SUPREMACY OF SOUTH

Taranaki Daily News, 29 July 1929, Page 4

SUPREMACY OF SOUTH

OPUNAKE BACKS DOMINATE OKA 1A W /\ X ARRO WLY DEFEATED. STERLING STRUGGLE IN FORWARDS Opunake were in fine fettle when they defeated Okaiawa by six points to three in a fast and open game at Opunake which virtually gave them the supremacy of the south. A noticeable feature was the sterling conflict between the toiling packs of both sides. But it was to their backs that Opunake owed their victory, for with the forwards hooking consistently they launched attack after attack at the tensely-waiting Okaiawa line, and it was only by sound tackling that they kept the score so low. As soon as Okaiawa had kicked off R. Hohaia broke through with all his backs in support. C. Hohaia kicked low and a serum formed round D. Johnston, who was caught in possession. Opu- : nake were awarded a free kick and Harrison's attempt just missed. From the scrum following the drop-out Opunake hooked cleanly, but their backs could not get on the move before Cameron had caught W. McCallum. After O’Rorke had made a great run with the ball at his too a serum formed round the shaking goal post. 'though Okaiawa were able to force it did not bring immediate relief for Opunake continued to press them back. Sinclair kicked and ran up, but. D. Johnston found the line with a long punt. It was Okaiawa’s turn now and Rangi Ruru, with all the forwards in his wake, carried play to Opunake’s twenty-five. Hartlcv set his backs in motion and D. Jofmston kicked towards the line, but E. McCallum, the wing, arrived just after Harrison had relieved, tne pressure with one of his long linekicks. As the ground was still muddy from the rainfall overnight, the Opunake backs seemed to have some difficulty in handling the slippery ball. The result was that Harrison, the full-back, was having a busy time, but he made no mistakes and time and- again found the line accurately when things looked blackest for Opunake. A good kick by Harrison put Opunake in a good attacking position, where Sutton broke through from a tightly-packed scrum, but the ball went out of play. In tackling E. McCallum Clarke burled himhelf too hard and was temporarily incapacitated. On resuming J. Lusk broke from a struggling, heaving scrum with the ball at his toe and continued down the line till the ball went out. Irom a scrum Okaiawa hooked. However. Opunake were watching the visitors closely and before they could get going they bowled them over or forced them across the field. R. Lusk and O’Rorke led a whirling forward onslaught wliien , Okaiawa had difficulty in stopping. With feet locked over the ball both sets of hookers struggled for possessioii. Finally Opunake won and R. Hohaia whipped the ball from the serum to his backs. After making a beautiful opening C. Hohaia transferred to W. McCallum, who in turn drew his man and sent Rutherford off to score in the corner. Sinclair failed to goal. An interchange of kicks between Tlairison and Blair, the rival full-backs, followed, but Harrison had all the better of it. The Opunake backs were plaving well and the forwards gave evidence of their fitness by joining in with thorn frequently. Rutherford and R. Lusk both made gallant attempts to score, but were hurled out by their desperate opponents. But after a slight repulse they came on again and after dodging and side-stepping adroitly Rutherford dived over the line by the corner. Sinclair failed to convert. A. Clarke led the Opunake forwards into Okaiawa’s territory, where they hooked back to R. Hohaia, who made an attempt to drop-kick. But the attack was turned. D, Johnston cut through magnificently and after kicking hard led his forwards to Opunake’s line. However, R. Lusk and O’Rorke crashed through the opposition with the ball, but in their eagerness got offside. Ike failed t.o goal. Okaiawa lost a good chance by not following up and Sin- , clair cleared by finding the line at half-way. Ike picked up from the loose and kicked down the line. This was a good opportunity for Okaiawa, but as they did almost invariably, their backs, strung out across the field, Ike . broke through, but Harrison cleared with a neat kick. Play swung down to Okaiawa’s goal again, but after two scrums, from both of which Opunake nearly crossed, Tippetts with the rest of the vanguard in support carried play to half-way. Hartley tried to set Ins backs going first on one side and then on the other, but the tackling of Sinclair, IV. McCallum and R. Lusk was too much for them. Shortly afterwards the spell ended. With the opening of the second spen Rutherford received from the line-out and made a brilliant run down the line, fending and dodging his opponents until Blair made sure of him. Opunake backs were away again and' only solid tackling checked them. Okaiawa forced. From the line-out C. Hohaia received and kicked, but E. McCallum eluded the hurrying forwards and kicked for the line, A straggling back movement brought Opunake into a handy position and soon afterwards Okaiawa had to force. After the drop-out Rangi Ruru found an opening and wriggled through with the ball. Tippetts, Lynskey and Parslow carried on the rush to past half-way. Okaiawa hooked and Hartley dummied the Opunake forwards neatly and then left Ike to push his way a little further.- Robinson and O’Rorke were outstanding in a sparkling combined movement of the Opunake backs and forwards, but an infringement ruined the attack. For a while play remained in the centre of the field with spasmodic bursts from both sides. Opunake came to the attack again and Rutherford knocked-on when he was within a few yards of the line. From the scrum ho tried again, but he was bumped out of play by Ike. Okaiawa had to force. After the drop-out O’Rorke received, but was soon dragged down. Robinson cut through nippily and passed but McCallum was caught as he received. R. Hohaia picked up and passed to his nephew, Robinson, who in turn transferred to his uncle, C. Hohaia, and the attack finished when Simons tackled Rutherford and forcibly turned play in Okaiawa’s favour. McCallum dashed spiritedly down one side and as soon as he was tackled Hartley tried the other. D. Johnston passed to Cameron, who was well collared by Harrison. From the twenty-five Ike tried to goal, but his kick went wide. R. Hohaia tried the blind side,. but Rutherford was well tackled. Okaiawa returned to the attack, which was re-

lieved when Robinson marked. Immediately he broke through and with O’Rorke in support sent Sinclair away, but he was brought down by E. McCallum as he was racing for the line. With only a few minutes to play Okaiawa’s backs swung into line for the first time. D. Johnston ran solidly and after drawing tw o men passed to the. speedy winger, Simons, who had a clear run for the corner. Rangi Ruru was not able to convert. Almost immediately the whistle sounded, and the game ended with the scores: Opunake fl Okaiawa 3 Mr. McNae was referee. HAWERA DEFEAT WAIMATE FINESSE OF BACKS BRINGS POINTS PLAY UNDER BAD CONDITIONS. Playing in mud and slush ankle-deep, Hawera defeated Waimate at Hawera by 15 points (five unconverted tries) to ml. Although the game was not brilliant it was bright and the crowd left the grounds satisfied that it had witnessed a good exhibition of the code under conditions anything but favourable. Waimate, in defeat, played a - solid game and were unlucky not to score. Although they started some fine passing rushes, their outside men were crowded out aud unable to finish the movements. Hawera, on the other hand, ran straight and gave the scoring men room to make the final thrust that counts so much. Thus it was that a fairly even game saw one team pile up a large tally of points while the other failed to score. Waimate “headed” the coin and elected to play with the sun in their favour. They were forced back into their own territory and defended for some time until Hammond broke away and passed to Hunter, wire cut in to be tackled within inches of the. line. Waimate commenced a promising movement which was spoiled by a forward pass and from the resulting scrum the. ball was hooked, by Hawera for Riley to send his backs away, Anderson being pushed out a yard from the line. Waimate cleared to halfway, where W. Robinson and Williams opened a passing bout, the ball travelling across to Hunter who just failed to score. At half-way Paterson picked up the ball and dummied his way to Hawera’s twenty-five. Some exciting moments followed and Hawera forced to save. Then the Hawera forwards bore down on the opposition for B. Murphy to score. Anderson’s kick failed. Waimate went to the a-ttack with a will and Cheevers was several times called upon to save his team. This he did unfalteringly and his long line kicks were a feature of the match. Eventually Hawera forced their way into their opponents’ territory, where -offside by Waimate in front of the goal gave Williams a shot close up, but the ball slipped off the side of his boot.and M. Bourke cleared. W. Robinson, Riley and L. Robinson headed a Hawera rush, which penetrated the defence, but the ball was forced in time. At the twentylive, S. Riley, Hunter and McCarthy, handling in turn, reached within five yards, where the latter passed to Poi for a try in the corner. K. Riley’s kick missed. Hawera again worked down the line and when close sent the ball out for the backs to handle in turn, Anderson, who crossed in the cornel - , being recalled for a knock-on. Half-time, sounded with Waimate on the defensive. The teams immediately changed over and from a series of serums in the mud W. Robinson emerged and took the ball to Waimate’s quarter, where Whalen effected a magnificent save which enabled the Waimate vanguard to swing into action with the ball at toe. Hawera retaliated and led by Williams, L. Robinson and Goodycr,. were almost over. A long speculator by Hawera came across the field and McCarthy outpaced the opponents to touch down. His own kick failed. Play remained in neutral territory for a period, and then Anderson received a high kick and raced up the wing to fend off several opponents and score in the corner. Guy s kick fell short. K. Riley broke through from half-way and supported by W. Robinson crossed the line, but the umpire’s flag brought play back. From the line-out a high kick was fumbled by Hawera and Whalen followed fast to take the ball close to Hawera’s line. Waimate persisted in the attack and Cheevers forced. Tn a melee at half-way Ainsley-was injured and left the field, TJamanui replacing him. Waimate were attacking on Hawera’s. twenty-five when McCarthy secured a rebound and broke an ay to pass to W. Robinson in support. Robinson had pace enough to reach the line for a try. Guy made a good, but unsuccessful, attempt at goal. Time sounded with the score: Hawera Waimate ” Mr. J. Kiley refereed. . | KAPONGA DEFEAT PATEA | | SCORE ENDS NINE TO SIX. GAME WON BY THE FORWARDS. Kaponga defeated Patea by 9 to C at Kaponga. It was with difficulty that teams could be obtained to play the match and it was not until 3.45 that the plavs took the field. As a result the spells were only 30 minutes each, but a very willing game ensued, the Kaponga forwards winning the game by their consistent efforts. Following a tight scramble in centrefield Patea worked up and J. Crawford .broke away to score an easy .try after four minutes’ play. J. Crawford failed to convert. J. Kerrisk brought the ball out of a scrummage for Patea but failed to gain ground. Kaponga responded with a great forward rush, Richards kicking the ball out near the line and saving. A spell of open kicking followed F. McKenna marking and making territorial gains for Patea. Kaponga forwards broke away again, J. Crawford saving well. Zimmerman neatly retrieved a set-back on two further occasions. P. Burke cleared again for Patea. Kaponga forwards continued to press, A. Baldwin clearing at the corner with a kick. A scrummage followed in the corner, but Kaponga were - ' unable to score A couple of line-outs followed, Kaponga working desperately to get across the line. Eventually P. Bourke relieved the situation with a kick. The ball c^n^ Q to Paterson who dummied and kicked to give follow-up opportunities but Barnards was on the job and put the ball back. Patea forwards battled their way down to Kaponga’s corner, A. Baldwin and P. Crawford taking a prominent part. Kaponga forwards retaliated wi n ; a dashing rush to the line, but the bounce of the ball went against them

and when the ball was secured Richards rushed up, pushing the player - into touch. The score at half-time was: Patea 3, Kaponga 0. Kaponga fought their way to the line and scrummaged hard for a try. Richards prevented an almost certain score by knocking the ball into touch before Kaponga could ground. Kaponga again scrummaged at the corner, Murphy grounding for Kaponga’s first score. Williams failed to convert. Kaponga again broke away, Free making a rush nearly to the line, where he was collared by J. Crawford. Kaponga continued the pressure, a couple of free kicks assisting Patea to relieve the pressure. After a ' further spell of open play Williams took the ball and kicked to a good position, making an opening from which Murphy touched down. Williams failed to add points. Patea opened out, C. Wills and Zimmerman and Cooper figuring in the forward movement which resulted in Cooper’s scoring. W. Baldwin failed to convert. Kaponga forwards commenced a likely movement, but Zimmerman came to light at an opportune moment and saved an ugly position. Kaponga . were awarded a penalty kick in a good position, Williams putting the ball over the bar. Patea backs commenced a promising breakaway but Eliason brought it to an end when he collared J. Crawford near the side line. Patea -were pressing hard when the whistle sounded. The final score was: , Kaponga .................. 9 Patea 6 Mr. Wells refereed. ATHLETIC DEFEAT ELTHAM RAGGED AND DULL EXHIBITION. MARGIN OF TWELVE POINTS. Athletic accounted for Eltham at Eltham by 21 points to 9. The match proved to be rather ragged . and dull, neither side reaching great heights of Rugby perfection. The ground was in good condition, enabling both sets of backs to open up with occasional flashes of brilliance. Eltham’s tackling was better than that of their opponents, but the athletic forwards showed a superiority. Eltham attacked early and from a scramble Slocombe crossed to register Eltham’s first three points. Bourke’s kick failed. I‘roni an exchange of kicks Bourke found favour by lining well into Athletic’s twenty-five. From the lineout Trolove dived over the line, but hia foot went out and Athletic forced After give and take play in which Eltham maintained the advantage, Bourke piloted th© ball between the posts from a free kick for off-side play, putting -Eltham six points up. A few minutes later Tuki opened. Athletic’s account with a splendid penalty kick from the side-line. A bright period of back play followed, outstanding in. which was a splendid solo effort by Page, which was nullified when Eltham lost possession. After a period of mid-field play Athletic‘ Cleared and from a scramble out came Dymohd with the ball, transferring to Owen, who short-punted with only Bourke to pass. D. Gower saved a dangerous position. Half-time sounded with the score: Eltham, 6; Athletic; 3. ■ - "-N. Upon resuming the Reds, with -the sun behind them, quickly causing Eltham to force. Again Athletie attacked. Barker transferred along , the back line through Dymond, Lay and Gudgeon for Mundy to score an easy try in a fairly good position. Tuki added the major points, placing Athletic in the lead by 8 to 6. Athletic continued to attack and a run down the line by Owen looked promising,, but Bourke’s tackle was sound and Eltham took the offensive. Pretty passing by Page and Trolovo sained a lot of ground for dtitham. The Reds returned play to .'Eltham’s territory, where Owen, in possession, dashed down’the line, short-punted oyer Bourke’s head, good fallowing enabling three Athletic men to reach the line, Owen securing an easy try. Tuki’s kick was a°ain successful, and Athletic led by 13 Athletie were having the better of the game at this stage, Eltham s effective tackling 'undoubtedly keeping the score down. Eltham quickly transferred play into Athletic’s territory, Attrill making a couple of fine runs. Lay cleared and from a scramble Gudgeon broke away, transferring to Coleman, to Phil lies, to Bowdle, who crossed well out. ‘Tuki converted with a good kick. Spurred by this reverse Eltham attacked and from a loose scramble Attrill dived on the ball to score. Bourke s kick went wide. Eltham c ontinued - to attacK, Tuki saving temporarily. Again Eltham attacked, this time Seagcr clearin o . Pa„e was successful in stemming two Athletie back rushes, but on the second occasion relief was only temporary, Pease diving over at the corner for Atalotic’s fourth try. Tula’s kick was unsuccessful and time sounded with tne score: ' Eltham ® Athletic V'*' 1 Mr. A. O’Sullivan was referee. LOWER GRADE MATCHES. NORTHERN DIVISION. Second Grade. Star 12 v. Old Boys 0. ' School 8 v. Tukapa 3. Other matches not played. . Third Grade. ' Star 3v. School 0 > (friendly game) Old Boys 19 v. Clifton 3. Fourth Grade. Star 31 v. School B 0. School A 23 v. Tukapa 3. Fifth Grade. , Star 17 v. School B 3. School C 3 v. School A 0. SOUTHERN DIVISION. Second Grade. Hawera 9 v. Alton 8. _ Opunake forfeited to Waimate. Okaiawa 29 v. Kaponga 0> RATANA CUP CONTEST. , FEILDING TO PLAY WAIMATE» Another challenge for the will be decided at Manaia on da V w hen the Feilding natives will play the Waimate natives for the trop' 7’ holders have played several matches during the past two seasons and ha e retained the cup- . . fwn A dance in the evening n the town . hall will conclude the days enteitain I ment- ' I’-’ ; ; f. ■' •