COMPETITION NEARING CLOSE

Taranaki Daily News, 29 July 1929, Page 4

COMPETITION NEARING CLOSE

STAR TEAM PREVAIL IN THE NORTH OKAIAWA ELIMINATED IN THE SOUTH OPUNAKE AND HAWERA TO DECIDE Though the Kugby grounds, in some eases were heavy as the result, of the recent raw, the majority of them were in great order and one of the finest Saturday afternoons of the season, attracted large crowds to most of the grounds for the penultimate scries, of competition matches. Particularly was this the case at Opunake, where a great game ended in the home team eliminating Okaiawa by 6 points to 3. Hawera defeated Waimate by 15 points to nil, and are therefore two points behind Opunake. The match between these teams next Saturday will attract great interest as it will represent the division final though, of course, an undecided protest against Hawera may affect the result. Jn the Northern division Star, by defeating Okato by 31 points to nil, have put the issue beyond doubt. Stratford overwhelmed their rival town, team, Celtic-, by 33 points, to 3, and Inglewood defeated Clifton. Next Saturday Stratford and Inglewood will meet to decide the runner-up position. Tukapa defeated Old Boys, kt iNew Plymouth. Results at a glance are:,- —» NORTHERN DIVISION, SOUTHERN DIVISION Star 31 v. Okato. nil. Opunake 6 v. Okaiawa. 3. . Stratford 33 v. Celtic 3. Hawera 15 v. Waimate nil. Inglewood 9v. Clifton nil. Kaponga 9v. Patea 6. Tukapa 13 v. Old Boys 10. Athletic 21 v, Eltham 9.

NORTH DIVISION GAMES

STAR BACKS HANDLE WELL

SOUNDLY DEFEATED H. WOLFE IN SCORING MOOD. By 31 points (seven tries, five converted) to nil, Star defeated Okato on the latter club’s ground on Saturday. Though on the day’s play there was perhaps not quite such a wide margin between the team, Star thoroughly deserved their victory, which was due to the. speed and combination of their backs, who threw the. ball about in splendid fashion. The Okato forwards did a lot of good work,, bu.t though on the whole their backs tackled well, faulty handling and lack of finish generally spoilt their play. Otako set the ball* moving with the sun- against them and at once their forwards invaded Star’s twenty-five, but their backs tried to open out; letting Star through. From, a long kick by Hunt Okato forced. Back came Okato and Hudson, who was playing, well at w.ing-threequarter,, was nearly over in the corner, H. Wolfe marking. Okato kept up the pressure and Carter was nearly through on. the blind side. Okato pressed' hard' but their backs could not cap the efforts with a score. Then- Star took a turn, McDonald. F. Wolfe and Hunt being kept out only by solid tackling. Star backs threw the bail about but could not penetrate the defence.. Solid play by the Okato. pack, aided by useful kicks and fast following by John and B. Goodwin, took play past half-way for a while, but Star backs were soon back again, Meuli making a great dash to be tackled, Hunt had a pot that missed and a moment later, from., a penalty, Harvey had a shot that-.failed;’ Star backs opened out, using- both sides of the field, but they found the tackling solid, Wolfe being brought down by Hudson and Meuli by Similhay. Keeping up the pressure, the Star backs flashed the ball to H. Wolfe, who streaked through the centre to score under the bar. Harvey goaled. Star threw the ball about but Okato checked them and broke through to. half-way. The Star forwards, brougnt the ball'back and B. Goodwin, slipping when taking a high kick, let H. Wolfe score a gift try which Harvey with a great kick converted. Wolfe, who' was playing with great dash, was given plenty of chances by the Star backs and he soon showed a clean pair of heels to the opposition to run. round and score under the posts. Harvey again converted. Tiplady had removed play to lialHway as half-time sounded with the score: Star 15, Okato U. Fumbling by the Okato backs let Star attack from ’the kick-off- but El . Roebuck brought H. Wolfe down. Solid defence by Tiplady and Roberts held the opposition. Three times in quick succession Wolfe made dashes, but Roebuck accounted for him. Star tried the other wing out were also held there. A useful kick by Roberts, well followed up, had Okato attacking. Moorhead) however, kicked high and, Bert Goodwin again slipping, he followed up and kicked over the lino to fall on the ball just ahead of J, Goodwin. Harvey failed to. goal. The Okato pack attacked but their backs again let Star through, Hudson saving by running out near the corner. McDonald retired injured and was. replaced by Broughton. Okato hacks opened out but a pass went wide. Star, however, got offside. There was a slight delay through Roberts being put out of action. A dash by Roebuck put Okato in a good position and their forwards carried on until a rebound let Hunt through, but Similhay was able to line. John Goodwin roused Okato-’s hopes with a solid ’dash, but Meuli was able to snap up and line, though he appeared to be offside, the fullback having handled the bail. Star backs had the upper hand till E. Roebuck, who had been playing a great game, smothered an opponent and cleared. Tiplady then broke through and by fast following up compelled Kinsella to line at the-twenty-five. Another great b.oirt by the Star backs saw Meuli dash over to score, near the posts and Harvey convert. Agqin Star .backs got moving. H.

,Wolfe, when blocked, sent in to his bro- { ther and the forwards carried oft for T. I Broughton co, score. Harvey converted. J. Lawn with, a dodgy run went through the Opposition, being held up within, a few yards of the line, the ball swinging out to Bright, who tried a pot which 'was forced. Star forwards again attacked. an attempt at a field goal missing. F. Wolfe sprinted across the field and sent Hunt away to be held up on the corner,, where from a scramble R. Broughton forced his way over. Star were back again in a. spectacular burst that saw Blincoe sprint for the line, but Hridson brought him; down solidly. Okiyto, then-enme with the best bout of I the day, Roberts, sending the ball via Bert and J. Goodwin to E. Roebuck, who was pushed out near the corner. Okato were still attacking as time sounded with the score.Star 31 Okato ......... 0 Mr. F. J, Eggleion refereed. STRATFORD’S runaway win BOOR. SHOWING BY CELTIC. MARGIN OF THIRTY POINTS. Playing for the most part only 1-1 men, Stratford scored a runaway victory over Celtic to the unexpected tjme of 33 to 3. The ground was wet. and holding-, but, considering the great amount of rain, was in remarkably good condition.' About, the only feature of interest after half time was the good work of Taylor in his first trial as half for Stratford. Early in the game, Were 1 (Stratford) was. ordered off on an alleged trip. That should have been an advantage to Celtic, but the new team seemed, to go right to. pieces and put up very little opposition to Stratford as the game progressed. After four minutes’ play Wynyard fielded a Celtic kick and set sail down the line. He short-kicked and Bond came through to score comparatively easily. The kick failed. Most, of the play remained, in Celtic's territory and presently • Stratford scored again when Taylor broke away, cleared himself and passed to Owen. A successful dummy let Owen race over to score. Hovering in 'mid-field,; the game became brisker, but Stratford maintained a decided general . territorial advantage. Celtic supporters had an anxious moment when Owen completed a swerving run by crossing the line, but the referee decided there were too many hands on the ball. Then came Celtic's turn. By degrees, they I worked into a handy position where Beardmore in a scrimmage sent a. snappy pass, to Pryce. The speedy Celtic winger raced down the line and passed in-field to Bublitz, who had no difficulty in scoring. Dodd’s kick was slightly wide. The blind was cleverly worked by Taylor, who sent Owen through Celtic's weak spot again and Wynyard was pushed out 1 in the corner. A free kidk extracted ; Celtic from an situation. With the rapidly changing fortunes of football, play quickly reverted to ffhe other cud of the field. Here Celtic backs gave a taste of their ability in a couple of I passing bouts, but Collins cleared. In !a flutter of loose play Were was. ordered {off for an alleged attempt to trip. Therei after Penniall and Fryday broke through .close to Celtic’s line and hot work ensued. Stratford secured a free kick and .Collins goaled. beautifully. The game proceeded in steady rain and hail showjers. From a scrum in mid-field Young {started a dribbling attack which was ■ continued to the line, where Young snap- ! ped up to score. Half time sounded { shortly afterwards. 1 Celtic were the early attackers or resuming, but Stratford bustled down the field and Collins placed a clean goal i from a penalty after Stratford had been within an ace of scoring. With only 114 men, Stratford re-arranged its team j somewhat and the absence apparently 'made no difference to the efficiency of {the pack. Wynyard, Young, E. Walter (and Hinton lined up in a passing rush 1 but indecision and slowness lost a great 1 chance to add further to Stratford's {tally. The attack was kept up and the forwards brought it to a successful conI elusion when Penniall emerged from a i “sacks on the mill” jumble as the scorer ■ of a try. Within a minute Owen scored ; another. With the speed and weight for which he is known, he received a weljI timed pass from Taylor and dodged his

way oyer a third of the field to score, Collins adding the major points. The next try fell to Wynyard, hut he was only incidental to the score, as the forwards were already over. Having put on 11 additional points within five minutes, Stratford seemed content to rest the play. With five minutes to go R. Hinton'picked up in the rough and with hardly any room to manoeuvre potted a surprise goal which gave Stratford 30 points. Just on time Young dived over to score the last try after Smith, Fryday and J. Walter had rushed the ball to. the Hue. The final scores were: Stratford .... 33 Celtic ~ 3 Mr. N, Frost refereed. INGLEWOOD WIN AT HOME JUNIORS FILL GAPS IN TEAM. CLIFTON BACKS OUTCLASSED, Inglewood,' with gaps in their team filled by juniors, defeated Clifton at Inglewood on. Saturday by 9 points to nil. On paper, it. seemed that. Clifton, who were at full strength, would have a moderate victory. N. Ross, Brown, Galbraith and Chard were unable to play for Inglewood and Gudgeon has recently left the district for Hawera. The forwards were evenly matched but the home back line, in spite of dislocations which should have enfeebled it, worked with, such ease in the new joints that the Clifton- backs were outplayed. The game was remarkable for the extraordinary number of vigorous rushes made from one twenty-five line to the other - . For iJug intervals, both teams seemed to be- confined to. this area of the field. Inglewood, for example, would be defending;-. . Then all at onc.e the forwards, Jed. .by Clegg or V. Devereaux, would dash through in a magnificent rush, brushing the defence to the winds. The twenty-five line would be reached and the movement would just crumple up. After a pause of a minute or two, Clifton, led by Ward, would begin a furious rash down the field to- the- other twenty-live line. There would be another pause and then the whole movement would be started again—lnglewood’s turn. Naturally, it was a particularly fast game... Both packs played hard, solid games, with Inglewood showing- a little more cohesion in tbs loose. The surprise of the day was Cowley, a third junior, untried and youngish, brought out for the match, a spectator remarked, ‘‘from the pram.” For some time he was uneasy and made blunders in handling, but as his confidence grew he made bold runs through the defence, two of which resulted directly- in tries. Maingay, at half, gave his backs the ball freely and accurately and-, on form, is knocking at the door for representative honours. There is nothing slipshod about his play, J. Ross, at centre three-quarter, is weighty and speedy. The other Inglewood backs were evenly good and reliable, except Mcßoberts, who was either remarkably good or remarkably bad, as the mood suited him.. Among the Clifton backs Watson was dangerous when he found an opening, Sutton at first, five-eighths did hard, useful work all the time and Carey was plucky but rather ineffectual. Young, ..the Clifton, full-back, handled and kicked well.

Inglewood kicked off and Clifton pressed but knocked on. The Inglewood forwards worked back to half way. After an interchange of kicking Watson, was caught with the ball and Clifton were napping when Mcßoberts burst through and scored near the corner. Ross failed to goal. Ward worked play from half-way to> near Inglewood’s line and the ball was carried over. In, a scramble near the goal lino Clifton, were awarded a free kick, but Watson’s, kick missed.. W. Ross relieved the strain with ’a good run down the line, but the Clifton forwards, playing with., fine energy, made an attack which ended in a five yards scrum.. Inglewood hooked and Maingay lined. Cooper and Corney collided head on in a scrummage and both had to. leave the field. After ragged play Clifton were given a penalty, but Watson's. shot from well out missed badly. Mcßoberts showed mettle in following up a high kick, catching Young in possession and dumping him heavily. Clifton were in trouble when half-time was . called. From a freekick early in, the second spell. Word gained half the ground. Maingay sent his backs away and Cowley broke cleat, with Tate sprinting alongside,' -the only defender. Cowley .passed J., Ross and in a great race .Tate caught him round the neck. Cowley,. wa-^"dropping: passes and nearly slipped through. Ross was off-side and Tate missed a fairly easy shot. McRoberts, picked up near his own line and w|:& blind confidence set out to- run whole Clifton side. He was Tate made a S° oti run and tlie?' -bail came across to Jonas, who was obkiiriicted by Mcßoberts. Watson’s kick waA-powerful but wide. Clegg and V. Devereaux led the Inglewood forwards back. In a passing rush from a serum: Cowley cut in neatly and made an easy elidnee for his outside backs, J. Ross scoring. J. Ross failed to convert. The Inglewood forwards kept up a hot attack and Maingay frequently worked his backs. From a passing rush Cowley cut a hole in the defence and passed to J. Ross. Ross puzzled his opponents by swinging the attack across field, ran hard anil scored. His kick missed. Clifton made fresh efforts and Ward, who had been resting a little, led his pack in a great run down the line, but they just failed to score. The final score was: Inglewood D Clifton J

Considerable annoyance and half an hour’s delay were caused by the absence of the referee. Finally, as the hour was late for starting, Mr. F. Julian consented to referee. »

TUKAPA’S MERITORIOUS WIN

THREE POINTS OVER OLD BOYS.

VICTORY TO BETTER TEAM.

Tukapa had a day out at Pukekura Park, playing their best game this season. Old Boye bad their day off, playing probably their worst game of the season, and in consequence they were ocaten by .13 points to 10. In the first spell Old Boys’ backs could do nothing right, the shining exception being Pciar, who played, a magnificent game at full-back. K. Fookes was. individually a ■ tower of strength, but received little help from his neighbours. The chief trouble was undoubtedly at half-back, where Harrie was out of his class, and hardly ever got the ball away with the precision that is the only pathway to success. Grant, at

first five-eighths, did wot strike form until the last quarter of an hour, being tt weakness rather than a strength, and tne team found the absence of H. W. Brown nt centre a serious loss. Tukapa were in their element right from the kick off, every man except perhaps Dickson playing to the top of his form. Dickson was sound in defence but a bad weakness in attack until towards the end of the game. Boswell and Brittenden have never played better, and R. Oliver, while showing a marked tendency towards the Association code tactics, was a remarkably eafe custodian m view of his Jong- absence from the game. 'To cap all, Sullivan hanied the Old Bovs’ backs unmercifully. In the second spell Old Boys improved out of all sight, and. in the dying stages the game waxed spectacular and exciting, in distinct contrast with the patchynature of the first spell. Tukapa took charge right from the., beginning of the game. While defending in their own territory 0. Evans suddenly intercepted and made a brilliant run three-quarters of the length ot the field, simply leaving Old Boys standing, and with only Briar to pass he handed on to Thomson, who had come up fast in attendance. The Tukapa centre three-quarter just had time to reach tta line before being oveihauled by the faster Old Boys’ players, and Hill converted the trv. Bad tackling on the part of Old Boys.'and constant pressure by Tukapa, kept the latter continually on the. attack, and within . a few minutes they were over again. Brown sent the back line away, awl wretched attempts at tackling let the movement make much more headway than it should have, with the result that Thomson made a final burst, to pass w Brittenden for the winger to sprint over in the corner and turn in snarply to score in a handy position. Hill again converted, giving Tukapa a clear ten points lead. 8. Fookes }vas twice penalised for putting the ball crookedly into the eCrum. Old Boys made a temporary recovery, and indulged- in one or two penetrative bursts, but though several advantages were gained, these were constantly nullified by ’ poor tackling, hesitancy and indecision, and frequent mulling. At last Old Boys made a piercing drive to the corner, and in a passing rush opened up from a line-out K. Fookes snapped II P the ball from the ground In a spectacular manner. He could not hold it, but Briar secured possession and drop-kicked a field goal, left-footed, almost before anyone had realised he had got the ball. It was a brilliant piece of work. Tukapa capped the first spell with a neat cut in by Brown, who sold the dummy to three Old Boys, and sent Thomson away on a fast excursion to the corner. The interval came with Tukapa leading by ten points to four, Tukapa continued to set the pace in the second spell, but the Old Boys’ forwards tore into it, and the backs handled better than they had in the previous spell. Grant let Tukapa through badly, hut Briar effected a magnificent save in the face of what looted a very likely try for Tukapa, K. Fookes found the line near the corner with a splen-didly-judged kick, and from the lineout the Old. Boys’ forwards broke away, Brewster crossing the line to score a -try which Crawford was just unable to convert. From a scrum on Old Boys’ twenty-five the defenders, were penalised for an offence that was not apparent from the Press stand, and Hill made no mistake, from a handy position. Medley broke away spectacularly down the touch line with a. fine turn of speed, but Oliver felled him like a log. In the ensuing play Tukapa were penalised for off-side play, and Crawford landed a fine goal from well out, reducing Tukapa’s lead to three points. A thrill passed through the- crowd when Briar secured, a. long way out near the touch line, and with a great drop-kick missed the goal by inches. Tukapa retaliated with another thrilling movement when S. Fookes badly missed a long punt, and Evans sped away with- almost an open field. Grant tackled him magnificently, however, saving an otherwise certain try. It was the best piece of work Grant had done during the. day. Soon Tukapa were nearly over in the corner, Evans thrusting dangerously to the corner after half the Tukapa backs had handled in a boomerang passing rush. Battling gamely, Old Boys instituted a vigorous assault, and Grant broke almost clean away. Drader was up fast in attendance, but was taekled before. Grant passed to him, and Tukapa should, have been penalised. In the last five minutes Old Boys hammered away in a burning attack, but they were unable to cross, and the game ended with the score:— Tukapa .......13 Old Boys ................. 10 Mr. S, Kibb.y refereed. POSITIONS OF THE TEAMS. SENIOR GRADE.

Northern Division 0 fa i. m "S 4> § a is « ci a: £ Star .. ... 13 11 0 2 154 63 22 Stratford .. 13 0 1 3 149 82. 19 Inglewood .. 13 8 1 4 102 80 17 Old Boys .... 13 7 1 5 141 83 15 Celtic .. ... 13 6 ft 7 105 153 12 Tukapa 13 4 2 7 143 119 10 Clifton ... 13 3 I 9 90 144 7 Okato . ... 13 1 ft 12 54 234 2 Southern Division. Opunake ... 13 11 2 0 179 71 24 Haivera ... 13 11 ft 2 151 69 22 Okaiawa ... 13 10 1 2 100 98 21 Patea ... 13 5 1 7 97 95 11 Waimate ... 13 4 0 9 94 185 8 Athletic ... 13 4 0 9 125 174 8 Kaponga Eltham .. 13 4 ft 9 102 120 3 ... 13 1 0 12 79 181 2 SECOND GRADE. Star .... 6 5 I 0 89 21 11 Tukapa .... 7 7 0 1 SB 10 14 Old Bovs .... 8 5 1 2 45 37 11 Oka to .... 7 3 1 4* 17 32 7 Saturday's match in this g 1 ade did notcount for points. THIRD GRADE. Old Bovs .... 9 8 0 1 147 38 16 Star' ... 9 7 0 2 153 65 14 Tukapa .... io 6 0 4 136 58 12 School .. .... 7 Q 0 5 58 85 4 Clifton .... 10 1 0 9 26 195 2 FOURTH GRADE. Star ..... 8 8 0 0 200 6 16 School A ,... 7 6 0 1 137 50 12 Okato 4 0 4 37 107 8 Tukapa .... io 3 0 7 47 115 0 School B .... 8 0 0 8 21 172 0 .FIFTH GRADE. Star ... 8 5 1 2 77 28 11 School A .... 8 3 I 4 32 20 1 School B .... 8 2 3 3 37 74 1 School C a • « 3 1 4 34 19 7