Hard-Fought Battle

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 661, 13 May 1929, Page 6

Hard-Fought Battle

I4ANUKAU-PONSONBY TUSSLE Rifles Down Grammar RUGBY'S SURPRISE PACKET WHEN Manukau meets Ponsonby there is always a keen struggle. History repeated itself at Eden Park on Saturday when these teams met. Although the filial score was 29—17 in favour of Ponsonby the game was far more even than this indicates. At half-time the score was 11-all and when the teams changed over for the last quarter the score-board registered Manukau 17, Ponsonby 16. But a try by Cammick and two by Hook (one converted) decided the issue in favour of Ponsonby after an even and very interesting go. The surprise of the day was the defeat of Grammar Old Boys by College Rifles to the tune of 21 to 6. The heavier Grammar forwards were beaten by a lighter pack which went down compactly and hooked with machine-like regularity. It was the triumph of a pack over seven forwards.

There was a particularly large attendance at Eden Park and the big crowd had nothing to complain about the fare provided. From the very outset the Ponsonby-Manukau game promised well, and expectations were realised as the game proceeded. Manukau attacked vigorously from the outset, but the Indifferent handling of the rear division, notably by Dykes*, spoilt several very promising movements. An alteration was shortly made. Turei fcenV?) going out to wing and Linden, who started off on the wing, replacing Dykes, who went to centre. From then onward there was some improvement in the combination. Manukau’s performance was largely an individual effort, the individuals in the back division being Falwasser, Watene. E. Brimble and Bryes. Opposed to them was the Ponsonby scoring machine, which is beginning to function as of old. The tactics of the West Coast team consisted largely in following up, tackling hard and “giving it a go” whenever the occasion offered. But they could not sustain them to the extent of the more smoothly-running Ponsonby rearguard. LUCAS SHOWS UP Freddy Lucas was showing flashes of his real club brilliancy. His two trys in the opening stages of the game were beauties, but it is not for that so much as the splendid openings he gave his men throughout the game that he commands respect. He was the controlling genius behind most of the Ponsonby scoring movements and his defensive work was very clean. lie was well supported by K. Hook, who was the best of the wings, and Cammick and Jamieson were a pair of enterprising and thrustful five-eighths. McManus worked hard behind the scrum, but Fraser at fullback was patchy. Solomon at rover played a particularly good game. Besides opening up numerous back movements he was continually on the ball. McWilliams played a hard, honest game in the puck, and nowadays that is the only thing that should recommend a forward. Palmer and Edgars were also conspicuous workers, Albert Falwasser was the star artist of the Manukau rear division, and he fully merited the plaudits of the crowd. Not only did he shine to advantage in several very tricky and characteristic runs, but he tackled like a trojan. Bryes. the Manukau’s hard-working and enterprising little half, and the nimble Brimble, were effective inside backs, and Turei and Linden were both honest workers. At fullback Watene was always safe, and his fielding and kicking were of a high order. A try also fell to his lot as the result of the speedy following-up of a kick. In the front division the übiquitous J. Brimble immediately caught the eye of the crowd.

score on the board as it went back to the dressing-rooms. One thing that may have made a great difference to the play of College Rifles may have been the fact that the match was played on No. 3 ground, and not on No. 1. Rifles seem to prefer a decent obscurity for the revelation of their best football. With eight points on the board to Grammar’s three, however. Rifles surged ahead, and wanted and got the lion’s share of the play. WILSON’S BOOT The man who played the greatest part in the blue victory—next to the forwards, and the hookers particularly. Soutar and McDonald—was Wilson. the centre. It was his dash and enterprise and his unerring boot that sent the score bounding along. Grammar scored first after persistent attack, Potter getting over in the corner. Then Rifles took a hand, and H. D. Gillespie kicked a penalty goal. Rifles seemed to be inspired, and Wilson made some good dashes, while McGregor, on the right wing, showed ono beautiful run. to be grassed feet from the line. Then in a forward melee. Donald, rover, went over, for Gillespie to convert. Tlio second half gave "Wilson more chances. lie startled the crowd by potting a beautiful goal from between half-way and the twenty-five, and followed this up with a place-kick from the side-line between half-way and tho twenty-live. His next contribution was a try, from an in-pass of Webber’s. This rush was the best of the day. Wilson was on the move the whole time, showing nice anticipation, and a knowledge of when to get rid of the ball—a knowledge not shared by his fellow-backs. The half, Kirk, fed his men quite well, but the five-eighths were inclined to run wide. The wings. Webber and McGregor, were resolute on attack, and sound on defence, while Larsen, fullback, came through tho day with credit. Tho blue forwards were a very even lot, who grafted Willingly and consistently. Perhaps tho best of them were Soutar, McDonald and Noakes. It was in the scrums that Rifles held the advantage, and their quick hooking gave Grammar no chance of screwing the scrum. Indeed, this white manoeuvre succeeded only once or twice on Saturday. Grammar started to get a share of the ball in the last quarter, when Rifles were tiring, but it was then too lateThe Grammar forwards certainly shone in the loose—but that is what they did do. Too few of them seemed willing to bear the burden in the solid stuff. The two Battys were the soundest of the van, with Potter (rover) doing a lot of useful work. The white backs were a changed combination, with a new second fiveeighth, Wilson, and new wings, Skelton and Menzies. Neither of the wings impressed, and Wilson showed a glimpse of form only occasionally. He Is too prone to cut in and lose his supports. Singleton battled hard against odds as half. Captain Wales was referee TEACHERS’ WINNING WAY TECH.’S LATEST VICTIM Weak tackling by the whole Technical team and lack of cohesion among tho backs made it fairly easy for Training College to score its third victory on Eden Park No. 1 on Saturday. Abbott, the promising College winger, put on lo of the IS points scored by his side. When the game started Technical appeared to be more than holding the teachers. The forwards were raking the ball regularly, and Harris, behind the scrum, whipped out the leather with plenty of snap. No movement was really dangerous, however, as the passing was very wild, and the ball, together with innumerable chances, was thrown carelessly away repeatedly. Training College took advantage of every mistake and turned defence into attack so speedily as to disconcert Technical. As the game progressed the College pack livened up and gained ground with bright bouts of in-and-out passing. In the last quarter weight told, and Technical was again having the better of the play, though there could be little doubt as to the result of the game. Technical appeared to have the material for a good team, but it is obvious that the side is lacking in polish. A course of solid coaching would make a tremendous difference to a team that embraces a man lovingly round the neck when tackling and has sketchy ideas on how to handle the pass. Forwards of the type of Corlett, Coll. Keane and Nelson are useful men, though they also share the weaknesses that are apparent among the backs. Harris and Haslam were the best of the Technical backs, the half particularly giving a bright display. The threequarter line was disappointing, and the Couper brothers did not give that display which has come to be associated with their name. Whitaker did not impress at fullback. Peacock was outstanding in the Training College pack, and Webb and Woodroffe were never far from the ball. Abbott was the star player of the day. He scored two tries, converting both, kicked a penalty and converted the only other try scored. Fifteen points out of 18. Rae was nippy at half and Weir played a good game outside him. Lawrie, the centre, was übiquitous, and it was his cleverness, assisted by Abbott's speed and determination, that so clearly established the superiority of the College backs. Butler played a steady game at fullback. The final score was: Training College 18 Technical 0.8 6 Mr. C. F. Webb carried the whistle.

A tireless worker, Brimble was in the thick of everything that was going. "Where the fray was thickest Brimble’s curly thatch would be bobbing conspicuously. IJis handling and tackling were particu- I larly good. It was Brimble, also, who ! flashed into action with a determined dash to cap off j with a splendid try

the fine movement initiated by Faiwasser and Linden. Brimble must give the selector cause for serious thinking. The burly Kahu and Satherly. both of whom handle and pass very cleanly, also occupied a good deal of the picture when the forwards were in action. Satherly is another who must be commanding the respect of the selector. McGuire, a newcomer from Taranaki way, shaped well and promises to become a very useful member of a side, which although lacking a little in organisation, contains some very promising individual players*. Although it might riot win the competition, Manukau will never be easy to beat. SHADES OF GRAMMAR BEATEN AT OWN GAME RiFLES PACK TOO GOOD The glory that was Grammar —that pack which started off so promisingly this season—has been knocked about considerably, and by a lighter opposition. College Rifles gave the white side as a whole furiously to think at Eden Park on Saturday afternoon, and then surprised both themselves and the crowd by running out the winners by the handsome margin of 21 points to six. Grammar was notin the picture except in the opening stages and toward the end, when its superior weight was beginning to tell. Glaring weaknesses were revealed in the Grammar forwards' work when the lighter blues started to hook if e fall with a regularity that grew monotonous. The Grammar pack was not waiting long enough in the tight stuff to see if it could gain an advantage, but broke away almost immediately it went down, and went in search of trys, which no honest forwards should I make the be-all and end-all of their existence. To be frank, the Grammar van loafed in the tight, and tremendous vigour in the open could not make up for the ground thus lost. On the other hand. College Rifles made it a tight game, and got the ball from the scrums. The forwards all worked hard right through, and there were men in the pack who could hold their own in the loose with their burlier opponents. The axiom that possession is nine points of the game was j borne out amply on Saturday. If the j Rifles’ backs had been better. Gram- : mar would have seen a very large

VARSITY SPEEDSTERS GRAFTON GOES UNDER Teamwork was the biggest factor in Varsity’s victory over the previously undefeated Grafton team before a crowd of 400 at the Epsom Showgrounds on Saturday. It was a ba.ttle royal between the forward packs: a game marked by the most stubborn defence, in which deadly, accurate tackling played a big part among the backs. True, Grafton was without the services of some of its best players— Finlayson being a notable absentee — but this did not in any way detract from the merit of Varsity’s performance. University’s back combination in the latter stages literally ran the Magpies off their feet. Apart from this Varsity was the superior-conditioned team, enabling it to maintain a solid pace to the. “no side” whistle. The smashing, harrying, bustling tactics of the University forwards wore down Grafton backs’ determined resistance toward the end, and paved the way for three trys in quick succession. Though outweighed by Grafton pack. Varsity’s hookers fed their leather to their rearguard with almost monotonous regularity. This success was largely due to solid packing, and the exertion of every ounce of weight when the ball went in. It was a. treat to watch Varsity forwards pack and take the leather at their toes from the line-out. The vanguard never let up. Keene and Brooker shone in harrying the Grafton backs, while Keegan and Anderson were the most solid workers in the tight scrumming. Varsity backs were delightful to watch on attack; their passing was smart and crisp and handling good, with the possible exception of Goodwin. Backing up was one of the outstanding features of their exposition. They played the orthodox game of attempting to feed their wing- threequarter flyers who. often as not, were crowded on to the line by crossfield running of the) Inside backs. A straight running five-eighth, beating even one opponent, would improve their scoring chances in future games. Varsity’s defence, however, was superb, particularly their rush-stop-ping and “round the knees” tackling, setting an example that many other teams should emulate. Minns, the speedy threequarter, was the star of the day. He was always dangerous on attack, and his interception in a promising Grafton back attack, and shattering run three-quarters of the field was one of the most sparkling incidents of the game. Bush struck top form at fullback, his handling, fielding and line-kicking being of a high standard. STUBBORN DEFENCE Grafton forwards waged a willing battle with their opponents in the opening term, but the latter stages of the game proved conclusively they could not make the pace. Condition failed them for one thing, and they were outgeneralled for another. Their few rearguard movements were neither smooth nor convincing, and were generally nipped in the bud by the fast-breaking Varsity forwards. The Magpies’ inside backs did not display tho necessary sting to penetrate the opposition’s five-eighths. When Grafton was stubbornly defending throughout the greater part of tho second spell, it was Lid # J 1 and Finnel who bore the brunt of the work; both performed effective saving on several occasions, Whalley being a rather weak fullback. Their tackling, however, was splendid. Grafton pack fought resolutely throughout, Wanoa, the big Maori lock, performing more than his share of the hard rucking work and leading the vanguard in loose rushes in which he was well supported by Compton and Keary. IFWERSON DOES IT CITY BEATS MARISTS There was nothing very remarkable about tiie match between City and i Marists on Eden Park No. 3 on Saturday, except the form of Karl Ifwerson for City. This veteran was responsible for his side’s score of seven points to Marists’ nothing, for he kicked one beautiful penalty goal from the sideline, and potted a beauty from the sideline also, moving in nicely,' and drawing the defence before he booted. The game itself was hard and fast, but confined to the forwards. As was natural, there was more hard work than incident. The two packs were very evenly matched in all respects, and it was only that City could avail itself of opportunity better that gave the side a lead. Not one forward on the ground shone out unduly, for each gave a high light of prowess at different times in the game. Even Hadley, an All Black hooker, did not shine out greatly above the other forwards. The scrumming was about 50-50, although City lost Phillips, one of its hookers, fairly early in the game, through a kick in the back. The line-out play ws.s good, and it was pleasant to see each team making play from the line. For City, Fletcher, Flay and Farnall were perhaps the most consistent, although their fellow-packmen were not far behind them. For Marists, Malloy, Locke and Hadley were a shade ahead of a very even van. The back-play was formless on the whole, except that toward the end Marists unloosed one or two bright movements in an effort to snatch victory. The Marist backs, though, were hampered to a certain extent by the tendency of Smith, first live-eighth, to run wide, and of Mallet to cut in too often. The three-quarter line was sound, and Cornthwaite played solidly as fullback. The City backs were more a collection of individuals than anything else, and perhaps one reason for their failure to “click” was that Berridge, first five-eighth, was off form. He seemed to be taking it easy. City’s best combined movement was that in which the ball went from a scrum to Allen, second five-eighth, who cut in nicely, sent to Karl Ifwerson to Ferguson, who threw the ball wildly infield instead of going for a corner and a try. Allen did a lot of good work. but overdid cutting in at times. Karl Ifwerson, with liis experience and anticipation, was the brains of the* rearguard. His display was great, considering everything. N. Ifwerson made some good dashes down the left wing. Mr. J. Sheppard was referee.