RUGBY

Southland Times, Issue 21773, 30 July 1932, Page 14

RUGBY

(By “Onlooker.”) NEWS AND NOTES Club matches in all grades will be resumed this afternoon. Waikiwi say they can go one better than last round. Pirates will have no easy task. The All Blacks return to New Zealand next week. Purdue and Metcalfe will be available for Southland for the Auckland game on August 13. The Otago selectors were represented at the Sub-Union’s game at Rugby Park last Saturday. Donald Stuart and Jimmy King, old Otago stalwarts, were looking for representative material, and other Otago visitors included Ernie Wilson, many years secretary of the 0.R.F.U., and Dave Jolly, member of the O.R.F.U. Only one of the Otago sub-Unions’ team found a place in the Otago, team. There are five country players in the Southland team. Spectators at the Sub-Unions game would be surprised to note that S. Faulks (full-back), “missed the bus” in the Otago team. Bolton, the chosen one, must be a bit above the average as Faulks’s display was well up to provincial standard. New Zealand’s convincing win in the third and deciding test was as good as a tonic to Maorilanders. As predicted in these columns at the beginning of the tour, Kilby’s team developed from a collection of more or less “untrieds” to a combination of Rugby giants—giants in more than the accepted sense of the term. VZith Kilby, Page and Pollock as the stars of an All Black team, what will they be for Wellington in the interprovincial fixtures this season? And two of the trio are Southlanders! It is to be hoped they will be able to visit Invercargill with the Wellington team in September. Southland’s win over Canterbury was a good start for the representative season. Local supporters will now be looking for a dry ground to see how good the Maroons really are. Wednesday’s showing was some recompense for what was served up last Saturday. A bigger crowd may be expected for the next rep game (versus Auckland on AUgust 13). BREECHES. “By “Whawhai.”) In our most modern Rugby No replacements must there be. So hark to my contention And see if you agree. Since no exceptions are allowed— Now, don’t blush, maids and wowsers, Not only players are concerned; The rule applies to trousers! The second Sports Trust Cup challenge will be decided at Gore on "Wednesday between Eastern (holders) and Western challengers. , Eastern will have to go a lot Better than they went against Northern to hang on to the trophy. Of the seven tries scored by Southland against Canterbury on Wednesday four were claimed by forwards (Donnelly, Fowle, Murphy and Berry) and three by backs (Geddes, Grant and McKay). , , . , . Had Southland’s goal-kicking been only up to average standard, and full advantage taken of several full-size opportunities when the line was at their mercy, the Maroons would have despatched Canterbury with a 40 points’ defeat. Three “sitters” were missed m the matter of goals and at least three tries were “foozled.”

Statistics taken during the game show that from set scrums Southland gained an advantage on 28 occasions and Canterbury on 14. Line-outs favoured Southland by 35 to 22; Southland were awarded three marks and Canterbury four, and Southland infringed six times as against Canterbury’s two. There were six indecisive scrums, 14 indecisive line-outs and four force-downs, making a total of 138 stoppages during the 90 minutes’ play. Include halftime, “no-side” and halts for injuries and the breaks in the play total oyer 140, over one and a-half stops a minute.

Although Southland enjoyed a marked superiority in set scrums and rucks the ball rarely had a clean passage to the half-back. There was often a delay in the back of the scrum and Holden was hampered accordingly. More practice at setting the 3-4-1 formation and pushing the right way will be required before Southland meet Auckland. Selectors’ troubles are never over. After sorting out a good pack to do battle in the first game they will now require to think over who to leave out to find places for Metcalfe and Purdue. On Wednesday’s game it seems a pity to have to disturb the present eight. The “morals” for the next game appear to be Mattingly, Donnelly, C. George, Berry and Murphy. This leaves Purdue, Metcalfe, L. George, Fowle and Southern to fill the three remaining places. Don Grant’s penchant for cutting-in so often when fed by Holden did not meet with the approval of a big section of the crowd. But this section apparently did not size up the method in Grant’s play. Given no latitude by his markers, which included some overeager breakaways, Grant probably decided that it was useless to send the ball out to his supports, who likewise were well marked, and he cut in to make play for the forwards. These tactics succeeded admirably, as witness the number of times the forwards broke up the centre in full cry following Grant’s moves. Headiness was displayed here. Ross Sharp put in some brilliant runs and was unlucky not to see one dazzling effort crowned in the first spell. The tackling of the Pirates man was of a high standard. Dunshea’s try for Canterbury was a tit-bit and showed that, individually, the Red and Blacks might have been very dangerous if given the opportunity.

One could not help thinking while watching Donnelly, Berry and McKay doing much great work that these players all are up to South Island standard. Had, Mr McDonald made it his business to have had a look at some of the Southlanders it is not too much to say that any of the trio might have been a member of Kilby’s victorious All Black team.

For his first representative match young Mitchell did very well at one end of the Maroon threequarter line, and now that he has successfully piloted his. way through a rep. baptism there is every reason to expect that he will do some outstanding things in later big games. Like father, like son, or should it be “following in dad’s footsteps.” In the Southland team on Wednesday there were playing Rob Donnelly, Bert Geddes and “Brushy" Mitchell, all sons of Southland selectors. Mr Alf. Mitchell is one of the present selection committee and Messrs Peter Donnelly and Arthur Geddes are past selectors of Southland teams.