RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 151, 1 August 1914, Page 10

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

OLD BOYS CHAMPIONS. MERIVALE BEATEN IN GREAT GAME. MARGIN OF ONE POINT. In a fine game at Lancaster Park this afternoon the Old Boys' team beat Merivale by 14 points to ■!&, and so won the senior ehampibuship of the Canter : bury Eugby Union for the second year, in succession. It was a play-off for the - championship, each team having beaten the other once. ' The game had plenty of incident in it. It was fast and hard all through, and at times really spectacular. . The Old Boys played quite differently from the game against Merivale on the- previous Saturday. Their forwards worked well, and their backs were sound and some- - times brilliant. Merivale's forwards bore the brunt of the work for their side, but they were beaten for the ball m most of the scrums, and the' line-kicking of the Old Boys } backs wore them down a bit. -But they fought out ; the game ■-' to the bitter end, and the closeness of . the scoring shows how well they battled. Old Boys won because, all round, they ' played the better football. .. An hour before the game was timed to start the spectators were assembling in . numbers and by 3' 6 'clock about ' five or six thousand people had gathered. The day was beautifully fine and clear,

and the" ground was in excellent order.

The teams were: — ' Merivale.—Full-back, E. Evans; threequarters, T. S. Atkinson, L. A. Cade,, J> ' Reid: five-eighths, W. B. Fuller, F: r ''' Cieary'j half-back,. D. Sandman; wing- ' forward, B. Nixon; forwards, W. Max- *■'- \?eU N. Carnegie, G. Richards, W. Men--1 ' ,zies, F. McVey, E. Hasell, C. Hegarty. 01d>Boys.—Full-back,. J. Bain; threeY quarters, H. E. Simpson, U E. Boag, G. Guthrie; five-eighths, E. C. Taylor, E. G. Hickmott;" half-back, E. E. Crawshaw; - wing-forward, L. F. Parson; forwards, N. Sime, E. Sime, L. H. Parson, , Burn, L. A. Dougall, T. Crawshaw, W,

S; Seed. , m i.v Referee: Mr J. F. Peake. Touchhne -judges, Messrs S. Dey and G. S. ' Matthews.

-THE PLAY. - Winning the toss, Old' Boys took the field with the sun in their favour. The return of the kick-off left play at half- - -way. From there Crawshaw brought •" Ma backs into motion, but Boag missed Taylor's pass. However a'..fine run by It. F. Parson took the ball right down t to the Merivale line, a vpass forward spoiling a great'chance for a try. MenTale forced. Old Boys got the ball Again ,'from a serum, Hickmott punted, " and Cade and Eead mulled the ball between them, Old Boys thus getting well _ intoMferivale's twenty-five. A kick by Hasell- drove the invaders out. But ' the whites' came back; with a good "rush. Crawshaw whipped the ball out smartly, but Boag tried to do just a little too much by himself. , On the twenty-five line, in front of the posts, Cade got off-side, and the whistle blew for a penalty kick from the whites. But then it was seen that \ Crawshaw was l( laid.out," with an injured knee. Old Boys' supporters were..,.-.disheartened when they, found that it .was Crawshaw """'the goal-kicker who was hurt. But the Old Boys' skipper was able to take the kick, after a minute or two tentiorii'and he landed a fine goal._ Old Boys 3, Merivale 0. .. the kick-off, the Merivale fortook" play, by short rushes, into =*-~H)ld- Boys' twenly-five. The white for- /, ward§ <• carried a line-out, but Cleary \ stopped them well, and a line kick by Sandman put Merivale in a better position. "But the two Parsons broke r '"■ away to midfield. However, the Meri- " vale forwards came again. In Old v Boys' twenty-five, Hasell centred, but kicked too hard, the ball going over the .. line, and Old Boys forcing down. For ~£V?k while play lay just on the whites' - :: % side of halfway. Then some of the Merivale forwards coming round too 80%., were penalised, and Bain's linekick took the whites on to the attack. A bout of passing by the backs ended in Merivale's twenty-five. Slowly the whites-went on. From a scrum Crawshaw got his backs going well, but Bimpson 's pass to Boag, was too low, and Merivale broke through to midfield.

Several times the Merivale forwards broke away, only to be stopped by good line-kicking by the white backs, who .thus kept play at midfield. Presently -—-Tt—tT —Pnriifn rJ,Q away from a line-

out, and kicked, and his brother, fol-lowing-up very fast, downed Atkinson before the latter could get in his kick. —Taylor got the ball and centred, but kicked "too hard, the ball going, well oyer the goal-line, a race 'for it ending in- Merivale forcing down.- The play was very fast, with Old Boys attacking well. But a Merivale forward rush got well under way, Boag's attempt to stop it being very weak. The effort got as far as Old Boys' twentyfive line before Taylor stemmed it witli a touch-line kick. " Sound kicking took Old Boys out of danger. A couple of times the white backs tried to get going, but Boag and Guthrie dropped passes, and Merivale came back to the attack. In a dangerous position Reid .had a fine chance to mark the ball and give Hasell a shot at goal —he dropped the ball instead. Near halfway Sand- * man marked, but Hasell's shot at goal went astray.

HASELL SCORES. Then came a fine movement by the blues. Cleary • got the ball on Merivale's side of halfway, and made an excellent elusive run before transferring to Maxwell. Maxwell got through until he had only the full-back to 1 pass. Bain got him low, but, several of the Merivale man were following up well, and after a sharp tussle on the line Hasell scored, and then converted •his try. Merivale 5, Old Boys '&. Old Boys then took a turn at attacking. In Merivale ? s twenty-five the backs swept into action. Boag missed the ball, but Taylor, coming round bohind him, snapped it up and dashed ahead. As the defenders came to him lie swerved infield, drew the defenders in sufficiently to leave room for Guthrie, and then passed. This time Guthrie took the ball, and, dashing ahead, scored, a yard from the corner. As Crawshaw commenced his run for the shot at goal the ball rolled over a trifle. But Crawshaw kicked a magnificent goal. Old Boys 8 y Merivale 5. Maxwell led the blue forwards down the field, and there was strenuous forward play in Old Boys'- twenty-five. Good fielding and line kicking kept the attackers at bay. Near the touchline Atkinson marked and Hasell had a shot at goaL But the distance was too great

for him. A few moments later Old Boys forced down from an over-hard kick by one of the blue forwards. The whites worked down the field. Boag marked in line with the posts, near halfway, but Crawshaw's kick went wide, Merivale forcing down. The whites came at it again. Prom the 25 line, but* at a sharp angle, Crawshaw kicked a splendid goal just as half-time arrived. Old Boys 11, Merivale 5. Second Spell.

Soon after the second spell opened a touch-line kick by Cade brought Merivale on to the attack. But another kick sent them out, and a free kick for offside play, of which Bain made good use, gained, more ground for the whites. A sharp forward rush hurled the whites back. Maxwell broke away well, and passed to Hasell, the rush finishing well in the Old Boys' twenty-five. Cleary marked, nicely in a good position, and Hasell made = no mistake with the kick. Old Boys 11, Merivale 8. Using r the touchline well, Old Boys swept on to the attack. The passing rushes of their backs met solid taekling. Bain tried a pot at goal, but got no elevation into the kick, and Merivale forced down. A promising rush by the white backs: broke down through Guthrie getting too far ahead of Boag's pass. The whites kept attacking until a kick by Fuller shifted play to midfield. Several times the Merivale forwards broke away, only to be driven back by good kicks to the touchline. A fast rally brought, Merivale down field, but the whites got back: to the defence well, and quickly drove the blues out. A free kick for offside play brought Old Boys on a bit. further, but Merivale shifted play back to halfway. There Merivale hooked the ball from a scrum, for the first time in the spell. However, Len Parson broke lip the passing rush of the blue backs. A" splendid line-kick by Cleary sent the whites right back. But Crawshaw marked and the ball was kicked into touch at halfway. Maxwell broke away and kicked too hard, the ball going over the line and Boag forcing down. Merivale went at it again, only to be driven'back by line kicks; Another Merivale rush'was stopped by a mark by Bain, who found touch near halfway. Hasell whipped the ball in to Cade smartly, and again Old Boys were hurled back on their line. A FINE TET.

Then came an exciting bit of play. Boag kicked down field. Burn followed up and dribbled the ball on, and then cross-kicked for Guthrie. The latter gathered 1 the ball in well, fended off Cade's attempted tackle well, and streaked for the line, to score* a good try near the corner. Crawshaw's shot just missed the posts. Old Boys 14, Merivale 8,

A mark by Taylor, and a good linekick, brought the whites swarming on to the Merivale line. A free-kick stopped them. A minute more and Bain, near the line, fielded a kick and, steadying himself, made a fine drop-,kick at goal. The crowd .roared as the ball sailed for the posts. But the kick just missed.

Gradually Merivale worked out and down to midfield. On they went, and the forwards hurled themselves at the Old Boys' line. But the ball came out from a scrum, across the goal-line, and Old Boys forced down. At half-way the blue forwards whipped the ball out to the backs. Fuller kicked and Bain had just time to foot the ball into touch to save, near the line. From the line-out the ball came out again, to Cleary, and then to Fuller. Reid got the ball—it was lobbed, over Cade's head —and scored near the corner. Hasell converted with a splendid kick, aiid Merivale was only a point behind. Old Boys 14, •Merivale..l3. •■

On Merivale's side of half-way Lionel Parson marked, and had a shot, at goal himself, but did not get enough power into the kick. Play was soon back at midfield, but off-side play by Menzies allowed the whites to get into Merivale's twenty-five. Near the touchline L. F. Parson marked, and Crawshaw had a shot - at goal, but just missed, Merivale forcing down. A- good bit of work by Cleary brought Merivale into Old Boys' twenty-five. I/. F. Parson, however, broke away, and took the ball to midfield. Old Boys went on to the attack. A minute later the bell ended a. great game, leaving the scores: — Old Boys ... .... •• 14 Merivale .. 13 Referee: Mr J. F. Peake. REPRESENTATIVE TRIAL MATCH. A trial match between fifteens chosen from the Linwood, Christchurch, University, Marists, Sydenham, and Albion senior teams was played at Lancaster Park this afternoon to assist the C.R.U. Selection Committee to decide upon the merits of some of the candidates for representative honours. The' teams which played were much the same as those originally selected. Couper, of Lincoln College, was, however, absent, and so he lost his chance of being chosen as a representative three-quarter. W. J. Morgan Club) was absent from the A team. THE PLAY: The A team, attacked from the -start, and after pressing for a time scored an unconverted try,. Kennedy receiving a pass infield from Hutchings and crossing the line. Twice forward rushes forced the B's. Just before the first half-hour spell ended the B's managed to get past halfway with a. couple of forward rushes. Second Spell. Just after the teams changed round, Amodeo got the ball away from a scrum to his backs, and a good bit of work by McLeod gave Robinson a try, which Henry failed to convert. The A men would probably have scored another try a moment or two later if Hutchings had not held on to the ball a trifle too long. Then a good dash by the B's ended in o'M.alley scoring a try. The B's were now making a better showing, and soon C. R. Murray scored for them. Neither try was converted. . The game was . scrambling enough to give the spectators plenty of amusement The B team had a little the better of matters for a while. Then the A men rallied, and Kennedy started a good rush, in which E. Cummings took the ball to the line. There Cummings sent the ball to Kennedy, who scored. A minute late E. Cummings broke aAvay and scored. Then Gray made a fine opening for Watson, Avho scored. The game ended with the score: — A team 15 B team 6 JUNIOR GRADE. Albion v. 'Varsity, resulted in a draw, Avith a score of .*! to 3. Machin scored for Albion ami Richards for 'Varsity. Referee: IVIrH. Seward. Lyttelton v. Merivale, was drawn, there being no score. Referee: Mr Brittan. Christchurch v. Sydenham, Avas Avon by Christchurch, with a score of 9 to 6" The scorers for the winners were McAlpine; (who kicked two penalty goals), and Tonks. For the losers, Johnaon and Cujißingham scored. Re-

feree: Mr Bond. Marists v. Old Boys, was von by Marists, with a score of 8 to 5. The scorers for the winners were Dobbs and Khouri, and Khouri converted one. I For the losers Clayton scored, which was converted by C, Dean. Beferee: Mr G. Simpson. PRESIDENT'S GRADE. i- Albion v. Christ's College, was won bv Christ's College, with, a score of 16 to 3. The scorers for the winners were Burdon <2), Stitt, and Parson, who secured tries, two of which Stitt converted. For the losers Overend scored. Referee': : 'Mr'"W. Harman. Belfast v. Boys' High School, was won by High School, with a score of 31 to 9. Referee: Rev. M. Carrol. Kaiapoi v. Christchurch, was won by Christchurch by default. Merivale B v. Old Boys, was won by Old Boys, with a score of 13 to 5. The scorers for the winners were Clark, Collins, Kennedy, and Smith, and Gordon potted a goal. For the losers Clemens scored and Mawson converted. Merivale played eight men short. Referee: Mr Schmidt. Marists v. Linwood, was won * by Marists, with a score of 4 to nil. The scorer for the winners was Greenlees, who also potted a goal. Referee: Mr L. Haardie. University" v. Sydenham, was postponed/there being no referee in attendjanqe. FOURTH GRADE. Lvttelton v. Boys' High School, was won by Lyttelton, with a score of 36 to nil. The scorers for the winners were Voyce (2), Radovonich, Dunbar (2), Clark, Schenkel, Stanley, Jefferies, Lewarn (2)/ Poulton. School played one man short. Referee: Mr Cockayne. North Canterbury v. Kaiapoi, was won by Kaiapoi by default. Sydenham v. Merivale, was won by Merivale, with a score of 9 to 6. The scorers for the winners were Pemberthy, Brosnan, Burnett; and for the losers, Finlay and Fairbairn kicked penalty goals. Referee: Mr Pegley. Sumner v. Linwood, was won by Sumner by default. FIFTH GRADE. Lyttelton v. Telegraph, was won by Telegraph, with a score of 6to 3. The scorer for the winners was Fabian (2). For the losers Voice scored a try. Referee: Mr Pratt. Sydenham v. Eastern, was won by Eastern by default. RESULTS FROM DUNEDIN. . Presa Association. DUNEDIN, August 1. The Rugby results to-day were: — University 18 beat Southern 3. Kaikoura 39 beat Union 0. Zingari 29 beat- Port Ghalmers 6. Ph-ates 3 beat Dunedin 0. TARANAKI B v. AUCKLAND B. AUCKLAND, August 1. The Taranaki B tea»i defeated the Auckland B team by nine points to five. AUCKLAND CUP PINAL. AUCKLAND, August 1. The Cup final to-day resulted: — 'Varsity 3, City nil.