Ponsonby By a Point

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1005, 23 June 1930, Page 6

Ponsonby By a Point

TECH. RATHER UNLUCKY Bright Rugby at the Park i rather luckily got away with a one-point victory over Technical Old Boys on Saturdav, the final scores bein< r 3 3—12. A Jew minutes before time Ponsonby was four points down. Then came a characteristic Ponsonby rush and Hardie got across near the corner. Cammiek converted and the game was wou and lost.

Without the services of Lucas and McWilliams, Ponsonby appeared to be shorn of much of its 'strength. Lucas, in particular, appeared to be sadly missed. The passing rushes, although frequent, lacked penetration and more often than not washed out *>n the side lines. Ponsonby indulged in the usual amount of passing, but the handling was poor, many promising movements breaking down through this reason. Near the end of the game the Ponsonby pack came to life, but until then the Green forwards more than held their own. Infusing considerably more vim and dash into their work they were responsible for Technical having a large share of the territorial advantage. First blood came to Technical Old Boys per medium of Haslarn, who created a good opportunity for Couper to score. Then Solomon sent Cammick across, the try being converted. Two successful penalty kicks by Technical and a try by Jameson made the scores 9—B in Technical’s favour at half-time. Almost immediately upon resuming C. Keane kicked a penalty and Technical were four points up. an advantage that was maintained until within the last few minutes of the game. Ponsonby was attacking when the Technical rover. C. Keane, was •aught off-side. Cammiek took the kick, but, although well within kicking distance, wisely refrained from an attempt at the posts, three points at that stage being of little use to the side. He gave a short kick past the marker, secured the ball and immediately threw the leather out. Backs and forwards participated in a rush that ended with Hardie battling across for a line try. Jameson was successful with a kick that in the ordinary course of events ho could well have been expected to have missed, and the game was won. HOOK’S TRICKY RUNNING Few of the Ponsonby backs played up to usual form. L. Hook and Fraser (fullback) were the exceptions. L. Hook, first at wing-threequarter. and later at centre, shone up prominently with a very tricky run and was easily the outstanding back on the ground, and Fraser, as usual, was always safe. Both McManus (half) and the two fivefighths showed a tendency to pass before going up to their men. Solomon played his usual übitquitous gam**, playing a prominent part in most of the passing movements as well as appearing in the thick of most of the forward play. Palmer. Hardie and Gallaher were forwards that frequently caught the eye. HARRIS PLAYS WELL Half-back Harris fed the Technical men well and they showed up in several good movements. Of the threequarters Haslarn was the most impressive. Of late this player has been showing promise of better things. He has weight and pace and is beginning to use both with better results. I>. Keane, at fullback, played a reliable game and his kicking was generally good. C. Keane, rover, played a vigorous game. With a little more care in avoiding penalising infringements he should do well.

In the pack, A. Keane, Edgar and Nelson were always to the fore. The pack played for the greater part of the game with vim and vigour, and if its effort had been fully sustained right up till the final whistle a win for Technical might very easily have been the result.

VARSITY BEATS CITY AFTER BRIGHT GAME FIVE-POINT MARGIN After a bright game in which the territorial honours were even. Varsity got home by six points against City. In spite of a greasy ground and a heavy ball, the handling was good and both sets of backs turned on fireworks. City's heavy pack was beating the students in the tight work but. in the set scrums, the Varsity hooking .rnMired a fair share of the ball. The advantage in the tight was not of great, avail, for the game was fairly open and., iu the loose, the blue forwards made hacks of their opponents. Led by Anderson. the Varsity forwards swept ri<„>wn the field time and time again in bouts of short passing that sorelv tested trio City defence. The City backs were tackling hard and Berridge and Blakey. particularly. were infallible. From loose scrums and lineouts City was getting plenty of ball and the backs were, in their* turn, launching strong attacks against the Varsity line. The students’ defence was also sound, however, and it was ony body’s game until well on in the. final spell.

Anderson \va,s the best forward on the ground and it was ne who started the short passing which gained so much ground. He was well supported by D’Authreau and J. Jenkin. In the tight the whole Varsity pack worked hard against greater weight. Chief of City’s hard Workers, in the tight was Holt, who had come in from rover. Sorenson and Fapisli were also prominent. Both rovers gave great displays*. Kerr-Taylor (City) was everywhere in defence and he handled a greasy ball well. Jolly (Varsity) was always on hand and joined in passing rushes with both forwards and backs. Kao gave a game display behind the Varsity scrum. He went down to the City forwards and handed consistent passes, not all of which were accepted, to Jenkin. Sound on defence, Jenkin lost several chances on attack through a fondness for runnig into the ruck. lie was fair game for Kerr-Taylor. McKay played his usual sound game, but Stokes at centre was a weak link. He was not fast enough for his wingers and was too keen to exploit a rather clumsy cut-in. He was game on defence but his handling was still erratic. Milliken had not the dash of Minns, who was on his game, especially in the tirst half. Butler was sound at fullback, though his line-kicking was not quite as accurate as usual. City’s star back was Blakey. Ilis tackling was deadly and he never dropped a ball. Possessing a powerful boot in addition. City’s fullback is a valuable man. Linden and Carter were solid wingers who would have gone well with a little more ball. Crook was handling well at centre, but rather starved his wingers. Berridge played lus usual solid game and his alertness

was invaluable. Stehr was sound at first five-eighth and McKay, though a trifle slow, was good on defence and showed up well in rush-stopping. There was no fault to be found with Mr. F. E. Sutherland’s refereeing. WEAK GRAMMAR TEAM NARROWLY BEATS GRAFTON MAGPIES GOOD FORWARDS A weak Grammar Old Boys’ team, whose combination was very mediocre, was fully extended to beat Grafton’s much improved fifteen by the narrow margin of nine points to five at Eden Bark on Saturday. The absence of Corner from the base of the scrum, Matheson from fullback and Walter Batty from the pack deprived both backs and forwards of the driving force which characterises their game. The greasy ground conditions permitted little spectacular, open play and, although occasionally in the first spell Grammar backs, handling the slippery ball well, swung into action nicely, the wing threequarters lacked the determination to produce results. In the second term the game resolved into a forward struggle.

Both sides registered their points in the first spell. Launching a vigorous attack shortly after the kick-o IT. Grammar forwards carried the play into Grafton’s twenty-five, where Weir, who was playing half, sent the backs away. The leather travelled out to Wilson, who drew the opposing threequarters neatly and transferred to G. Skelton, who came up fast outside, to score wide out. A goal from Lindrum’s boot was signalled by the umpires, but was disallowed by the referee. A change of tactics by Grafton forwards, who commenced breaking quickly from the scrums in short dribbling rushes, met with more success. Fraser showed up brightly as rover, where he displayed his speed to advantage in consistent following up and smothering work. I-Ie was rewarded a few minutes later when a ball bouncing in-goal completely beat the Grammar fullback and he gathered it in to score an easy try, which Moore converted. Until well on toward the end of the spell. Grammar was behind, and then G. Skelton registered an unconverted try and Gardner kicked a great penalty goal which placed it in a winning position, which it retained until the end. The Grafton forwards worked hard throughout, standing up to their heavier opponents well in the scrums, Finlayson, Keary and Fraser always being prominent. The magpies’ backs were conspicuously weak on attack, their handling being poor, but they showed themselves to be solid tacklers. The Grammar forwards combined fairly well in the first spell, but in the second half worked only spasmodically. Eric Batty was easily the most consistent, leading the pack in practically all the loose rushes and figuring prominently in the tight. Me was well supported by G. Skelton, who registered both tries. In the backs, Wilson was the soundest both on defence and attack. Mr. W. Lomas was referee.

RIFLES’ GREAT UPHILL FIGHT MARIST NEARLY DOWNED By great play in the second half, College Rifles nearly pulled a lost game out of the fire, in its match with Marist at the Showgrounds. Almost before the Kifles men had time to settle into their stride Marist ran up 10 points. Cornthwaite was first across, taking the enemy by surprise. Smith followed him a minute later. Kitles exerted a little effort and Albrecht potted a goal from a scramble in front of the posts. Steer failed with a kick from a marl:, far out. .Denizo tried to push his way through in great style, but the Marist forwards came back and were unlucky not to score in the corner. However, the ball travelled across-field to Evans, who flew over. Denize passed to Kirk but Evans nipped in and sent to Cornthwaite to Loft, wlro knocked on when a try seemed certain. With a magnificent kick, the left-footer Walsh, Marist’s fullback, potted from just inside half-way. Evans passed to C. Hadley, who returned the leather. Evans set out and might have scored if he hadn’t put a foot outside. Ball-at-toe, Steer broke through a scramble, but lost posssession; McGregor missed a penalty with a very feeble kick, and half-time came with Kifles 13 points down. Marist so far had had all the best of the game. The Dark Blues started with a rush in the second half. Warren broke away but was ou : of luck. Donald attempted to push through, only to find the going too hard. Smith, the Marist five-eighth, got possession and the ball went from Loft to Cornthwaite, who \vl s forced out. Johnson failed with a penalty and Kifles began another determined offensive. Steer dribbled nearly forty yards and McGregor sent to Albrecht, who lost possession. Steer put over a free-kick. A minute later, with the third quarter drawing to a close, Gillespie landed another penalty, after Warren had led a forward rush from his twenty-five well into Marist territory. Rifles was seven points down at the final change-over. Steer, who was leading the Kifles foreguard in great style, broke away from the ruck with the ball at his feet. Evans fumbled but kicked clear. Steer was again prominent in a forward movement that carried play to the Marist line, and Kirk failed with a penalty. But Rifles was right on it now and a free-kick in front of the posts was easy for Gillespie. Rifles eased up a little and the game ended shortly afterward. Mr. J. Sweeney was the referee. MANUKAU’S VICTORY SCRAPPY GAME AT CNEHUNGA A slippery field and a high wind made conditions anything but bright for the game between Manukau and Training College on Saturday at Onehunga. when the former team won by 8 points to 3. As a result, the match was hardly up. to senior standard. College kicked off and in less than a

minute Bush kicked a beautiful penalty goal from five yards inside halfway. Admittedly he had the wind helping him. but nevertheless it was a fine effort. Manukau was being kept inside its own twenty-five by the eager College forwards, and Manukau’s tackling at this stage of the game was shocking The Training College backs had no difficulty in slipping through the “loving” embraces of the opposing team. Then Manukau woke up. Its forwards took a turn in attacking, and their efforts bore fruit when Jones goaled from a mark on the students twenty-five line, making the scores three all. Manukau continued to at tack, and Bryers touched down from a. long, raking forward rush. Stewart added the extra points. No score was added in the second spell. Both teams tried hard, however, and McFarland was unlucky when he ran up to Turei and, kicking over the fullback’s head, followed up fast. The ball, however, won the race and went into touch-in-goal. The winners can count themselves very lucky that they won. In the first half, at least, the College forwards were all over them. It is strange that the West Coasters can play like champions when at Eden Park, but when on their own ground they appear to lack the inspiration. The outstanding player on the winning side was Pepper, a young forward, who shows distinct promise. He led every rush in which Manukau took part and was the mainstay of their attack. Next to him in order of merit was C. Sathcrley, the skipper of the winning team, who was an inspiring leader. Jones played a sound game, but showed a tendency to run across field Turei was not as good as usual due no doubt, to the wind, which militated against any great play. Pile, in the unaccustomed role of wing-three-quarter, ran strongly a.nd played well Bush was the outstanding man on the Training College side. His tackling was splendid, his kicking, under the circumstances, was very accurate, and his general all-round play was little short of rep. form. McKearney and Connolly both played well, the former’s tackling being deadly. Hodge was best of a hard-working pack of forwards. Scoring register.—Manukau, Jones, goal from a. mark; Bryers, a try; Stewart, one conversion—B. Training College: Bush, penalty goal—3. Mr. A. E. Austin was referee. SENIOR B GRADE OTAHUHU TROUNCES SUBURBS The Otahuliu senior B grade team overwhelmed Suburbs on Saturday to the tune of 37 to nil. The forwards were- very evenly matched with Suburbs showing an advantage in the scrums, but in the rear division the winners had it all their own way and in consequence of several good back movements the rearguard accounted for five of the nine tries registered. In addition to scoring a try. G. White had his kicking boots on, converting seven of the tries registered. Scorers for Otahuhu were:—lnglis 3, Clarke 2. G. White 1, Harris 1, Jones 1 and Williams 1, G. White converting five tries. SACRED HEART BEATEN MATCH AT PALMERSTON NORTH Press Association PALMERSTON N., Sunday. In a Rugby match at Palmerston North yesterday St. Patrick’s College, ! Wellington, defeated Sacred Heart College, Auckland, by 22 points to 9. WELLINGTON COMPETITION FIRST ROUND COMPLETED Press Association WELLINGTON, Today j The first round of the Wellington j Rugby matches was completed on Sat- j urday. It resulted in Petone leading j with 14 points and the Marist Club | which has never figured very promin- | ently before, coining second with 13. ! Old Boys was third with 11.

TO REPRESENT N.Z.

ROWERS FOR EMPIRE GAMES CREW TO GO TO CANADA Press Association WANGANUI, Sunday. The rowing crew to represent New Zealand at the Empire Games has been selected as follows:—F. Brough (Otago), B. Sandos (Hamilton), J. McDonald (Wairau), V. Ollsen (Picton), F. H. Thompson (Canterbury), C. F. J. Gilby (Canterbury), C. E. Saunders (Wairau), E. A. Waters (Hamilton), A. Ross (Auckland) and G. B. Johnson (Otago). N.S.W. GOLF APPERLY’S FIFTH WIN SYDNEY, Sunday. The New South Wales amateur golf championship was won yesterday by E L. Apperly for the fifth time. He bea* 11. W. Hattersley in the final by 7 up and 6. Hattersley played a good game at the beginning and then went to pieces, while the winner’s experience and steadiness produced deadly golf ail through.