EVEN BATTLE

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1931, Page 4

EVEN BATTLE

TARANAKI’S BELATED WIN AUCKLAND BEATEN AT RUGBY ELEVEN POINTS TO NINE SOFT GROUND DULLS PLAY N ' .Effecting A belated recovery, Tarriitaki defeated Adckldnd rit Rugby by it jbiiits to fl At Pfikekura Bark; New Plymouth, on Saturday. Auckland drew first blood, and maintained the lead; for ' ,ths greater ■ p'drt of the game. Collihs, hciivever, kicking bettbf ihrin he lids dbfie for yerii-s; booted Tarafiaki into Mttikiiig di&tafice of yieioty, and Riliriellddrove -tlifi fehaft:Hofhe with d.epec.taculdr try in the last quarter.of fiti lbtir, ; to give Trirahdki tub Verdict.by * narrow two points ma/gin. Auckland’s ricorfi consisted of three unconverted tries* Taranaki’s two trieS; bbc df which was cdhverted, arid d pbririlty god!. Altliciugh lib rain fell during the match and a ivdii mtn mddb spasmodic efforts to shine, 'the heavy dOwilp'oiirS of the. last few weeks had made the ground very, soft, and in patches, particularly in the ebntre of the field, it was a. quagmire. No doubt as a result of this the • gyeatet part of the play - ' was tight work amongst the forwards, . ■ Ind the game from the speetdeuidr ?oint of view lacked . the sparkle of the aranaki-Southiand fixture, or for that mailer even, the Taranaki-Wanganui match a week ago. Football crowds being what; they are;, if Aiickldhd ■ had niaintained their lead until, the end of tlje.' s game, the disappointed , spectators would prbbihly have drifted away at (fie finish telling one another that it liad been a ralhpr dull game and, the Taranaki, pack was going to the dogs. As it, tvaS, however, aiid in View bi the fict that the Taranaki forwards rather niade ameiids in, the second spell,, the’ crowd thought that on the whole it wasn’t 1 a bad gdfiie. at all. In tact, cohsiderihg the conditions,: they finally Agreed it was qiiite a good gaiiie. TARANAKI’S, DELATED Eh’FtliT. ' ■Taraiiahi certaifily took a long time to get iiiio their stride, and ah fialftime the. view held by a number of .people that thb;Koine pack needed drastic -reorganisation was confirmed. The forwards lacked the fire of old, both in the tight, and ifi the Ibdsc, dfifi Stttltid down to a grim but lifeless battle against a. cdrhbiiiation that .consistently beat, them ifi both sbritni. arid ‘ iine-oht. To, add to Tarhnfiki’s troubles a spoke hkd fiee'n thfiifit in the wlirielS of tlie three-qpiarfbt like artillery, iVlilbh was such a magnificent weapon'of defence hhd attack iii .tlie mdtcli dgdintt tVafigafitii. Watsb'n, tlifoiigll itii ifijiir’y tb drib leg, beefime' pTdbtibiillj* a paS- , senger, and as much as presented . Atibk-” Ifiiid with a . try before he fifidlly re ’ f.irrid iri favbtir of liiiisclla. To ihakii ■ riiritiers worse jjiinicr. fviis jilajdrig , d pttlchy game, aiid ■ Cdilifisi,’thdiigh lild . lip . find plfifcb kicking iVefb nbtllilig Shbrt of inagfilfiebht, ivdk belfiw pdt ifi btlier inipbrtaiit aspects of ciistodiafii &iiifi. TKh Coiisequence dilS that altlibugh tlie Taranaki team lidtl by .iio nieilns disgraced itself, a .rattier diill first spell efided With Aitckland jedding by riix points to nil, and Taranaki Stbcks depressed. . , Part Way/through tlie ..second Spell the forwards fefeciifed a ,11-iiiy lefise of life, galloped and trampled. all over Aficklafid, arid inspired the , Spebtatbrs ini fitefitely. . Fortier, who liad' bbefi pldying a splendid Ganic frbiii tlie fetdri, eptnßiued with Ydiifig to secure a, fair ShfiJb of the ball-ffbin .{lie Actttnßi; and Walter- arid iyillfe led the field d nierry fiafice, pfospfeetri . brjgliteiiiiig accbrd- •' fingiyi „■ ’■ . KINSELLA AT FIRST UNEASY. ■ Kfeanwhile the Taranaki backs were tfyiiig to fiild their :feet; Kinsella was a new and.untried link at second fiveeighths,. Fookes having gone out to centre. For a long time Kinsella was apparently over-a Wed by the occasion, find mistakes and misunderstandings with hit fellbw players, particularly in the fnatten’bf fiblding the ball Oh the full, were frequent. Theii, With Taranaki still a point to the bad, Kiuniilla zigthrough thb opposition wftli .a Hfillidht exhibition of sidb-steppifig such a 6 is seen oiily once ifi a while. He dashed, tb the littb and scrambled over; AS he was tackled," for a great try; team-mates shook him by the hand; And the crowd wept away singing the praises, of. Kinsella the Will o’ the Wisp and of the wondrous boot of Collins, who had made victory, possible by landing two magriificent goals with a heavy ball. Football’s like that, and it was all .very trud. But there was an ihclihatiori to forget that the saviiig grace of the team was Fookes. He may not have shdfie on .any notable occasion, but more than any other member Of thb team he was responsible for keeping Auckland’s score as low- as it •ivis.’ - He .pldyed a quiet and invaluable game. Gudgeon was an enigma. At times his ifigeiniity arid his originality amazed both spectators, and opponents,'and it was a brilliant solo effort on his part tlirii led the way to Taranaki’s first try. On the other hand it was failtire to tackle properly that let Auckland Away oil two of their three try-crowned excursions, and one is inclined to wonder whether his unorthodoxy may not have been at any rate partly responsible for Peterson’s iiibOtißpibuous part in the panorama of play throughout the afternoon Not that Peterson was a failure; he was merely not seen. SOLOMON THE WISE. tfwo features of the Auckland tbarii’s play impressed tlieinselves vividly bri one’s mind. They were the dbiiiiriant persbnality of the mighty Solomon in the forwards, and the fact that the inside backs,'eitlier by accident or design, consistently declined to operi tip any - sweeping: attabks by their outside men. Year seemed to be the chief ■iuiriblihg block, for Coriway was a fiippy and clever lialf-back. Almost invariably, hbivever, wheii thebe players ■ecur-L the ball—and they Secured it pretty bfiefi^—they endeavoured to exploit the blind side. Millikin looked a langerpus man, and the whole back division-seemed capable of giving Taranaki a hot afternoon’s leather-hunting if only -ihey tried, particularly on a dry ground. .As it was, the backs were not 1- particularly convincing try-get-ting machine. Perhaps, too, there was something in the argument that the emergency ■ Stewart iii place of the, player Stuart w rild liave bebh a better opponent the formidable Jones ofi the Taranaki wing. Davies was a found tackler and a good all-round full-back, but lii: kicking, both into touch arid at goal, was not a patch on that of Grilling.

In the forwards lay Auckland’s greatest strength, although ih one thing —ability to jiiifiii in a scrum—they yielded to Taraiutki. Batty was a tower of strength ;ifi leader of the scrum, but it was Sdloihoii who caught the public eye. With unerring instinct

fis tb Strategic position he hovered ominously here and there like a vulture waiting to swoop-on its-prey, and if there was a chance going, he was irito it, as T-hranfiki kiifew to tfibir cost. True to trad, ci oh, Sblomori played with the wisdom of a bbrri fbbtbalier, and his powerful frame and useful turn of speed make him one of the finest wing-for-wards seed iii TaiAiiaki for a long time. All in all the Auckland team sebtiied a pdrtibiilarly yoiiiig fine, find lacking ‘ in xtfe experience of the Auckland teamd that Have Visited Taranaki ifi fhe past. Tlie teiuris wete:— AUCKLAND. Davies Milliken Caiighey Striart Smith ' "Vefir Conway ’’ Solo'rnan Palhiet Soiiter ; . Batty NeiVdibk .< Biihting Barker ' Satfierlby Taranaki. , Collins Htultcr W’atebh JoheS K. Fookes ' RMersdh K C. Gudgpon cfiy , . C. Wills. R. Lusk • . ; Walter D. Mrirphy W. Baldwin i’btiiig FotVlbr THE PLAY DESCRIBE!). Play b.peried quietly, Milliken marking the kibk-bff rind retiirriing tb Fookes, who liribd nbar Ahtikland’s twenty-five. Tardnaki were ribdailsed; Davit’S lined -well down tlib fields The Aubklatid tacks elirly gfivb A tAstfi of tlifeir quality, Cdnwdy picking iip frbfii ! tfie tuck to 6eiid hiS bfickd moving- prettily; The brill camb bleriniy -filofig tlie - line .to Stuart o’h the wifig; tdl His reybfsb pass to Catighfey fvbnt Astray; Tarandki fbrwiirds dhove the. visitors. brick, and fiatty g'etting dffside, Collifid hfifl A. Sfibt at gofii frbiii-'just ihsidi; halfway; the ball goifig wide.' : 1 . . Cdtiifis' rigaffi lined-fiefitly, arid Wat-, sori fihbrt-ptifited fot JdfieS; following up ffirit, tfi cdlirir Cfiftw.ay. .■/fiufitirig was caii£Ht otfside liiitz ? Tatan&lji' aitt riot tiid'Kd niiich use di tfid fiehdlty. And. Smith iVith a i welldfidged' kick found a vdbdnt sriabe., Millikeii . weht ‘ iiftcr tdb-brill 'hili Collins jtiht beat liiid. Ifidecislbrt oil the pkrt bfj Cqlliiid arid Hiiritbr sfiiV tlie ibtmer tackled with .tlie brill |iist iiiSjde. Trifrifiaki’S twfifity;fite.Wbrkiiid tvell idketlier- with Latty in the vriii the Afibkiandfos Attacked, b'Ut tile Tarafiaki pitfck liejd. theifi Mil, kibkfiig tlirbiigli, Fdbkes. fofidvVed rind kicked acrbsS io Jolies. A ifiboilfiq irom DaVies. I'di Fobkefi.gaid gfbfiiid. The yiiU tors attacked hotly. Solomon beat GUdgeon and sent- the ball out th Sttiiirt, who Sprinted down the line ilfid Stint the ball, infifeld Conway, who. Was well tackled. Auckland? then used the other wing, Milliken making a run, but Hunter held liitfi. - , •

Gudgeon made a great opening ■ for Hunter oji the blind. The Hawfera, .winger set iail’ arid WHeil Blbcked :liB,t the ball id to’Walter; WliOse pa^lWas Jblbckcd nti&F. He tWehty-five'. ' Coriwiiy v Wats hurt ill dteiriinifig thS Push; DriyiqH; the Auckland iiilpiidir.ki Had tliir better of an. interchange of. kicks .With Collins. Tai-iifih'ki jidokifig.-tlih, bdU;.. Ciidgeon sent it out : sharply via luisj backs to; Watson, who Cut-through cleverly, and drew hisjnan, but held'on, just too long arid was cdildrFd by StiUri whferi Jciries was for a pass., Solomon snapped up and iifdke :; to the - tivefiiyrfive with Souter in Support and only the full-brick id pilSs; liu.t Cdlliils was equal to the dbeasibii. WATSON RECEIVES INJURY. Tlife gariife'Waß lieldup owing to :Wdtsbh receiving a ktibek; The Clifton tlifee J dudbter resunihei ,BUt Whs qhvib'ugly riot Him Self dHd pldyfeil Uh iihder difficulties. Bright inbvdineht dir bbtli sides fblidwfed; Both sets' of liitcks Were exploiting: tlife kitjk ithd- foliow-tip'pol-icy. Gtidghon ghoft-ptifithd■ aiid sihptherfed Davies Blit Cojiway • whs ’dillc tb liiie dt hdlf-Way. A.rieiTeri of liiie-buth saw Auckland gairi-grotiiid, tfiitl CoriWiiy set his backs iiibvirig for ’to be colldred ; iri pbrisfessioh.: Tlicy Fisitlng pdek chfirgiiig ddwn, rihidthered • Cbllihs in His owii twenty-five. Frbhi tlife liiiebiit Year kicked across tb Millikeft,' Wfib lined blit gained little jffottiid.; Auckland forwards Were, Heeling but id their backs at every oppdrttiriity but Taranaki were quickly oh, to Conway, Watson srhotlifefed Caiighey and lift Guy through, but his pass to Fookes .went iistfay. Taranaki Worked play to Auckland’s .twenty-live, where Tarahriki secured froth the scriim diid EBblteS,’ Watson, Hunter and Watson again Handling well gained grbiifid,'thou'gp the: latter was limpihg soiflewhrit. Fowler tackled Davies with the ilirill fifteen yards frbm the liiie, But . Conway saved. Taranaki roused the crowd by handling perfectly, all the backs did their share, Watsop sending Jones away. The burly Cliftpri clapped bit fill! steam and beat Stuart but Was well taken by DavieS. Tafaiiftki pressed till Conway worked the blind and kicked to midfield, Wlifel-e Satherley, trying to check collins, measured, his length in the mud to tlife delight Of the Crowd. Collins failed to line and after, some scrambling play Caiighßy kicked tfirbiigli and Solomdh, fblibwiiig tip frigt, beat Collins,kicked oWfef- the .liiie arid id a great Tried Heat Taraiiaki td fall oh tlife, ball <i coup'ife of yai’dh ffbrii tjio dpad-ball line. Newdiek fdiled Id goal; aiiil after 3(1 minutes the score wriri:— Auckland ................. 3 Taranaki .................. 0 the Tatahaki forwards, ball at fob; swept to the twenty-five; wlierfe Cotiivdy gathered up tlife ball aridliilfed. Blatter, Buntirig arid Batty. headed it coiihtfer rush to halfway, where Gtty drovfe theiii back, gaining 20 ylitds. Walter, Wills. Fowler and Miifpliy Were prominent until Year snapped up and centred. The Taranaki baekri wferb gfiirig well but Watson’s injury had slowed him. However, Fowler find City came through with a terrific burst right to the twentyfive, where played stayed iiritil Sriiitli cleared. Solomon, Bunting and others Were looking daiigferbus till Hrihter crihie across, snapped dp arid With .. perfect kick lined 10 yards ffbrii ’ Aiickltind’s twenty-five. Vehr Was injured. SOLOMON’S SECOND TRY. Tight work ended in Con Way securing the ball, bitt Veftr frilled to hold the pass rind Eowlfei’, felibwifig a grfeat 'burst of spefed, kicked gbross to Jones, Who could ritil quite get there. FpSt play followed arid Tariiilaki Were having tile bfeltfer of it, when in a flrisli ilio siltidlion Serisaiibiially changed. Watson sectirbd Hut Was smothered; his pass going wide. Sriiith Seized tfie clidnfee' with Avidity, Unripping up the brill arid Sending it vid. to-Solo-mon, -who streaked ovfer to place the brill alongside’ -tire posts—a gift try which Drivies failed to take advantage of, missing an crisy chance tb goal arid, as it turned out, riiakirig till the difference between defeat and saving the game. - Auckland 6 Taranaki 0 At this stage Watsbri retired, Fookek dropping back to' -ceiitrc arid Kinsella going in at five-eighth. Walter, Lusk, Young and Guy rfetichfed Auckland territory bn rcsutiiiiig, but Davies drove

tliefii hack with a great line kick; Kinsella nearly struck trouble in waiting for the bounce as Caughey- canto through fast, but Collins was there and lined beautifully. Using tlie blind, Conway sent Milliken away, but he could not pash HUriier. Auckland were then definitely in the ascendancy. After a move between Kinsella tirid Fookes had. broken down Solomon on the blind made a grerit opening to send Milliken a way, but Collins threw him into touch. Kinsella was evidently hot yet feeling at home as he fumbled, allowing Auckland to kick over the line, but Jolies’ pace let him force just in time. The Auckland backs, handling well, kept the upper hand andTooked like scoring when an iriffifigeifient grive Tarafiaki relief, half-time sbuiiding with the score:— Auckland 6 Taranaki 0 Ciiughey’s kick-off was followed by a scruni' at lialfwriy from wlri li the visitors; liboked cleiiiily. , Conway at oiice set his backs going, using both sides of tlie sciiim, but the wiiigs were given little- lrittltiidc by JbiieS and Hunter. Jones was soriiewliat unlucky in bellig ibeateh by the bounce when lie looked like crossing. Auckland, were going well and a misunderstanding between Colliris and .Kinsella- looked black for Taranaki,' but. Fookes saved. Using the blind, Auckland. kept Tarafiaki peniied till Collins lined. TARANAKI OPENS ACCOUNT. . Taranaki secured "from a scrum; Gudgepii sending the 'ball out to Peterson,. wit-0., puhied right into safe arms of Davies. The Taranaki pack wbre. ififusing some “giilger” into their work find riwept down. Jones carried on to. be held up within ten. yards of the line. Conway was compelled to run b'elririd tb save. . Blocked in the. open the Auckland Krill doubled -like it liare to the blifid ' side arid lilted. Tarafiaki, kept attacking but Gudgeon fdiled tb pitik up bleafily: The TdAfiaKi Half madb more, thfiii frill amends a nloineiit later ivhen die bloke tlitougji, wi'iggled his why asiofiislliiigly tlirbiigli a iiiaze of ( Idiiders arid 's'eh.t the eVcr-liandy Gliy over' to sedtb just ds Soldlfion grabbed his legs. ' Collins goaled. After eight minutes of .the spell tlie score 'wds: ■ . • < • 6 Taranaki b Aiicklltnd ;Werb penalised for a scrtlni iiifHiigemeiit, eiiablifig Pctbrsbn to line at the tweilty-'fiVc. Fiolii tlie sctuin Uifiiivily seciired but failed tb find the lliie. Übllins, HoWever,' madb nb liiisUke aiid lified lii-illldntly tf-ithiiiMivb vfirdS of the Auckland li.iic.. Failure by tb Hold the. b.iill lot Aribklaiid tlifbugli blit Colliiis brilliantly lincd ( iii tlie sriiiie place. Tlie Ibcals.kcpt nioviiig rifid Collins had a “pdl” Whibh jiist fell riliprt aiid wits forced. Tardiitiki were playiiig with great fiaSli and Jones gained several yards with ids iiiany opponents liaiigjiis, mi. Misiinderstaridiiig saw Stuart aiid Sifiitli collide ofi.tiie tduch-liiie, the latter being inbineiitarily .injured arid the ball •going, but iii Auckland .territory. Tight forward play ended ill Aupkjiiiid kicking ihrbugli, Peier'soii jiist. being able to line. ‘ jsedfily-4dckli.fig .Hy the Taranaki pack. checlied.Mie AitchhiiicL bricks uiitil Uoriway sent,' lhfi<lb.ail tb jlillikeii, who sliort-punted, Cbjliri'? liavifig to rim to .touch -10/fidvm (.1 reiit footwork Hy, Lcfibinon beat Hiinler; biit.ifie.. Auckjaii.fi rover wfis i lield up inside Taraiiak'Bs iweiity-five and pldy sfi ung to the .other wing, where there was a duel bpiween Jones and Stuart,., which Davies ended iiy lining. ■ Beautiful line-kicks by Collins lielped ' Taranakii to .reach neutral territory,- where the Taranaki backs opened, up for Fookes to punt. Hunter set sail after,the ball but miskickcd. Then Conway made a great opening, drew the wing tliroc-quartcr apd sent Miliik'en'away sprjnliiig down the sideline. .Yylien bl'ocked tlie winger sent the bail”ilificld, Satlicrlcy was there,and; shaking olt Gudgeon, who jmiiped foriiis qtCk-, streaked over the line to score. Davies failed-to goal. Aucklaiid ft Tarauaki- : •••• '■ Almost on resuming Conway sent Milliken a way , again, but-Fookes, came across and tackled him, Auckland were, again moving well when Barker was caught well offside. Following up the advantage the Taranaki forwards led by Lusk and Fowler pressed hard and, aided by judicious line kicks by Collins; kept play in the, Auckland twenty-live. POi.NT BETWEEN TEAMS. Again the Tarfinaki backs roused the crowd with a pretty movement; Peterson, Kinsella and Fookes handling, but Jbhcs could, not quite reach the latter’s pass. Auckland 'lnfringed; Peterson taking a shot which fell short. An Auckland back failed, to field cleanly but recovered and badly beat the opposition to line. Solomon and Conway were prominent for the visitors; but Taranaki were not to be deified aiid, led by Baldwin and Walters, set up a solid rush that wll§ Checked close to the line by an infriligeiiterit. Solomon kicked through. Collins retrieved, ground by lining lit halfway. Froid the line-out Giidgeoh broke away with Jones in suppbrt; blit WliS held tip. A high kick by Fbokes fouhd a vitciint spot and, follbWed iip fast with Kiilsella lind Gudgeoti in support, Auckland werb coitipelleil despetately to defend. A solid struggle ensiled. Batty was caught offside arid Cbllins landed a beautiflil goal. Auckland ■ ; D Taranaki S With ohly a point between file teams ffist piety followed. Fookbs was teiiipbrarily injured. Consistently using the blind side, Coil way gained ground for the ridrtlierriers till Taranaki secured from the line-out and tlie ball passed tb Kinsella, who kicked cross, but Davies dashed across and jiist got iii his kick as Hunter trickled him. All the Tarafiaki fbrwards pressed, reaching the visitors’ twenty-five, aiid amidst teilse excitement Gudgeon, securing from a sbriim, Shot the brill to Peterson, who cut oiit Kiiiscllo, and sciit the ball to FbbkeS. The centre gave a welltiiiicd pass to Jones, wlio iliished for the line but Was cdlhircil within yards of his objective by Stuart. Then came the sensational climax. Frorii tlie serum CfiilWriy sent the ball to Stuart. Instead of using the blind side, which was -lear as Jolies had dropped iiitb extra fiveeighth positibn for attack, the Auckland winger centred and tlie ball dropped into the arriis of Fookes. The centre, running straight, beat a couple of riieil aiid handed bn to Hunter, who drew His man cleverly and sent the ball on to Kinsellri, who had come oh tlie outside. The >Si ar winger with wonderful determination side-stepped in dazzling fashion to beat several men in a twenty-five yards dash to th. line. He was thrown within two feet of the. line, bit'; reiaiiiecl the,brill, which he grounded over the lifie aniidrit a scene of great exciteihent. It Wds certainly a brilliant try. 'Collins failed to goal. Taranaki U Auckland 9 Witli but a few minutes to go Aucklaiid tried hard to retrieve the sitiiaiiori, and their backs handled iii businesslike style. Caughey cut in to solid Milliken away, biit the winger was well tackled. Play swung quickly to the other side of tlie field, whete Jones seciired ami punted over Stuart's head. Davies secured dlld was jiist able io shake himself clear of J dries’ '■ tackle

ami line. The Taranaki forwards took play back to Auckland’s twenty-live, qi where J ones made a determined dash ft but was finally liatiled down. Auckland kept tlie'ball in niotion and the spectators bn tenter-hbdks as they imide D progress towards tlie Tarafiaki lilie, but Taranaki held them, till the bell sotmded with tlie score: — Taranaki H Auckland ‘J Mr. J. S. King was the referee. VISITORS ENTERTAINED. On Friday evening the Auckland team were the guests of the Taranaki fiugby .p Union at Everybody’s Theatre. On Sat- c ; urday morning they were taken for a jj motor trip around the town, visiting j| Kawaroa Park, the harbour aufi the Blenheim oil bore, where they were interested spectators of the operation of S 1 swabbing, which resulted in about three n barrels of oil being secured. Siibscqueiit- s j ly they visited the new Rugby ground fit Wcstown, thence journeying via 5V Vogeltown and Avenue Road to the j- ; High School, where they inspected the c < new football ground, baths aiid the |,- school, being greatly interested in the n school, photographs. tl After the match the teams dined together, when the presifient of the. Tara- a naki Rugby Union (Mr. H. 11. A.oung) •;.] congratulated the Aucklaiid. team on the excellent game they had played and the splendid sportsmanlike spirit that prevailed. . . _ n In reply Air. H. W. M.uir thanked, the Taranaki Rugby Union for the splendid a , hospitality that had been shown the team. lie congratulated the Taranaki g, team on its win and agreed that the a j game had been played in a sportsman- g ( like manner, as it should be, for after ai all it was not the actual winning or n( losing of a game, that counted. He al also paid tribute to the excellent, way rt in wliich the referee (Mr. J. S. King) „| had. controlled the game. i it

The visitors, were the guests/ of the inion at the Popular Dance. They left or lioriie by motor yesterday morning. HSPUTED TRY NOT ALLOWED DECISION STANDS. ING'LEWOOD-CLI-FTON DRAW. The inrtnagemeiit committee of the L’aranaki Rugby Union on Saturday dcricled that the referee’s decision in the aiglcwood-Clifton match which re-stilted it a scoreless draw must stand. Each ;eam will therefore receive a point. Ulif,oll asked that the match be replayed, iubmi-ttiiig that an error of fact was mule by the referee in altering his decidon, he having awarded, a try to Clif;oit but afterwards disallowing the try ivhcMi he noticed the line umpires flag ■aised. Cliftoii admitted that a referhe louhl alter his decision in such a case, mt submitted that the. line umpire did lot attempt to raise his flag until after .lie try was awarded. ■ The feferee (Mr. J. S. King) said that if ter he had awa-fded the try he Saw he line umpire's Hag up and Aas told .hat the man had goiib out. At the previous meeting of the iprinigenient committee decision was defercd. On Saturday the ruling was aitlouuced. It stated that if the Tcfbrce .warded a try, not having rioticbtl that lie flag was up for touch, the law re-pi-rding altering the decision did not ipply, as the ball, having previously ;one into touch, was out of play, aiid mylhing which happened afterwards had 10 bearing on the game. This did not ilTcet the right of the referee to overule the touch judge's decision if, in his ipinioii, the bail or the player carrying t had not been Lu. loul-Iu

The clidirmafi said it was tile only rifle in Rugby where tlie ,-referee cbiild alter his. dedis’ibri. The referee had riecefitbd the line umpire’s decision. It sefiied, ilihrefdre, ptirely io be a matter of fact arid therefore nbtliiiig coiild be done. • SOUTH TARANAKI JUNIORS. oivAlAwA AND KAPONGA win. Finality in all South' Taranaki lower grade football wits reacli-ed. ofi Saturday, with the exception of the southern third-grade division,' in which the twp games set down were not played. Okaiuwa won the southern division second grade competition with 15 points, Patea being second with 14 points. The western division of the same grade was won by Kapofiga with 22 points, Kapoiiga having lost only one game. The western division third grade competition which concluded on the' previous Saturday was won by Opunake, while the one game in the southern division of that grade is yet to tie played. Waimale annexed the southern fourth grade competition, not having lost one match. Following is the scoreboard for Saturday, together with the bhampion-sliip tables for all grades:-— SECOND GRAtiE. Sbut-liern Division. Athletic 15 v. Huwera 6. Okaiawa 5 v. Patea 3. "Western Division. Waimatb forfeited to Kapbngd. Rahotu 8 v. Opuiiake 0. Third Grade. Patea v. Okaiawa, ho pliiy. High School v. Athletic, iio pliiy. Fourth Grade. Kauuxuca forfeited to Waimate.

' SECOND GRADE. Southern Division,

PRIMARY SCHOOL RUGBY. WEST END C GRADE CHAMPIONS. For the third season in succession the West End 0. grade team hate wbri the.

championship in its grade, of the P nn ?‘ •. schools’ Rugby cdnipetitipn. Ihe final match was playfed ori Friday afternoon, in which West End defeated Westown by 18 points to jiil. Fitzroy were the runners-up. .....' , ... . t , In an A grade match played duriiig. the week Waitara defeated Westown by 23 points to 3. JUNIOR SCHOOLS-CHAMPIONSHIP. MIDHIRST ELIMINATE MATAPU. Midhirst (winner of the Stratford division oi' the primary schools junior division) defeated Matapu (winner of the Eltharii division) by 5 to .nil at Elthain on Satdrday. Mills stidred it tine try and converted" it; Midhirst were sup&ribr in both divisions, and their strong forward attacks were not . easily cheeked. Anderson,, Cookson and Ludlam were the best .of a good pack, while Mills was outstanding' among the backs. Matapu were rather weak in the rear division, biit their fbrwiitds played a good fighting game. . Midhirst on Saturday will meet, the winning team in the southern, division at Elfhtirn to decide the South Taranaki championship. The winner of that, match will, then, play the North Taranaki champions for the ’Jisch shield and the provincial championship. . GARGAN RECOVERING. “Podge"’ Gargaii’s shoulder, which washurt during the representative Rugby match against Southland, is mending satisfactorily. Gargan hopes to take the field again this reason.

s ft) 1 fl fc fl o £ t« £ S .... 12 4 1 7 15 Batea • .... 12 4 ;2 6 14 Athletic .... .... 12 4 5 3 13 Hawer a .... 12 9 0 (5 Coriipfctiticiri finalised; Western Division. TCn nnn wii. . . » .... 12 i d 11 22 ..... I’! .... 12 d Opuhake ... 4 § W 8t 11)19 “ ■ 8 Hsiliottx • 12 11 0 1 2 Competition finalised. THIRD GRADE. Western Division. » OjMiiiaJc 1 © • !> 1 i 7 14 13 4 Haw era • • • Tv"n finil (TIL . . . 9 2 i 0 6 2 o flilTlli'tC • e > 3 Competition finalised. Southern Division Pa tea ...... .... 10 .... 11) 0 4 0 0 10 0 20 12 High Sohbol ... 10 5 i 0 0 10 o .... 10 . 9 One game to [day. fourth grade Southern Division .... 10 0 0 10 20 Okaiawa .. .... 10 .... 1° .3 4 0 7 3 14 6 .... 10 5 2 3 6 Kapouga High School ... 10. .... Id (J 9 1 0 3 1 6 2 Competition finalised.