RUGBY

Southland Times, Issue 20527, 2 July 1928, Page 8

RUGBY

SATURDAY’S GAMES PIRATES AND STAR DRAW GREAT FORWARD STRUGGLE SOUTHERN' STILL TRIERS There was a large attendance at Rugby Park on Saturday when the concluding matches of the third round of the Galbraith Shield competition were played. Chief interest centred in the meeting of Star and Pirates who were running level for championship honours. The heavy state of the ground was against spectacular football, but the spectators were kept agog with excitement throughout the big game, for what was lacking in brilliance was made up for by the keen forward tussle with its many lightning changes of front. A draw, six points all, was a fairly good indication of the run of play and a great battle can be expected when the deciding match is fought out next round. On No. 2 ground Invercargill defeated Southern by 9 points to 3. This area was in much worse order than No. 1 and the standard of football suffered in consequence. The position of the teams after Saturday’s matches is as follows:

PIRATES («) v. STAR (6) With the ground in a heavy state it was to be anticipated that the battle between Star and Pirates would be waged between j the forwards, and this proved to be the , case. Occasionally there were rearguard ' movements, some quite bright, but for the most part it was an exciting struggle between two fine packs. Was a draw a true indication of the merits of the teams? Most will be prepared to answer in the affirmative. True Star scored twice to their opponents’ once, but as against this it was Pirates who did most of the attacking. Taking rhe game all in all there was very little to choose between the teams and their meeting in the next round will be awaited with quickened interest. The game showed one thing clearly— Southland football is stronger in defence than in attack. While this is not altogether reassuring, for the essence of success is surely attack, it is good to know that there are in town backs and forwards capable of repelling fierce and repeated onslaughts in the way that the teams did on Saturday. Time and again when one side was pressing hotly on their opponents’ line the stubborn defenders succeeded in clearing. The packs were both in splendid fettle and the forward battle waged for the first thirty-five minutes of the second spell—before the players tired would take a lot of beating. If anything the honours rested with Pirates. The Black backs did very little good with their stereotyped passing. Their markers got right up among them and toofc the ball from them. When it came to Star's turn to attack with passing they proved no better than the Blacks. Conditions, however, were certainly against back play, and the occasional flashes of brilliancy were probably as much as could be expected. Both sides infringed a good deal. Star particularly. For this reason the game was pulled up more frequently than the spectators approved, but it is only reasonable for onlookers to remember that if teams persistently break rules they must pay the penalty. The game was a hard one but was contested in excellent spirit. The teams were— Pirates (Black)-Milk; Geddes, Diack Sherlock; Pay, Pickering; J. Johnson ; Roberts, Carter; Metcalfe, Batcheler, McKay; King, Archer; Bird. Star (Blue and White)—G. Oughton, R. Oughton, D. Murray; Stubbs; McAuliffe, Bell; Connolly; Howden. Melvin; Manson’ Shaw. Agnew; Cockroft. Lilley; Mahoney. Pirates won the toss and Lilley kicked off against the wind. \\ ith Metcalfe in the fore the Blacks took play to the Star twentyfive but good following up by Bell sent Pirates back. The first free-kick went to Star but Lilley faded to find the line and Pay gained a lot of ground with a useful The position was further improved by Kings good footwork. To the accompaniment of lively barracking the Black* essayed passing, but the ball proved elusive and Connolly cleared. Pay was applauded for plucky play which ended in Manson being penalized for playing the man. Diack gained a lot of ground with the kick. The Blacks tried passing but Star got right among the attackers and changed the move into defence. Sherlock stemmed the Star rush with a brilliant mark. Good play by McKay brought the ball through nicely from a scrum but Bird got offside. Then came a movement that nearly brought disaster to Pirates. Connolly kicked through to Gedde* and the wing failed to pick up cleanly. He kicked across and Manson almost got‘over Mill* managed to force after giving his side a fright. Play was full of incident and the stand was full of noise. The state of the ground was against clean handling, however, and there were a few unrehearsed ami amusing episodes. Star kept on attack, aided by a brace of free kicks. Mahoney nearly succeeded in getting away with an interception, but knocked on. * After the scrum had broken up Bell secured and rl he ?‘ acks na PP*ng. He sent on to McAuliffe who cleverly cut out a man and handed to Stubbs, who racer! over near the corner. Lilley could not goal. —Stars 3, Pirates o. Pirates wasted no time in getting on attack after this reverse, but the Star pack was hard to beat. For handling in the scrum by Manson Star had to concede a penalty ami Diack made the scores level with a good kick from thirty yards out in front of goal. —Pirates 3, Star 3. The Blacks were persisting in passing but even- time they lost ground as the Star rearguard got right among their opponents and changed the scene of operations in a flash. Such an incident came shortly after Diack’s goal. The Blacks set up a bout of passing in their opponents’ twenty-five and next moment McAuliffe and Stubbs were almost over at the Black comer. Plav swung back to neutral territory till Guy Oughton received and punted towards the line. Sherlock received and in leisurely fashion ran across to get in a clearing kick. Don Murray, who had come up fast, charged down Sherlock's kick and before people realized what was happening the Star centre had booted hard and was racing for the line. He gathered in for a good try. Lilley failed to goal. St »f 6 Pirates 3 Pirates got busy ami were immediately in Star territory. Diack had a shot from a difficult angle from a penalty. The ball struck the cross bar and rebounded into play. Had the fast following up King not lost the ball when on the line the Blacks would have added to their total. The Blacks maintained the pressure but met with desperate defence. Diack put in a heady cross kick into Star’s goal mouth, but after Geddes had tried to field the ball and lost it Pickering got offside. Diack had another long shot from a penalty but was a bit wide. Batcheler with great footwork threatened Star but Bell came in to save with great elan. In trying tc pick up he knocked the ball out, the referee evidently considering he did so deliberately as he penalized him. Diack’s punt went under the goal posts and three Star men made so certain of forcing that their heads

collided. Joe McAuliffe appeared to suffer most. Pirates kept hard on attack but their backs could do no good. The best bout was one set up* by Sherlock which went out to Geddes and Diack. The centre was going hard for the line when he was grassed by a great tackle by Guy Oughton. From the ensuing play in the left corner Geddes and King made a great and successful bid, the wing scoring. Diack could not goal. Pirates .. .. 6 Star 6 A driving rain now came on. Star made the Blacks force, but Diack gained fifty yards with the drop-out. Joe Johnson let Geddes away nicely on the blind and the wing ran strongly but was upended by Guy Oughton, whose tackling was superb. Another blind side movement by Pirates gained a lot of ground. Diack sent up a useful centre but Agnew cleared brilliantly. He was prominent a moment later with a bright burst. Pirates’ supporters were cheered with a great loose rush by the Black forwards. Free kicks were numerous, both sides getting a fair share. A dull five minutes preceded the whistle which announced half-time, the score being Pirates 6 Star 6 Guy Oughton did not come on in the second half as he had injured his shoulder in bringing o¥f one of his brilliant tackles. Melvin took his place at full-back and Clark went in the front row in place of Melvin. When the whistle blew for the resumption Star were slow in putting in an appearance but they wasted no time in getting to business when they came on. Pirates were forced within two minutes. Penalties came freely. Lilley turned one to good account with a clever punt. McAuliffe had a drop kick at goal from well out from a mark. A good kick was a bit short. Pay tried a short punt instead -of passing out and it worked better. After Agnew had been penalized for obstruction Pirates set up a good attack with Carter, McKay and Archer to the fore but o'ffside play pulled them up. Snappy work by both sides pleased the crowd. Lilley had a shot from well out when the Black forwards were penalized but his kick was weak. The rain which had held off since half-time came on again. It coincided with a great rush by the Pirate forwards. For lying on the ball a Star back was penalised and Diack lined near the corner. Lilley and Cockroft brought play back with a slashing rush during which Roberts had his face injured and had to retire. O’Dowda replaced him. Sherlock did some good work on the right wing, wisely booting rather than risk failing to pick up. Pirates were going better than Star at this stage, but there were too many infringements < make the game interesting. When Diack had a long shot at goal McAuliffe took a -reat mark with Geddes almost on top of him. Star gradually worked play back but King came to light with a slashing dribble. Connolly broke away and sent a hard pass to Bell but it bounced out of his arms. Ground was gained by the move, however, and Pirates were kept defending. The rain had gone off again but the ground was very greasy. A hard kick through by Murray and a lofty punt by Stubbs made Pirates force. Sherlock caused a sensation by cutting into Star passing. He raced to Melvin and passed in ,but McAuliffe saved. Play grew exciting, Melvin being applauded for a good save. Next moment Star were on attack through McAuliffe and Murray, Diack going down to save well. With another lightning charge i play travelled to the other end of the field, but Star cleared once more. With 1 the score at 6-all both sides were striving I desperately to get ahead. Sherlock flashed down the line but his kick, which was I meant to go over Melvin’s head, struck the full back and bounced out. Bell saved in the face of a Black rush with a good mark, and Connolly further improved the position by kicking through. After a period in which Pirates were attacking a free to Star enabled Lilley to line well down. There was some hard play in Pirate territory which ended in Bell kicking too hard and Pirates forcing. Attack and counter-attack followed in rapid succession. At one moment the Blacks would be pressing hotly; the next they were hard put to keep their line intact. The defence on both sides held, however, and a vigorously contested game ended in a draw. Star 6 Pirates 6 Mr W. McStay was referee. BLUES (9) v. SOUTHERN (3) There was very little interest taken in the Blues-Southern encounter, which was played on No. 2 area, Rugby Park. The playing area was in such a greasy state J that good football was out of the question, i and the game was reduced practically to a i forward scramble. Both sides endeavoured, • however, to open up the game, but their ! efforts were not successful, although one or | iwo passing bouts initiated by Blues looked ' likely. The score of 9 to 3 in Blues’ favour is i more or less a true indication of the 1 merits of the teams on the day. Only one ! try was scored, while three goals were i kicked. The winners were stronger all | round and did the bulk of the attacking, ■ too hard kicking at times and faulty hand- ' ling on other occasions spoiling rosy chances iof increasing tfieir winning margin. DurI ing the game heavy rain and hail squalls i passed over the ground, making it almost ' impossible to distinguish the players. For Blues, Henderson, Johnson, Beau- . mont, George and W. Southern toiled hard j and tirelessly, and for Southern B. McEwan, j Burtenshaw, Hughes and Mannix were outI standing. Porter. Blues’ five-eighth, was badly injured about the nose and mouth towards the end of the first spell and was replaced by Wilk. The teams were:— Blues.— (Blue and Black); Calder; Norris. Frampton, Henderson; Porter, Lowe; Johnson; Beaumcnt. Burnett; Southern, C. George, L. George; Gibson, Thomson; Kerse. Southern—(Light Bluet; Brown; Burtenshaw. Hughes. Hamilton; Styles, Lock; Frost; Mannix, Burns; Mattingly, Jack, J. McEwan; Blick, McCallum; B. McEwan. Blues almost immediately placed themelves in position for attack from the kick j off, and Henderson furthered the move by : putting in a good run down the touch-line. He centred and Kerse followed up smartly, ; but missed collaring Hughes, who got in a good clearing kick. Blues were bustling the ; Southern forwards and took all before them i to Southern’s 25, where Johnson secured and tried to set his backs going. The already greasy ball proved to be a difficult handling proposition and no ground was gained. A couple of free kicks enabled Southern to clear their line. B. McEwan carrying on and leading a raid into Blues’ territory. It was short-lived through lack of support, and Blues’ forwards, C. George, Southern and Beaumont leading, took play back to the other end of the field. C. George was here entrusted with a penalty kick awarded against a Southern back for lying on the ball, but he failed to properly direct the heavy ball. Southern forced. A minute later Porter took a mark just outside Southern’s 25 and dispelled the idea that goals on a dirty day were not kickable by landing a good goal and opening the scoring. Blues 3 Southern Nil The Invercargill forwards led the side back again shortly after the kick-off, and within two minutes of his previous goal Porter landed another beauty from well out—a penalty kick. Blues 6 Southern Nil From now on the game resolved itself into a forward scramble, Blues dominating the scrums but failing to finish off the initial attacking work. Johnson threw the ball out at almost every opportunity but the backs could do nothing with it. First Norris and then Henderson would make

solo line breaks only to slip or be pulled down within a few yards of Southern’s goal. Lock, Hughes and Frost were putting in good defensive work and B. McEwan was here, there and everywhere leading the forwards and helping the backs in their staying of the Blues’ forward onslaughts. Southern made occasional breaks to Blues’ line and in one of these Porter was injured while saving and was required to leave the field. Lowe next attracted attention with a fruitless pot and from a subsequent rush Henderson scored wide out. George failed to goal. Blues 9 Southern 0 The second spell was a repetition of the first with little bright play to enthuse. B. McEwan attempted to goal from a penalty but failed and then Burtenshaw and Hamilton put in effective solo bursts. Calder was called upon several times to clear Blues’ line. Speculators became frequent and the players were experiencing difficulty in keeping their feet. Blues’ forwards took a hand again and swept all before them. The ball went out to Henderson’s wing, the dashing young threequarters snapping up in his stride and racing for the corner. He short punted past Brown and W. Southern and George, following up fast made dives at the ball but failed to reach it as it neared the goal line. Then Kerse grabbed the leather but was held up as he went over the line. A scrum was ordered. Blues hooked and Johnson had a chance but fumbled, Hughes getting in and clearing to half-way with a big kick. Rain commenced to fall and made the conditions very bad. Both sides attacked in turn, with Blues having the best of the exchanges. A free kick was awarded Blues 20 yards from the posts, but Wills failed to move the ball and Southern cleared their line again. Near the end of the game B. McEwan had two further attempts to goal from penalties, the second one, from the touch-line, succeeding after striking the crossbar. The game ended: Blues 9 Southern 3 Mr D. Leckie was referee. IN OTHER CENTRES WELLINGTON. ’Varsity 22 beat Oriental 11. Athletic 7 beat Eastbourne 3. Marist 15 beat Berhampore 13. Old Boys 18 beat Wellington 5. Poneke 17 beat Petone 0. Championship points now stand as follows:—Poneke 16 points, ’Varsity 15, Oriental 14, Athletic 13, Old Boys 12, Petone 8, Marist 8, Eastbourne 6, Berhampore 5, Wellington 3. CHRISTCHURCH. Old Boys 16 beat Christchurch 15. Merivale 10 beat Albion 6. Linwood 17 beat Technical 3. DUNEDIN. University A 27, Alhambra 10. Pirates 15, Southern 6. University B 3, Zingari 0. Taieri 12, Dunedin 0. Kaikorai 17, Union 8. University A have not yet been beaten. REPRESENTATIVE MATCH. AUCKLAND DEFEATS WAIKATO. Auckland, July 1. The first representative Rugby match at Auckland this season took place at Eden Park on Saturday when the return game was played with the Waikato representatives. The previous game was at Hamilton on June 4 when Auckland won 30 —0. The ground on Saturday was very heavy and affected play which was not of a high representative standard. Auckland won 23 to 12. Minns (2), Finlayson (2), Badeley and Jeffries scored tries for Auckland, Butler converting one and kicking a penalty goal. Cameron, Courtney and Vosper scored for Waikato, Quin kicking a penalty. SCHOOLS MATCH AT HAWERA. Hawera, June 30. A crowd of three thousand was present at the Hawera Showgrounds this afternoon when the New Plymouth High School Rugby fifteen defeated the Wanganui Technical College team by 20 points to 3. A notable fe-ture was that Wanganui tried the three-two-three scrum formation, but seldom got the ball. Heavier and faster, the New Plymouth boys were superior to their opponents in all phases registering five tries (one converted) and a penalty goal to Wanganui’s single penalty. CENTRAL DISTRICT SUB-UNION. The following will represent Central against Western on Wednesday at Drummond: —G. Lindsay, W. McKenzie, D. Galt, Anderson, Laing. Gray, Souness, Horner, Boyle, H. McKenzie, I. Galt, Watson, Gregory, J. Brown and Clark. Emergencies: Thornbury, R. Lindsay, R. Horner, Calder, McNamara and F. Cody.

Points P. W. L. D. For Agst. Ch. Pts. Star .... 9 7 1 1 133 62 15 Pirates . . 9 7 1 1 159 79 15 Invercargill 9 3 6 — 105 129 6 Southern 9 — 9 — 76 203 —