NARROW VICTORY FOR STAR
Bluff Loses Witli Honours
PORT PACK’S SUCCESS IN SECOND HALF Star scored a narrow win in a rugged game against Bluff whose forwards put up a splendid showing against the formidable Star pack and in the second half gained the distinction of outplaying their opponents. Star won by an unconverted try and a penalty goal to an unconverted try. Both teams missed many chances of scoring. J. Ballantyne had a day off with his kicking; otherwise Bluff would have won comfortably. Star was penalized many times, and Ballantyne had several shots at goal. For .Bluff the Calder brothers and Anglem in the backs and Raymond, West and Sylvester in the forwards showed up in most of the play and for Star Miles, Uttley and Black (backs) and McKenzie, Cuff and Graham (forwards) played well. The teams were:—
STAR: W. Russell, J. D. Robertson, J. Miles, D. L. Patterson, B. Giller, L. M. Uttley, J. Black; A. Cuff, W. Sherriff, B. McKenzie, C. Skerrett, Scobie, L. McColl, G. H. Graham, A. Mainland.
BLUFF: V. J. Hawke, M. Anglem, J. Ballantyne, D. R.‘ Sutherland, D. Rose, E. J. Calder, E. D. Calder; H. C. Robjohns, B. Crawford, E. Ennis, J. Hamilton, H. Raymond, A. West, R. Findlay, G. Silvester. The first half of this game was played on the No. 2 ground. Star had the advantage of the wind and sun. The Bluff pack showed up in the first few minutes and made play for the backs who ran strongly but failed to combine. Judicious kicking by Miles and Uttley gave Star an attacking position from which Patterson made a good run. He was well tackled near the line. Robertson also made bids for the line and might have succeeded had the defence weakened even only a little. At this stage Star forwards were more than holding their own and Black, behind the serum, was given plenty of chances to send his backs away. Uttley, at first five-eighths, got through a lot of good work, and after a break by him Bluff was penalized and McKenzie kicked a goal. Star 3, Bluff 0.
E. D. Calder showed up in smart work behind the Bluff forwards. His passing from scrums and rucks was very smart. It was the Star backs who did most of the attacking however, and after a good rush by both backs and forwards Graham scored. The half-time scores were:
Star 6; Bluff 0 Bluff played with the wind at its back in the second half and soon had Star defending in its 25. Star countered with a good passing rush in which Patterson, McColl, Graham and Uttley handled. The movement did not get very far and as soon as it was stopped West, Raymond and Anglem set up a passing rush which gained a lot of ground. Ballantyne was given a chance to open Bluff’s scoring with a penalty goal but his kick went wide. The forwards of both packs were playing with plenty of dash and the honours of the play were about even. For Star, Black, Uttley and Miles were combining well and twice they made good breaks into Bluff’s territory. Sylvester and Ballantyne dribbled clear of the defence and a try looked likely when Russell (Star full-back), snapped up the ball and saved. Star was penalized and Ballantyne had another unsuccessful shot at goal. Bluff was making most of the play at this stage. Hamilton showed up in good dribbling and West and Raymond put in some good work in a loose rush. A bright movement by the Bluff backs saw Ballantyne cut in. He was pulled down a few yards short of the line and a few moments later narrowly missed with a drop-kick at goal. E. D. Calder next tricked the defence and passed to Hamilton, who stumbled near Star’s goal. Uttley relieved the situation for Star with a good kick but Bluff came back and attacked several times.
Good work by the Calder brothers brought Bluff a try. Russell failed to clear his line and after a scramble on the line Hawke scored. Ballantyne’s kick missed. Star 6, Bluff 3. Giller (Star) was injured and was carried off on a stretcher, and M. Bailey replaced him. Three minutes from the end Ballantyne was given yet another chance to goal from a penalty, but the ball struck an upright and rebounded into the field of play.
Bluff made a last-minute effort and although it had Star beaten it could not score.
The game ended with the scores: Star 6; Bluff 3
Mr J. P. Gasparich was the referee.
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Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 23817, 15 May 1939, Page 5
Word Count
768NARROW VICTORY FOR STAR Southland Times, Issue 23817, 15 May 1939, Page 5
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