FIRST WIN FOR INVERCARGILL

Southland Times, Issue 23497, 2 May 1938, Page 4

FIRST WIN FOR INVERCARGILL

Backs Too Strong For Marist J. PURDUE IN GOOD FORM Invercargill, holder of the Galbraith Shield, scored its first win of the season against Marist. The team showed better form than on the first two Saturdays, and shaped as though it will play a big part in the decision of the championship. , J. Purdue, R. Mahoney and A. Sutherland were the stars of the backs who threw the ball about freely and looked likely in nearly every rush J. Purdue gave a splendid display of half-bacx play and showed that his form is an improvement on that of last year when he was numbered among the best halfbacks in New Zealand. Marist played poorly, the tackling or the backs failing the side time after time. , ~ Marist (green and black).—Ryan; Fahey, N. Forde, N. Baird; G. Forde, P. Grace; R. Stone; Wilson, Gray, Cournane, Knapp, Ward, Newall, B. Grace, N. Ward. Invercargill (blue and black).—Hoggans; Sutherland, Mahoney, Henderson; Marr, McKenzie; J. Purdue; Sutton, Lester, Kirkness, Walker, Richardson, S. Purdue, McKay, Grant. Invercargill took the field with 14 men, while Marist were favoured with a strong wind. Marist had the better of the early exchanges. Two good forward rushes twice put Invercargill in strong attacking positions but each time in-

fringements relieved the situation for Marist. From a scrum in Marist territory a clearing kick was charged down and the .Invercargill forwards carried on. In a scramble Marr secured in a handy position. McKenzie converted. Invercargill 5, Marist 0. The Invercargill forwards were securing plenty of ball and the backs opened play at all angles. Sutherland opened up a good movement and after Mahoney and Marr handled the latter, was tackled a few yards short of the line. From mid-field the Invercargill forwards heeled cleanly and after the whole back line had handled Sutherland brushed off a couple of tackles before in-passing to Marr. Sutherland again secured possession and went over for a good try. Marr failed. Invercargill 8, Marist 0.

The Marist forward put more life into their work and play remained in midfield a time. From a scrum an Invercargill passing bout broke down and Forde gathered in and sent on to Fahey who went over for a good try. Baird failed with the kick. Invercargill 8. Marist 3.

Invercargill immediately returned the attack and Purdue opened a rush which went out to Mahoney, who ran round the Marist defence and sent on to Henderson, the latter scoring well out. McKenzie failed.

Aided by the wind, Marist forwards carried play into Invercargill territory and looked like scoring at any moment. Two scrums in Invercargill’s twenty-five favoured the defenders but indecision on the part of Mahoney cost the side five points. J. Purdue got the ball smartly away from a scrum to Mahoney, who, instead of kicking to the line, tried a short punt. N. Forde was alive to the situation and smartly intercepting the kick, raced away with a clear line and scored in a handy position. Baird kicked a goal and the halftime scores were:— Invercargill 11, Marist 8 Invercargill made the most of the advantages of the wind and kept Marist penned in its own twenty-five. Marist was twice compelled to force down and J. Purdue went over only to be called back for an infringement. An attempt at a field goal by McKenzie went wide and relieved the situation for Marist. Several bouts on the part of the Invercargill backs broke down at Marr, who moved out to centre. From a scrum in Marist territory J. Purdue sent out smartly to McKenzie and the ball travelled out to Henderson on the wing who went over for a good try. McKenzie goaled. Invercargill 16, Marist 8.

The Marist forwards countered with a good rush. Fumbling among the Invercargill backs allowed the Marist forwards to kick right through and in a scramble Stone forced down. Baird failed to goal. Invercargill 16, Marist After a scrum nera the Marist line the ball travelled through the back line to Sutherland who crossed in the corner. The attempt at goal failed. Invercargill 19, Marist 11. Play continued in Marist territory and an attempt at a field goal by McKenzie was charged down. Sutherland gathered in and went over in a handy position. McKenzie failed to goal and the final whistle sounded. Invercargill 22, Marist 11 Mr J. F. Edwart was the referee. SECOND GRADE OLD BOYS v. MARIST Old Boys beat Marist by 12 to nil. Tries were scored by McLean (2), Robson and Anderson. PIRATES v. COLLEGIATE Pirates beat Collegiate by 6 to 3. Tries were scored for Pirates by Maxted and Mahoney. Giles kicked a penalty goal for Collegiate. STAR v. INVERCARGILL Star beat Invercargill by 15 to 3. Tries were scored for Star by Taylor, Harvey, Cockroft, Phillips and Johnston. For Invercargill R. Purdue kicked a penalty goal.

THIRD GRADE PIRATES v. BORSTAL Pirates drew with Borstal 6 all. For Pirates, McEwan scored a try and Adamson kicked a penalty goal. COLLEGIATE v. STAR Collegiate beat Star by 6 to 3. Two penalty goals were lacked by P. Giles for Collegiate, and W. Mitchell kicked a penalty goal for Star. HIGH SCHOOL v. WAIKIWI High School beat Waikiwi by 3 to nil. Parcell scored a try for High School. FOURTH GRADE OLD BOYS v. PIRATES Old Boys and Pirates drew, there being no score. TECHNICAL v. COLLEGIATE Technical beat Collegiate by 8 to 3. Tries were scored for Technical by Sheat and Payne, and Torbet converted one. For Collegiate Brown scored a try. INVERCARGILL v. STAR Invercargill beat Star by 22 to 3. Tries were scored for Invercargill by Atley (2), Chilwell, Hagerty, Duff, and North. Hagerty and Munnings each converted one try. HIGH SCHOOL v. WAIKIWI High School beat Waikiwi by 12 to 11. For High School Robertson and Hewton scored tries and' Ward kicked two penalty goals. For Waikiwi Harper (2) and Davidson scored tries and Waldron converted one. FIFTH GRADE INVERCARGILL v. TECHNICAL Invercargill beat Technical by 15 to 3. For Invercargill tries were scored by Huffadine, Stewart, Patterson, Smith and Gordon. For Technical Liddell scored a try. HIGH SCHOOL v. PIRATES High School beat Pirates by 14 to 12. For High School Martin scored two tries and Duncaii and Gavan scored one each. For Pirates Graham scored a try and kicked three penalty goals.

EASTERN DISTRICT COMPETITIONS OPENING OF SEASON The Rugby football season opened in Eastern Southland in cold weather on Saturday. The weather remained fine throughout the afternoon, however, and after the recent rain the grounds were in fair order. The Rugby played was of a fair standard for so early in the season and it is apparent that the competition will be evenly contested. Saturday’s results produced some surprises ‘Pioneer being beaten by Mataura at Mataura, after having a lead of 11 points to three at half-time. At Gore Albion beat Balfour by 13 points to three. Results are as follows: — ALBION v. BALFOUR At the Gore show ground Albion had a comfortable win over Balfour by 13 points (two converted tries, and one unconverted) to three (one unconverted try). The game began brightly both teams throwing the ball about freely. Albion was first to score and it maintained a slight advantage for the remainder of the ‘ half, the score at half-time being five points to three. After the interval Albion combined to even better advantage and increased its score. Easton and Hoffman were always sound in the Albion back line, while Wyeth and Smith played useful games. The' Herron brothers, Graham and Keown were the pick of the forwards. For Balfour Richards played an outstanding game at full-back and scored the only try for his side. This player usually plays at wing three-quarter, but he was playing in the full-back position on Saturday because of an injured wrist D. McLean also played well. In the forwards McDonald played an outstanding game. Albion had the advantage of a heavier pack and it won the majority of the scrums. The teams were:—

ALBION (red, yellow and black): F. Wallis; B. Hoffman, Smith, A. Easton; Clark, E. Wyeth; hf. Ussher; forwards, J. Stewart, Soper,' Keown, L. Naylor, B. Herron, G. Herron, G. Graham, Byrne. BALFOUR (maroon): B. Richards; D. McGregor, N. Shallard, D. McLean; C. Hickey, A. Calder; A. Stewart; forwards, J. Robb, R. Gillespie, W. Rutter, W. Dickson, S. Keown, N. Forbes, G. Davis, A. McDonald. Albion kicked off and began to play the open game. One or two passing movements did not gain much ground, however, and play was taken back to mid-field. Balfour was awarded a free kick and Forbes failed with an attempt at goal. His forwards followed up rapidly, however, and Keown just failed to score, the ball rolling over the deadball line. From the 25 Albion gained a lot of ground, Hoffman following through quickly and securing to put in a good run. He was well grassed by Shallard at the Balfour 25 - line and Richards secured to find touch with a good kick back at half-way. Graham made a spectacular run shortly after, but he was not backed up and was pushed out at the comer flag. The Balfour forwards got out of an awkward position by rucking well and outplaying the opposing pack. Albion was penalized in its own territory again and McLean made a good but unsuccessful kick at goal. B. Herron made a good opening when he followed up a kick by Easton, to secure and send on to Naylor. It was a forward pass, however, and the movement was checked. The Albion pack kept up te pressure and Keown went over near the goal posts for a try. B. Herron converted. Albion 5, Balfour 0. Balfour forced the pace from the kick off and kept the play in Albion’s territory. The full-back, Richards, fielded a long kick by an Albion forward and made a splendid run up the sideline, cutting out several players. He made a neat swerve round Wallis and scored a well-deserved try some distance out. McLean failed with the kick. Albion 5, Balfour 3. There was no further score before half-time.

Albion forced the play on resumption and rucked through to Balfour’s line. A penalty relieved the position for Balfour, Forbes finding the line well down field. Easton put in a good run on the far wing, being pushed out near the corner flag. Albion was getting the ball in the scrums at this stage and it was only good play by Richards that saved Balfour. Albion hooked from a set scrum near the line and Richards came through quickly to bag Ussher with the ball. The Balfour pack rucked through and play was taken back to mid-field. Albion returned to the attack and Easton secured to pass to

Wallis. The latter had only a few yards to run and he fell over the line in Richards’s tackle to score. Herron missed a difficult kick. Albion 8, Balfour 3. Smith was prominent in another attack by Albion and he made a strong run up the line. He failed to pass to Easton before being tackled and he was pushed out deep in Balfour s 2b. From a loose scrum the ball came out to Easton who sold a neat dummy to score. Herron converted. Albion 13, Balfour 3. . . Both teams were making the play open and fast at this stage and both sets of backs took part in p'assmg movements in turn, the play rapidly from one end of the field to the other. Albion was slightly more aggressive and maintained a slight advantage. Hoffman was doing good work on the left wing and he almost added to Albion’s score when Smith handed him a pass on Balfour’s side of the half-, way mark. Hoffman showed a good turn of speed and brushed off two opposing players to continue up the line. He was well grassed by Richards just at the corner flag, however, the ball rolling over the side-line. Northern made a counter-attack and play went back to mid-field. Albion made several determined efforts to add to its score before time, without success. Balfour put up a stubborn defence, and the game ended with the score unaltered. Mr F. O’Kane was the referee. SECOND GRADE Albion and Pioneer had a willing match at the Gore show ground, playing on No. 2 ground. Albion secured an early lead and maintained a slight advantage throughout to win by 17 points to 10. The forwards were evenly matched, but the Albion backs displayed more speed and a better knowledge of the game. For Albion Martin (2), Leslie and Mackie scored, while Faithful kicked a penalty goal and converted a try. For Pioneer Crawford and McMullan scored a try each and Steel kicked a field goal. z THIRD GRADE Playing at the hostel grounds Albion beat High School by 13 points to 12.