RUGBY FOOTBALL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19125, 21 September 1936, Page 13

RUGBY FOOTBALL

P.B. SEASON CLOSES CHAMPIONSHIP PINAL OLD BOYS MEET CELTIC To-day say/ the. close of the Rugby football season in Poverty Bay, though elsewhere throughout the Dominion the game will be going strongly for ai least a week cir two more. The winter lias been an exceptionally favourable one tor tlie Poverty l>ay union, only one occasion having arisen for the postponement of fixtures owing to severe weather. Consequently the district union’s programme has moved towards its close .with hardly a bitch, and the usual allowance for unplayable Saturdays lias proved too liberal. The match set down as the chief attraction for to-day was the championship final between Old Boys and Celtic, and the good attendance at the. Oval indicated that interest in the' issue was well sustained, despite the fact that, it is three weeks since the last club fixture, representative games having filled the last two Saturdays. During the week botji the senior teams had been in training for the game, and n good (leal of interest centred on the question as to whether the Celtic team would include C. McKinley, the Maori representative. McKinley is to take his place m the Maori team to meet, the Australians next Wednesday, and it was generally considered that bis club would not take the risk of having him injured and so jeopard iso his chance of dist inction in t lu> major fixture. The teams took the field as under:—

Celtic.—Fullback, Yntesy three-quart-ers. A. MeAneney, C. McKinley, and R. Patty; five-eights, Woods ana Arnett; half-back. W. MeAneney; front row forwards, P. Scholium, W. Matheson, and L .McKinley; middle row, T. Stevens, R. Rogers, W. Steel, and F. MeAneney; back row, P. McKinley. Old Bovs.—Fullback, A. Owen ; threequarters,‘C. Davy, lb Henderson, and A. Read: five-eighths. R. Evans and J. Devi; half-back, O. Montgomery; H’ont row forwards, G. Fraser, R. Harrison, and T. Smellic; middle row, G. Spence, Yj. Fitzmaurice, A. Campbell, and H. Twigg; back row, G. McConnell. Mr. N. Tasker was the referee. PLENTY OF HARD WORK Old Boys won the toss and elected to open against the. breeze, Celtic kicking off and following the bull deep into the Old Boys’ end, their forwards- putting in some solid scrum waging in an effort to bustle their opponents, who however, displayed steady defensive work and repeatedly cleared their 25yd. area with short kicks to the line. The, Celtic hacks showed the effects of over-eagerness and more than one good opening was lost through knock-ons or the failure of hacks to pass the ball cleanly. The breeze was not the advantage to Celtic that it might have been for their kicks repeatedly went over the Old Boys’ goal line and in the first quarter of an hour Old Boys forged at least half a dozen times with plenty of clearance in front of the Celtic torwards.

Both teams were putting plenty of hard work into the game and though Celtic had been steadily pressing throughout, the first 15 minutes they had failed (o steam-roller the lighter Old Boys team. This was rather surprising as tliere was nothing outstanding about Old Boys’ defence, which seemed to bo successful despite its haphazard character. Nevertheless, the spectators were getting much excitement out of the match and anything that looked like a break away on tho part, of Old Boys earned warm applause. FIRST TRY OF THE, MATCH One effort by Davy took the game out of Old Boys’ end almost for the first time and briefly Old Boys visited the Celtic twenty-five, but. a Jong kick by Yates took the game back again. W. MeAneney picked up the ball while it was rolling and sent it out to Anintt, to McKinley, the latter broke one Ohl Boys’ tackle and then sent out a long high pass to A. MeAneney, on the right wing. MeAneney took the hall with a characteristic jump and heat tho Old Boys’ defence with a very fast run. to score the first try ol" the match after a full 20 minutes of play. 0. McKinley failed to convert the tvy and the score stood three-nil in favour of Celtic.

Tho game took on an even more drastic complexion as Old Boys settled down to hold their goal line intact against a series of Celtic attacks and at one stage tlie two packs were battling it out wiliin a yard of the line. Solid tackling was the order of tlie day and no player was able to handle the ball for more than a few moments before being grassed. Old Boys got up as far as" midfield once as the result of a good effort by the fullback, Owen, but O. McKinley returned the ball with a long oblique kick to the Old Boys 25yd flag.' PRESSURE AGAIN APPLIED

Again the Celtic pressure was applied and a further series of force-downs kept the line clear. A. McAneney and C. McKinley were seen in a pretty piece of work on the right flank of the Celtic attack which very nearly yielded points, McKinley shooting the ball out to the winger and then doubling around outside him to take a return pass. Henderson got across to drive McKinley out ol bounds syds. from the corner flag, and from the resultant line-out tho ball travelled across the field, Evans getting possession, but having to run back behind the line, conceding a scrum right under the goal posts. Owen got off-side in trying to anticipate the roll of the ball through the scrum and the referee caught him. awarding a penalty to the attackers and C. McKinley goaling the kick without, trouble. —Celtic 6, Old Boys nil.

For the next, 10 minutes the play continued chiefly in Old Boys’ end, but the. defenders were playing a. dour game and taking every opportunity of improving their position. Tt was significant that Old Boys were getting the ball, from the majority of the scrums, and only the determined manner in which the Celtic forwards swarmed down on the inside backs stopped them from getting away on more than one. occasion. A. Campbell was playing an outstanding game among tho Old Boys’ forwards and the other forwards were backing him up well. A TOWER OF STRENGTH The Old Boys’ backs were handling fairly well under pressure, and Dovi was a tower of strength to the. team in defence. It was Dovi who again opened the way for an Old Bovs’ attack which crossed the midfield line, the live-eights throwing off two tackles and dashing through the centre to get almost info the clear. Tackled by C. McKinley, Dovi sent the ball to Evans and Davy, but a forward throw stopped the attack when Davy had an open line before him. It was Old Boys’ first chance to score up to this stage of the game. Half-time found the score unaltered with Celtic 6, Old Boys nil, and with the issue decidedly doubtful. At 5.40 p.m. there was no further change in the score.

CURTAIN-RAISER MATCH OWEN CUP TO OLD BOYS In the early match on No. 1 ground Gisborne (Old (Boys defeated Wairoa Pirates by 11 points to throe in a third grade game for the Owen Cup. During the first half the visitors had the breeze behind them and they held the score even at three-all to halt-time, Trengrove scoring a try for Old Boys and Aldridge registering a penalty goal for Wairoa. Alter the change round Old Boys made good use of the breeze and scored two more trios, one of which was converted l . For the winners secondhalf tries were registered by Hanna, and Somcrsby, McKinley making one conversion. Mr. W. McKeaguo refereed the game. WALLABIES’ MATCH At half-time the Canterbury representative .Rugby tennl was lending the Australians by 11 points to three in the mutch played in Christchurch this afternoon.