GREAT TUSSLE AT KAPONGA

Taranaki Daily News, 28 April 1930, Page 4

GREAT TUSSLE AT KAPONGA

NARROW WIN FOR WAIMATE.

MATCH FULL OF INCIDENT

In what must have been one of the hardest-fought games in the coinpetition Waimate defeated Kaponga at Kaponga by 9 points to G. The game was thrilling until the final whistle, and either team might have emerged victorious. Almost from the commencement of play the Waimate rearguard was sent into action by J. Paterson, who picked up the ball from the loose, passed to Whalen and saw the second fiveeighth, Wineera, twinkle past a player and then throw a bad pass, which was mulled. Kaponga retaliated fiercely and a promising movement ended in C. Paterson being thrown out within inches of the. line. Keeping up the pressure, Kaponga made strenuous attempts to open the scoring..- account, but Mercer and Shaw, working like Trojans, kept the home team back.

Lavery and Hihaka were responsible for a sudden change in the situation, dribbling the ball downfield and harrying the Kaponga backs with shock tactics. Long kicks by Hall and Paterson sent the invaders back- and then Twist broke away on a lone run which was stopped near the line. Waimate again returned to the attack with Hughes and Hikaka in the vanguard. A sharp thrust by Eliasson, who took a pass at top speed from Wineera, was blocked by C. Paterson, the movement ending in a force. The Waimate’s half-back whipped the ball out from a scrum to Wineera, who raced downfield and handed to Eliasson for that player to throw himself across the line near the corner flag. Hughes missed narrowly with a great kick. Many brilliant openings were made and lost through overeagerness. The Kaponga forwards swept downfield in a solid phalanx-and then heeled the ball out to Hall, who made an opening' and transferred- to M. Paterson, who was thrown out near' the corner. Another scoring- chance was narrowly lost when C. Paterson was hurled out within inclies of- the line. From a penalty kick, following an infringement, the same player guided the ball to strike the upright. Then a great dash was made by Hammersley and Twist, the latter touching down behind the posts. C. Paterson’s kick missed and the teams were still level' when half-time sounded.

Some great work by the Kaponga vanguard marked the opening of the second spell. With ball at toe the home forwards time and again approached within scoring distance, only to be sent back by a determined counter-attack. Once the forwards crossed the line and had only to fall on the ball to score, but Shaw appeared from nowhere and kicked it across the dead-ball line. 0; Paterson narrowly missed with a kick from half-way. Again the Kaponga forwards combined in a dribbling rush and Twist appeared on the scene to ■score near the corner. Ci Paterson could not convert. Waimate equalised the scores almost immediately amidst intense excitement. From an assault by Mercer ;nd J. Paterson’ the ball went out npar the corner. Hughes secured from the line-out and dived over, Whalen missing with his 'attempt at conversion. The score roused the home team to more vigorous efforts, but Waimate were infusing great dash into the game and capped several promising movements with a brilliant try. Wineera initiated the movement by ,cutting infield and making, a good opening before transferring the ball to Whalen. He then swerved behind his team mate, took the pass, and at the critical moment transferred to Eliasson, who was running at top-speed. The latter’s pace was too much for Kaponga and he scored a brilliant try near the side-line. The kick failed. The final whistle sounded with the score: — Waimate ............. 9 Kaponga ............. 6 Mr. K. McNae refereed.

PATEA DEFEAT ATHLETIC RAGGED GAME AT HAWERA, GOOD RUGBY PLAY RARELY .SEEN.

i Brilliant play was rarely seen in the imatch between Patea and Athletic at* the Hawera showgrounds and although Patea won by 16 points to three the scores resulted rather . from individual effort than from cohesive play. In. the forwards W. Baldwin,. Patea, used his bulk to great advantage and was always where the fray was hottest. The outstanding player of the day was Patea’s centre-threequarter, J. Crawford, who scored a magnificent try in an almost solo effort from half way. Twice in quick succession Patea were compelled to force. J. Crawford■ placed Patea in. a handy position in front of the posts but an infringement enabled Athletic to clear. AV. Baldwin was tackled by 8. Lay, who returned the ball into Crawford’s arms. The centre was pushed out a few yards from the line., A score for Patea. seemed imminent when Baldwin infringed. Then E. Bourke ran round the field to score a somewhat lucky try. A. Richards failed to convert. Athletic made strenuous attempts, to equalise. Patea’s first five-eighth, Don Grant, was a tower of strength. Gudgeon . with a tricky run penetrated almost to the posts. In attempting to clear a Patea player kicked into the . hands of the diminutive Dymond, . who claimed a mark. His kick went wide. The Patea rearguard swung into action, Crawford penetrating far into the opposition’s territory before punting high for his for-

wards to follow up. C. Hamblyn scored near the posts and P. Bourke had no difficulty in adding the major points. An infringement midway between Patea’s twenty-five and halfway gave Lay an opportunity of kicking a great penalty goal from near the side-line. • Infringements were numerous. From a scrum near half-way Dymond obtained possession and worked the blind side to find an open field in front of him. He had not the necessary pace to take advantage of his cleverly-made opportunity. The big Patea forward, Baldwin, was playing a great game but was prone to offside play. In a line-out near Athletic’s twenty-five he tapped back to Grant. The nve-eighth beat two men before burling a long, low pass to Spooner on the .wing. Crawford scored behind the posts. He missed his attempt at conversion. Patea’s full-back, A. Cooper, who had received a knock earlier in the game, retired at this stage. The most brilliant try of the day was scored by J. Crawford as the result of a movement initiated by Hurley, the half-back, who secured from a melee and passed to Grant., The five-eighth gave Crawford a good opportunity and the centre-three-quarter sprinted from half-way, fending off' three players and running round 8. Lay to cap the movement by scoring between the posts. He converted his own try. The final score was: — Patea 16 Athletic 3 Mi-. J. Kiley refereed.

OPUNAKE’S NARROW MARGIN

ELTHAM BEATEN BY THREE TO NIL

INLAND TEAM SHOW PROMISE

•Opunake had a narrow win over Eltham at Eltham, winning by only three to nil. The Eltham men played a, good game and showed great of becoming a force in the South Taranaki competitions this year. The Opunake team were not playing up to their best form, and it caused general surprise that, the margin was not greater. Throughout the game Opunake failed to make the most of their opportunities, which the open, vigorous play of Kithara confined to small proportions.

Eltham kicked off, O’Rorke immediately passing -down the back line in a promising movement. C. Hohaia tried an inside run instead of continuing to pass on to the wing. When cornered he kicked and gained ground. A minute later Bowater ‘scored in the corner after some loose play. Harrison missed the goal. A fine foot rush by Eltham followed, and the ball was carried to the line, but in the scramble they failed to touch down. R. Bourke took a shot at goal from a free-kick, but missed. Following up well Eltham had Opunake worried in the corner until McDonald marked. A free-kick to Opunake was missed by Harrison. Taking an aggressive turn Eltham looked like scoring when Cooper broke away, but he missed his footing and fell. Opun.ifce retaliated and made several .attempts- to .score by passing work, but Eltham hold off the onslaught, Cooper eventually saving by a force.

Elt'ham’s opportunity came when Venmall broke away into Opunake’s twentyfive, passing out to Anderson. The latter, however, failed to grasp the bail at the line. For a few minutes Eltham held Opunake in their twentyfive, making desperate efforts to score. Opunake gained considerable advantage by good kicking. At half-time the score was: Opunake 3, Eltham 0. Opening the second spell Opunake worried Eltham in the home twentyfive until a series of kicks gave a respite. Hughes tried a shot at goa] from a penalty, but the ball went low and wide. O’Rorke made a good breakaway with the ball at foot, but his supports failed him. A minute later Eltham had to save by a force. The Opupake backs performed a meritorious feat when Harrison initiated a passing turn along the back line to Sinclair, who made a bold bid to score but was pushed out at the corner. Further heavy pressure was made by Opunake until Townsend cleared with a good linekick. Opunake players sparkled and they made several attempts to score by means of tricky passing, but lack of judgment made the efforts fruitless. Eltham’s best exhibition came when Anderson picked up the ball, made; .a good opening run, passed to Taylor, Townsend and Penniall. The movement was full of promise, but the latter player was unable to put on the finishing* touches. .Cooper and Hughes made another dashing passing run into Opunake’s twenty-five, but without the objective being reached. Bourke was hurt and retired, being replaced by Trolovc. Hughes made a great attempt to pot a goal, but the shot just missed. Sinclair secured and passed to Page, who made a very good run but when collared threw wildly forward. Awarded a penalty R. Hohaia took an easy shot and missed. Opunake pressed down on their opponents with only a few minutes to go, compelling a force. C. Hohaia and O’Rorke swept down towards goal with a passing rush, but sound tackling brought an end to the onslaught and when the whistle sounded the scores ’were: —

Opunake. 3 Eltham 0 • Mr. A. 'Spratt refereed. .. HAWERA DEFEATS' OKAIAWA HARD FORWARD GAME. EKDAHL’S OUTSTANDING TRY. Hawera defeated Okaiawa at Okaiawa on Saturday by II points to 3. Mawera’s score comprised two tries, one converted, and a penalty goal, and Oka!-’ awa’s an unconverted try. The game was a rather disappointing exposition of the code, confined chiefly to the forward divisions. Practically all the passing rushes initiated in the rearguards broke down before much damage was done. Ekdahl’s try was the outstanding brilliant effort. The match was characterised by a good deal of fighting and hard play, especially in the initial stages. For the first ten minutes play remained in Hawera’s twenty-five. Ike had two unsuccesful shots at goal and D. Johnston two for Okaiawa. Ekdahl’s kick at goal was also unsuccessful. Hawera then took a hand at attacking, two passing rushes breaking down through over-eagerness. Offside, play 'rave Anderson,, a .ch.an.cc .to goal in. frqnt

of Okaiawa’s goal. The ball sailed between the posts, drawing first blood for Hawera. Okaiawa was within an ace of scoring on two occasions, but Hawera’s defence enabled it to clear. Okaiawa broke away from a pass infield by Johnston, but Hawera forced. Half-time sounded with Okaiawa on the attack and the score; Hawera 3, Okaiawa 0. In the early stages of the second spell S. Riley initiated a passing rush which broke down within striking distance of Okaiawa’s line. Two rapid passing rushes in which Crawford and Johnston were prominent carried play towards Hawera’s line. A good kick by McCallum took play to within a few yards of the line, but Hawera cleared. “Snowy” Robinson had to leave the field through injury. A movement in which W. Robinson and Poi were prominent took play to Okaiawa’s line, where from a scram-', ble Murphy dived over for a trv\ Anderson’s kick was successful. Hawera celebrated an escape by again threatening the line. Anderson had a ehancc to goal, but the shot went wide. OkaiawwUf took play,.to .the piouth of .Ila- . wera’s goal, where Cheevers saved well. Okaiawa came .again, but Anderson cleared. Crawford placed Okaiawa again on the offensive. ■ Johnston started a passing movement in mid-ficld.

Overwhelming their opponents half the Okaiawa team handled, Crawford scoring almost under the goal. The kick failed. The beet try of the day was Ekdahl’s. He secured from a passing rush, - evaded a couple of would-be tacklers, and raced more than half the. length of the field with a couple of Okaiawa men in pursuit. He scored in a good position. Anderson’s kick failed. The game concluded with Hawera on; the attack and the score:— Hawera H Okaiawa 3 j Mr. R. Bowman was referee.

JUNIOR PRACTICE MATCHES. In a junior non-compc'titi'on game between Star and Old Boys’ Rugby teams, played as a'curtain-raise? io the senior Okato-Old Boys’ match?, Star won by 15 points, to. nil. A third grade practice match was played at , Waitara between Old Boys and Clifton, in which the visitors won by 23 points to 9. REFEREES DISCUSS RULES. CONFERENCE AT STRATFORD. Rugby rules, in New Zealand as they will be affected by the tour of the British team were discussed at a conference of Taranaki referees at Stratford. With regard to local matches the only rule affected is rule 27 referred to the kick into touch. Under that rule the ball will be in touch when it or a player carrying it touches or crosses a touch, line and it shall be brought into play at the spot where it went, into touch by one of the following methods: —(a) Throwing it into the field of play so that it alights at least five, yards from the touch line and at, right angle's ; to.it;- (b) scrummaging it ten yards frbm where it went into touch at right angles to the line. If the ball, .when thrown in from touch, docs not alight at right angles to the touch line the opposing side shall bring the ball into play 06 in (b). ’ •’ In matches being played by the-Brit-ish team the following rules will bo affected: —

Law 2—Fair catch or mark: The catcher must clahn the same by making a mark with his heel at the spot, the words “or by calling out ‘mark,’ ” being omitted.

* Law B.—The game is played in two spells of 40 minutes each. '

Laws 14 and 17.—Knock-on or throw forward and offside: In a passing rush the English Union penalises the playcr passing the ball forward by giving a scrum instead of penalising the player who receives the ball with a free-kick for being offside. Law 19 (b). —The words “unless he is stooping to pick up the ball” are added to the present rule: “A player overtaking an opponent also' running for the ball must not shove him from behind.” Law. 27—Kick, ,ini,o touch.■ It must be remembered that no re-, placement of injured ..players is allowed;,. There was a. long .discussion, with reference to the scrummage. It was pointed out that the present rules were sufficient to cover all breaches provided they were enforced and it was decided that all penalties with reference to scrummages should be enforce! strictly. The front-row men may lift either foot but must not advance such foot in front of the feot on the ground. If this rule were complied with mos: cf the trouble in scrums would' disappear. I

CENTRA LDIVISION JUNIORS. DRAW FOR FIRST ROUND. The fixtures for the first round of the junior Rugby competition, in the Central Division are':—; : . First Juniors. May S.-r-Midhirst v. Pukengahu, at Pukengahu; Eltham v. Toko, at Toko; Stratford v. Celtic, at Stratford; Tariki a bye. ; ' May 15. —Midhirst v. Eltham,; at Eltham: Pukengahu v. Toko, gt Pukengahu; Stratford v. Tariki, at Tariki; Celtic a bye. May 22.—Midhirst v. Toko, at Midhirst; Eltham v. Pukengahu, at Pukengahu; Tariki v. Celtic, at Stratford; Stratford a bye.

May 29. —Midhirst v'. Stratford, at Midhirst; Pukengahu v. Celtic, at Stratford; Eltham v. Tariki, at Eltham; Toko a bye. June 5. —Midhirst v. Celtic, at Midhirst; Pukengahu v. Stratford, at Stratford; Toko v. Tariki, at Tariki; Eltham a bye. June 12.—Pukengahu. v. Tariki, at Tariki; Toko v. Celtic, at Toko; Eltham v. Stratford, at Stratford;"" Midhirst a bye. Third Grade. t May B.—Celtic v. Inglewood, at Inglewood; Stratford v, Eltham, at Eltham; School v.. Midhirst, at Midhirst. May 15— Celtic v. Stratford, at Stratford; Inglewood v. School, at School; Eltham v. Midhirst, at Midhirst.

May 22.—Celtic v. Eltham, at Eltham; Inglewood v. Midhirst, at Inglewood; Stratford v. School, at School. Stratford. May 29.—Celtic v. School, at School; Inglewood v. Eltham, at Inglewood; Stratford v. Midhirst, at Stratford. June s.—Celtic v. Midhirst, at Stratford; Inglewood v, Stratford, at Inglewood; Eltham v. School, at Eltham.

FIRST MATCHES IN WELLINGTON.

By Telegraph.—Press Association.

Wellington, Last Night.

The Wellington Rugby competition was opened yesterday in perfect weather. Senior A matches resulted:- Old Boys 16 beat Varsity 10, Petone 25 beat Athletic 10, Marist 19 beat Hutt 14, Poneke 24 beat Berhainpore 9, Oriental 9 beat Eastbourne 6.. - : '

CHRISTCHURCH COMPETITION.

Christchurch, April 20. , Football matches commenced in Christchurch to-day.' The' weather was fine, but cold, and suitable for the win-’ ter game, but the grounds were as hard as concrete after the long drought. Old Boys 17- beat 'Merivale ‘3, Linwood 18 beat Christchurch 11, Varsity 14 beat Sydenham 3, Albion 28 beat Technical 0.

MATCHES AT AUCKLAND.

Auckland, Last Night.

The Rugby'football season opened yes terday in fine weather on hard grounds. Results:—Grammar Old Boys 11 beat Training College 8, Technical Old Boys 14 beat University 0, Marist 14 beat City 8, Ponsonby 30 beat Grafton 3, Manakau 13 beat College Rifles 10.

WANGANUI GAMES COMMENCED.

Wanganui, Last' Night.

The Wanganui Metropolitan Rugby Union commenced its cup matches on Saturday. Results are:—Kaierau 11 drew with Pirates 11, Technical Old Boys 29 beat Old Boys 6, Ratana 9 beat Aotea 6. •