FOOTBALL.

Colonist, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4171, 22 June 1885, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

NELSON V. COLLEGE. [By Pass.] At ten minutes past three the Collegians came into the field with a jaunty air, evidently cocksure of a walk over; the Nelsonians on the other hand seemed resigned to their fate, going like sheep to the slaughter. The result of the contest, a win for Nelson by a " try " to nothing, must have caused as much surprise to the winners as it did chagrin to the losers. More of that anon, however. The ten minutes delay was caused by the non-arrival of one or two Nelsonians, by their having to elect a captain at the twelfth hour, and by their unsuccessful search for a fifteenth man. 0! ye gods and little fishes, there is every sign of decay amongst Nelson footballers. After these little matters had been more or less satisfactorily arranged, the Nelsoniar>3 were ready to kick off at a quarter past three, with their proverbial unpunctuality, with their proverbial man short, and with their proverbial captain-ignorant of-the-greatness to be thrust upon him. . More honor to Harkness, who must have arranged the campaign on the spur of the moment, and who led to victory an odd assortment of first-class and good-for-nothing players, fellows in good" training and fellows who had not seen a ball for a year 'or tw0...,-, We shall not say "More honor to the Nelson Club " for having to play a man short, and having won too. Harkness captained Nelson, and kicked off from the eastern end. A. "Wither was captain of the College team, Mr J. Wither was referee, and Messrs Jackson and Littlejohn were the umpires, and a rosy time they seemed to have. The following is the disposition of the field :—College : Full back, J. Wither; halfbacks, (right)"A. WiiHfeif Collins, and (left) Bennett; quarters, (right) Thomson, (left) Cresswell; forwards, Talbot, S. Gibbs, Oldham, Monro, Cameron, Bailey, Innesi-Jones, F. Gibbs, and Davidson. Nelson : Full back, Moffitt; half-backs, (right) Thomson, (left) Harper; quarters, (right) Gooke, Harkness, and (left) Thomson ; forwards, Wigzell, F. Oldham, Gorrie, Mackay, Rene,Frazer,'H. Oldham, and Mabin. .FIRST FORTY. This spell was characterised by the potting epidemic among the Nelsonians. Two or three opportunities to pot there undoubtedly were, but some of those projected were ludicrous in the extreme. Harkness kicked off very gently, and, immediately picking the ball up, passed to one of his men. This move, which might often prove dangerous, ended in nothing, the ball going into touch near the centre flag. On the ball being thrown out, Wigzell and Mabin came to the front, and aided by a run from Harper, carried the ball into the College 25. After some loose scrummaging, Cooke secured the ball* and potted very wide of the mark. When the ball T^as again brought into play the same tacticslwere repeated 3 H. Oldham got through tHe scrummage, and, not finding any centre quarter to interrupt his progress, went along till he was pulled up by A. Wither, who secured the ball and kicked into touch. The ball again was well up to the College lines, but their forwards were working hard, and took the ball through. Harkness, by a clever little trick, shinned to Harper, who made the second; pot, going within a few yards of the posts. ! The College forwards were doing all they knew, in fact, we may truly say that, barring the mucks they did the .whole of the play, their quarters being of little use to them. Again the ball wbb brought into play, and again the Oldham brothers, Wigzell, and Mabin; found an. easy track along the right. They brought the. ball within a few yards of the College line, and w6uld_haye gonein but for J. Wither, who came to the front with a daabing run. Bennett, the left half, had tried a {speculator, but missed 'the ball altogether. rre;ently Harper had another pot, and made a fair show ; one or two of. the College forwards had dashed at him, no longer relying on the vigilance of their left backs. The ball was brought out for the third time, and in a few minutes Mabin, getting through the scru m - mage, ;made what we may dignify with the namefbi " pot No. 4," The kick-out occupied same minutes, as Harkness, even to the third time, used his right of calling the ball back (i-; 77 i -. ■- ■ »: ..:; . ■ ■ .

because it bad pitohed in touch. Ccoke go the ball, and made pot No. 5, from somewhere near the 40 yards. When the ball was kicked out Thomson became possessed of it, and tried hia luck at the same range. These efforts were simply disgraceful—would like to know what the Nelson captain thought ot this sort of play. We do not. know exactly whether the last three pots were not meant for touch-in-goal; anyhow, they will pass m tbeorowd. Pot No. 7by Harper, and pot No. 8 then followed. Harkness did most, of the passing. J. Wither did the kicking-out; Where was the left back when all this potting was going on ? When time was called the ball was in the College 25, as it had been for nearly the whole spell. \ } v SECOND FORTY. ... i \ ■ The ball was pretty well in the middleof the ground during most of this spell. We might almost say that it was a match between the forwards, the backs being allowed a rest after the exertions of the first forty. Indeed, there was not a single pot. A. Wither made a rattling kick-off, and the Collegians were soon scrummaging in the Nelson 25. Ihe ball was passed out to A. Wither, and by him to Bennett, and on to J.. Wither, but the whistle had sounded, and the forwards never had another breather. The College had only one other show, and that too ended in a whistle. Harkness then got the ball, and his kick was stopped by the opposing forwards, who rushed on to Moffitt (who had been standing too close) as he made an awkward punt into touch, losing some 3 . yards. Aftersome scrummaging and passing, Davidson got the ball and had got well up to the Nelson line before he heard the whistle. The ban was set agoing again and trundled about near the centre till Harkness passed to Thomson, who ran forward and kicked the ball along the ground, following up meanwhile. .Bennett speculated and kicked the ball against Thomson, who, picking it up smartly, passed Bennett and also' the Wither brothers, who had collided in the attempt to collar him, and succeeded in obtaining a try. Harper had the place.but made a sorry job of it. Considering the greasy state of the ground, the game was fast and spirited. There was a marked absence of shouting and usurping the umpire's duties, and it waß in truth a pleasure to witness such a game. The Nelson men were well placed, pc weak men being put where they could not do much harm, and the strong where they could show to advantage. Yet we do not think it advisable for a quarter to throw the ball out of touch. The College fifteen could have been set to better advantage. Cresswell, the dribbling quarter; _was not a match for Cooke, and might have done better against Thompson, whilst Thomson (College) would have been of more use against Cooke. There ought .to have been a good passing centre quarter, say Collins. Wigzell, Mabin, and the Oldham brothers repeatedly got away because there was no one behind the scrummage; ' Bennett should have been put forward, or say full back, and J % Wither; ought to have taken his place. Bennett got a fair trial and made many a muck, whereas J. .Wither had nqthing to do. Of the Nelson men the "four forwards already mentioned cannot be beaten; Eene promises to "be a useful man. Of the quarters, Cooke played a brilliant game, dribbling freely ; Harkness was distinguished by his passing, and Thompson by his short, dodging runs. Of the College forwards, the following deserve every praise : Talbot, Davidson, P. Gibbs, S. Gibbs, Cameron, Oldham, Innes-Jones, Monro, and Bailey. " "