OTAGO ROUTED

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1930, Page 5

OTAGO ROUTED

■•BRITAIN’S DECISIVE 'WIN-THIRTY-THREE TO NINE ■BACKS ELECTRIFY CROWD BLa\ KICKS SIX. GOALS '■X By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, June 14. Otago enjoys the dubious distinction ' having suffered the severest drubbing Jo date at the hands of the British (Rugby footballers. Before a crowd of about .17,000 at the Carisbrook ground, the home team w£s beaten by 33 points < to nine in a game that was' fast and spectacular for all its one-sidedness. The local forwards were rattled in the (first few minutes, and from that time they • were hopelessly outclassed. The ..result- was the backs could do nothing, ' and since they too were more or less stampeded by the whirlwind tactics of the Britishers there was a debit of 15 points against the home team before the crowd realised that Otago was not likely to be in the hunt. Later in the game Otago’s defence improved, and the crowd responded appreciatively to some strikingly effective tackling. , When Reeve with his powerful and impressive lope set off for the corner with the ball under his arm and beat IStevenson with such ridiculous ease, he brought the crowd to its toes, and indicated the apposition Otago had to face. He was brilliant all day, and made many fine runs. His acceptances -were perfect, and as he ran as straight as an' arrow. Spong was a heartbreak to both forwards and backs. He’ jinked, wormed, side-stepped and dodged everywhere, heedless of high tackles directed at him, and what was more to the point there was always someone handy to carry on when he was stopped. Murray was scarcely' less impressive, and Aarvold proved<Uiiinself a centre of.centre's. Morley on the wing was unlucky in not getting a great many chances, but he showed a fine touch of speed, and handled expertly. Bassett was unshak- - able at full-back, and gave a great display of line-kicking. Bowco-tt was less conspicuous than the other inside backs, but was always there when wanted. The forwards were a great pack compared With Otago’s. Beamish and Ivor Jones were always prominent, and Black’s kicking was a feature of the game. . Of the Otago team only Francis, the University half-back, and D. Lindsay, the University full-back, were worthy of mention on their game to-day. Stevenson was not comfortable for long at (i time, and did little go-cd at the-full-back position which he vacated in favour of Lindsay at half-time. Lindsay’s tackling, both at wing and full-back, was ft delight, but his goal-kicking was far from up to standard. Francis was always a worker, and did as much for his backs as his forwards allowed. On defence he was exceptionally sound, and his line-kicking proved invaluable. Fookes at centre had few chances, and .both Wilson and Stevenson suffered from similar lack of opportunities. Whenever the Otago backs got away they gained little ground, and were soon brought to tt stop. i Spong and Murray were deadly, and the British forwards us a whole were great spoilers. The less said about the Otago forwards the better. They were ibeaten every way, and the pity was that they knew it too soon. ; ' -THE PLAY DESCRIBED. Britain won the toss and BradanoJ itch kicked off against the sun. Beamsh secured and immediately started a passing movement which ended with the ball going out. The visitors secured again, however, and the game was only two minutes old when Aarvold gave the ball to Reeve, who started a run from halfway. He completely beat StevenBoh and scored well . out. Black concerted with a great kick. ■ • Britain • • ■ ■ 5 > Otago : 0 A few minutes later Aarvold was (again prominent and when taken by (Stevenson he passed to Black, who transferred to Reeve in time for the fast winger to run round and .score between the posts. Black's kick again added, two points. Britain Id Otago d Otago with handy line-kicking transferred play to the British twenty-five, but the visitors were breaking up the Otago forward formation. Aarvold, Bowcott and Spong started another rush which looked dangerous, but a bad pass put Reeve off. A few minutes later Bowcott dazzled the crowd with an

exhibition of side-stepping and cuttingin, but crowding to the line cramped Reeve. From a scrum Francis secured and -found the line with a kick that gained 50 yards. Spong had the crowd on its feet with a brilliant run right across tho field and then forward. Finally he sent Reeve on to meet Stevenson, whose tackle closed the effort. Wilson picked up from a scramble in the .Visitors’ half and made a serviceable run until the ball was knocked out of ilia hand. A free-kick was awarded to Otago, but Stevenson’s kick went wide. IBassett secured' and found the line. A rut J , ? • ' :-•.••• ‘-V : dj! j i;.» c ••

nice passing rush ended when Reeve was taken by Lindsay, but the winger was up again before the ball could be taken and with a clever kick centred. The ball went, past Stevenson and rebounded from the post'. Beamish was first there and scored beneath the. posts. Black again converted. Britain 15 Otago d The Otago backs were getting little of the ball, although Francis a.t half < was playing a great game. The British forwards for the most part set a sparkling pace and maintained it remark : ably. Lying on the ball cost Britain a penalty ten yards -from the line, and Lindsay made no mistake with the kick. Britain 15 Otago Findlayson and Hore led a forward rush to the British territory, and the Otago backs were seen in the best concerted move to date. Spong’s offside

I gave Lindsay another kick at goal from well out, but the ball went wide. Bistain did not force, kicking out. A minute later, Bassett was caught on his own line ,by Lindsay after the latter and Francis had exchanged passes, and finally Francis touched down. Lindsay’s kick failed. . • i Britain.- 15 Otago 6 From a scrum Spong sent Bowcott and Aarvold away for the corner, but Wilson tackled well and relieved an awkward position. The visitors had Otago rattled in the early stages, but the home backs by now had begun tackling seriously, tipping up their opponents- in a manner that delighted the, crowd. Lindsay in particular seemed to have Reeve’s measure. From a scrum a. few yards from the line Spong sent the away, but Scott took Morley right on the corner. From a line-out the Otago forwards got away, but Bassett came right through. A great kick by Lindsay from a penalty found the line well down. The visitors came away again, and the ball went from Spong to Bowcott, to Aarvold, who was well taken by Stevenson. Morley returned, however, and passed to Ivor Jones, who scrambled over to score the final try of'the spell, which Black converted with a great kick. Britain 20 Otago 6 4 LINDSAY GOES TO FULL-BACK. I In the second spell Lindsay went to full-back, Stevenson taking his place on the wing. Morley and Aarvold opened up the play, the latter running clean through the opposition and short-punt-ing over Lindsay’s head; ■ He failed, however, to get lip to ground the ball, and Otago forced. Wilson gained a lot of ground with- a line kick, and Francis sent his backs away, Fookes transferring to Stevenson, who passed inlield when tackled. The British forwards then smothered the movement. Spong, Bowcott and Aarvold moved off. The ball went out to Reeve, who quickly got into stride, but he found a match in Lindsay. Good following up, howeVer, kept the effort alive, and it was only after a wild scramble-that Otago forced.' By dint of hard battling the Otago forwards fought their way to half-way, where some hard play followed. The visitors were getting practically all the ball from the scrums, and both Spong and Murray were particularly deadly in •breaking up offensive moves. Collett and Hore showed out with the ball at their'toes, but Ivor. Jones picked up and started a counter movement. Francis found the line well down, but the ball came back hard off the boot of Bassett, and the British forwards were again on top. A loose scramble between the opposing forwards gave Giles his chance. He broke through with the ball at his feet and in spite of speculating too hard was fortunate enough to get up in time to score in a good position. Stevenson’s kick from almost straight in front went wide. Britain .... 20 Otago 9 On the Otago side Francis and Lindsay were getting all the laurels from 'the crowd. The latter at full-back was deadly. Spong cut through in brilliant fashion just in front of the Otago goal, and although pulled up had penetrated far enough to score. Black's sure boot added the extra points. Britain 25Otago 9 Otago were awarded a free-kick a minute later. Greatly to the crowd’s delight Lindsay attempted the impossible from nearly halfway. The kick went wide. From a line-out got the ball at halfway and completely outwitted the defence, reaching Lindsay with Ivor Jones in close attendance, but Lindsay pushed them out ten yards from the line. From another free kick to Otago Lindsay missed with a badlydirected kick. Lindsay returned a short punt by Murray to find the line 30 yards away, and for some time Otago held their opponents. From a scrum in midfield the ball went from Murray to Spong to Morley, and then to Reeve, who just about hurdled the waiting Lindsay to score well out. Black’s kick drew an admiring gasp from the crowd. Britain 33 Otago 9 The Otago backs could not get moving, and the forwards were outclassed. Collett and Dunne broke through, but the defence was too good. The visitors threw the ball about disconcertingly, and the home team were unable to compete. -Spong’s darting slithering figure was everywhere. He jinked his way through a seemingly impenetrable mass and ten yards from the 'line passed out, : Black finally being grassed to .allow

Otago to force. Stevenson was pushed out after a strong run and Bradanovitch was penalised for lying on the ball, but Lindsay returned the kick well up the line. Wilson and Collett got away, but a forward pass resulted in another scrum. Francis secured, passing to Bradanovitch, who transferred to Fookes, and the latter found the line near the corner. Shortly afterwards Francis sent his backs away again. Bradanovitch, Fookes and Wilson handled, the last-named in-passing te Fookes whose pass to Bradanovitch was intercepted by the übiquitous Spong.. Bowcott, Aarvold and Morley made a bold bid for the line, but Morley was well grassed by Wilson. With two minutes to go Giles had an unsuccessful attempt to pot, 'and a minute later the crowd was electrified by a brilliant dash down the line by Morley, whose progress was stopped when Lindsay threw him out of the field. The final score was: Britain 33 Otago 9 The gate-takings amounted to £1929.