RUGBY SHIELD COMPETITION

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1929, Page 4

RUGBY SHIELD COMPETITION

OPUNAKE RECEIVE FIRST CHECK HAWERA NOW LEADING IN THE SOUTH POSITION UNCHANGED IN THE NORTH Followers of Rugby in Taranaki were again favoured with fine weather on Saturday for the sixth of the series of matches in the first round, and there, were good attendances at the majority of the matches. Owing to the heavy rain of the two preceding days most of the. grounds were on the heavy side, and this, of course, was reflected in the play, the standard of which at times did not compare favourably with previous matches. Most of the matches, however, were keenly contested. In-South Taranaki the feature was the match between Opunake and Okaiawa, which resulted in a draw with the scores three all, Opunake thus sustaining their first check. Hawera defeated Waimate by 19 points to 10, maintaining their unbeaten record and now having a one-point lead in the-competition. Patea narrowly defeated Kaponga, and Athletic prevailed over Eltham. ',' In the Northern division there was very little change, the joint leaders maintaining their positions, Inglewood narroivly defeating Clifton by 11 points to 9 and Stratford defeating Celtic by 11 points to 6. Star had no trouble in maintaining their place as runners-up by defeating Okato, but Old Boys had to fight hard to keep in the running against Tukapa. Next Saturday, the final of the round, should be full of interest, as the leaders in both divisions meet—lnglewood and Stratford at Inglewood, and Opunake and Hawera at Opunake. Results at a glance are: — NORTHERN DIVISION. SOUTHERN DIVISION. Inglewood 11 v. Clifton 9. Opunake 3 v. Okaiawa 3. Stratford 11 v. Celtic 6. Hawera 19 v. Waimate 10. Old Boys 3 v. Tukapa nil. Patea 10 v. -Kaponga 8. Star 19 v. Okato 8. Athletic 18 v. Eltham 13.

northern division play

MEETING OF KEEN RIVALS STRATFORD'S HARD WON. VICTORY. CELTIC TEAM'S DESPERATE FIGHT. Citizens of Stratford have long awaited the meeting of Stratford and the new team—Celtic. The clash occurred in Victoria Park and the large crowd whatever its expectations, was not disappointed. The game was one of the most exciting seen thin season in Stratford and, as play ranged up and down the field, loud voiced' supporters raged and implored hy turn. Stratford won by 11 to 6. There was little of the orthodox back play, but at times the whole 30 men indulged in open, snappy endeavour —incidents from which anything might have happened. The first spelf was rather dull, but the second was extremely exciting. Stratford were without the services of Owen and Smith, both of whom are not. as yet fully recovered from previous injuries. Stratford adopted aggressive tactics from the kick off and Bonner was nearly over in the corner, following a succession of scrummages. T. Hinton was prominent in a Celtic rush, but an exchange of kicks saw play hovering in mid-field. Most people thought Dodd optimistic when he took a penalty kick on the half-way line, but it fell just > under the bar. Mid-field play followed until Payne was obstructed and Dodd just missed with another penalty kick, Players on both sides were eager enough to mix things, but too much kicking was inclined to spoil the game in its early stages, and Celtic players frequently failed to take the ball on the full. Taking a rebound, O’Keefe broke away at half-way and the Celtic forwards literally swept through Stratford’s defences. Hot work ensued near Stratford’s line and W. gangster was almost over. In the thick of the battle Celtic were awarded a free kick and Dodd drew first blood with an accurate though easy kick. Play then became very keen. Wynyard made a dazzling rush up the line, beating several opponents, and Fryday added to the gains with a fine solo run from the scrum. A moment later Celtic forced. Back came the Stratford forwards and, following good work by Bob Penniall, A Collins placed a. neat goal from a penalty and evened the scoring after 35 minutes’ play. Then Bublitz shot the ball to F. J. Young, Celtic’s winger, who cleverly side-stepped Bonner and raced down the line, setting Celtic to the attack. Play swung back, but Dodd followed'up a'long kick and caught Lash with the ball. Celtic forwards rushed it on but someone kicked too hard and Bonner forced. Stratford were getting the ball from the scrums but the backs were doing little with- it. The spell ended with honours even. On resuming the Stratford forwards showed to much better advantage than they had in the first spell and initiated some sweeping loose rushes. In this respect Stratford did not have things entirely their own way and while both sides took risks, the play was keenly exciting. Two good kicks by Richardson saw Celtic knocking at Stratford’s line, but after strenuous play a force resulted. Wild passing spoilt what might have been a good Celtic back movement, and open play followed, F. J. Young, who played in the S.T.H.S. * team last year, giving a magnificent exhibition. To an almost continuous roar from the crowd, play oscillated up and down in open and exciting play. There was never a dull moment in this „pcll. ’ The score, however, was unchauged till- with about twelve minutefl to go, Kivell snapped up from the loose

and raced over to score with Richardson on his back. Collins converted. A moment later Dodd placed a fine penalty goal which left the score 8 to 6 in favour of Stratford. J. gangster made a fine opening . for Stratford, but a moment later necks were being craned to the other end of the field, where Celtic were determinedly assulting the Stratford line. R. Collins marked in a handy spot but' just missed a goal. A sweeping forward rush ensured in which J. Young, Walter, Kivell and Were rush ed the ball right down the field and Bob Penniall scored. The game finished soon afterwards in a whirl of excitement with Wynyard thrown out near the corner, the scores’ being: Stratford - H Celtic 6 ‘ Mr. F. Julian refereed.

INGLEWOOD BEAT CLIFTON an EXHILARATING EXHIBITION. WINNING MARGIN TWO POINTS. it 11l one of tfib -most tense struggles seen this season,-..lnglewood narrowly defeated Clifton at Waitara by H (three tries, one converted) to 9 (an unconverted try and two penalty goals). The teams gave an exhilarating exhibition of first-class football, and as each team took the. lead in scoring the crowd became wildly, excited. Towards the close of the game Clifton . had Inglewood penned to their goal line, but despite the strenuous endeavours of Pat Ward and his merry men, the defence held, and when the final whistle sounded play had been removed to neutral territory, . Waitara kicked off against the. sun and for several minutes gave Galbraith Inglewood’s full-back, an anxious time, but Brown relieved .and, following up fast, beat Jonas for the ball. In . a thrilling run down the side line he gained a lot of ground but was well tackled by Young near Clifton’s twenty-five. Sutton and Carey were responsible for relieving and the latter dribbled across Inglewood’s line to be beaten by Brown. Play was again transferred to Clifton’s territory, where Maingay initiated a passing rush which was nipped in the bud by Watson, who cleared well downfield. Ward then. Jed the Clifton pack in a series of hard thrusts which eventually carried play to Inglewood territory, where Galbraith mis-kicked into Jonas’ arms for the winger to be thrown out near the corner flag. Watson, playinn on the wing, made several brilliant dashes . well marked by N. Ross. Clifton’s forwards at this stage were completely overwhelming the opposition and giving numerous - chances to their backs. Several passing bouts were institut<fd’ by-Early, but they invariably broke down before reaching the wingers. Play was suddenly changed by Brown, wild isjifintcd down the line to be collared hear Clifton’s twenty-five. Clifton infringed in front of their goal but J. .Ross’ kick went wide. From a scramble Maingay gave a short punt and, beating Young to the ball, opened Inglewood’s scoring account. J. Ross converted. Spurred by this reverse the Clifton forwards', led by Ward, made several furious onslaughts, but poor massing and the non-acceptance of numerous opportunities by the backs nullified the good, work done. Inglewood infringed and Watson landed a great penalty goal, the ball sailing high between the uprights. Galbraith, with a heady kick, had the home team defending, and had it not been for Watson, who seemed always to be in the hottest part of the fray, Jnglcwpod would probably have added to their scoring account. The game developed into a tremendous struggle between'the opposing forwards and the packs surged upfield and downfield with bewildering quickness, urged on by the shouts of the wildly excited

crowd. Watson earned applause with a spirited run down the line. Galbraith was in position, however, and effected a save, but from the resulting scramble Carey secured and passed to McFarlane, who gained ground and handed to Jonas for the winger to force his way across at tiie corner. Watson, with a splendid effort, just failed to convert. Inglewood started some bright passing movements. Ward, Fowler, Cooper and Jonas were associated in a rush that broke down near half-way. E. ■ Rose was injured and was replaced by Corncy. Half-time sounded with Clifton the aggressors. A tense battle -for ascendancy marked the resumption of play, the game hovering in neutral territory for a long period. Back play became better and a passing rush by xClifton looked promising. Galbraith, at the critical moment, dashed in and intercepted, making a sensational breakaway. He was rinsupported and could not get past Young. Galbraith again shone in a pretty movement, gaining a lot of ground and compelling Clifton to take the defensive. Ward and Fowler broke through with ball at toe, but'. Gudgeon snapped it up and sent his backs away. Corkill, Galbraith and Noel Ross outstripped Clifton and N. Roes scored in the corner. J. Ross could not convert. Redoubling their efforts, the Clifton vanguard looked dangerous and an infringement by Inglewood presented an opportunity. Watson’s kick missed by the narrowest of margins. Early, McFarlane, Carey and Watson became associated in a spectacular passing rush. The winger gained a considerable amount of ground before he transferred to Ward, who had surprisingly appeared from the ruck. Ward forced his way through several of the defending players, but eventually the weight told and he collapsed within a. few yards of/his objective. Gudgeon cleared. Jonas found the line well upheld with a grubber and Inglewood were once more compelled to defend. Galbraith and Brown were towers of strength and several, times changed play with long line kicks. From a lineout an Inglewood passing rush culminated in J. Ross scoring. Brown’s kick went wide. Faced with the necessity of obtaining a converted try to make it a drawn game, Clifton attacked furiously and obtained a free kick. Watson, from a difficult angle, landed a penalty goal. With only a few minutes to go Clifton were within a few ‘yards of Inglewood’s goal line and, try' as they would, the visitors could not turn the tide of play until a lucky speculator by J. Ross went out beyond half-way. The game ended shortly afterwards with the scores: — Inglewood 11 Clifton 9 Mr. A. McLean refereed. STAR TOO GOOD FOR OKATO NINETEEN POINTS TO EIGHT. Of the two senior matches played at Pukekura Park the second one, that between Star and Okato, was certainly the more interesting, which is not saying very much. Star’s win by 19 points to eight fairly represents the respective merits of the two teams on the day's play, taking everything into consideration. But it was only in the finer points of strategy and finish that Star were superior. Territorially, and in giving blow for blow, Okato practically held their own with their op-ponents,-but they lacked the science that brings points. And so it was that the play see-sawed fairly evenly up and down the field. First the Okato forwards made headway with an exuberance of vim that made the spectators wonder how they could possibly sustain it as they did. Then the Star backs, which held a marked superiority in- attacking power, would nullify the advantage gained by the opposing pack. It was certainly not for want of trying that Okato did not win the match. They were battlers to the end. Star, on their own exhibition, have not much reason for self-congratulation on obtaining the margin of points that they did. Okato did all the attacking in the early stages, and Hunt was called upon to eave quickly on three successive occasions. Star turned the tables, and hammered away at the Okato line. The backs broke away in a bright burst, and seemed well on the way to a try when 11. Wolfe knocked on with prac-. tically a clear run in to the. corner. Points were not long in coming, however, Harvey burst away from a lineout and handed on to MacDonald for the latter to dash over the line. Harvey could not convert. Straggling play ensued for a long period, eventually to be broken by a spectacular try on the part of Star., Coming through fast from the ruckv Billing 1 sold.the dummy with delightful eclat, and having thus fooled the opposition he handed on at the right moment for Kinsella t take a nice pass and score. Harvey converted with a good kick,. Okato then rallied, and. with a great dash the forwards swept all opposition aside to. the other end, where Frank. Goodwin picked up and dropped over the line. McDonald converted with a good kick, and halftime came with the score; Star 8, Okato 5.

Play was willing in the second spell, and the crowd found considerable amusement in the forward struggle. Star soon added to their score from a penalty, Harvey goaling from a handy position? The goal was soon followed by a try. From Meuli the ball was sent via Clegg to Billing in a passing rush, and the ' centre three-quarter waltzed " clean'! through the opposition to swerve infield and score the simplest, .of tries .under the bar. Harvey converted. Tn a*loose rush Harvey and Shaw broke clean away for Star and crossed the line with ball at toe, but McLean (Okato) overtook them and pounced on the ball first. Oka to made a final rally, and the - forwards swept iu a phalanx dojvn the field. Kinsella came' across save in the . nick .of time. Fpljowirig up a high kick, Kinsella fielded' spectacularly, and carried everything before him to the corner. Okato infringed by coming round on the hfrlf-baek from a scrum, and Harvey n'iade no 'mistake with the kick, increasing Star's lead to 14 points. Okato?broke through down the touchline and centred, Broughtcn effecting a good* save byr Taring round the opposition. Tiplady, headed the Okato pack in a loose rush to the Stai goal, and witlrffiis fo wa-’s forcing the pace in front' .Simelhny picked up in the ruck and dashed sover for a try. McDonald could not rgoal. The game was nearly over when Goodwin broke clean away for Okato, and handed on to Tipiadv,' and a Try looked likely, but Sam Jones knocked on when trying to take his pas-s from Tiplady, lhe game ended with the score: Star Okato ® Mr. G. Hooker refereed.

POOR EXHIBITION OF CODE OLD BOYS’ NARROW VICTORY. TUKAPA BEATEN BY 3 POINTS. What has happened to Old Boys? Spectators on all sides were heard to ask their friends in Pukekura Park this question after they had seen the exhibition in which Old Boys defeated the young Tukapa team by three points. There have been worse displays in Taranaki senior grade gootball, but it is difficult to understand why such a powerful line of backs, on past performances, arc so unable to reproduce the attacking form that earned them an enviable reputation in years gone by. Tukapa’s backs, inexperienced though they are, gave the Old Boys more than tt run for their money, and the Old Boys forwards were not as 'good as they should have been. Three weeks ago, when Old Boys were top of the ladder, many followers of the sport prophesied that they would win the championship, but three successive Saturdays have brought disillusionment, and unless the back lino can improve its modus operandi, it is unlikely that the team will go very far. The playing of Olson at first five-eighths rather improved matters, and Fookes showed a gratifying improvement in form. Tukapa, without being in any way brilliant, were sound. Brown went well at half, but the liveeighths cut in far too often, starving the outside men. The sodden state of the ground and the wet ball no doubt contributed to a fairly considerable extent to the tameness of the exhibition. But it was rather fortunate that the crowd were in indulgent mood. More in sorrow than in anger they gazed philosophically at the innumerable mistakes that reduced both this and the following game to a standard far below that which senior grade Rugby should attain to, and the spectators were always ready- to find amusement in the ludicrous aspect of some of the play, as well as to give genuine appreciation of good play when it did e 'me along at rare intervals. The referee’s interpretation of the rules seemed to nonplus the players at times. ' The first spell was remarkably devoid *of interesting incident, the one. bright spot in a gloomy exhibition being the try which brought the only points of the match. Old Boys were responsible, K. Fookes making a fine opehing after receiving from a scrum. Cutting through nicely, he went as far as the full back before passing out to Brown. The latter was tackled well by Petty but was able to recover and send the ball infield to Olson, who went over- to score a go.od try. The kick at goal went astray. Tukapa assumed the offensive in the second spell, and kept Old Boys busily defending. Both fore and aft Tukapa were at this stage superior. Their forwards rattled the Old Boys badly in both scrum and line-out, and frequently opened the way for their backs to attack, but they could not quite penetrate the defence. Brown was penalised for playing the ball on the ground, but from a handy position Petty could not goal, and Old Boys transferred play to the other end. Morey sold the dummy to half-a-dozen opposing players from behind the scrum, and sent his forwards away with a burst in a passing rush. The ball was whipped out to the backs, and a promising movement was soon under way, but Evans intercepted and the venue of play was changed to the other end. Old Boys gained ground when Olson cut in nicely after receiving the ball from the scrum, and handed on to Brown, who came through fast, but the tackling was sound. Tukapa indulged in a lot of off-side play, Sullivan and McGuire being the chief offenders. Then Crawford tackled Evans glaringly long after he had got rid of the ball, and twice in succession Tukapa were awarded free kicks, but in trying to find the line in the corner Petty kicked over the dead ball line on both occasions. Right on time Old Boys were penalised near half way and Boswell nearly goaled with a splendid kick. Time sounded immediately with the score: — Old Boys 3 Tukapa 0 Mr. J. O’Grady refereed.