RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 September 1924, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

AUCKLAND DEFEAT TARANAKI. SEVENTEEN POINTS TO TWELVE. A KEEN FORWARD STRUGGLE. ABSENCE OF OPEN PASSING. Bright and at times sensational football at the start, succeeded by back play little more than ordinary for most of the game which sent the spectators away with a feeling of mild disappointment that they had not seen all they had been promised, was the impression gained at the Rugby representative match in Pukekura Park on Saturday, when Auckland defeated Taranaki by 17 points to 12. It cannot be denied that the game resolved itself into a fierce struggle between two sturdy and tireless packs of forwards, with the honours to Auckland, but however well fought such a game may be it cannot be as much appreciated by the spectators as a fast, open and spectacular duel between the backs. The match was played in fine ■weather before an attendance of about 4000 people.

The final score was a very reasonable indication of the respective merits of the two teams on the afternoon’s play. Taranaki obviously attempted to make the game open but seldom succeeded, as Auckland were careful after the first quarter of an hour to keep the ball amongst the forwards. For this reason there were few passing rushes. Other causes also contributed to the dearth of open back play. Parsing on 'both sides was often bad. the outside backs causing additional trouble by over-running and losing their passes behind them. Indeed, had it not been for the poor handling this mistake would have been responsible for higher scoring by both teams, for several times the opposition broke through and snapped up the stray paas only to lose possession when in scoring position. It waa evident on Saturday that Taranaki must find a new first five-eighths if the team is to attempt successful back play. Oliver was sound enough in defence, but too slow to seize opportunities and make quick openings. With the exception of Ennis and Loveridge all the backs were patchy in their play, Ennis himself making several mistakes which he atoned for by consistently good attacking and defensive •work. Priar at full-back made some spectacular saves and brilliant line kicks, butt failed badly on at least two occasions. Ross on the wing was weak.

In the Auckland backs Ifweraon, without being brilliant, played with sound judgment, and showed himself to be an experienced player and a good general. He was undoubtedly the brains of his «de and fils place kicking although not accurate was very good. Excluding Loft, ?sho was unwell, all the other backs ayed soundly without being brilliant, it as with TaranaKi poor handling as the worst fault. ■ In the forwards Auckland were undoubtedly superior both in the loose and in the tight. For the’ first twenty minutes Taranaki hooked the ball from the scrum almost without exception, but later they could not even do that. Batty, McLean, Keery and Keane, were always in the van for Auckland, though Keene lost many opportunities for his team by being continually off-side. The pick of the Taranaki pack were Kis-sfc-k, WaJtera and Brewster, who combined well in the loose with Fryday. Ehe latter played a dashing game but never sure of his handling. TER PLAY DESCRIBED. Tfc* teams took the field &s follows■ AUCKLAND—BIue and White. JUS 4M<ck—Goodacre. Stve-elfbttas—K. Ifwerson, Kirwan. Three-Quarters—Tonkin, Charters, Loft. Half —McManus. Borer—Anderson. Forwards—Palmer and McCullough (bookers), Knjffrt (lock), McLean, Keen (supporta), and Keary and Batty (back row). TARANAKI—Amber and Blafck. Fun-back—Priar. Three-Quarters— Loveridge, Ennis, Ross. Five-elfhths —Johnston, Oliver. Hatf-Jeffrles. Borer—Fryday. Forwards—Brewwtw and Robinson (hookers), Paterson (lock). Kisrick and Kivell (supports), fnd Walters and Baldwin (back row). Taranaki lost the toss and kicked off with the sun in their eyes and a steady breeze against them. The Taranaki backs attacked Mt once, but Johnston’s pass was astray and priar deftly saved in a dangerous moment. Asaln the Taranaki backs swung into stride, put KiiVan and Tonkin raced back with the ball, the latter being fliiaJUy tacMed. Three times in succession Jeffries sent his backs away in great style, but first Ennis Knocked on and then Bess was cleanly grassed by Tonkin. Ennis at this stage was showing a turn of speed and was playing right UP to form. Keary played the ball offside and with » beautiful kick Ennis opened Taranaki’s scoring account. Taranaki 3 Auckland 0 Offside and other forms of infringement Were prevalent throughout the remainder of the game. First Robinson and then Fryday offended and on the latter occasion Ifwerson made a magnificent attempt to goal from on the half-way line, the ball sailing just outside the upright. The next score came with surprising suddenness. Walters whipped the ball from the ruck to Oliver and the latter •lipped through an opening to hand on to Ennis, who galloped over. Ennis made a good >ut fruitless attempt to convert his try. Taranaki .<«•*••• 6 AUCKLAND ON THE ATTACK. Keene was offside twice in Taranaki’s territory and Priar finally relieved with & fine line kick, only to be rushed again in a swift attack by Tonkin, McCullough and Loft, who broke away from the line-out. Klrwan and Charier* combined and carried on the Auckland attack right to the goal line when Taranaki found relief with a penalty. Auckland’s first try originated from a scrum near Taragoal. Anderson and Batty swept through the opposing five-eighths and when Priar badly nrissed the latter, he had only to firop over the line to score. Tfwerson’s kick gtruck the upright and bounced In. Taranaki . ® Auckland • -'•••« 5 TWraaaki took a turn in attack when Loveridge raved sway, but Oliver dropped an easy pass. Taranaki forwards swarmed round on to MdManus from a scrum and being badly jffSlde ware penalised. ITWeraon was equal to the occasion, landing a neat goal from p handy position, to give Auckland the lead. Auckland 8 Taranaki 6 Twice more Taranaki were offside, and then Auckland also, but neither Ifwerson nor Ennis gould turn the chances into points. The first

I spell terminated with perhaps the brightest movement of the day, which roused the spectators to a great dem »nstration of enthusiasm. Ennis broke away in great style and passed to Fryday when blocked. From Fryday the ball was shot to Brewster, who met opposition and lost possession. He snapped the ball up again, however, and parsed to Ennis, who sent to Loveridge, the latter racing over to score just outside the posts. From an easy angle Ennis missed with his kick, and the whistle sounded immediately with the score:— Taranaki 9 Auckland . ... 4,... . M ...<.« 8 / VISITORS SCORE QUICKLY. !■’ Loft- did not reappear after the interval owing to illness, replacing him on Auckland’s left wing. From a line-out Jeffries kicked the ball into McCullough and from the rdbound a scrum was ordered in the corner. McManus worked his way through to transfer to Keary and the latter grounded the ball over the line. Ifwerson could not goal. Auckland W1 Taranaki 9 Only a short time elapsed before Auckland were again over, Ifwerson started away and passed to Kirwan, who had little difficulty in evading a feeble attempt at a tackle by Johnston. After cutting In Klrwan handed on to Tonkin, who dropped his pass, but Charters was handy, and picking up the ball he dived over. The kick failed. Auckland 14 Taranaki ■-. 9 With a pretty passing bout the Taranaki backs swung down the field in a determined attempt to obtain redress. Ross made a poor attempt to drop kick a goal and Auckland forced. Knight a nd McLean broke away for Auckland, but were tackled. Then Fryday retaliated with a burst down the touch line, Loveridge in attendance. The ball went into touch and from the line-out Ross sped for the corner, but was brought down by Ifwerson. A BRILLIANT RUN. Tonkin affected a sensational change in the position by dashing through the Taranaki team and travelling almost the length of the field before being overhauled. After a timely relief from a tight corner by a penalty kick. Taranaki once more made a determined bid for points, Ennis and Ross figuring In a quick dash. McManus stopped the rush and the Auckland forwards began to assert themselves. From then till the end of the game they did practically what they liked with the Taranaki pack, and played magnificent football. Fryday essayed a lone and short-lived run for his team, but Goodacre sent the play back. Tonkin was obviously offside when he took the ball a little later. The referee did not notice it, however, and Kirwan received to dash down the line. At the right moment he transferred to Anderson and the latter outstripped his pursuers to score. Ifwerson again could not goal. Auckland 17 Taranaki 9 With a few minutes to go Taranaki made strenuous efforts to Improve their position and momentarily held the upper hand. Caught on the touchline with the ball Johnston seized a sudden opportunity and in-passed to his forwards. Auckland obstructed and Ennis landed a neat goal from In front. Time sounded soon after with the score:— Auckland 17 Taranaki 12 Mr. H. G. Whittington refereed. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL. STRATFORD DEFEATS HAWURA.

Stratford defeated Hawera at Stratford on Saturday by 9 points to nil, thus winning the junior championship final. In the first spell the backs on both sides gave a poor display, and the game developed Into a hard forward contest. Stratford owed their success to better training and their backs and forwards improved considerably in the second spell. Hawera attacked in the early stages, but throughout most of the first spell both teams were on the attack. B. Collins, ar five-eighths, worked hard for Stratford and was seen to advantage both in attack and defence. Brown, the Hawera centre, played well. The half-time whistle sounded without any score being registered. On changing over the Stratford backs and 1 forwards launched a combined attack, and B. Collins kicked a magnificent penalty goal from a difficult angle. Stratford returned, and a clever opening from Thorpe to McCulloch, to Nolan, enabled the latter to cut in and score In a handy position. B. Collins failed to goal. From a line-out close to the Hawera goalMne Grubb sent B. Collins away to score tha best try of the day, the latter cutting through the Hawera forwards and scoring near the posts. The kick at goal failed. The Hawera backs now rallied and took part In some snappy passing, but the opposing forwards held them up, Neal and Smith being prominent. A series of Stratford forward rushes again took play to Hawera territory, but the defending full-back (Hogan) relieved the pressure. Hawera again rallied, but the final whistle sounded with the ecotea unchanged. Stratford *•.—.«•••••• • Hawera 0 Mr. A. H. Guy refereed. A silver cup donated by a number of footbail enthusiasts in Stratford for the best player in the local team was awarded to R. Neal, a forward. Neal has played very con•isently right through the season. FOURTH GRADE. HIGH SCHOOL A. (25) V. STAR (3). As a curtain raiser to the representative match Hlgb School A. and Star met in what was virtually the final of the fourth grade in the northern division. High School proved too good for their opponents and won by 25 points to 3. In the first speM play was fairly even. Medley scoring for School after a passing bout, and Riley potting a goal, though there was some question about tills, as the ball in flight struck a player’s hand. For Star Jakes kicked a penalty goal, the spell ending: School 7, Star 3. In the second spell School were much superior and added eighteen points, tries being scored by Medley, Galbraith, Crawford and Brown, whilst Galbraith potted a goal and Crawford cgpverted one try. Mr. R. Paul was referee.

High School A. will now meet Hawera Technical College, winners of the semi-final, in the provincial final!, the match to be played as a curtain raise? to the Moascar Cup match on Saturday, September 27. AUCKLAND JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. Auckland B. defeated Thames by 31 points to 30. It was a spectacular game, but play' was not of a high standard. The defence on both sides was not all that could be desired, Auckland's tackling being poor. Tlio local backs shewed superiority oh attack, but the fine individual efforts of the opposing backs and better tackling largely countered the local advantage. The forwards were evenly matched. The scorers for Auckland were Samways and Williams (4) and Peters converted five tries and kicked one penalty ’gbal, while right on the call of time Lusk kicked a goal from a mark. The Thames scorers were Lomas, Crawford, Strarge (2), and Hook. • G. Winder converted tries and kicked three penalties. At Dargaville, Northern Wairoa beat Auckland C. by 13 points to 0. SEDDON SHIELD. holders defeat nelson. Motueka, Sept. 13. The third Seddon Shield match, played at Motueka to-day, resulted In Golden Bay-Motu-eka (holders) defeating Nelson (challengers) by 14 points to 12. In the first half Morris and Grigg scored a try each and. Bowers conyerted one for Golden Bay, while Klnzett scored a try and Snodgrass kicked a goal for Nelson In the second spell Solly and Grigg scored a try each for Golden Bay affd WaUaco and Challles scored a try each for Nelson. Excellent weather prevailed and there was a targe crowd. It was the fastest and hardest game of the Seddon Shield matches.

WELLINGTON ON TOUR. OTAGO DEFEATED. Dunedin, Last Night. Before over 7000 spectators Wellington dedeated Otago by 19 points to 14. WELLINGTON B V. MARLBOROUGH. A DRAWN GAME. Wellington, Last Night. Before 3000 spectators Marlborough and Wellington B played a drawn game, I<9 all.* In the first spell O’Brien scored a try, which he converted, while he kicked a penalty goal. For Wellington Hawkins scored a try, the spell ending eight to three In favour of Marlborough. In the second spell McHugh (Marlborough) scored a try, which O’Brien converted, and Hawkins (Wellington) scored a try, which Malcolm goaled. Ma'lfroy (Wellington) scored a try after pretty play, Malcolm falling to convert. The visitors livened up and Altrldge scored a try, which was not converted. Later O’Brien kicked a penalty goal. Wellington came again towards the finish, and Fitzgerald and Pringle scored tries, O’Brien converting the last try, making the score 19 all. MANAWATU V. HOROWHENUA. Palmerston North, Last Night. In the last Rugby representative match of the season Manawatu decisively defeated Horowhenua by 40 points to 10. HAWKE’S BAY DEFEAT POVERTY BAY. TWENTY-TWO TO SEVENTEEN. Gisborne, Sept. 13. Hawke's Bay played Poverty Bay before a record attendance of between two and three thousand, and under ideal weather conditions, though it was rather warm for football. Poverty Bay’s good smothering tactics, both back and forward, had great effect on the visitors’ speedy backs, whose spectacular passing was seen on but few occasions. Poverty Bay led In the first spell by 11 points to 6 and retained the lead till within the last quarter of an hour. The visitors’ last try was scored as the final whistle blew, leaving Hawke’s Bay the winners by twentytwo points to seventeen. MOASCAR CUP. MOUNT ALBERT’S CHALLENGE. Advice has been received from the New Zealand Rugby Union that the Mount Albert (Auckland Grammar) School's challenge for the Moascar Cup will be decided at New Plymouth on September 27, the challengers having accepted the date suggested by High School. BRITISHERS IN AFRICA, THIRD TEST DRAWN.

By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Received Sept. 14, 5.5 p.m. Capetown, Sept. 13. The British Rugby team's third test match against South Africa was drawn, each scoring three points. THE ASSOCIATION GAME THE FOURTH TEST. NEW ZEALAND DEFEAT CHINA. Christchurch, Last Night. The fourth test match between New Zealand and the Chinese universities "soccer" team was played at Lancaster Park in the presence of a largo number of spectators. The weather was fine and the ground was in good order. New Zealand won after a good display by four goals to two. BROWN SHIELD MATCH. AUCKLAND RETAIN TROPHY. Auckland, Sept. 13. The Brown Shield match between Auckland and Canterbury, the final challengers for the season, resulted in Auckland retfsning tHe trophy, scoring three goals to two, after a game that will live long In the memory of "soccer" enthusiasts. The weather was fine and the conditions ideal. The game was one of the most exciting and cleanly contested expositions of the code seen here for years. It was rather quiet during the first half hour’s play, but henceforth It was bright and strenuous. After excellent goal-keeping by James McDougal: hrT warded off attacks, Palmer (Auckland) shot cleanly, and though James McDougall stopped it Dacre caught the ball on the rebound and scored. Canterbury then attacked, but in I the temporary absence ef Colville Auckland had the better of matters, McDougall preventing scores. Canterbury persisted and Colville cleverly drew the defence for Ivor to score for the vis! tore. In the second spell play was at a gr.-a pace. After both goals had been frequently tested Humphreys (Auckland) drew McDougal! from goal with a splendid shot, Dacre scoring with a clinking drive from close range. Chapman and Norrie then headed a rush resulting in Colville scoring for the visitors. Bell made an opening for Tocker to centre, Palmer, Dacre and Humphreys rushing through, for Dacre to score the deciding goal. MANAWATU DEFEAT WANGANUI. Palmerston North, Last Night. At “soccer" Manawatu (4) defeated Wanganui (1) after an attractive game.