DOGGEDNESS TRIUMPHS

Taranaki Daily News, 21 September 1931, Page 9

DOGGEDNESS TRIUMPHS

AUSTRALIA BEATEN BY POINT LACK OF FINISH SPELLS FAILURE TARANAKI DEFENCE TOO STRONG ASHES of international brilliance in a setting of innumerable fast passing rushes just lacking the finish that brings points were of no avail against Taranaki on Saturday, when the Australian Rugby team was defeated by 11 points to 10 at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth. Realising that to keep the game tight was their only hope Taranaki concentrated on forward thrusts as the means of attack and dogged tackling as the means of defence. And to the very end they pursued this policy relentlessly. Australia played an entirely different game, relying on a tumult of open passing rushes as the best Ueans of both attack and defence. That the visitors’ initiative was not rewarded by victory was due only to a succession of infringements and to lack of combination and finish that time and again nullified movements when tries were almost within grasp. It was « case of a potentially, much superior team being beaten by a team that lacked the losers’ brilliance and versatility, but concentrated on the one policy that could bring them success. . The match was played in brilliant sunshine on a dry ground, ©nd was watched by abojitSOOO spectators..

TWO BRILLIANT FULL-BACKS GAME OF UNFULFILLED PROMISES AUSTRALIANS IMPROVE AT END. The Taranaki players were well received as they med on to the field, Jed by their doggie mascot, but the applause was trebled as the green and white colours of the Australians appeared at the entrance to the ground. The hard, dry ground and the warmth ‘ of the day, coupled with the impression that the last two or three matches of the tour were finding the Australians at the top of their form, led most, of the spectators to anticipate a dazzling display by the visitors, and a fairly big Bcore against Taranaki. . Further strength to this point of view was lent by the fact that Taranaki were known to be relying on their forwards as their saving grace, and that practically all the experience of the team ‘ this seasoi had been on wet days and muddy grounds. As it happened, the anticipations were not borne ou by the results, and it would be useless to disguise the fact s ■■ that most people were disappointed with the Australians’ showing. However the fact that the play fell below international standard did not prevent it from being an interesting and enjoyable encounter, and it was quite an education to see the different way in which the game is developed across the Tasman. Practically from the kick off the visitors were continually penalised for infringements, mostly in the scrum. Not only did this become rather monotonous for' the spectators, but it had an obvious effect on the team. Every footballer can understand the upsetting effect on * team as a whole of constant penalty kicks awarded to the opposite side, par-ticularly-if the reason for some of the rulings be not understood. A number of the infringements were obvious from the terraces —particularly the fairly frequent off-sides—but many were not. Apparently the referee could see a great deal going on in the scrums that the spectators could not, and they, and apparently the Australian team also, were sometimes at a loss to understand what the penalty kicks were awarded for. This factor, and the frequent stoppages for minor injuries, caused numerous interruptions to the play, and possibly had a deleterious effect on the visitors’ combination. LACK OF COMBINATION. ' •I It was the lack of combination and finish of the Australian team that occasioned the chief disappointment, for time and again promising movements broke down when a try was In sight, either because of an absence of the requisite understanding of one another’s play or because of knoeks-on and forward passes. Playing three—two—three scrum formation, the visiting forwards usually eecurcd the ball from the scrums, and in this or in any other department of play their one object seemed to be to get the ball out to the backs. Fast dribbling rushes, and “tight” play generally, as New Zealand knows it, were conspicuous by their absence. With the king-pin Malcolm as the pivot the Australian backs did not employ the orthodox passing movements out through the five-eighths and centre to the wing three-quarter on the open side, or alternately the short snappy exploitation of the “blind” side, that New Zealand is accustomed to see. The half-back • was the point of a boomerang formation, and the attack was just as likely to operate one way as the other, with always a string of players on cither side to carry on the movement. In this hilarious passing—here, there and everywhere—Australia pinned its faith; and it would probably have succeeded too, had the backs shown better form and better combination. Towers, however, who so distinguished himself in the previous matches of the tour, and Herd were disappointing, and their faulty handling cost Australia more than one try. Another direction in which the Australians sounded their Dwn death-knell was their inability, with the exception of Ross, to stop the Taranaki forward rushes. Malcolm’s loss through injury was a serious one, but had the team gone dorm in the early stages with more gilt to the fierce Taranaki forward onslaughts Taranaki’s confidence would not have risen as it did. The Australians began to find their ? feet towards the end of the game, and

shook Tatanaki badly with a bewildering series of passing rushes. The wonder of it was that they did not get across once or twice. ..There was a marked tendency on the part of the Australians to stand expectantly with the ball when about to be tackled, and attempt to deceive , the opposition with a quick side-step or a feint pass, but more often than not they were caught with the ball and unceremoniously dumped on the ground, ball and all. The Taranaki tackling, except for one or two notable failures, was far too good to be thus trifled with.. Another favourite little dodge of the Australians was a very short stab punt to a convenient gap. The Australian forwards, led by the versatile rover Clark, the mountain of energy Cerutti, and Palfreyman mostly secured the ball from the scrums but not from the line-outs. They worked hard to maintain possession, but were outplayed by the Taranaki pack. The cleverest movement of the day was undoubtedly the one initiated by Roes from right alongside his own goal posts. Fielding the ball he suddenly raced at terrific pace for the left touch line, with the Taranaki team pell mell after, him. And so neatly was the movement executed that, some seconds elapsed before people realised that he did not have the ball at all. En route he had given it to Towers, and away in the other direction raced Towers, Herd, Primrose, Malcolm and Clark, all handling in turn in a magnificent movement which the spectators fully enjoyed. THE TARANAKI TEAM. For the Taranaki victory all credit is due to the wonderfully sustained effort of the forwards, led by Walter, Clarke, Baldwin and Murphy. In spite of the unaccustomed heat they never let up, and Clarke’s display placed him in AH Black class. It is a strange thing that his worth hac not been recognised before by the New Zealand selectors. Guy was very fit, and did a lot of useful following up. The defection, of Fookcs m the backs rendered the rear division more than ever impotent *as an attacking factor of any value against an international team, and in playing for safety whenever ossible. they showed excellent judgment. • The x value of their splendid tackling was most evident on •the few occasions on which it failed. Gudgeon, who played a dashing and thoughtful game, let an Australian slip through his hands on/ one occasion, and the result was a converted try. Peterson and Crawford let their opponents through once r twice, and with better handling by Australia in the subsequent movements the result would have been the same as in the case of Gudgeon. Although Taranaki made practically no attempt to open up the game amongst the backs, on one of the few occasions on which they did they gave the best exhibition of an orthodox back movement seen during the day. It was towards the end of the first spell. Gudgeon, Peterson, Crawford, Watson and Sullivan hand’ed in turn, and the winger came close to scoring. Gudgeon on one occasion made one of his exclusive solo dashes that have brought Taranaki .everal tries in the past, though on this occasion his effort fell just short of being crowned by points. From amidst the medley of talent of both sides there emerged twe outstanding individual personalities —the two full-backs. If Malcolm was the. king pin of the Australian team while he was there, Ross was the master mind and the saving grace after Malcolm left. He fully justified 1 is famous reputation. The Taranaki full-back, however, was not inferior to Ross. Collins’ tackling and line kicking were magnificent—a fitting ending to season of admirable custodianship on behalf of Taranaki. The teams wcr; — AUSTRALIA. Ross 1 Hemingway Towers Herd Cowper Primrose Malcolm (captain) Palfreyman Perrin Clark Judd Whyatt Blair Bonis Cerutti TARANAKI. ■ Collins Hunter Watson Sullivan Peterson . Crawford Gudgeon . Guy Wills Murphy Walter (eapt.) Clarke Baldwin Lusk Gargau

PROGRESS OF THE PLAY STRIKING PICTURE IN SUN DIFFICULTY WITH FIRST SCRUMS. COLLINS- DRAWS FIRST BLOOD. The bright jerseys . made a striking picture in the sunlight' as the teams marched on to the: firm gieen turf. Each with a hall tucked under his arm, two small boys in Taranaki colours led the two' teams out and • a little girl leading a small dog ' with a black and yellow” jacket followed the boy leading the Taranaki team. There were oneor two very tall men in the Australian team. Australia kicked off against the sun and the two teams spent the first few seconds in putting their heads together and forming a scrum which broke into pieces every time it went down. Malcolm dropped the ball in, slipped round behind the ' scrum, - got the ball again and-sent a little, stab kick through. From a’ penalty -to Taranaki Collins kicked almost half the length of the field, the ball dropping out on the line. There was a scrum land AustraliaSv ere penalised. From the side-line on the twenty-five Collins placed the ball upright, took a careful run and sent the ball flying straight between the posts. The spectators fumbled for their watches in pleased astonishment. In two minutes from, the kick off Taranaki had scored. \ Taranaki ' 3 Australia 0 The loose head in the Australian scrum formation was still puzzling the uneasy Taranaki scrum. Taranaki were •riven another. Sfree kick and Collins put Just the right touch of screw on . the ball to make it twist out in the last few yards of its flight. PENALTY KICK FAILS. ■ Australia were given a penalty and Ross, the full-back, dropped the ball just short of the goal. . The forwards .scrummed on Taranaki’s line and behind the Australian pack Malcolm, full of expert cleverness, dummied and spun on his heel and tried to wriggle through. A free kick as given to Australia and Taranaki dropped back deep so Towers sent a low shallow kick across to his line of waiting forwards. They ran upfield in a pretty movement till Collins cleared. Standing in Taranaki’s twentyfive, ’ Malcolm passed to Primrose, who ran in a semi-circle round Peterson straight through to Collins. At the critical moment ne swung the pass infield, while two men waited unmarked outside him. Collins got up rather groggy after a hard ’ tackle, but carried on. In' spite of these two dangerous movements Australia had not quite settled down and Collins drove them back with deep kicks, and soon Taranaki were Bitting almost on Australia’s line. Watson and Hunt* • snot through very close to the line before there was a knockon. From the scrum in their own twen-ty-five Australia fed the ball out to the backs and Herd swerved through to link up with his forwards. They branched right across the field in hand-to-hand passing and reached Taranaki’s twenty-five after a remarkable run. With Australia hooking the ball m Taranaki’s twenty-five and the backs opening out there was a warm moment till Crawford took Herd low with a fine tackle and suddenly the Taranaki forwards were through the gap with Ross chasino- across the field for the ball,gathering it up with the tips of his fingers and, finding the line none too soon. FULL-BACKS’ FINE DISPLAY. It was good to watch two full-backs each so sound and steady as Ross and Collins. Sulliva- ran for the corner; Ross opened his arms and took him round the knees. Australia kicked high and charged down; Collins, never taking his eyes off the ball, marked. In an° Australia rush Malcolm ran hard into Collins and. was hurt in the tackle. He looked shaky out went on with the game. It was just after a* shot at goal by Collins that Australia worked a scissors movement, as neat a piece of tactical brain work as has been seen' on the park. The kick by Collins dropped just in front of the goal. ■ Ross ran out,, took the ball on the full and running hard towards the west side line drew the Taranaki team across. At the twenty-five was passing Towers, who was standing still. Ross shot the ball into Towers’ arms and went on running for a few yards. As soon as he got the ball Towers set off with the rest of the team, which had been cunningly loafing in position alongside of him, as hard as he could towards the east side line. The movement cut like a knife through the Taranaki defence, the ball going from Towers to Herd, Hemingway, Primrose and Malcolm, and stopped in Taranaki’s twenty-five. It stopped after it had gone three-quarters of the field. Apart from', these electric moments Taranaki were holding Australia fairly comfortably. Clarke, Baldwin, Walter and' Murphy —all the Taranaki pack—were burrowing into the tight and the home forwards began to push Australia off the ball. The Taranaki backs were taeklincr man after man till the whole Australian line had gone down. Everyone felt disappointed when Malcolm, the astute Australian captain, had to leave the field hurt. Bennett came on in his place. From a line-out Gudgeon set the Taranaki backs away. Crawford cut in but was lost in the ruck. Then Gudgeon went round the blind side but his pass was forward. Ross drove Taranaki back until Guy came through in a swift solo dash of 30 yards. TARANAKI BACKS IN ACTION. For the first time the Taranaki backs swung away in a fast open run. The ball went through the whole line prettily till Sullivan was tackled. Taranaki began to press. Gudgeon snapped up, feinted to kick and swung in smartly, sending Peterson away through a gap and Watson and Sullivan topped off the run with a dash down the line. Australia were penalised and again from the side line at the twenty-five Collins prepared to shoot at the goal. There was a great noise as the ball sailed between the posts. Taranaki 0 Australia. 0. Australia tried to swing away in passing rushes but the Taranaki backs clung to their ankles. On the otherhand the Australian backs tried • to dodge going down to the toes of' the bustling Taranaki forwards. Murphy

, kicked and the ball bounceci quecrly out in Australia’s twenty-five. From the line-out Clari e dived and was nearly across. At last Austral scored the try they seemed to have been promising for some time. Bennett snapped up the ball from the scrum and cut in. Coming up alongside at top epe Clarke took his pass, dashed through and passed to Cerutti. Throwing his head back Cerutti set off for the goal vith Watson and Sullivan streaking after him. Cerutti won and scored, under the-posts, giving Ross an easy kick. Taranaki C Australia . 5 The-Australians spread out in swinging runs and sometimes stood still and threw the ball to one another in choppy, crissTcross passing. Collins missed a shot at goal. Again Clarke made a quick nm through , and Crawford was bowled over with the ball on the Taranaki line. The Australian passing was wild from the scrum under Taranaki’s goal and. the home pack cleared. Halftime came with, the score:- — ' Taranaki 6 Australia 5 The second half b(?gan with a pretty series of Australian back attacks. Running forward, Bennett flicked the ball neatly - behind , his back : to the fiveeighths. Hooking the, ball in every scrum now, the Australians swung the attack from right to left and to right again, but Towers was fumbling. Then Australia had the worst luck of all when Hemingway ran down the line, drew Collins and passed to Clark. With a clear field and ten yards to go Clark caught the ball high, balanced it as he ran on his head, held it as it slipped behind his back and finally dropped- it. To crowd the Australian inside men Gudgeon began now to play the Australian half-back game of putting the ball in the scrum. Lusk and Gargan hooked and Sullivan punted high. Ross cleared with ease.' Australia were making the play all the way at this stage and the backs were running round the Taranaki men with just that extra little bit of speed. But the Taranaki tackling was still keen and the forwards after.all the pace of the game had not- tired. INFRINGEMENT IN SCRUMS. The whistle seemed to be sounding rather frequently. Australia were being enalised in the scrums. Collins had a shot and missed, Cowper running out and lining at half-way. With Peterson leading Taranaki came down strongly on Ross, who stood up as game as a pebble to a ‘solid bout of • tumbling. Taranaki hooked and Hunter made a 'hard, grim dash for the corner. Gudgeon dived in and was held'up. For a time Australia were penned in. Collins had a shot hut was having an “off” spell. A little later Clarke had a shot from a free kick and feeling became a little warm on the.terraces over the penalties, . - In one of the many fine Taranaki loose forward rushes of the day Murphy, Walter and Clarke, drove through. Guy and Sullivan led the field to Australians line, but even on their own dine Australia passed, short punted and took all manner of risks; The ball came out from the side of a scrum, Gudgeon gathered it in ana ran outwards towards the corner. Watson flew up and took the pass and seemed to bounce the ball down over the line. Taranaki were given a try and Collins came back to form a and converted from the side line. Taranaki BiAustralia, A In a great battling rush Waiter, Wills aa- Baldwin smashed through in Taranaki’s last attack .From then on to the. end Australia dominated the field. In a flash Bennett sent his backs away. Five of them handled and Hemingway was off down the line. At Collins he in-passed, to Herd and Herd gave the ball to Towers to plant under’ the posts. Ross converted. Taranaki ‘ H Australia . 10 The Australians tried very hard for that last winning point or two, but wherever they turned the attack Taranaki were there to meet them. Primrose cut clean between the five-eighths and threw far out to Cowper, who was tackled close to the line. Back they came on the other wing and Herd was tackled. At the centre Towers ran in and tried for a drop kick. Ross joined in a rush with the backs but Towers dropped the ban. In the forwards Clark and Perrin made a startling dash through. Once more Australia tried for the line that was so close and so hard to reach. The half shot the ball out to the left wing. Right through the backs it went to Cowper. Being blocked he stopped and deliberately aimed a low centring kick over to his men in front of Taranaki’s goal. All that was needed was for an Australian to pick the ball up and run across. The eager finders fumbled, the ball was knocked on°and the last chance was lost. The end came with the score:— Taranaki H Australia 10 The Rev. Leonard, Marton, was the referee. TEAMS ENTERTAINED AT DINNER WELCOME BY THE MAYOR. Subsequent to the match the teams dined together at the Criterion Hotel, Mr. E. H. Young, president of the Taranaki Rugby Union, presiding. Among those present were the Mayor of New Plymouth (Mr. H. V. S. Griffiths). Afterwards a short toast list was .discussed, opening with the loyal toast. On behalf of the citizens of New Plymouth the Mayor extended a cordial welcome to the Australian team. It had been proposed to give them a civic welcome on their arrival but in view of their long day’s journey from Napier it was considered advisable to delete that. He was'delighted at the sporting spirit in which they : played the game, remarking that as long as it was played in such a clean, sporting. spirit Rugby would always find a place in public favour Proposing the toast of the Australian team Mr. Young remarked that Rugby enthusiasts had followed the tour with o-reat interest. The visitors had struck hard luck in having such unfavourable weather. After seeing the team in action he was satisfied that if favoured with reasonable weather the tour would have been' more successful. The sporting way in which the game was played was appreciated by the public, and he thought Taranaki was somewhat lucky to win, though they were elated at the success, which was a fitting climax to a heavy representative programme. The Australians were a little unlucky too in that the Taranaki team played a game “out of the box,” and it was remarkable how they had held out the visitors, who played bright football and were not afraid to throw the ball about and take risks. Mr. Young expressed

regret that the manager, Mr. Davis, had been compelled to return home and that the captain, Mr. 8. Malcolm, had been injured. In replying, Mr. B. Palmer, actingmanager, expressed thanks for the wonderful reception the team had received throughout New Zealand. They had come as strangers but had been welcomed and made feel at home. The team’s record- on the tour had not been what they would have'liked. However, if they had done something to cement the friendship that existed between New Zealand and Australia they would be satisfied. - . Mr. J. Clark, vice-captain of the Australian team, in proposing the Taranaki Rugby Union and. Team congratulated the Taranaki team on its excellent display and success that afternoon. He also ’ referred to the good spirit through the game and thanked the officials of the Taranaki Rugby Union for the wonderful time that the team had been given. In acknowledging, Mr. J. McLeod, chairman of the Union, expressed regret at the bad luck the visitors had had. As sports they wished to see the Australians give their b st display, and lie believed that had their captain, Malcolm,- remained on the field the result might have been different. He was pleased to renew acquaintances made in Australia and remarked that the team did not play up to the form’ they had shown in Australia. Possibly the sudden , return to Sydney weather had overwhelmed, them. Messrs J. Walter (captain) and W. A. Guy (selector) .also spoke. The New Zealand Rugby Union was proposed by Mr. C. L. Mullaney, who thanked the parent body for giving Taranaki the opportunity of seeing the Australians in action. Mr. T. Fletcher replied. - The*Referee was proposed by Mr. C. L. Towers, who remarked that rules were made to be broken and it was the duty of the referee to see they were not broken too often. A referee could make or mar the game and he did not think it would' have been such a fine game that afternoon but for the referee. The Rev. Leonard responded. The teams spent the evening either at the - wrestling or at various dances.

AUSTRALIANS VISIT EGMONT. ENJOYABLE DAY IN SNOW. The members of the Australian and Taranaki . Rugby teams spent yesterday on Mt. Egmont and to the visitors it proved a memorable occasion. Favoured with perfect weather, in striking contrast to the week-ends experienced for some time, the mountain, decked in its' mantle of snow, was a glorious sight.' In motor-cars provided and driven by Messrs E. H. Young, W. H. Moyes, W. A. Guy, S. E. Nielson, 0. Cook, J. Power, V. Garth, J. Christoffel, S. F. Fookes, H. McNeill, B. T. Petty, L. M. Moss and F. Wallis the party after a pleasant drive through the four miles of bush, in itself a revelation to the majority of the visitors, arrived at the hostel in time for early lunch, i They then made their way up to the snow and while most of them were content to remain in the vicinity of Humphries Castle disporting in the snow and thoroughly enjoying the panoramic view, several went up to about 70OOft before returning to the hostel, where afternoon tea was ready. New Plymouth was reached in time for dinner. On their return from the mountain trip Messrs B. Palmer and S. Malcolm, manager and captain of the Australian team, were motored to the aerodrome at Bell Block. Each was taken for a flight in a plane piloted by Mr. J. A. Pankhurst. The manager was making his first flight but the captain had previously journeyed from Sydney to Brisbane with the footballers in an eightseater plane. The Australian team will leave at 9 o’clock this morning by motor on the first stage of their journey to Hamilton, where they will play the final match of the tour against Hamilton on Wednesday. They will lunch at Awakino, proceeding thence to Waitomo, where they spend the night, and will visit the three caves before resuming their journey in the morning.

CONVENT TEAM WINS. TAINUI SCHOOLS DEFEATED. St. Joseph’s Convent School (New Plymouth) and Tainui Sub-Union schools’ representative teams provided the curtain-raiser at Pukekura Park on Saturday, and gave a good display. Convent, however, proved too etrong, winning by 27 points to nil. St. Joseph’s have a fine record this season, having won both the North Taranaki Schools senior and junior competitions, also annexing the McLeod Shield which goes With provincial junior honours. They also won the schools’ seven-a-side tournament. The Tainui which is chosen from a number of small schools in the Awakino district, the majority of which can only field 10 boys in the school competition, put up a great game with Convent a few weeks ago nt Awakino, when they drew, 8 points t all. . Probably the fact that they were playing away from home and before a very large crowd had a psychological effect on the lads, as they failed to reproduce anything like their previous form ■ nd were comfortably defeated. Convent, adopting the 3 —2—3 scrum formation, were superior all through, showing fine combination and plenty of pace, Price on the wing scoring frequently. In the first spell Convent put on 16 points, which they increased to 27 points before the final whistle sounded, while Tainui failed to open their account. For the winners Price scored | five tries and O'Sullivan one, whilst Mahar potted a goal, converted one try and kicked a penalty goal. The teams were: — St. Joseph’s Convent: Pellett; Price, Mahar (captain), Fleming; Grace, Geary; Hannan; Revell, Chapman, O’Reilly, Todd, Callisen, O’Sullivan, Kurta, Bolger. Tainui Schools: Bartlett: Hunt, Batley, Sampson; Burt, T. Sole; Clifton; Gray, A. Sole, Marusch, Collins, Blake, Pratt, Anstis, Taylor. Mr. Retter was referee. WELLINGTON B WINNERS. By Ttlearaph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The Wellington B" Rugby representatives defeated Manawhenua by 33 to 21. bIERIVALE BEAT LINWOOD. Christchurch, Sept. 19. In the Rugby Challenge Cup final today Merivale 19 beat Linwood 10.

AUCKLAND BEAT WELLINGTON NORTHERNERS STRIKE FORM. TWENTY-SEVEN TO NINETEEN By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland,' Last Night. ■ The annual Rugby match between Auckland and Wellington was played at Eden Park to-day in fine weather and in the presence of a crowd of nearly 15,000. Auckland won by 27 to 19. For the first time tins season the Aucklanders were seen at their best and the result was a fast, open and interesting contest right through. Davies opened the scoring for Auckland with a penalty' goal a few minutes after the start, adding another two minutes later. Then Milliken gathered the ball in the loose and made a great dash for the line, crossing wide out to score, and the. home team, which had had all the better of the first spell, led at the interval by nine to nil. ' A minute, after the resumption Wellington scored after Kilby and Nicholls had worked the blind side, Nicholls sending infield to the forwards and enabling Barry to score. A Wellington passing rush saw the backs ■ handle beautifully and the hall went out to Page, who side-stepped two opponents to score beside the posts. Nicholls converted and the score read 9—B in Auckland’s favour. It looked at this stage as though Wellington were in for victory/ but the Auckland forwards reasserted themselves and, getting fine support from the backs, the score gradually mounted in the home side’s favour. Caughey scored from an opening made by Haslam, and the same player crossed again, at the end of a fine passing rush. Corner converted this try. Haslam next dummied his way past the Wellington full-back, scoring beside the post, and corner : converted. Nicholls increased Wellington’s score with a penalty- from about the twenty-five. Another fine bout of passing by the Auckland backs enabled Caughey to register his third try. Corner converted. In the last ten minutes McLean and Barry crossed Auckland’s line, Pollock converting McLean’s try. The match was the farewell appearance at Auckland of Mark Nicholls, who played a game in keeping with the occasion. At the final whistle members of the Auckland team surrounded him and carried him shoulder high from the field, the crowd giving him a fine ovation. OVERWHELMING VICTORY. . OTAGO’S DEFEAT OF SOUTHLAND. Dunedin, Sept. 19. Otago and Southland met in the final match of the season at Carisbrook this afternoon, the game resulting in an overwhelming victory for Otago by 41 to 3. The Otago backs and forwards played brilliantly. The first spell ended 19 (four tries, two converted, and one penalty) to one’ penalty by Southland. In the second spell Otago scored five tries, two converted, and a penalty goal to nil. Bush, the Otago full-back, was responsible for 14 of his side’s score. MARLBOROUGH BEAT BULLER. BRIGHT EXPOSITION OF RUGBY. Blenheim, Last Night. In a remarkably even, fast and varied game Buller defeated Marlborough by 20 to 17 in brilliant weather. The teams previously drew at Westport for the .Seddon Shield which Buller hold, but the trophy was not at stake to-day. The match was a bright exposition of Rugby, Buller winning by a slight superiority in condition. Marlborough, forwards and backs, were better throughout most of the game, though the scoring was always kept close. Marlborough led by 9 to 6 at half-time and the score was 17 to 14 in their favour 15 minutes from the end, when Buller gained the upper hand to get the deciding try. For Buller Holden (two), Caldwell, Goodall and Griffiths scored tries, Graham converting one and kicking a penalty goal. Tries for Marlborough were scored by Phillips, Hammond, McDonald and Woolley, Phillips converting one and kicking a penalty goal. FINAL HIGH SCHOOL MATCH. BOARDERS’ TEAM BEAT DAY BOYS. The annual match between boarders' and. day-boys, of the' New Plymouth Boys’ High School was played at the racecourse on Saturday. The weather was not-football weather, but the teams settled down to a grim encounter back and forward as serious as any representative encounter. The boarders were the better, team on- paper, with nine first XV players to six, but the superiority was not transferred to the actual match. Had Rowlands been able to .turn two,'free-kicks to account the result would have been reversed and even then would have been fair. A draw would have been even fairer. . The teams were: — Day boys; Meredith; Rowlands, Murray, Cook; Andrew, Wilson; Elmes; Thomson, Van-de-Water, Hayward, Hamilton, Simpson, Rogers, Gannaway; Birch. „ Boarders: Renton; Nilsson, McDonald, McDonnell; Sutherland, Carroll; West; Bryant, Tuck, Spence, Evans, Fredsberg, Simpson, Murdoch; Cave.. The boarders’ forwards held play in the opposition half, varying the attack with a passing rush when an injudicious kick landed amdng their back line. Renton was responsible for some cool play. Wilson and Cook relieved matters somewhat and the whole Day Boys line consolidated the position temporarily with well-judged passing. Sutherland ran round untackled to put the Boarders on attack again and Carroll made matters look dangerous with a. neat cut-in. Hands in the serum and a force-down sent the Boarders baek and then Simpson broke away. Day-boy forwards infused plenty of fire into their play and Elmes, at fullback, was responsible for a lengthy line-kick. Van-de-Water and Birch both led vigorous forward onslaughts. .Rowlands had a shot at goal which dropped in the goal-mouth and was forced. arfare waged on the goal line and three serums went down. Boarders were powerless to break away for a long spell but eventually the backs lost their inertia. Carroll brought off another first-class cut-in but Murray forced. Pay was in midfield with the pace as stern as ever when time was called with the score Boarders 3 Day Boys " Mr J. S. King refereed. The annual Pease Cup match has now been played since 1925. Day Boys have

won three matches and Boarders thre®, and one has been drawn. The Boarders team are the present holders of the cup. Detailed results are as follow:

Year. Won by Points. ~T5 U y 3-— 13 wr*v1025 ... ... Day Boys 11 to 9 1926 ... ... Day Boys 14 to 0 1927 ... .., Boarders 0 to 15 1928 ... ... Day Boys 8 to 3 1920 ... ... Boarders 3 to 23 1930 ... ... Drawn 0 to 0