SOUTHLAND SIDE BEATEN

Southland Times, Issue 24498, 28 July 1941, Page 2

SOUTHLAND SIDE BEATEN

SIX POINTS TO THREE HARD STRUGGLE ON HEAVY GROUND The Otago representative Rugby team defeated Southland by six points to three in a close and exciting game at Rugby Park on Saturday afternoon. The attendance, between 4000 and 5000, was smaller than expected, but this was probably because of the unfavourable weather rather than to lack of .’ iterest in the match. A light penetrating drizzle fell during the morning. There were brighter periods, but the promise that they gave of the weather clearing was not fulfilled. When the game began the rain had ceased and the sun was trying to struggle through the heavy clouds, but a few minutes later there was no sign of the sun and rain was falling steadily once more. It fell at intervals throughout the game. There was little wind.

, The ground was heavy, though it was J not in the highly sticky condition that J developed after the recent frosts and L„made back play well nigh impossible in J the trial match a fortnight ago. Still J conditions on Saturday were not at all ; favourable to the backs for to the heavy J ground was added the handicap of a ■ greasy ball. In spite of this the Otago : backs carried through some good passing movements. The Southland backs, on the other hand, staged few com- • bined attacking movements and none that was really effective. Thus, one 1 was forced to the conclusion that had the day been dry Otago might well have attained a definite superiority in the backs. The Otago backs were certainly the speedier, but this advantage was almost entirely cancelled out by the heavy ground. However, despite its superiority in ; the backs, it is doubtful, taking the game as a whole, if Otago had much ,’ the better of the play. Otago held an advantage in the first half, but in the second half the main concern of the visitors vas to keep their line intact : in face of determined Southland attacks. It was only during the final stages of this half, when the Southland forwards seemed to be feeling the . effects of their strenuous efforts, that Otago gained the upper hand once more. FORWARDS PLAY WELL Therefore, a draw would have reflected most nearly the run of play and I the respective merits of the teams, for |if Otago had the better backs Southi land had the better forwards. The play iof the Southland forwards was all the more creditable because they were, on an average, six pounds a man lighter i than the Otago forwards, which meant that they were giving away almost four stone. However, they more than made up for this handicap by hard and willing play, and lime and again they swept through .the Otago defences with almost irresistible rushes. In the second half they hammered for minutes at a time at the Otago goal line and came within an ace of scoring more than once. Indeed, with a bit more luck, Southland might have scored sufficient points at this stage of the game to have ensured final victory. All the Southland forwards played well so that it is almost invidious to make distinctions, but a word of praise is due to D. B. Herron, the Southland captain, for his good leadership of the pack. He worked well in the tight and was often to the fore in the loose. He was the heaviest man on the ground (15.4) and he used his weight to good advantage. J. Newall proved a fine roving forward and was frequently prominent in the loose. He followed up very well. A. Smeaton was often in the picture, and as usual A. West’s play was characterized by enthusiasm and tenacity. D. Renshaw, who was the lightest forward on the ground, held his vwn in the many strenuous forward struggles. His hooking, too, was on the whole satisfactory. In the first half Southland won six scrums and Otago eight, and in the second Southland won eight and Otago four. The other Southland forwards, L. Connolly, J. Mcßae and J. Cameron, had a good share in what was a fine exhibition of forward play in the best Southland tradition. THE OTAGO PACK However, in praising the Southland forwards, it would be unfair to forget that the Otago forwards also played well. Of course, it might be contended that with their weight advantage _ the visiting forwards ought to have gained the upper hand, but it is possible that they were much more handicapped by the heavy ground than the Southland forwards were, for the club games in Dunedin this season have, for the most part, been played on comparatively dry grounds. In any case the Otago forwards made a good showing, and by contesting every inch of the way proved worthy opponents of the Southlanders. A. Parkhill, the Otago captain, like Herron, proved a grand pack leader, and, though he was not particularly prominent in the loose, he was doing his full share in the tight. In W. H. Jolly and J. Lanauze, Otago had a couple of very energetic breakway forwards and they were frequently at the head of forward rushes. K. Thompson, who was included in the team when L. Hill withdrew because of an injury, also played a good game throughout. OTAGO BACKS SUPERIOR The state of the weather and the ground did not give any of the backs a chance of showing their true form, and due consideration must be given ■ to this fact in any criticism of their ' play. As already suggested, the Otago backs did quite well in spite of the handicaps and gave many indications that on a dry ground they would have ; proved a fast moving and clever com- 1 bination. T. Webster, the Otago full- ; back, played quite a good game, though ' once or twice he got into difficulties. However, this was probably due more ; to the state of the ground than to any- i thing else. A. Churchill was the best of the Otago three-quarter line and 1 even on the heavy ground showed a ' fine turn of speed. R. L. Jones was not 1 altogether satisfactory at centre. He ' showed speed, but was inclined to ' fumble his passes and was too often J collared in possession. The other wing- : threequarter, J. W. Green, did not have ' many opportunities. J. C. Kearney showed plenty of dash at second five- ' eighths, and gave the impression that ’ on a dry ground he would have been a ! particularly dangerous back. A. Manion, the first five-eighths, did not show any great brilliance on attack, but his defence was sound and he was very quick at times in getting on to his op- ] posite number, F. Stewart, and thus < nipping in the bud Southland passing t rushes. Of M. N. Paewai, the Otago j half-back, it can be said that, when f the unfavourable conditions are taken , into consideration, he justified the re- ( putation that had preceded him to In- £ vercargill. He was quick and resource- j ful behind the scrum, and his passing f with the greasy ball was generally ac- c curate and well timed. SOUTHLAND BACKS { W. Stewart, the Southland full-back, I justified his selection for this position, j He played a sound game throughout i and often saved his side by well-judged t line kicks. Twice in the second spell he g

1 retrieved situations in which the Otago attack was developing dangerously. The Southland three-quarters did not have many opportunities because the ball seldom reached them. Southland was getting its fair share of the ball from the scrums and the line outs, but 5 the Southland inside backs were not as good as those of Otago. There was not a thorough understanding between J. { Taylor, behind the scrum, and F. Stewart, first five-eighths, though they combined nicely to score Southland’s only try. Taylor played quite well at half back, but Stewart at times seemed to be 3 badly hampered by the heavy ground » and the spoiling tactics of Manion. He ought also to remember that the deep stance should be used only when a side 1 is attacking. On defence the first five- . eighths should stand forward and fill . the gap. Though useful on defence, D. Gavan did not show his usual enterprise on atj tack. J. Elkis was sound on defence and • was a thorn in the flesh to Jones, who > seldom managed to elude Elkis. E. Cali vert also put in a lot of useful det fensive play. I. McCurdy had hardly ; any chance of showing what a speedy I threequarter he is. Apart from the bad , conditions, the ball did not gel his way . very often. Considering the conditions, the stan- ; dard of football was quite good and ; the game did not lack excitement. The I second half was particularly interesti ing, when, with the Southland forwards 1 hammering away in close proximity to I the Otago line, the crowd had plenty of ’ thrills. Though the play was hard it was i clean. There were no unpleasant inci--1 dents and no serious injuries, The teams 1 were:— . SOUTHLAND: W. Stewart (12.3); I. McCurdy (11.3), J. Elkis (11.5), E. Cal- • vert (13.0); D. Gavan (11.0), F. Stewart • (10.9); J. Taylor (10.0); J. Mcßae (12.6), ■ D. Renshaw (11.9), L. Connolly (13.8), A. West (13.0), D. B. IJerron (15.4) captain, J. Cameron (13.2), J. Newall (12.8), A. Smeaton (14.3), OTAGO: T. R. D. Webster (12.0); J. W. Green (11.8), R. L. Jones (13.2), A. Churchill (12.0); J. C. Kearney (11.7), A. Manion (11.6); M. N. Paewai (11.7); W. Murphy (14.6), P. B. Fox (13.10), K. Thompson (14.3), J. Lanauze (13.0), W. Jolly (14.2), A. A. Parkhill (14.10) captain, J. McLennan (12.5), J. Walker (13.10). The average weight of the Otago forwards was 13.9 and of the Southland forwards 13.3. The average weight of the Otago backs was .11.12, and of the Southland backs 11.5. Mr E. Barron was referee. THE PLAY From a scrum the Otago backs went into action and the ball travelled right out to Green on the wing. He made a dash for the line, but W. Stewart got him with a good tackle. Tire ball was kicked over the goal-line and Southland forced. A little later the Otago backs tried another passing rush, but it broke down at the centre, Jones. Otago was penalized and play settled at half-way, but a long line kick by I Jones gained ground for the visitors and play settled at the Southland 25. Once again the Otago backs swung into action. Churchill made a determined bid for the line, only to be grassed by a good tackle. Then Southland attacked, a rush, in which Elkis was prominent, gaining ground. Newall got off side. Otago, however, did not make much use of the opportunity and a long line kick by Calvert returned play to I Otago territory. From a penalty McCurdy had a shot at goal. It was a difficult angle and the ball fell short. After a period of indecisive play between the Otago 25 and the half-way line ground was gained for Otago by a good line kick by Manion. Play, however, continued to hover round halfway until a long kick by Manion saw a group of Otago backs in full cry after the ball. Kearney kicked ahead over the line, and, following up fast, touched down for a try. Webster - had the shot at goal from well out. It was a good but unsuccessful kick, Otago 3, Southland 0, DETERMINED FORWARD RUSHES The Southland forwards, led by Newall, broke through. Webster gathered the ball in, but Renshaw was on him before he could get his kick in i properly. Otago was penalized and i McCurdy had another unsuccessful shot j at goal. The Southland forwards were playing with determination, and another rush led by Herron gained ground, but Paewai relieved for Otago with a good line kick. The Southland 1 backs then staged their first passing rush, but though the ball travelled out to McCurdy little ground was i i gained and good play by Jones drove ■ Southland back on its own 25 South- ' land rallied and play settled at half- I' way. There was another period of in- I; decisive play in midfield. Because of - the rain and the state of the ground neither set of backs was finding it easy 1 to get into action. ' A good piece of dribbling by Parkhill J found a gap in the Southland defences. 1 Lanauze carried on but overran the ! ball. Then the Otago backs took a hand. Manion threw out a long pass to Jones who made a desperate bid to cross the line, but was downed a yard < from his objective. Otago continued to i press closely for a minute or two, but 1 its backs found the greasy ball diffi- : cult. Good play by Elkis and Calvert | < relieved the situation and sent play into s Otago’s territory. A dribbling rush by I the Southland forwards carried play on I to the Otago goal-line where Kearney c relieved for Otago with a well-judged c kick. However the Southland forwards i returned to the attack and led by Con- I nolly carried play back to the goal- r . line. Otago won a scrum and Paewai I gave it relief with a good line kick. t What looked to be another danger- t ous Otago attack was developing when Elkis came to the rescue and kicked I down field. Two penalty kicks assisted t the home side and play was back again 1 in Otago territory. Southland hooked t from the scrum. Walker passed to F. 1 Stewart but Manion coming through t fast was on him before he could get I rid of the ball. t

Smeaton was penalized for coming round a loose scrum too soon and after the free-kick play settled at the Southland 25. Paewai worked the blind side and Churchill gained ground for Otago wtih a good run. The Otago attack was again developing dangerously when a free-kick gave Southland relief. Otago kept on the pressure until the ball was kicked too hard and Southland forced. Southland had to force again a minute later when Churchill on the wing dribbled through. However, McCurdy beat him for the touch down and half-time was called with the score:— Otago 3, Southland 0. SECOND HALF The opening stages of the second half were marked by some hard struggles between the forwards. Good play by the Southland forwards gained ground. Then, however, Parkhill gained ground for Otago with a good kick. The visiting backs swung into action and Churchill was nearly over at the corner after a good run. A rally by the Southland forwards, in which Smeaton was to the fore, carried play beyond the Southland 25. It was not long, however, before Southland was again penned on its goal line ground having been gained by the Otago forwards led by Thompson. The Otago backs tried a passing rush. It broke down at Jones, who was tackled by Elkis. Once again the Otago backs got going play this time going to Churchill’s wing. Kearney, who

had run round on the outside, centred with a well-judged kick, but from a scramble on the Southland goal line a force resulted.

From the drop out Southland attacked strongly and a series of forward rushes carried play right on to the Otago goal line amid the excited cheering of the crowd. One determined Southland dribbling rush was only stemmed by Webster falling on the ball. Southland rime at it again and this time Webster forced down. Southland was now having the better of the game. A cross kick by Taylor saw Elkis and McCurdy in pursuit along the touch line. They failed to get through and Otago rallied to clear its line. Another rush by the Southland forwards, with Herron and Newall to the fore, saw the Otago line once more in danger. From a scrum on the goal line Newall charged down a kick by Paewai. Newall, however, was unfortunate. He was just beaten for the touch down. From the drop out play was carried swiftly to the other end of the field, good play by Lanauze being largely responsible. Churchill carried or. and was nearly over at the corner flag. It was not long before Southland forwards led by Herron were again storming the Otago defences, but Lanauze led the Otago forwards in a rally that drove Southland right back. Only good work by Elkis saved the Southland goal line. Southland forced down and from the drop out Smeaton followed up fast and caught Webster in possession. Play settled in Otago territory. Taylor worked the blind side to Calvert, but little ground was gained. Hard forward struggles near the Otago goal line followed. From a scrum Taylor passed out the ball to F. Stewart who ran over for a try after 25 minutes of the half had gone. McCurdy missed the shot at goal and the scores were level, three all. EXCITEMENT INCREASES The excitement now increased tremendously and the supporters of both teams cheered the players vociferously. A well-placed kick by F. Stewart set Southland storming the Otago line until Paewai cleared with a timely kick. The Southland forwards continued to play desperately hard, but they had worthy opponents in the Otago forwards. Then the Otago backs swung into action. The ball travelled to Jones who cut in nicely through the centre and then passed to Churchill who had a clear run over. Webster’s shot at goal was well short. Otago 6, Southland 3. Otago now seemed to be getting the upper hand once more. Paewai dodged round the blind side but Churchill was crowded on the wing. A free kick eased the position for Southland. It was only a temporary relief, however. Otago was soon attacking again. Southland was penalized. The kick was in a fairly easy position but Parkhill missed it. The final whistle sounded with Otago attacking and with the score: Otago 6, Southland 3 j CURTAIN RAISER

A curtain raiser to the big match between the Wakatipu district sub-union team and the first fifteen of the Southland Boys’ High School resulted in a win for School by 16 points to three. For School N. Leckie, H. MacGibbon, W. Pennington and M Murray scored tries, two of which were converted by I. Gilbertson. J. J. Taylor scored a try for Wakatipu. Mr J. McKenzie was referee.

OPINIONS OF VETERAN CRITICS MESSRS I. JENKINS AND J. R. MARTIN What did players of another day—men who represented their province 50 and more years ago—think of the Southland-Otago game on Saturday. Did they think it a good exhibition.'’ Did'they find much to criticize? Here is what one of them said after the match. He was Mr Isaac Jenkins, of Queenstown, one of the few men living now who played in the first SouthlandOtago game in 1887 —54 years ago. Mr Jenkins is well qualified to pass judgment. He played for the province for 21 years, from 1887 to 1908. “The play as a whole was really good,” he said. “Otago was a bit cleverer. Its players seemed more experienced and it was an older team generally, and the backs had more dash than Southland.” He liked, he said, to watch the play very closely and to criticize it in his own mind. He saw “too much” of the game—too much that should not be done.

One feature of the play of the Otago forwards impressed him. That was the way the scrum went down much quicker than Southland’s and the way it held together until the ball came out. Otago kept intact, but the Southland pack broke up too soon on many occasions, before the ball was properly out of the scrum. The visitors’ half-back was given much greater protection, and he had a better chance to show what he could do.

Otago backs showed better combination than their opponents and they were faster. Had it been a dry day he thought the margin between the two teams would have been much greater than it was.

OLD NEW ZEALAND SCRUM Mr Jenkins’s mind went back to the days when he first played when the rules were vastly different to those of today. The forwards of today could still learn a lot from those of other days, however. For one thing they should hold the scrum solid until the ball was out and then break very fast. He thought the Southland forwards could well pay attention to this aspect of play. “But I still think you will never get a better scrum than the old New Zealand 2-3-2 scrum,” he said. That was the scrum on which New Zealand had built its football reputation and it should never have been altered.

The opinion that Otago would have beaten Southland by a greater margin than it did was also expressed by the Mayor of Invercargill (Mr J. R. Martin) who played for Southland from 1890 to 1896, when speaking at a function arranged by the Southland Rugby Football Union in honour of the visitors. Mr Martin said that the game had been played in the. same spirit as had existed half a century ago. It had been good, hard and clean football. Never had there existed between any two rival football teams the good feeling that existed between Otago and Southland.

NORTH OTAGO BEATS SOUTH CANTERBURY OAMARU, July 26. In an exciting match North Otago defeated South Canterbury by 11 points to four. The forwards were well matched. Both sets of backs threw the ball about in good style. The tackling of the North Otago team 1 was sounder than that of the visitors. For the winners Robertson, McCone and Howard scored tries, Hammill converting one. Morrison potted a field goal for South Canterbury. MATCH IN SUVA WIN FOR NEW ZEALAND TEAM (Rec. 8 p.m.) SUVA, July 26. A New Zealand Rugby Football team defeated a representative European team by 32 points to 9. New Zealand scorers were, O’Connor, Hooper, Chester, Gable, Ensor, Clothier and Brimble.