OKAIAWA CARRY THE DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 11 August 1932, Page 11

OKAIAWA CARRY THE DAY

PATE A LOSE I RUGBY FINAL LUCK OF THE TOSS PLAYS PART. OKAIAWA BACKS PLEASE CROWD. Okaiawa carried off the Taranaki southern division Rugby honours yesterday, . beating Patea \ by 12 points to 3 in the play-off at Hawera. The margin o£ four tries to, a penalty goal in nowise flattered the winners, who got a grip of the game in the early stages and never relaxed. Gudgeon was replaced in the first spell. An enthusiastic crowd of 1500 was given its money’s worth. Okaiawa made the pace hot from the outset and the fast clip was maintained. There were bright patches of spectacular play, notably when the Okaiawa backs got going, but generally play was hard rather than brilliant. Okaiawa won the toss and that gave them the little advantage they needed. The forwards, all eight of them, settled down to play one of their best games of the season, shading the opposition ' in. every department. They did good ’work in securing the ball for the backs, but their most impressive play came in solid,, hammering foot rushes. With the advantage of weight they wore the Patea pack down in the first spelL . Given plenty of ball, the Okaiawa rearguard gave a delightful display. Their reverse passing .and backing up were excellent, while Johnston and Ngaia made plenty of openings for the wingers. Johnston was the king-pin of the backs, übiquitous in. attack and defence. The Patea forwards played well.; They had too much heaving in the serums to show up in the loose, but hung grimly on to the end. Had the Okaiawa pack let up at any stage, then Patea would - have been able to turn the tide. ;The Patea backs were a disappointment, comparing very unfavourably with Okaiawa. They did not show up. in one passing movement, lob passes being the order.. Their worst fault was overdoing the short punt. Time and again they would drop the ball nicely into the hands of the Okaiawa backs, the fiveeighths being ths worst offenders. On defence, however, they were excellent, particularly L. Edwards, who was their best back. Petersen, at full-back, was well below form, and this also contributed to 'their loss. Patea were unfortunate in losing GudS'on with concussion. Everyone, even e staunchest Okaiawa supporter, would have liked him to be able to continue. However, having lost the toss, it was doubtful whether Patea could hsve won even had he been uninjured. The teams were:— Okaiawa: Murdoch; Blair, Ngaia, B. McCallum;. Johnston, T. Robinson; G. Edwards; L Crawford; E. McCallum, Clarke, Ike, Awahou; Preston, Scott, Guy. patea: Petersen; Crotty, L. Edwards, Paterson; J. Crawford, Bourke; Gudgeon; A. Richards; Wills, Hamblyn, Bremer, Morgan; G. Baldwin, L. Robinson, Couch. OkdJiawa won the toss and played with the wind but against the sun. Okaiawa gave the crowd the first thrill, Ngaia making a told run before J. Crawford felled him just as a dangerous situation was developing. A beautiful opening by Edwards saw Johnston kick . through Okaiawa tore after it, Ngaia going almost over before being recalled for a minor infringement. G. Edwards secured from a ruck to push his way over. I. Crawford missed with the kick. Okaiawa 3, Patea 0. . A typical Gudgeon run put Patea on the right side of half-way. Murdoch made a brilliant save and Johnston almost immediately extricated Okaiawa from a nasty position Throwing the ball about with abandon, Okaiawa called on Patea to do some solid stopping. The backs swung into action with a typical movement for Ngaia to draw the defence and B. McCallum to gallop over in the comer. L Crawford again missed. Okaiawa 6, Patea 0. Patea were attacking when Richards got in the way of his backs. Okaiawa forwards got offside midway between their twenty-five and half-way and Petersen had a shot. The ball fell short, but Clarke ran over his line to force. Gudgeon went on his own but was halted. Then Bourke made a couple of bold bids. In the hurly-burly that ensued Okaiawa were penalised under the posts for L. Edwards to open Patea’s account. Okaiawa 6, Patea 3. • Almost immediately Okaiawa returned to th© attack with a dribbling rush. The .- ball swept out towards the touchline - and Blair seized it to score. Okaiawa 9, Patea 3. Gudgeon left the field and Johnston ran over to the Patea men. After a short consultation Adams was called on, Paterson playing half-back. The Patea forwards staged a furious attack, which T. Robinson halted. Blair kicked downfield and with the wind carrying the ball on Okaiawa went to the line. Apparently thinking the ball was in touch, th© attackers momentarily slackened, losing the opportunity. L. Edwards took » pass that was meant for Blair to set Patea going on. Bourke made a nice opening on the blind but Ngaia was ■ there to halt the attack. McCallum fielded a high kick, swerved infield and threw out a long pass to Ngaia, who raced towards the line, Adams just getting him in time. There was a scramble in the corner and the referee gave it a force-down. Okaiawa set up a strenuous attack just before half-time. Led by Clarke, the Okaiawa pack itarted the second half strongly,. but were sent back to midfield. J. Crawford found the line deep in Okaiawa territory and the defence was lucky to force. Edwards set Okaiawa going in a 60 yard movement headed by Ngaia and B. ’ McCallum. B. McCallum gained ground with a grubber kick to touch. A penalty enabled Bourke to bite off 50 yards of touch. Patea started some passing, but J. Crawford’s short punt was held by Ngaia for himself and B. MeCallum to do some pretty work* Patea rwarmed back and were all but over, Okaiawa getting a penalty kick. Patea kept the pressure up and there was a lot of solid forward play. Richards was nearly over, but there were two hands on th© ball. Okaiawa relieved, though their opponents were soon sent back by L. Edwards. Okaiawa took a turn on the attack, giving Patea some stopping work to do, and they forced twice. This was only a temporary phase, loose work by the Patea pack taking them back to Okaiawa territory. There was a lack of cohesion, which prevented them scoring, though individual dashes kept Okaiawa on their toes. Again the Okaiawa pack took a share in the argument, sweeping everything before them for Awahou to score. Ngaia missed with the kick. Okaiawa 12, Patea 3. Patea were not done with, L. Edwards and Richards being prominent. G. Edwards turned the tables and Okaiawa were doing better at no side. Okaiawa 12 Patea 3 Mr. L. H. Clapham refereed.