In Third Quarter

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 963, 5 May 1930, Page 6

In Third Quarter

PONSONBY COMES TO LIGHT Close Game with Teachers AT half-time Ponsonby were down two points against Training College and it began to look as if it was anybody’s game, bat Ponsonby is a team with a second half reputation. After the interval not only were there signs of more devil and dash abong the Ponsonby forwards, but the backs also were taking more chances, and it was then that two typical Ponsonby tries, both converted, put the issue beyond doubt. But the final score, 16—5 in Ponsonby’s favour, was not a true indication of the game. In the first quarter no points were registered and at half-time the teachers were leading by 5 to 3. It was in the third quarter that Ponsonby’s other three tries came to light, the last quarter yielding no further score.

If anything, Training College had the advantage of the first quarter. The blue-and-white forwards were packing well, and in hooking and heeling Ponsonby had nothing on them. set of backs, however, was opening up with any precision. The principal difficulty in the way was the hard tackling and keen sporting indulged in by both sets of forwards. In the second quarter came the first try, Webb scoring from a good pass from McLeod after the winger had received from Jamieson. Before the interval, however, a combined back and forward rush by the teachers saw Dobbs cross for Bush to convert. The fatal quarter was the third, for it was here that Ponsonby rattled on three tries in quick succession, and put the issue beyond doubt. Two were more or less chance tries, but the first scored by Pope was the result of good concerted play. Every man handled • leanly, and L. Hook, coming round from the blind, provided the necessary extra man to beat the opposition. It was pretty play such as one likes to see, and a large share of the credit must go to the two tall forwards, Gallagher and Hardie, who started the movement from a line-out. It was about this time than Ron Bush came up to the threequarter line, presumably to lighten the burden on Connolly, who had received more than liis fair share of hard knocks. While Bush was up, Ponsonby slipped in a couple of quick tries, one by L. Hook after a long gallop, and one by Jamieson. Bush then decided to go back to the last line of defence, and although no more Ponsonby men crossed the Training College line, the day had been won and lost.

The Ponsonby backs exhibited few fireworks in the first half, and this undoubtedly was the result of the strong vigorous play of the Training College forwards, who were scrumming well, and breaking away quickly on to the opposing inside backs. But the Ponsonby rearguard kept on trying, and the result of continued effort eventually came its way. McManus fed his backs well,iand Cammick was his usual enterprising self. Both he and Jamieson were always on the job, but at times were over-inclined to run across, due no doubt to the quick breaking of the opposing forwards. Lucas did a lot of work, but a tendency to hang on to men after he had tackled them was not a satisfactory feature of his play. Incidentally, it might be mentioned that too much hanging on and tripping is being allowed to pass by unmentioned. Any semblance of it should be checked at once. McLeod was shaping well until he dislocated his shoulder tackling an opponent, and had to leave the paddock, and L. Hook showed up well with several runs. Eraser, at bullback, was always safe. A TRIFLE SLOW The Ponsonby forwards, although a trifle slow at the start, finished well. A man that was constantly in the public eye was Gallagher, a fine lineout and tight play forward. Gallagher handles well, and follows the play all over the paddock. A few performances like that given on Saturday, and lie will bo hard to keep out of the representatives. Hardie, who is of the same tall McWilliams type, also \ played well, as did Heyward and Webb. Solomon did very useful -work as rover. PROMISING MATERIAL With practically new material to work on. Training College deserves full credit for turning out such a useful combination. Some of its new material. however, is distinctly promising. In Walker the college has a very useful type of half. He gets the ball away very quickly, sometimes from the toes of the Ponsonby forwards. Gower was another who shows promise, although -* t present he is inclined to pass out too soon when he has cut in, thus robbing his work, of its proper value. MeKearney also plays with thrust. Connolly, who shaped so well last season until laid aside with injuries, played well despite an injured ankle. lie is always an important and dangerous factor. One of College’s most valuable finds, however, is McFarland, on the wing. A strong and determined runner, McFarland is the type of wing that is always prepared to give it a go, and, anywhere near the line, is always dangerous. . He has speed of a rather deceptive kind, and looks hard to stop. Bush played a safe and solid game at fullback,' and his kicking was of a high standard. In the forward division, Dobbs, Tlodge and Johnson were always well in the picture. The rover, Hamilton, also played a very useful game. Mr. M. Kronfeld was the referee. CONDITION TOLD STRONGLY IN TECHNICAL’S FAVOUR CITY DECISIVELY BEATEN Team-fitness and forward combination, particularly in the loose, were the principal factors contributing to Technical Old Boys’ victory over City, in tlio curtain-raiser at Eden Park on Saturday, by 11 points to 3. Possessing a decided advantage in height and weight, City’s forwards did not have either condition or stamina to make the pace with the fastfollowing opposing pack, whose harassing smothering paved the way for their backs to score. The fast, nippy Technical backs, whose threequarter line delighted the spectators with sparkling, thrusting dashes, were markedly superior to City's rearguard, whose handling a'nd passing were faulty, and their movements crumpled against fcv . good, tackling. !■ It was obvious from Technical’s irnarl hooking that the City pack was making full use of its weight, but

although the former predominated in tight and loose, City showed superiority in the lineouts, in which Holt and Whitehead shone.

When Technical’s backs swung into their stride, their crisp passing and dash was pretty to watch. Harris, at the base of the scrum, fed the ball out smartly, and varied the movements on “the blind’* with good judgment. The bright threequarter line, Common, Ilaslam, and Couper, who combined straight running with determination, made up for any lack of thrust by the inside backs. Running with a nice swerve, the sturdily-built winger, Couper, attracted admiration with one 50yard gallop in a great bid to score. He later displayed good judgment in using the reverse pass, which produced the second try, and again just before time, he cleverly worked the short throw-in-reverse pass, and gathered in the leather to flash over brilliantly in the corner. The forwards maintained a solid pace throughout, and, led by C. Keane, who registered a good try, A. Keane, and Kenneley, they joined in dribbling and passing bouts with equal facility. Hogg, the fullback, kicked a penalty goal and converted one try. In holding Technical in the first spell to three points all, City did exceptionally well, but the latter stages of the game found some of the bigger men woefully “short of a gallop.” The rover, Holt, displayed splendid form in the loose, dribbling in great style, and breaking away smartly in possession from the line-outs. He was well supported by Whitehead. The backs had little combination, and beyond the fiveeights, Berridge and Lanigan, who worked well together, were weak. Berridge showed up with some bright penetrative flashes, but did not have the support to break through. He registered City’s only points with a splendid penalty goal. Mr. Gasparicli was referee. GRAFTON OVERWHELMED BY VARSITY BACKS THREEQUARTERS ON THE JOB Developing fine combination among the backs. Varsity inflicted an overwhelming defeat on the young and weak Grafton team by 31 points to 8. After an indifferent start, the students’ rearguard threw the ball round in sparkling fashion, and literally overran the opposition. The five-eighths, Rue and Jenkin, were unimpressive, though they handled well enough, and the centre, Stokes, was a decidedly weak link. The speedy wingers, Minns and Milliken, were in great scoring

form, and the greater portion of the score was to the credit of their determined dashes. The flier, Minns, was well watched, but, swerving prettily and fending effectively in brilliant runs, he registered three good tries, while Milliken, who also infused plenty of vigour into his spirited dashes, ran up another nine points with a similar number of tries. Tlio University pack dominated the play both in the tight and loose, and their smart hooking gave the backs every opportunity to pile up a big score. One of the most consistent figures in the pack was Stacey, who, with Douglas, showed up brilliantly in the loose, in opening up passing bouts and leading driving dribbling rushes. The pair were always in the van, and between them put on three tries. Varsity’s goal-kicking was of a very poor standard. Lacking the leadership of Angus Finlayson. Grafton’s pack could not hold its fast-breaking opponents. Comprising many young players in both forwards and backs, the team lacked training and combination. Keary and Hargreaves were the only forwards to stage anything like opposition to the Varsity forwards, while the backs were very weak, notably in tackling. The solidly-built winger. Fraser, showed distinct promise, his clean breakaway toward the end of the game being a pretty piece of work. He was unlucky he did not score through slipping. but the centre, Moore, who was following closely, gathered in and touched down. The same player showed up in a few bright dashes toward the end of the game, and further improved Grafton’s position by landing a penalty goal. Captain J. G. C. Wales was referee. MANUKAU TOO GOOD FOR TYKES GAME AT ONEHUNGA In a well-contested match at Onehunga, on Saturday afternoon the home side proved too good for Marist Old Boys, to the tune of 11-3. The game was much more closely fought than the scores would indicate. Marist going very close to scoring several times and only hard luck and perhaps early season faults, kept then* from running the West Coasters closer. The first quarter of the game was practically confined to the Manukau end of the field and it was only a Marist infringement in a line scrum that prevented an early opening of the account with a. certain try. Following this fright, the home side rushed play up the field and Tykes

being penalised, allowed Turei to put over an easy kick.

From their initial score, Manukau took charge of the game for a period and had things all their own way in the second quarter wjien the blue’s line was crossed by Stuart and Turei converted. This was followed by a pretty piece of play when Jones made a good opening, and passed out to Thomas, who had a clear run across the line. The try was not converted. The half-time score was Manukau 11. Marist 0.

Tykes made their only score of the day shortly after the spell when Cornthwaite put over a difficult penalty in the face of the sun. The seoi*€> seemed to give the blues new life and they started to play" really clever football, which was not, however, good enough to beat the black defence. The game ended without further scorcu For the victors, Turei, at fullback, played a sound game and his kicking was reliable. Bryers, at half, was accurate and played a good game. Of the rest, Stuart and Thomas were good, while Jones also played welL T. Brimble showed to advantage until lie had the misfortune to injure his ankle and had to retire. In the Marist team, Conway, at halfback, and Smith, first five-eighths, were handy, while in the forwards Swin Hadley and Dunn were the best. Cornthwaite, centre threequarters, was excellent, his kicking particularly coming in for applause. The game all round was an excellent exhibition for one so early in the season and Manukau fully deserved its win. Mr. C. F. Pauli carried the whistle. COMFORTABLE THING FOR GRAMMAR 0.8. COLLEGE RIFLES EASILY BEATEN Grammar Old Boys took control from the start in their match with College Rifles and, though they encountered a certain amount of opposition from time to time, had little difficulty in running out victors by 22 points to nil. The game, which was played at the Showgrounds, produced some excellent passing, some good, fast play, and sumo very ineffective place-kicking. On several occasions the ball travelled the length of the Grammar line, from Corner to Garlick, in fine style, the first two tries resulting from such movements. Only two out of six tries were converted, and Lindrum was behind the ball both times. However, to counteract this little success, lie failed on three occasions.

Garlick was the outstanding player on the field. He paved the way for three tries, two of which he scored himself. Wilson, on the other wing, put in some good runs, while the inside backs, Lindrum, Weir and Corner, were usually present. Weir turned on one particularly useful effort, and then spoilt it by holding on. Mathieson, at fullback, played an exceptional game. The heavy White forwards were responsible for four tries. They packed solidly, and combined well in good open rallies. P. Potter gave a rousing exhibition of the roving game, while L. Knight, Skelton, W. Batty and Greville all did their work. College Rifles effected some useful offensives, but failed when it came to tackling. Albrecht was a satisfactory fullback, Pickering and Donald also doing well. Denize came to light with one great dash, and covered 50yds, ball under arm, before he was forced- out. McGregor had a hand in several combined rushes. Clark got few chances to exercise a useful boot, but had one noble failure, from the side-line, somewhere near half-way. The pack was not very conspicuous, with Steer and Nicholson outstanding. Scoring register: Grammar, 22 points (Garlick 2, Skelton, P. Potter, Greville, Batty, Lindrum, two conversions); Rifles, 0.

SENIOR B GRADE OTAHUHU TROUNCES TRAMS A number of breaches committed early in the game by Otahuhu allowed Tramways to register three penalty goals In quick succession, and by the time half-time was called Otahuhu had replied with an unconverted try. During. the first half Tramways dominated play, the Otahuhu forwards lacking combination, and the rear division was very uncertain the handling of the ball. On resumption of play, the Otahuhu forwards gained the supremacy, and fed the backs consistently, and the rearguard gave a good exhibition of the code, and was the means of adding five adidtional tries to their opponents’ nil. As far as the players are concerned, it is hard to particularise, as everybody gave of his best. The outstanding feature of the game was the goalkicking of G. White for Otahuhu, who converted five out of the six tries scored. Tries were scored for Otahuhu by Clarke (3), Inglis, Hain, and Owen (one each). ENGLISH LEAGUE ST. HELEN’S BEATEN LONDON, Saturday. In the League Football Cup final Widnes beat St. Helens by 10 points to 3, at the Wembley Stadium in the presence of 30,000 spectators, mostly l'rom Lancashire. Twelve of the 13 Widnes players were born in tlio district. The other is a South African, Van Rooyen. The St. Helens team included the New Zealanders, Hutt, Hardgrave and Hall, and a Welsh captain, Lewis, and also the internationals, Fairclough, Ellaby and Halfpenny, for whose transfer St. Helens paid £250. St. Helens scored the first try. which was not converted. Then XVidnes ran over their opponents in the first hall', scoring a goal, cr. unconverted try and a penalty goal, in the second half St. Helens attacked hard, but neither side scored.

While torrential rain caused the abandonment of cricket at Lord’s, none fell at Wembley.