RUGBY FOOTBALL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19029, 1 June 1936, Page 8

RUGBY FOOTBALL

EXCITING CONTESTS OLT). BOYR IN ASCEND ANT SATURDAY'S L,QCAL'GAMES <tho-unfavourable conditions whicji ruled pn..S'aturday'a.fteynoon, some, first-class j Rugby > football '.was witnessed at the Oval in the senior competition ofthe. Poverty. Bay, Rugby rCtyipn.; One giuno was'.pijiijtjcally, a, walk : ove.r, : but the. "other I wo senior fixtures were, full of action and thrills, .'alicV at- 'the ■ close of play, tin? four leading' learns wereiclosolv , hunched, in prdei .of 'leadership, Old Boys lending .by? a single l point from Celtic, with. Y.M.P. auotlier point behind,- and Marisl ■ fourth -with (he same margin dividing them from' Y.M.P,' ■' \ ■ Scores in Saturday's matches were as under; — . - -.' '• • '•'..' Seniors. —'Old Boys 12 beat Celtic 11; Y.M.P. 53. beat Te Karaka nil; H. 5.0.8. 5 beat Marist nil. ( '■ '» •-' '• ■. •• Juniors.—Ol.d Bovs (A) 6 beat- Celtic nil; Old Boys (B) f) beat'Marist ' nil; fi'i''h' School won f bt< default • from Y.M'.P'.' ■ J ' Thirds. High ' School' ■35 beat I;l.:s.o!|i'..'nil::Mariift , £o v. Cetie 6. • ■• • i, ■: iu '.,' ' , OLD BOY WIN; BY A POINT MAGNIFICENT KICKING Every week seems to show an,improvement in the standard of Rugby "as exemplified on the grandstand ground, and Saturday's' match between Qui• Boys unci Cpltiu was undoubtedly the best all-round exhibition oL the season. ' The" scores' were (.'lose. Old Boys winning, by a single point at 13--11, the lead changing hands frequently, and right to the finish the result was in doubt. Sliced and a fair degree of precision .in handling and running, hard»w:ork among I lie forwards in scrums and line-outs*, aml a great deal of excellent tackling caused this match to stand out among those of the season to date. '•■ ' It, was prophesied when the Old Boys met Celtic in their first match of the srafcou Hint they would have, a good chance riT winning their second match with the lasl year's champions. Only by producing excellent.form did they live up to this prophecy; for Celtic turned out in strong force, and went down only after most determined efforts to finish on top.

The spectators—unfortunately small in number owing to the unfavourable weather conditions —were thrilled again and again by the depealed efforts of the Celts to overcome their disadvantage in the last quarter of an hour, arid every point of the Old Boys' defence, was tested thoroughly, and was not, found wanting. A shade of luck would have seen the lead change hands in this period, as it had changed hands three times earlier in the game. PACKS WELL BALANCED The forward play favoured neither team. the. two packs working hard and effectively lh:oughout, and putting a remarkable amount of vim into their tussles, either in scrums or line-outs. The, wind made possession of more importance to the defending side "than usual, and trie game being played in four speels, each side had ample experience of what it meant to play into the teeth of the breeze; There was nothing between the two back divisions, either, except, that Old Boys had a shade the belter of the tackling, and wore definitely better served in the fullback position. Celtic played a junior in that position, and the responsibility must have rested heavily upon him, at the same time giving his fellow-backs a. feeling of uncertainty likely to hamper their tactics a little.

Opening with the wind behind them, Celtic immediately launched a series of attacks, and within a few minutes had ■rained the first try of the match, P. .McAneny scoring in the left-hand corner a line-out taken syds from the flag. Stevens took the kick at goal, and missed narrowly, the foot or two by which the tall went outside the uprights representing the margin by which the lame was won bv Old Boys; Had the kick been successful, it would have made all the difference to the outcome.

The second quarter had barely started. Old Boys getting the benefit'of the wind, when a penalty was awarded against f>llic for offside play, and Campbell toolhe resulting kick. From a position abotit 'Ovds inside the half-way line, he drop'•ie'eed the ball clear over the bar. clearing it by inches only, but equalising the =eore, amidst, gireat excileriient. THREE FIELD GOALS

it was not long afterwards that Montgomery gave his side, the lead, with a uelcl goal from just inside the Celtic zoyds line. The Hall came out to him troni the scrum, through the hands of Littler, and taking time to measure his kick, ho added four points to Old Boys score. :> •

The same quarter of the game, however, saw: the points again equalised, when C. McKinley got the ball well out in the, .clear, and dodging! the rushes of two Old Boys' forwards, dropped a field goal in turn. At seven-all; the teams again turned round, and Celtic, began to press the advantage conferred by' the wind at their backs: It was' in this phase that the stubbornness of Old .Boys' defence'became most noticeable, every effort of the Celtic backs to develop passing rushes, or to profit by kick-ancLfollow tactics being (•heck-mated, and Evans, of the Old Boys' rearguard, giiving.a classic display of low tackling, which iepeatedly brought down the ball -carrier and. incidentally spoiled his pass. ''"''.' Celtic were kept at their distance, seldom penetrating far past tho 25yds line, bv sheer tackling and smart kicking on the part of their opponents, and it remained for C. McKinley to give his side the advantage again, this time with another field goal, rather an easier one than the first, but, well executed. BREEZE WITH OLD BOYS Old Boys livened up with this reverse, and in the latter portion of the third quarter they attacked grimly, carrying the game npfield by fine dribbling rushes for the most part, and besieging Iheir opponents on (heir last line of defence. Twice it. seemed that Old Boys were over, Smellie aiid Littler in turn diving for tho'goal-line and missing, it by inches ; and on the fmalehange of ends, it seemed that Celtic would have to pro* '■ne'e their highest form to keep their line intact. '.:'."'

So speedily' did Old Boys swing into iictlion ii'om the kick at midfield, once they felt the breeze with them, thai they took their opponents by surprise, and, three, points of their arrears were wiped out .when Evans touched the bail down near the flag on the right-hand corner, 'arid Tier.- being also on the ball. ' Campbell had a. really difficult hick, practically frotn tjie side-line at 25yds, and his. effort in goaling it was little short of brilliant., It put Old Boys in the lead/by a single point', and from that stage to the finish 'it 'was a grim struggle,, with quarter neither ',asked nor given;' Old" Boys working lo 'maintain their lead and Celtic .trying .by every means in their power to.turn the tables once again.' Their best efforts were unavailing, however,- and the game finished with the score 12 —11 in favour of Old Bays. ' '_ . ' ;,. ' ," 'For.(hi?...winner's, Tier, Campbell, Dods, Harrison and Smellie i were Hie 'best forwards. ■-with< Littler, .Evans, Henderson aticj Owen outstanding among! the backs. Celtic's best forwards were P. McKinley, F. .NfcAneiiey. .Rogers arid P. Scholium; while of the. backs, Milligan, h- Turnbull. C. AfeAueney and__ C. McKinley gave the bes(, displays, Milligan excelling himself on this occasion. The referee was Mr. K..R. Waite. h;s.o.b. beat marist ■ ■ JUNIORS STAND OUT After registering a converted try about half-way through the first spell of their''match on. the Oval on Saturday, the H. 5.0.8. seniors took no chances, and, although fortunate on a few occasions; they beat Marist/by five points to* nil. The strong wind gave a definite adv'arilage to 1 the side, playing with it, but "lis the wind' did not abate both sides had ••their' share. Play was a few minutes late in starting, and loss,' of time was'occasioned by a number of stoppages for'minor casualties. The light .was beginning' to fade as the final whistle sounded. ! Casualties have dogged the old students' team this season, and on Sat - nrday the coach had to call on five juniors to fill, gaps. Among those were VV. IlCed, playing fullback, E. Post and 0. Thompson", and they proved themselves good workers. Reed, with his kicking and defence, was on his game and on occasions was the mainstay of the ied backs. In (he second half, when his loam-niatcs were playing into tin wind, he saved repeatedly. On the other b:ind the forwards were'led by Thompson and Post, who played games that could well serve as examples to their fellow senior forwards. . '

Marist had the advantage of weight 'n'"(beif'piick, find this won them the lojiours in the scrum work. They missed \beir halfback. T). lleeney. and. although It. Duckworth deputised for him the latter was a little strange to the position.. P. Martin played on the wing hi Duckworth's place. It is interesting to note (hat in this match the Marist side had playing for fhem three of the fastest men 'in the district., 0. Quinn, P. Martin, and P. ITaisman. OLIJ STUDENTS ATTACK

The old students kicked off- with the •vied and had their opponents on the •mi In the early stages of play. C. Dawson and R. Francis were both close In scoring, but the Marist defence held and play was returned to midfield. Soon after a penalty kick was awarded to M'.5.0.8. Peed took the kick, but did not allow quite enough angle, for the ■Long wind. The ball was taken upleld by the Marist forwards, and an infringement by nne of (be old students s;ave Haisman a chance with a kick at goal. The direction of his kick, however, was into the teeth of the wind Mid he failed lo add points. ' The;wet ball confined the play lo the forwards for the most part and militated ".gainst bright open passing rushes. The :coriug account was opened for H. 5.0.8. when their forwards made an at.tack and Post dived over from a scramble near the goal line. Reed took the. kick and sent the ball over between the uprights.—ll.S.O.B. 5, Marist nil. In the next few minutes Beed was called upon to clear and 1 was running down the line when G. Fisken intercepted him. The latter was knocked out by the tackle and after receiving attention from the. St. John Ambulance officers left the field, but resumed again after the spell. After the change-over the old students pressed again, but B. Wright was also defending well and he cleared to the line. Haisman failed with another opportunity at a penalty kick. Plav continued in the H. 5.0.8. territory. but the Marist movements lacked finish. They had a. chance when C. Quinn took part in a race for the ball, which had rolled over the goal-line, but it. bounced tin wrong way and the opportunity was missed. /".- , , • At this stage the Marist captain elected to take a scrum in place, of line-outs, but bis team did not gain greatly by this manoeuvre, as the. backs could not handle, tho wet and heavy ball. Towards the. end of the match the Marist. forwards took part, in a series of attacks, but even with opportunities such as a scrum under their opponents' gaol posts and a line-out 2vds. outside the goal-line they were held'back by the determined defence. When the final whistle sounded the score still read—H.S.O.B. 5, Marist nil- ; ~ r Mr. A. Worthington was the. referee.

THE MAORIS' BAY OUT BEAT TE KARAKA. S!S—NTL The To Karaka senior team was penned in their own territory for the ■naiorit.y of their game on Saturday on the Oval against Y.M.P., arid the latter team won by 5.1 to nil. Tho veteran, T. : Dennis, was called on to turn out for the Maoris and succeeded in registering a'try and converting six others. Thji scorers Cor the winners worn" W. Smiler (3), G. Bat, son (2), Bennett. (2), and B. Kingi, T Dennis, T. Maynard, Baker, K. Pore, and T. Smtler, while six conversions were registered by Dennis and one by Bakeri Mr. G. Mills vras the referee.

NGATIPOROU TRIBAL GAME SOUTH BEATS THE NORTH (Horald t!nrresnonil< ; nt.) Tho south', defeated the north, in a Naatipo'rnn trilwl Rttiiie played at Tikitiki on Saturday! The score of 21 points FAMR AND No idea is too Siimplo lo bring' fnme and fortune to the fpventor—providing 110 patents it first. Ptttent your j f l <>n —how! Consult us fully and confidentially.—rtoiiry Hushes . Ltd. (dii-octcuu \W E. ; Hughes .and J. T. Hunter, Registered Patent Attorneys), 214-217 D.-LC'.'-BuUdlnff, ;Wellinffto'n; Local Agents: -Ball '& Craw'shaw, Peel Street.*,

to three did not dearly.;' indicate the merits of the teams, for the play was I'ast :ind exciting. The for\var.ds on both sides were evenly matched, the. main difference ill the two teams being the penetrating powers of the backs, those of the southern end carrying out some splendid movements. The' kicking throughout was poor, and ;ill points registered were from tries. The northern team comprised that section of the- tribe to the .north of the Waiapu River, including the- Apanui people, and the southern players came from Ruatoria to as far south as Muriwai. TAINUI CUP SELECTION TEAM FOR TAEANAKI GAME (Herald Correspondent.) Following the conclusion of the intei'seutipital tribal trial' maten p»ayed vi iiKitiiu on >Sut.urciay. the selectors oi the Mgatiporou team, which is to> defend;; the Tainui Cup in a match to be played in Taranaki this month in connection with the unveiling. of a memorial to the late Sir Main I'omare, held a session to consider the form shown in the afternoon's play. All the selectors, who represented different portions of the district covered by the Ngatiporou iiinueilce, are men of extensive experience in Rugby, the personnel of the selectors being as under:- Captain W. T. Pitt, Gisborne, and Messrs. P. Tureia, Gisborne, H. Poananga. and A. 11. Reedy, Ruatoria, W. Morete and ]\f. Petiha, Waiapu, G. Staiuton and Dr. Wi Rcpa, Matakaoa, Messrs. S. Waititi and W. Delamere, Apanui. After a lengthy discussion on the merits of the respective players, the following team was nominated for the Taranaki journey : Racks.—G. Brown (Poverty Ray), A. M. Kopua (Apanui), 0." Chcsley (Poverty Bay), G. Pepere. (Waiapu), I'. Kutia (Tolaga. Bay), M. Crawford (Matakaoa), T. Wi Rcpa, (Ruatoria). P. Kami (Poverty Ray). R. Tuhaka (Tolaga Bay), and M. Henderson (Matakaoa). Forwards.—W. Walker (Apanui). K. Reedy (Ruatoria), R.. Paenga (Waiapu),' A. W. Waenga (Ananui), D. Tuhoro (Waiapu), D. McClutchie (Ruatoria), R. Rogers (Povertv Rnv), P. Te Knni (Apanui). J. Lockwood (Tolaga Ray). T. Lincoln (Tolaga Ray), and R. Mamie! (Matakaoa).

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS GISBORNE COMPETITION Last season's champions, Celtic, slipped rack on Saturday on the senior championship t.ible when they lost to Old Hoys and the hitter chili now heads the list. Interest is still maintained, however, for only one point separates the majority of the club teams. Details of the points are as follow: pis champ

JUNIOR COMPETITION

The. Old Roys' two teams have gone to the top of the junior championship list, lint are not yet beyond the reach of other clubs, as the following table shows :---

TARANAKI VICTORY DEFEAT OF WANGANUI (Per Pmss Association.) , WANGANUI, hist night

Although their forwards dominated play for three parts of the match, the" Wnnganui Rugby representatives were beaten by Taranalu on Saturday by 17 points (four tries, one penalty goal and a conversion) to !• (two penalties and one try). Lack of trustful purpose in the backs was mainly responsible for presenting Taranaki with a win'.

1 cnma v W 1/ 1) for :>g pis Old Rovs 6 4 I 1 64 42 fl Celtic " 6 4 2 87 42 S Y.M.P. 5 3 1. 1 82 31 7 M.irist. 6 3 3 — 50 58 6 TT.R.O.B'. Te Kiikai 6 u 5 2 4 ..5' — AS 24 64 121 4

P i, ; i 'ham] T(Wl)!i 1\V L b for ag pts Old Rovk A 5 ■A _ i 40 9 9 i :h\ Bovs li 5 4 — i 60 9 9 H.S.O.B. 5 4 1 — 48 23 8 U.S. r % 3 2 — 79 17 6 i CclUo 6 1 4 i 22 •70 3 iSIiirisi. 5 _ 4 i 20 79 1 YJM.P. 5 — 5 — 14 68 —