League Moves On

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

League Moves On

LAST YEAR’S FORM REPEATED High Standard of Play * TWO straight wins to Marist, Ponsonby and Devonport see last year’s form repeated in the League matches played so far, but in practically every case the beaten teams have put up a great fight. While there were no surprises at Carlaw Park on Saturday, the keen, even competition between the teams kept a big crowd fully interested right up to the finish.

The League authorities have every reason to feel satisfied at the fine start the code has made this year. With an Australian tour in the offing, players have been training early. This, again, has been reflected in the consistently good standard of play. An interesting feature, of Saturady’s play was the return to City of M. Wetherill. who captained New Zealand against the last English team, and the reappearance of J. O’Brien, the Marist front-ranker.

transfer in magnificent style and run Batchelor into position for a certain try. When Gregory added the trimmings, it was all up with Richmond. Marist has a long way to go yet before it regains the sustained brilliance of last year. The old combination is still there, but only in patches. The forwards, most of all, must show better form. On Saturday, they were badly out of position at times, and they did not pack well in the tight. The Richmond pack, bunched close together, and taking the ball through in short, sharp rushes, showed up this weakness. Only Gregory’s clever defence, and solid work by Hassan and Brisbane, kept Marist out of serious trouble. N. Campbell was very solid at fullback. Batchelor still refuses to go low for liis man (a bad fault), but he is quick and clever on attack, and possesses a ton of speed. Gregory and Brady were good, and Brisbane and Hassan very solid. Clarke was the shining light in the pack, but he is inclined to get in the road of the back at times. The places of Moisley and Duane have been filled by two solid forwards, Young and McKay. Both have a bit to learn about forward play, especially about packing in loose scrums; but they are a good type. Graham and Campbell played splendidly in the tight. Richmond will work up into a good side as the season wears on. The material is there, and the players have a well-trained look about them. Lee again created a good impression at fullback. His fielding was brilliant, his kicking strong, and better directed, although he sent too many kicks out on the full and he tried too often to pot goals when it might have been better for his side to have retained possession. Only two points go for a potted goal in League, whereas Lee has been used to Rugby’s four points. Prentice gave a splendid all-round display. George Davis did well after being taken out of the pack to play five-eighth. Beckham was kept very quiet in the first spell, but he caused Marist a lot of trouble later on, and did some fine work.

Richmond nearly upset Marist’s apple-cart in the second spell, but the Tykes, reinforced by J. O’Brien and Clarke, managed to secure a comfortable win at the finish. This match was marred by repeated failures to get the ball into the scrum, and by several outbursts between the players, in which flats were freely used.

KINGSLAND DOWNED BY SHORE IN DULL MATCH TREVOR O’LEARY PROMINENT Devonport was not in greatly impressive form to win, 11-5, from Kingsland-Athletic in the opening match at Carlaw Park. Trevor O'Leary, Shore’s second fiveighth, . was easily the best back on the field and his bright play was one of the best features of the game. Hard tackling was the other aspect which most pleased the crowd. In the two games this season O’Leary has played extremely well. He scored a brilliant try in a movement which took the Kingsland men well out of position. The Shore backs flung the ball across-field and O’Leary, who had handled in the five-eighths, raced round to receive the winger’s pass and to score. It was the best movement of the game and one which proved the Shore man to have a good knowledge of supporting play. On top of this, O’Leary is a safe handler and a fast runner.

Richmond has some fine forwards. Lennie is a great grafter in the tight, and so is McCarthy. The two Joneses also showed up well.

Seagar played an improved game at centre-tlireequarter for Shore and Rhodes, first five-eighth, and Coghlan, halfback, were sound. On the wing, Leslie O’Leary and Hooker, a new player from North Short Rugby, were Useful.

PONSONBY BACKS RISE TO OCCASION ELLERSLIE UNITED DEFEATED Of an uninspiring, scrambling nature in the first half, the Ponsonby- Ellerslie match at the Domain on Saturday afternoon improved considerably later, and chiefly as a result of the fine work of its back line, Ponsonby went off with a decisive 16—4 victory. The only points scored during the first half came soon -after play commenced, when Dufty landed a penalty goal for Ellerslie. Delgrosso had gone back to fullback from behind the Pcnsonby scrum, and thus the first half was little more than a kicking duel between Delgrosso and Dufty, in which the burly Ellerslie man usually came off best. Ellerslie, however, was very fortunate to end up the first half with the only points scored, for on more than one occasion Ponsonby was all but over. Penalties rained down thick and fast on the Ponies on Saturday, and were the means of getting Ellerslie out of more than one difficult position. The Ponies really brought this position on themselves. “Wally” Somers, former New Zealand representative, was hooking for Ellerslie, and it appeared to spectators that the Ponies did their best to keep the ball out of the scrum, realising that once in, it could not but come out in Ellerslie’s favour. One of Ponsonby’s forwards, particularly, worked most effectively on this principle, and at one stage of the game there were no fewer than 12 scrums in succession) in which the ball never looked like going in. Referee Mclvubrey got tired trying to make the scrummages form up properly, and resorted to frequent penalties as a, means of endeavouring to check the practice. The Ellerslie forwards, generally, overshadowed the blue and blacks in the first half, and the early part of the second half, but in the dying stages ’they faded away and it was all Ponsonby. The Ponsonby men lasted out better, although they were very slow early in the game. PAT SKELTON SHINES

A good phase of Kingsland’s work was the solid defence of the inside backs. The tenacious tackling of Lucas, who played a solid game behind the scrum, and the five-eighths, Nasey and Herring, effectively smashed down the Shore attacks for the greater part of the game. Nasey played a particularly valuable game, but List, at centre, was good in patches only. Bob Carter was a more enterprising wing-threequarters than Simms.

Forward, Devonport could claim no great superiority over an apparently lighter pack. Forward tussles occupied much of the time of the match, but it was close work mostly. Casey, Rule and Saxon were, energetic for Shore and Kingsland had solid players in McCloughen, Revell and Railey. The scoring details were: Devonports (tries to T. O’Leary, Coghlan and Casey, penalty to Seagar), 11 points, v. Kingsland (try to Revell, conversion to Longville), 5. Mr. E. McCall was the referee.

MARIST ALL OUT TO BEAT RICHMOND SECOND SPELL THRILLS There were some magnificent flashes in the Marist-Richmond game on Saturday. It is too soon yet to expect any of tlio teams to be showing the spectacular and sustained team-work which comes along about June or July, but both Tykes and Richmond produced one or two really brilliant bursts of play on Saturday. It was like old times to find Jim O’Brien and Clarke back in a side which, with the exception of one wing, was right up to full strength. Much as O’Brien is hooted for apparently playing offside, it is well to remember that so long as the English League’s offside rule remains as it is at present, it is just as'well that there are a few of the shrewd old heads left who profited by bitter experience of the way Sullivan’s Englishmen worked this rule for all they were •\yorth in New Zealand. With the score 12-2 at half-time, Marist looked to be certain of an easy win on Saturday. O’Brien. Campbell and Graham were working the scrufns with all their old cleverness, and Clarke’s fast dashes in the loose took a power of stopping. GREGORY BRILLIANT Although the ball did not seem to be coming out too cleanly. Hassan was giving his backs good opportunities. Gregory was the hero of the first spell with a brilliant try and three goals. Trouble with the scrums started early in the second spell, and Referee Bull had his hands full: in fact, so full that later on he missed at least two outbursts of fisticuffs. There was a great deal of unnecessary roughness about the play toward the finish. Just exactly what was the cause of all the trouble in the scrums was impossible to say rfrom the stand. Even the referee seemed to give it up, and changed the hookers. Things were a little better after that, but not much, i he delays in getting down proper scrums exasperated the spectators, and many were also of the opinion that there was too much whistle in the game. While the game was threatening to become a wash-out, Richmond staged a brilliant recovery which placed it nearly on terms with the Tykes, and the closing stages were a ding-dong battle. r Great: all-round play by Prentice, Beckham s spectacular try and the splendid work of the forwards were the chief factors in Richmond’s surprising: bid for victory. Marist was sparring for time toward the finish. There were bellows to mend all along the line, while Richmond looked much the better side. SPECTACULAR FINISH

Despite the fact that they got what little of the ball did come from the scrums, the Ellerslie backs were powerless to drive it home to any advantage. Time and again they merely edged off across the field or progressed backward. Olliff, diminutive, and hard to upset, was a tiger for work behind the Ellerslie scrum, but none of the others showed any sort of form. Dufty, at fullback, used his boot to advantage, but thjit was about all lie did do. The Ellerslie threequarters . evidently forgot had a fullback, for when Dufty

It was a wonderful flash of the old Marist combination that pulled the side through at the end. Brisbane made the first opening in his irresistible style, but foozled his pass. It was left to Brady to gather in a knee-higli

swung into action in attack they repeatedly starved him of the ball. In the Ponsonby division a much happier state of affairs existed. In the first half opportunities were lost by eager players running themselves ©ut of position, but im the second half every man was in his place, and the attack swung home again and again almost at will. Pat Skelton created a good impression at second fiveeighths, although every man. Winters, Riley, Schofield and Thompson, did well. Angelo filled the halfback billet very successfully on a day when it was not the easiest of tasks for Ponsonby. Delgrosso, at fullback, could not resist the temptation to join his back line in action occasionally, and when he did ho showed flashes of his best form. He has a great eye for an opening. On one occasion, when in full sail for the line, lie >vas brought down by what appeared to be a deliberate trip by an Ellerslie player. The only action- taken was the awarding of a penalty to Ponsonby.

CITY SOLID VICTORY OVER NEWTON City undoubtedly showed more finesse in its play when it defeated Newton by 27 points to 20 at Carlaw Park on Saturday, although Newton, in spite of quite an abundance of practically new material in its ranks, which should show a vast improvement with a few more games, put up a dogged light and at one stage of the game managed to take the lead. Snappy passing bouts by the City rearguarders worried Newton, while the red and blacks proved a hardworking, bustling lot, well capable of holding the fast Newton pack, led for the most part by Francis. Whenever Newton broke through the City defensive, it was in the form of a sort of surprise attack. But this was repeatedly followed by solid attacks by City with its forward and back divisions, so often combining magnificently. The game by no means lacked excitement. City ran up a good lead but then experienced a lull in scoring, while Newton gradually raised its numbers on the board until, eventually, it gained the lead. But Newton only enjoyed this winning position for a few minutes, for City again, went away to pile up the points. ADVANTAGE IN SPEED While the Newton forwards had perhaps the advantage in speed, the City pack made up for this quality in the opposition by solid bustling tactics. Barchard was one of the shiners for City, while Hadley, M. Watene and Pascoe all gave fine displays of forward play. On the other side Francis enjoyed more than his share of the limelight, and throughout the game was a source of annoyance to Shortland and his inside backs. Middleton, who is a fine stamp of a forward, with plenty of weight, jilayed well, and was associated with a handy trio in Allan, Butler and Pollock. Taking the rearguarders, it was undoubtedly a day out for Sliortland. Although not scoring lie was always in the thick of it, and on Saturday’s game should have little trouble in gaining representative honours this season- G. Watene, at fullback, is worth a deal to the City side. His safo pair of hands and fine line kicks were quite a feature, while his try was undoubtedly the finest of the day. Ben Davidson, at centre, made a much better showing than he did last Saturday, but as yet ho is still far from his old form. “Gig” Wetherill made his first appearance of the season, and with his characteristic jazz movements had Newton quite baffled at times. Both of Newton’s wingers, Brimble and Murray, proved themselves considerably useful, while Hill, at centre, although not doing anything very startling, is a good straight-running b&ck, and with a few more senior games is bound to make good. He undoubtedly has the idea and is fast off the mark.

SENIOR B GRADE OTAHUHU DEFEATS PARNELL The Otaliuhu-Parnel! senior B grade match was brimful of excitement from start to finish. In the opening stages, and for practically the whole of the first half, Parnell predominated the play, and it looked odds-on that they would claim the honours after what promised to be a ding-dong game. Play see-sawed from one end of the field to the other with monotonous regularity,'and at the end of the first spell Parnell held the advantage by five to three, a converted try to a try. During the second spell, play took a decided turn, with Otahuhu showing out to advantage, and when time was called it had the honours of the day by 11 to seven. Tries were registered for the winner by Ritchie. Harris and Ryan, while Eustace added the major points on one occasion. Mr. Rogers was referee.

SHORE LEAGUERS GET THEIR CAPS The three Devonport League teams which finished in the leadership in their grades last season were presented with their caps on Saturday evening. Mr. Arch. Ferguson, in the absence of the president, Mr. W. Swinnerton, introduced the Mayor of Devonport, Mr. E. Aldridge, who expressed regret that the club’s first team had missed the championship. Caps were presented to the second, third intermediates, and fourths. The latter team also won the Kiely Cup. and the special cup presented by the Mew Zealand League Council. Mr. Ferguson mentioned that he was now the only member of the first team to play League in Devonport 21 years ago who still maintained an active association with the club.

ROWING IN SYDNEY SYDNEY, Sunday. In spite of drenching rain and sulien skies, the head of the river rowing championships, which excite keen interest in the great public schools of Sydney, were held today. The final of the eights was won by Sydney High School, with St. Joseph’s College second, and Sydney Church of England Grammar School third. The race was rowed in choppy waters and provided a brilliant finish, a bare length separating the placed’ boats. High School has now won the champion eights five times in six years" Other events were: First fours: - St. Joseph’s College 1Scots. 2. Second fours: St. Joseph’s 1; Sydney High School, 2.

ville cleared and. its forwards broke through. Good following up in the closing stages gave Seccombe the only goal of the match, Somerville thus winning by one goal to nil. VARSITY DEFEATS SHORE Considering- the fact that it was a first of the season match, the contesi between Varsity and North Shore was a most interesting one, but for the fact that the students displayed superiority in combination, it was an evenlycontested game without a dull moment At no period was play allowed to concentrate for long in any part of the field: scores were mostly the result of quick movements in which the leather went into the net before the defending ride had time to strengthen its defences. Varsity’s greatest strength on the day was its front line, which could generally rely on every assistance from its supports. Seelen was the principal scorer, hut his success was only made possible by the support and unselfish play of the other members of the team; when he did get a chance he generally took full advantage of it. Taylor and Don were also prominent in the front line, while KatclifTe was the outstanding half, wielding a very useful stick right through the game. Crowley justified his place in the gaol. Shore players may have lacked a little in finish, and showed a slight weakness in defence, hut, at no period

DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUND RESULTS WIN FOR AUSTRALIANS LONDON, Saturday. In the match at Zurich between Aus tralia and Switzerland in the first round ol the Davis Cup contest. Moon (Australia) defeated Chiesa (Switzerland). , 61 > 6 —'■ and Crawford heat Acshlimann, 6—o. 6—3. 6 1. in th * doubles Hopman and Willard defeated Aschlimann and Waurin •> i; 6—4. G—2, 6 —3. ’ “ The Australians thus won rather p a e il Tv.. WaUr ‘ n is <3uito a 'art and has liaa little experience in big- tennis. He played an excellent game. At Antwerp in the match between Spain and Belgium in the singles Mai(Spain) beat Lacroix, 3—6. 6 1 3 -6 6—2. 6—3: Ewbank (Belgium) beat Juamca. 6—-4, 7—5, 2—fi, 2 6 G 1Maier and Patrica (Spain) beat Bor! man and Ewbank, 6—l, 4 6, 1 6 8 6 At Budapest in the match between Take" and Hungary Ohta (Japan) beat lakach, 6 1, 6■ 4. 6 —3: Harada (Japan) beat de Kelirling, 2♦; *> B—6. 6—2. Jn the doubles Harada and Abe (Japan) defeated de Kehrling and Aschner, 6—2, 6—2. 3—6, 6 i. Japan V- hi meet India in the second round At Warsaw in the match beween Rumania and Poland Mishu (Rumania) beat Stolaroff (Poland), 6—3 4 6 6 j 6 —l; Trocsynski (Poland) heat’ Pon-’ Ueff (Rumania). 6—3, 7—5. 6—4. In the doubles Mishu and Ponlieft' (Rumania) beat Stolaroff and Trocsynski, 1 g At Belgrade in the match between r ugoslavia and Sweden Freidrich (Yu goslavia) was leading Soederstrom' S-T 1 " wl ?en P )a >' stopped owing to the bad night. Scheffer (Yugoslavia) beat Soederstrom (Sweden) i”T 6 ’ ®— 4 - ®— ] ■ 6 —«- In the doubles Scheffer and Radovic beat Soederstrom and Hamberg, ii —3. 6 —l, 7 5. Yugoslavia won, and will meet either Bolgrum or Hpain. In a match at Dublin between IreaJLd Monaco Callope (Monaco) beat Me Guire (Ireland). G 2, 7 5 6—L UYT'Y. flreland) beat Landau!