STIRRING RUGBY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 87, 4 July 1927, Page 10

STIRRING RUGBY

University Forwards Rake Ponsonby Fore and Aft

WELL-CONTESTED MATCHES

REMARKABLY close finishes have characterised this season’s senior Rugby, all teams being well-matched. Saturday furnished further evidence of the even quality of the teams. Training College scored its first win of the season at the expense of North Shore.

FURTHER AHEAD PONSONBY LEAD GRAMMAR Ponsonby’s remarkable faculty for coming: to light at the end of desperately close games maintains it in the lead of the senior competition. Grammar is now runner-up. Two teams will need to down Ponsonby if any other club is now’ to have a chance. The positions follow: Points. Ch. P. W. L. D. F. A. Pts. Ponsonby .... 9 7 1 1 120 49 15 Grammar 0.8. 9 6 3 Grafton .... 9 5 3 1 85 80 11 College Rifles .9 5 4 Marist 9 3 4 2 66 61 8 University .. 8 3 4 1 67 70 7 North Shore 9 2 6 Training Cot. . 8 1 6 1 35 86 3 SUICIDE TACTICS VARSITY LOSES GREAT CHANCE Wet conditions rarely produce great football, but Saturday at Eden Park was an exception. The Varsity-Pon-sonby match was full of stirring incidents. It held the attention of a big crowd, which revelled in the virile forward play, determined tackling, and quick fluctuations in the fortunes of the teams. By keeping the ball among the forward s. Varsity would have won. It was the genius of F. W. Lucas, the Ponsonby skipper, which carried his side to victory. Three times, when the harrying Varsity forwards had ripped the defence to ribbons, he appeared out of the void, saving in brilliant fashion. Such anticipation is a gift, only rarely seen, and Lucas allied with it a .urn of speed, and elusiveness, that allowed him to get out of desperate corners. There was an ironic quality in the fact that Varsity’s keenest backer was his brother, “Snowy” Lucas, coach to the students. GREASY CONDITIONS On attack Lucas was hardly so dangerous as usual. It was left to the pacy Hook to show up in the open, gathering cleanly, and drawing the defence nicely before sending his outsides away. Soon after the start of the game drizzling rain began to fall, and the ground became heavy, while accurate handling became very difficult, though the backs on both sides yet attempted to open up at every opportunity. Early in the proceedings the thrusting University forwards gave tastes of their quality. Hammering their way to the Ponsonby line, they paved the way to scoring chances, but there was no co-ordination between backs and forwards. After a forward rush the backs got moving, but the passing was of the sluggish order, and a great chance was lost. Not at any time was the Varsity three-quarter line reliable. McLeod was colourless on the wing, ind at centre Dickson was not at all dependable. He looked after Lucas, but was twice badly fooled by Cammick. Snap and accuracy were disclosed whenever the Ponsonby backs got the ball, but Keegan and Miller were beating Palmer and his colleague for the ball, and McManus thus got little chance to feed the five-eighth line. KEEGAN EARNS HONOURS Keegan won his way into the representative “eighteen” by a grand display. Both he and Miller toiled like a pair of galley slaves, controlled most of the scrums, and were conspicuous in the loose. On Saturday’s performance Keegan is entitled to preference for the match against the Maori team. The Varsity forwards were very decidedly the better pack, and they at times raked Ponsonby fore and aft. Had they been supported by better backs the match could have had only one ending. Keene was again a leading warrior. Early in the piece he was half-blinded by a large clod of plastic soil, which covered one eye, but when this was removed he went on to play with his usual enterprise. He and Righton exchanged civilities several times during the afternoon. Matthias and Brooker were two other fine forwards for Varsity, Brooker being prominent throughout. Linton showed up with solo dribbling efforts, but was certainly not the next best to Keegan, despite his selection in the rep. team. VARSITY BACKS WEAK Varsity, with backs which could not be compared to Ponsonby’s, lost the game through sheer suicide tactics. Instead of keeping it at the feet of their forwards, they persistenly gave the ball to backs who were not worth their salt as an attacking formation. All of them gave fair displays individually, particularly Olsen, who played with rare dash, but the others were often caught in possession. Cashmore stood up to a lot behind the scrum, and Jenkin was soupd, though often caught with the ball. The nii| >le Bradanovich is the only one with an eye for an opening, and he was unlucky, on Saturday, when a Ponsonby man Just managed to grasp him by the jersey, after the Varsity man had found a flaw in the defence. With penalties going both ways in the early stages, the three-all score at half-time was a natural reflex of over-eager play, each side raising points with goal kicks. Territorially, Varsity had had the better of the engagement, and they had it right through, except in the third quarter, when Ponsonby attacked nearly all the time. McCarthy, McWilliams and Righton were conspicuous among the Ponsonby forwards, who were beaten by a better pack, but still had a kick left at the finish. Whitburn was guilty of occasional illegal tackling. At the end of the lineout he often had his arms round Keene before the ball got to the Varsity man. CLEVER TRIO Among the Ponsonby backs it was the cleverness and sure handling of Hook, Cammick and Lucas which saved the day for the leaders. McManus had a heavy day, and spent a lot of time on the ground. Keene looked after Hook, and the Ponsonby five-eighth had few opportunities for dashes on his own account. He came to light at the finish, however, to follow a short punt in the gathering gloom, and hurl himself on the ball for a last-minute try, scored when the time for the match had actually expired. Under difficult conditions the two fullbacks performed satisfactorily. Syme was covered by Lucas three or four times when Varsity had him

bustled, but Butler rarely needed such support. He stood up to the rushes in courageous style, though at times rather slow. Another man who performed well under exceptionally trying conditions was the referee, Mr. C. Webb. Formerly a well known halfback in Auckland Rugby Mr. Webb has recently returned to the city, after living at Dargaville for some years. GRAFTON’S THIRD DEFEAT FORGOT THEIR FORWARDS Mud and slush combined with intermitten showers did not make for ideal conditions on No. 2 ground at Eden Park, when Grammar and Grafton took the field. In the concluding stages, when the players splashed their way up and down the paddock under overcast skies and in soaking rain, conditions became decidedly worse. It was probably one occasion when the players were unanimous in wishing that they had turned out promptly at the scheduled hour. The game was by no means inspiring, but for that the players could hardly be blamed. Under the conditions prevailing anything in the nature of fast, open play was practically impossible. WRONG TACTICS Although it was early apparent that their backs were not at home with a greasy ball, Grafton persisted almost to the bitter end in attempting to play dry-weather football. Rush after rush broke down with dropped passes, but still the ball went out. On a ground that very effectually prevented backs from moving off quickly, the inside men were left at the mercy of the Grammar break-away forwards, who took full advantage of the opportunity. On occasions the Grafton half even attempted to work his backs while in strictly defensive positions. The result, in most cases, was that the bail was passed back for somebody else to kick. In some of the southern provinces where they frequently play in the mud, this is regarded as one of the cardinal sins of Rugby. The Grafton pack obtained possession from most of the scrums. Whether this was due to the hooking ability of the front row men it is difficult to say. On occasions hookers have been known to assist their opponents in getting the ball. On Saturday it was a significant fact that the Grammar back and side row men did not stay very long in the scrums. A DAY FOR FORWARDS For quick break-away forwards it was a glorious day. Batty appeared to enjoy it immensely and he worried the Grafton backs unmercifully. The other outstanding forward on the paddock was Wanoa, of Grafton. The burly' Maori forward played a great game. In the tight play he was as good as two men, and -out in the open he handled better than most of his backs. For Grammar Knight and Cathcart were always conspicuous in the front division. It was the forwards’ day and the Grammar backs appeared content to hold the territorial advantage gained by their forwards. Behind the pack E. Singleton proved a very useful member. He went down to the loose forward rushes in the approved Rugby fashion, and in doing so did his job well. Badeley and Turei were always safe, the latter also distinguishing himself with a splendid place-kick from just inside the half-way mark. With Angus Finlayson on the sick list, Grafton were without the services of a very useful forward. Wanoa stood head and shoulders above the remainder of the forwards, with Compton, Noakes and Munro next in order of merit. Noakes is a great battler and of late has been playing consistently well. Paewai was sound on defence, but was given very few opportunities, being well hemmed in by the Grammar pack, who devoted a good deal of attention to him. Ruru, who took the field with an injured ankle received the previous week, also got few opportunities. This player has lately developed a tendency to run infield into the thick of the fray. Bursting through the whole field is so rarely accomplished that it is not worth attempting. A bright spot in his play was a well-judged crosskick to Paewai near the end of the game. On a dry day, when Paewai and Liddle could have got away quicker, it would have been a moral certainty. As it was it was a very close thing for Grammar. At fullback Stevenson was safe and provided a good exhibition. The last ten minutes of the game were played in a very poor light, and with a steady rain falling, neither players nor spectators were disappointed when the final whistle sounded with the scores 11 —4 in Grammar’s favour. FORWARD STRUGGLE DEFEAT OF NORTH SHORE In a raw, sprawling game, played in rain on a quagmire field, Training College avenged its first round defeat by North Shore. The state of the ground militated against sound back play, but allowing even for this, the display of the backs on both sides was weak. Their movements lacked punch and finish, and rarely showed any prospect of being fruitful. The result was that the game developed early into a heavy combat between both packs of forwards. The Shore men were the more aggressive, but the teachers were sound on the defence, and were enabled through this to foil the enterprise of their opponents. The first half of the game was patchy. At the start the College backs were set going on occasions by Mason, a nippy half, and both Meyer and Broomfield made attempts to cut away, but there was little cohesion or understanding in the back division. After this short series of attacks, the forward struggle, which was the outstanding feature of the game, began. In the forward play, Shore were superior, and in many ways they were unlucky not to have won the match for their side. Once, after they had swept irresistibly up the field, Clark went to

force, but skidded, and went over the dead ball line missing an almost certain try. In the last quarter, when College were two penalties up, Shore made a desperate effort to equalise. Grace, a brilliant fighting forward, Smith, Meikle, Lynch and Clark were hammering on the College line, and were unlucky in not having their efforts crowned. At one stage in the final spell, Palmer got his backs going two or three time, but College managed to withstand the onslaught. College never added to the penalty scores, a.nd the match ended, 6—o. RIFLES’ WIN MARIST NARROWLY DEFEATED After a ding-dong go on No. 1 area at the Showgrounds, Rifles beat Marist by three, points, scored by Lawn from a scramble on the line at the beginning of the second quarter. So Marist had plenty of time to retaliate, and hard they tried until in the last few minutes they made the pace a cracker, and worked the onlookers up to a great pitch of enthusiasm. No one could complain of that last quarter. Marist played it out with a fine desperate spirit, which the rapdd changes in the fortunes of the game made all the more spectacular. The ground a mire and the rain showering were adverse influences, so the match was not played at a fast bat, though it was never devoid of interest. Marist forwards had an excellent chance on the day of winning the game handsomely, but the Rifles pack proved equal to their opponents. Though it was by no means a day for the backs, Rifles opened up the play as; the public likes to .see it. Marist inside backs on the other hand did rather too much kicking which, though it might have been sound enough tactics for the manner in which they wished to make their play, seldom yielded them worth-while results. The first quarter produced no thrills, but Rifles opened the second with an attack that took play into the Marist quarter, and gradually wore “Tykes” back to their goal line, when Lawn was able to score from a scramble. Marist replied with a hot attack, but lost the advantage through an infringement, and had to retreat to its own twenty-five, its flank turned by a back movement in which T. Sheen and Spensley were prominent. At this stage, College Rifles were getting the ball especially from the scrums, and the backs were warming to the passing game. Yet they were unable to break through, and the quarter came to an end without either party adding to the score. THE SECOND HALF Both sides derived renewed dash from their oranges, and came to the third spell in great heart. Play ranged up and down the field until a succession of scrums on the College goal line sent Marist stock very high. But over-eagerness terminated a heavensent chance, and College cleared well with a penalty. The gong sounded for the final round with the score still unchanged. The final twenty minutes was played at a rattling pace, Marist being far from beaten, and quite determined to score. Disappointment failed to dismay when W. Molloy narrowly missed a penalty kick awarded in Rifles twentyfive. The College’s turn came and its backs went right to the goal, where defective passing let them down. Swift give-and-take play preceded the whistle, and the rain fell heavily. Threequarters of the game had been played with one try separating the contestants, so the result must be taken to indicate the merits of the teams on the day. Among Rifles backs it would be difficult to discriminate, but Johnny Loft was the Marist back team. • R. Molloy as the last line of defence was sound but disquietingly unhurried. The forwards were fairly evenly matched. Senior B Grade Scrambling Play.—Backward and forward was the order throughout the game between Varsity and Technical Old Boys at Victoria Park. In the first spell Technical had much the best of the play, but Varsity held its line. The rest of the game was very even, Varsity being lucky to be the victor by 13 points to 8. For Varsity Stewart, Stehr and Stotter scored and Sterd converted twice. Babbidge played well behind the scrum and Blakey was very safe at fullback. For Technical 33. Keane scored and converted, and C. Keane also put up the flags. Haslam and the Keane brothers were the best in the team. REPS. SELECTED NEW FACES IN TEAM KEEGAN AND LINTON Eighteen players to keep in training for the match against the Maori team have been selected by Mr. V. R. Meredith. New to the side are Keegan, Linton, and L. Hook. Keegan and Linton, Varsity forwards, played great games on Saturday. The team, which was published in Saturday’s SUN sports edition, is given below. Training arrangements will be the same as for the Thames match: Backs: Berridge, Lucas, McManus, L. Hook (Ponsonby), Ruru, Paewai (Grafton), Matheson (Training College), Sheen (College Rifles), Badeley (Grammar). Forwards: Parmer, McWilliams, Righton (Ponsonby), Keegan, Linton, Keene (Varsity), Hadley (Marists), Batty, Knight (Grammar). Ponsonby has seven representatives in the team, and Varsity and Grammar three each. Those dropped from the above team, of the 18 selected for the Thames

match, are Barclay, who is away; Finlayson (Grafton) and Cathcart (Grammar). Finlayson went to hospital last Thursday suffering it is thought from scarlet fever. Paewai. the Grafton five-eighth, states that he will not be touring with the Maori team. He will therefore be avail-

able for the Auckland team next Saturday. AUSTRALIAN TEAM MANN REPLACES PALMER By Cable. —Press Association.—Copyright SYDNEY, Sunday. W. Mann has been selected for the Rugby Union team to tour England in place of Palmer, who is unable to make the trip.—A. and N.Z.