RUGBY IN BRITAIN

Taranaki Daily News, 8 June 1932, Page 7

RUGBY IN BRITAIN

ARMY ROUTS THE R.A.F. NOVIS AND BEAMISH IN FORM. (From Our Own Correspondent.)’. ' ‘ . London, May 1. Last year the Army lost the Service rugger championship to the Royal Navy owing to an unexpected and proportionately bitter defeat at th© hands of the R.AJF. Last week.-end at Twickenham, before rather a meagre crowd and with no royal purple on the grandstand, they took a terrible revenge. Smart Army matrons gloated over almost tearful but very chic K.A.F. flappers to the vehement tune of a 21 points to 4 victory for the men in scarlet. And this despite the fact that the Army lost, quite early in the affray, Lieut. Tyler, R.A., who" had to leave the field with a serious shoulder injury. But Tyler, after his injury, insisted on staying till he had opened the Army’s account by scoring a very bright try. That effort put the top hat on Tyler’s hurt, but he sat in the pavilion in the sweet odour of victorious sanctity. The R.A.F. were more decisively beaten behind the .scrum than I have ever before known a Service side in one of these rugger encounters. The Army backs, even with a forward playing as a substitute for their battle casualty, romped round their slower and far less expert opponents. But for the fact that the R.A.F. has produced some brilliant runners, one might believe that something in their routine tended to make R.A.F. meu slow of foot. The Army backs, Novis, Hunt and Crawford, overhauled them or outdistanced them with absurdease. . And every time the Army scored you heard a fierce chorus of cheers from the regimental ties and the Army matrons. There was sneer rancour, born of last season’s debacle, no doubt, in the Army voice from the grandstand, which ejaculated at the close; “Well played fourteen men!” That, of course, is rubbing it in, which usually is not done in the best Service circles. FLIGHT-LIEUT. BEAMISH. Tyler dashed over for the Army’s first try. Hobbs nailed down' the next. Cole weaved his way to the next. Novis sprinted and swerved right through the sky-blue ranks of Tuscany to score the next, which he did with almost meticulous precision right in the middle of the goal posts. Short of taking u tape measure to the job, the Army’s skipper could hardly have made more sure of a dead-centre place kick. Craw-

ford got yet another good try after a, very clever bout of quick passing and dashing running by the Army . backs. And so a score of three goals to two tries by the Army had only one lonely dropped goal against it to the R.AJF. account. This was neatly kicked by Pilot-Officer Coote, out of a melee in front of the Army’s goal, on one of the several occasions when the R.A.F. forwards had managed to shove the ball down into their enemy’s lines. Full credit must be given to the gallant R.A.F. pack. They were never beaten, never lost hope, and never gave up fighting the good fight. Magnificently led and inspired by Flight-Lieut. G. R. Beamish, their captain, they waged fierce war to the very bitter end. Time and again the mighty form of Beamish emerged from the thick of the battle, with the ball well held in his powerful arms. But, though sometimes he nearly reached the line, he was the object of deadly Army marking. The slogan that every Army player called from last year’s defeat was taken from Louis Carroll: “Come to my arms my Beamish. boy.” But they certainly found the übiquitous Flight-Lieut. a hot handful even when culled. Some of Beamish s hand-offs were reminiscent, of Carnera's straight rights.

A word must be said for Pilot Officer It. N. McKearn, the, R.A.F. full-back. Under trying tests he never really failed, collared like a hero, and kicked like e an automaton. Once, dashing to catch a high punt, he charged clean over the stout wooden barricade in touch, crashing with terrific violence into the fortunately empty ring seats. But, when Army men were thinking in terms of S.'B.’s McKearn picked himself up, still grasping the ball, and trotted back in one piece. These R.A.F. fellows, from long practice in their buses, apparently share the peculiar faculty of cats.