both dose up to Hioir standard, and the homo pack as a. whole had weight and speed in their favor. The ground conditions 'favored thorn, too. tor in the muddy going their weight told materially; and their dribbling rushes had an impetus which the Poverty Hay backs foilii)l difficult, to slow down. There was not much punch in the Wairoa back division, though Miniala played a solid and enterprising halfback game, and Sam Smith showed his old form as a three-quarter, proving the best winger oil the field. Another Wairoa. man who did well was I hornson, who made a midst promising appearance as a fullback.

POVERTY BAY PLAYERS

The Poverty Bay forwards were ablyled by P. McKinley, E McKinley, and •\ McPhail, who seemed to be well suited by the slow going, and gave a (rreat performance in the tight scrumming especially. Matliesou and Stevens both played well, too, and the pack as a whole played up to their weight. I hey were overshadowed, but by an unusually strong forward combination. In the back division, Dovi proved the outstanding player for Poverty Bay, tho decision of the selector to try lnm out at eentre-threequartcr being fully justified by bis performance there. Ihe selector had been subjected to much’ criticism on the ground that Davi is not speedy onough for the position, but it was hard to fault the Fijian playe: on Saturday, and he more than earned Ids place by bis determined defence alone. Almost invariably it took two or three men to get the ball past Dovi, and his example undoubtedly had a great deal to do with tho general success of the Poverty Bay defence. Tho first try to Wairoa was scored by Jackson, after Winiata and Ilcrewini had carried the ball almost to the Poverty Bay goal-line before passing it among tho forwards. Jackson finished off the movement in grand style, though heavily tackled. Sam Smith paved the way for the next try, with a fine run down the line, in which ho boat Poliatu and then passed to Powdroll. who went over with lons of, dash. Neither try was converted, but Wairoa added further points just before Ihe finish of the game, when Swinburne conceded a penalty .in a good position for the attacker's. and Mataira put the ball ovor tho bar, tho kick bringing the score to 9-nil in favor of tho Barry Cup holders. Had tho ground conditions been belter, the challengers might have taken the trophy home with them. They went well together, and showed a considerable Improvement on the last game they put lip agsiinst Wairoa. Some of tlie newcomers to senior representative honors should prove real assets, and though there is a slight kick of weight in (lie forward division, Ibis can be more Hum offset by a study of tactics. The game was refereed by Mr. It. Curbed, formerly well known in Rugby circles in Poverty Bay.

JUNIOR BARRY CUP RETAINED BY POVERTY BAY WAI HO A IiHATIiN BY 19 TO NIL Despite (lie greasy condition of (lie bsU in the junior Barry Cup fixture on (lie Oval on Saturday, handling was good on both sides and some fast bade movements

were seen. The Poverty Bay team retained tho cup by 19 points to nil. The score at half-time was 9 to nil in favor of Poverty Bay. Wairoa s superiority in tlie forwards kept play in the Poverty Bay territory lor long” spells prior to half-time, but good defence on the part of the red backs and the lack of finish to Wairoa’s back movements prevented them opening (heir scoring account. Wairoa were still pressing when the half-time whistle bounded. Play was held up several times in the second spell owing to tlie number of causal! ies and two men had to leave the field, darker, a Wairoa hooker, received an injury to his ankle and was replaced by Storey. On the Poverty Bay side, llaisman’s knee suffered when ho was tackled heavily and Thompson replaced Turnbull in tlie forwards to allow tho latter to take Haisman’s place in the backs.

After tlie spell the position was reversed and the reds kept the Wairoa men on defence. Repeated attacks by Poverty Bay eventually led to Turnbull putting in a good run and his impetus earned him over tlie line under the posts, although lie carried! three of the Wairoa defenders over with him. hinder was successful witii the conversion.—Poverty Bay 14, Wairoa nil. . Solid play in the forward division followed and the ball was worked gradually into the Wairoa quarter.' A smart movement by the red backs, in which Sniiler and Turnbull participated, resulted in Young crossing tho line once more, and hniiler goaled a beautiful kick from a dittieult angle.—Poverty Bay 19, Wairoa nil. The final whistle went, soon alter with no further change in the, score. Mr. A. Ingram was the referee.

SELECTOR RESIGNS WAIRARAPA GRIEVANCE At a meeting of the Wairarapa Rugby Union last week, Mr. E. McKenzie, the All Black selector, resigned as solo selector of the Wairarapa senior representative team. The committee accepted the resignalion with regret and Mr. Quentin Donald, of the 1924 All Blacks, was appointed to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the season. ‘ Mr. McKenzie’s action was (lie result of some person unknown having caused the disappearance of 10 representative jerseys, four pairs of socks, and two pairs' of knickers from the representative football gear bag on the journey of the Wairarapa team between Ekclahmin aiid Mastcrton. His action was a protest against, that sort of thing. Mr. McKenzie has been sole selector for a long period of years.