MATAURA BEATS MARIST

Southland Times, Issue 24492, 21 July 1941, Page 2

MATAURA BEATS MARIST

SATURDAY’S RUGBY MATCHES OLD BOYS AND PIRATES WIN The surprise in the senior games of the Southland Rugby Union’s competitions on Saturday was the victory of Mataura over Marist by 20 points to 5. After drawing with Pirates in the previous series of matches, a win for Mataura was on the cards, but probably even the most sanguine of Mataura supporters did not expect their team to win by such a large margin. It was a well-merited victory, however, and considering Mataura’s supremacy in the second half there was nothing unreasonable in the margin of the win. Marist, which was beaten by Bluff by 23 to 11 a fortnight ago, appears to have suffered a lapse of form of late, but this can no doubt be largely accounted for by the loss of several leading players, including F. Ward, who is now in camp. Old Boys maintained its unbeaten record by beating Bluff by 12 points to 6 after a hard game. The ground, which was again very muddy after the recent hard frosts, did not suit buck play, but nevertheless the Old Boys backs staged some effective passing movements which found gaps in the Bluff defence. Chief credit for the victory must, however, go to the- Old Boys forwards, who stood up in grand style to the redoubtable Bluff pack. The Bluff forwards played well, but their best efforts were not good enough to dominate the game in face of the sturdy opposition of the Old Boys vanguard. Pirates defeated Invercargill by 11 to 6. Invercargill was leading 6-3 at half-time, but this score was against the run of the play, for during the first half Pirates had a good deal the better of the game and kept Invercargill penned in its own territory for considerable periods. Though it was the better side, Pirates found it almost as difficult to score in the second half, and 30 minutes of this half had gone by before it levelled the scores. A converted try a little later gave Pirates a deserved win. The weather was again fine and calm, but the muddy grounds made back play difficult. The following table shows the position of the teams, the only change being that Mataura has moved up from bot-

INVERCARGILL V. PIRATES Although Pirates attacked almost continuously for long periods in the first half, the only score that rewarded its efforts was a penalty goal kicked by M. Thornbury. The Pirates backs were getting plenty of the ball, but the heavy ground slowed them down. There was, however, another reason for their failure to score and that was the poor handling of J. Butts at centre. More than once he dropped the ball and thus lost a chance of scoring. Otherwise the Pirates backs went fairly well with J. Taylor giving good service from the base of the scrum. Invercargill scored two tries in the first half. The first was scored by H. Sandri, after W. Smith had gained a lot of ground for Invercargill by good play on the wing, but the second came from the best passing movement of the match. F. Paton, who was playing at second five-eighths, cut through and passed to S. Hillis. Paton then ran round on the outside and took the pass from Hillis, and J. Watson, who had also run to the outside to back up, was ready for the pass from Paton. Watson made a great dash along the touch-line and scored near the corner. Watson failed to convert both tries.

The fact that Invercargill scored two tries in the first half and Pirates none may be accounted for partly by the state of the ground. It was much less muddy at the end Pirates was defending, and this gave Invercargill a comparatively good patch in which to develop its movements. Pirates on the other hand had a muddy stretch between it and its goal-line. During the first part of the second half neither side enjoyed a marked advantage and play changed rapidly from end to end of the field. Pirates, however, was the better team and its superiority gradually told. After 30 minutes’ play E. Calvert on the wing scored far out. Thornbury failed with the kick and the scores were thus level. A little later H. Peddie scored Pirates’ second try after a good run. This time Thornbury kicked the goal. Invercargill then made determined efforts to score but Pirates’ defence held and the game ended with the scores: Pirates 11, Invercargill 6. The teams were:—

PIRATES.—R. Campbell; E. Calvert, J. Butts, R. Gibb; R. Calvert, H. Peddie; J. Taylor; R. McEwan, A. Knight, L. Rogers, C. Churton, M. Thornbury, L. Brenton. A. Smeaton and W. Wright. INVERCARGILL.—W. Stewart; M. Talbot, S. Hillis, W. Smith; F. Paton, J. Watson; H. Sandri; Dick Sutton, R. Sutton, M. Mclnerney, J. Currie, H. Ogilvie, S. Shaw, I. Kellias, R. Manson. Mr A. G. Simmers was referee.

OLD BOYS V. BLUFF The Old Boys backs, like those of Pirates, were hampered by the muddy state of the ground, especially in the first half, when Old Boys was playing towards the west or muddy end of the field. In spite of this handicap the Old Boys backs passed and handled the ball pretty accurately, but the advantage that they had in speed and cleverness was largely lost through the state of the ground. The only try that Old Boys scored in the first half—it was also the only score in this half—came when D. Hamilton made a good run through the centre before passing out to I. McCurdy, who dashed over, not far from the corner. McCurdy had the shot at goal, but the kick proved too much for him.

The score at half time was only 3-0 in favour of Old Boys, but even so Bluff’s chances of winning did not look particularly bright because, apart from the superiority that Old Boys obviously had in the backs, its forwards were holding their own against the Bluff forwards, and it was only by gaining control of the game through its forwards that Bluff had much chance of winning. Ten minutes after play was resumed McCurdy increased Old Boys’ lead by kicking a good goal from, a penalty. Then the Bluff forwards attacked vigorously and burst through Old Boys’ defences. A scramble ensued on the goal line and from this A. Ramsay forced his way over for a try. R. Barnett’s kick was just under the. cross bar, and the score was 6-3 in favour of Old Boys. In this half Old Boys had the advantage of the better state of the ground at the east end of the field and its backs accordingly had a better chance. They were speedier than those of Bluff, and presently D. Gavan, who was playing a good game at second five-eighths, had an opportunity and scored after a good run. McCurdy

missed with the kick. Then in a passing rush Gavan made another good run before passing to Hamilton, who streaked for the line and went oyer for a try just as Barnett tackled him. Once again McCurdy failed to land a difficult goal and the scores were: Old Boys 12, Bluff 3. Despite this further reverse Bluff continued to play gamely and proved that -it still had a. trick up its sleeve when, after determined forward play, Budd scored a try which R. Barnett failed to convert though the kick was easy. This made the final scores: Old Boys 12, Bluff 6.

The teams were: — BLUFF—R. Barnett; I. Barnett, R. Bradshaw, G. Fox; L. Calder, G. Johnston- L. Craw; E. Ennis, M. Beaton, A. West; A. Ramsay, H. Raymond, A. Budd, I. Calder; J. Cooper. OLD BOYS. —J. Robertson; C. McNee, D. Hamilton, I. McCurdy; D. Gavan, F. Stewart; W. Swale; R. Potts, W. McNee, M. McDowell; S. Sharpe, J. Cameron, A. McLauchlan, J. Redpath, D. Leckie. Mr T. Riddell was referee. MATAURA V. MARIST The Marist-Mataura game was evenly contested in the first half and play travelled up and down the field in a rather exhilarating way. However, it showed that Mataura was in its best form and that Marist was going to be hard pressed to avoid defeat. The score at half-time was 5-0 in favour of Mataura, R. Wyber having scored a try which J. Folster converted with a good kick. Marist was a bit unlucky not to score before the interval. It had Mataura pinned on the goal line and another minute might have been sufficient for a try. During the early stages of the second half Mataura had the better of the play. Its forwards played with great vigour and dash, and its backs, too, threw the ball about freely and constantly menaced the Marist defences. The Mataura forwards, however, nullified their efforts to some extent by off-side play and other breaches. Mataura’s persistent attacks were rewarded when, after a forward rush and a scramble on the line, A. Milne scored. Folster converted. Mataura was now leading by 10 points, but Marist quickly reduced this. G. Bullman nipped round the scrum and put in a great run before passing to L. Ward, who went on to give W. Cameron a clear run over. Bulman kicked the goal. Mataura 10, Marist 5. This success spurred Marist on and a period of up and down play was marked by the determined efforts of both sides to score Mataura, however, had the better of these encounters, both in the backs and forwards, and another rush by its forwards ended in R. Gaudion scoring and Folster converting. Mataura was definitely on top during the last few minutes of the game. It seemed to last the pace of the game and the tiring effect of the heavy ground better than Marist did. A rush by the Mataura forwards was followed by a scrum on the Marist goal line. The ball was hooked back to J. Hannah, who nipped round the scrum and dived over for a try. Once again the goal was kicked by Folster, who thus had the satisfaction of knowing that he had converted all the tries scored for his side and had added eight points to the total. The final scores were Mataura 20, Marist 5. The teams were:—

MARIST.—P. Scully, E. Bone, W. Cameron, F. Wills, F. Rutherford, L. Ward, G. Bulman, G. Cameron, J. McRae, L. Connolly, J. Newall, N. Ward, E. Friel, M. O’Callaghan, C. Thompson. MATAURA.—D. Taylor, I. Herbison, B. Hoffman, H. Milne, J. Adam, C. Henry, J. Hannah, R. Wyber, D. Renshaw, A. Milne, C. Hicks, R. Gaudion, W. Bromby, J. Folster, B. Herron. Mr E. Barron was referee. LOWER GRADE GAMES Second. —Borstal 10, Collegiate 10; Old Boys 6, Pirates 6. Third.—Waikiwi 15, Invercargill 0; Kennington 17, Star 6; High School 9, Pirates 5. Fourth .—High School 5, Old Boys 0; Technical 1, Collegiate 0; Invercargill 6, Borstal 3. Fifth.—Collegiate 45, Bluff 0; High School 12, Marist 7; Pirates 18, Technical 0. IN OTHER CENTRES CHRISTCHURCH— TechnicaI 11, Linwood 3; Air Force 6, Army 5; New Brighton 12, University 8. Senior reserve: Sunnyside 14, Wigram 5; Athletic 13, Merivale 6; Southern 25, Godley Head 5; Albion 17, Christchurch 8. WELLINGTON. — First division: Hutt (Army) 34, St. Patrick’s College Old Boys 19; Poneke 9,- Air Force 3; Wellington 17, University 14; Petone 17, Eastbourne 3; Oriental 25, Marist Brothers’ Old Boys 19; Athletic 21, Johnsonville 3; Wellington College Old Boys 13, Hutt 12. AUCKLAND.— First section: Marist 8, Army 6; Grammar 13, Suburbs 9; Takapuna 12, Otahuhu 6. Second section: Training College 8, Grafton 6; Ponsonby 6, University 3; Manukau 14, Technical Old Boys 12. DUNEDlN.— University A 24, Kaikorai 19; Pirates 13, Taieri 9; Zingari 6, Southern 0; Dunedin 17, Alhambra 14; Union 22, University B 6.

tom place ahead of Invercargill:— Ch. Pts P. W. L. D. Old Boys .10 9 — 1 19 Pirates 10 6 1 3 15 Marist 10 6 4 — 12 Bluff 10 3 7 — 6 Star 9 2 6 1 5 Mataura 8 2 5 1 5 Invercargill 9 2 7 — 4