SOUTHERN RUGBY GAMES

Taranaki Daily News, 17 July 1933, Page 4

SOUTHERN RUGBY GAMES

PATEA AND WAIMATE DRAW ■ s 1 NO SCORE ON SOAKED GROUND. - j — 1 .. • j IMPOSSIBILITY OF HANDLING. J ■ — t ■■‘ ' ' ' ■ ‘ . s Patea and Waimate drew in a score- j. less game, the only fair result possible e in a match played under exceedingly bad j conditions at Patea. Rain had soaked g the ground and rain fell incessantly g throughout the match, which was a bitterly fought struggle on a sea of mud r where luck counted more than science. < Patea was lucky in that it won the toss, B but even without that , the result would ( probably not have been different.- To a have scored a try would have been well t night impossible and a goal would have £ been a- colossal fluke. As far as a game E of “speculators” could be judged th® teams were pretty evenly matched. j The teams were:— f Patea: Malcolm; D. Paterson, Edwards, , Richards; D. Bourke, Crawford; Gud- < geon; frills; Baldwin, Hamblyn, Bremer, j McTaggart, Walker, D. Broughton, j Waimate: I. McDonald; Hall, C. Whalen, K. McDonald; Potaka, L. Whalen; J. , Paterson; Burke, C. Bourke, Espm, 5 Hikaka, Long, Gargan, Murfitt, Sutton. , Patea opened brisky with the wind and ( a long kick by Couch took play to Wai- 1 mate territory, where Gudgeon had a ( shot without success. Penalties drove - Patea back. Both sides had given up , trying to handle much. Soccer had set ; in. Waimate had a chance when, C. Whalen cross-kicked, but it was impossible to field the ball. Still Waimate attacked till J. Crawford intercepted one of the few passes and with a spectacular run reached the visitors’ twenty-five. Potaka, C, Whalen and K. McDonald booted the ball back to Patea territory; where Malcolm made a good save and let D. Paterson away down the touchline. Gudgeon did some useful footwork, but 1. 1 McDonald was as steady as a rock. Patea continued to attack, only to be. driven .back by K. I^ c P°J a J d ‘ Bourke carried on and Crawford had his work; cut out -to hold Waimate. Just on half-time Bourke went clean through Patea and following a long “speculator almost scored, his feet sliding from under him just as he wa, about to touch the balk Waimate had had the better of the spell but that was the nearest it had been to scoring. The wind died down in the second han and Patea was ‘first away. I. McDonald was submerged and it looked just possible that Patea might score,, but Crawford’s pass was missed. Waimate launched a counter-attack with Gargan in the van, D. Paterson' and Edwards holding up' the visitors. First one set of forwards and. then the other broke away but seldom appeared at all, dangerous, the mud being an effective anchor Gradually as the spell wore; on with every player liberally coated with mud Pateci began, to establish an ascendancy* Led by Wills, who seemed tireless, the pack hammered' away relentlessly,, a wave of. forwards : repeatedly breaking over Waimate’s backs. The viators defence, however, stood remarkably, the backs fielding the greasy ball surprisingly well, and toll time found the score sheet still a blank. Patea ° Waimate ‘ u Mr. A. Spratt refereed. . . . i BRISK. PLAY IN THE MUD KAPONGA BEATS ELTHAM 10 TO NIL GAME MORE LIKE SOCCER. By 10 to nil Kaponga beat Eltham. The game was played on a heavy field and at . the finish the ground was a sea of mud . while the players were ‘almost mdis- . tinguishable in a covering of mud. Despite'the conditions the teams.showed a willingness that gave spectators a good return by way of amusement. It was almost impossible to handle the ball, and ’ at' times the speculative kicking made , the game, more like Soccer than Rugby, i Eltham had the advantage of the wind i in the first spell and Kaponga seldom , got over half-way. The Eltham forwards kept up a strenuous pace, slopping about , in the mud after the ball. However, they , missed their chances of scoring witn the i advantage of the wind, , and when they t faced the other way the difficulties were 5 much greater. At half-time there was . no score and it was decided not to take a spell but to change over and continue i the game. The first try came after Whiting had mishandled on tbe line, t Following a general melee in which the , ball was kicked over the line Gargan ran up and grounded. From a difficult ’ angle C. Paterson lifted the ball out of r its setting of mud and landed a beautiful j goal; The next try was scored by - Wetton, who completed after a scramble » at the comer. C. Paterson again kick- - ed a magnificent goal from the side-line, i Kaponga, although somewhat fortunate

in gaining the scores, was slightly superior on the day. The game was brisk throughout and was of a better standard than one usually expects under such conditions.

The teams were:— Kaponga: Bickford; G. Cuff, C. Paterson, Wetton; Arnold, Eynon; Walker; | Thoumine, Williams, West, Free, D. and p.' Murphy, Gargan, Gardner. Eltham: M. Paterson; Prince. Whiting, Worthington; Hughes, L. White; Trass; Manning, Trolove, R. Bocock, Potts, Burke, F. Bocock, S. White, Campbell. Eltham forwards opened aggressively ;* to be stopped successively by C. Paterson, Arnold and Eynon. Eltham 1 again pushed and Eynon forced. Persistent efforts by the forwards compelled C. Paterson to force. By winning a scrum and ’ricking Walker robbed . Eltham of advantage on the line, .The. Bococks parried a foot rush which Kaponga repulsed on the line, and a: game of Soccer ensued. Bickford, stemmed an attack and a free kick gave further relief. C. Paterson forced after another onslaught, and Cuff turned, an ugly attack by a speculative kick. Eltham tried a passing move hut handling was impossible and. Whiting set up a foot-rush which Eynon returned. with an excellent kick. Bickford made two further forces and an excellent save.. Eltham again found itself in danger but M. Paterson' saved by kicking to touch. Kaponga continued foot rushes to the line and C. Paterson once got as far as the comer. On the change-over the ball was soon sent to Eltham’s line but Whiting dummied and made a great opening which was carried on by Prince.' Bickford and Cuff, however, made a good save and there followed a turn of bright, open and exciting play. When the ball went on to Eltham’s line good saves were made by S. White and Trass. West made a dangerous ataek, Hughes forcing, and Wetton figured in a good footrush. Kaponga’s first try was then scored and another score loomed up when Gargan dashed over, but an infringement intervened. After another display of Soccer Kaponga pressed for the second try. Trolove retired with an injury, and Kennedy came on, Prince going up to the forwards. M. Paterson’s lipe kicking was good and often eased Eltham s position. Kaponga .... Eltham u Mr. L. H. Clapham refereed. > PACKS BATTLE IN MUD ' OLD BOYS’ DEFEAT OF OKAIAWA. ■ FOUR TRIES SCORED TO ONE. ’ Two packs of forwards battled in a sea : of mild at ' Hawera when Empire- Old 1 Boys beat Okaiawa by 12 to 8. Any at- ’ tempts to open up play were disastrous. L The smartest piece of passing was when r Morrissey made a lightning dash and ’ sent White away for a try. 'Malcolm (2) • and McLean ' were - responsible for Old J Boys’ other tries, and Ike and. Guy 1 scored for Okaiawa. The teams were:— 5 ■ Okaiawa: Murdoch; McCallum, Rangi 1 Ruru, Chas. Blair; A. Guy, Hickey; Ed- ’ wards; Rosewame, Tamu, Henen; Clarke, " Ike; Preston, Tito, Wallis. 5 Empire Old Boys: Tuki; White, Smith, ' ‘Herbert; Lee, Morrissey; Campbell; Mal- - colm; Baldwin, Garvey, Kerrisk, McLean; Robinson, McCalman, Ingram. Okaiawa started with a forward rush with Ike prominent. After an interchange of kicks Old Boys’ forwards similarly carried play into Okaiawa territory, a force resulting in each case. Old Boys backs on several occasions endeavoured to open up play, but the greasy ball and extremely wet ground prevented any J success. Players straggled over three parts of the field when Okaiawa dribbled the ball well beyond Old Boys’ twentyfive, from where Smith effected a quick change of venue to Okaiawa s twentyfive. He beat Murdoch and raced him for , the ball, which went into touch in goal, t Okaiawa was in the ascendancy again in 1 a series of forward rushes which culminated in Ike scoring near the posts. Clarke converted, A succession of forj ward scrambles and line-outs followed,: 1 with the territorial advantage to Old Boys, playing with the wind. Murdoch j slipped when menaced by a couple of . opponents, and Old Boys’ forwards came ■ through. Campbell made a couple of ; dashes, and there was a struggle in the t mud near the line until Charles Blair s in possession was foi*ced ovfer the corner t flag. It was an anxious moment for 7 Old Boys when Guy charged down a , clearing kick from Tuki, but he failed v to make any pace and the line was found e near the comer. ’ After a series of 'forward' scrambles Tuki found touch with a kick which skidded for about a dozen yards across r a sea of mud. The Old Boys kept play , in Okaiawa territory, their efforts being g rewarded when Malcolm scored from a scramble. Morrissey’s kick did not rise, t Old Boys held , the advantage until Guy f kicked through and his forwards-carried j play to Old Boys’ line, where the rush was stemmed just in time. Back went g Old Boys, Morrissey breaking away with the ball at Okaiawa’s twenty-five. White ~ came up on the-. inside to take a pass and run through for a try. Morrissey’s kick just missed. A few minutes later ■ McLean crossed from a scramble. Smith’s, kick went just outside the post. Old Boys - kept play in Okaiawa territory. From a r scramble a couple of the attackers broke - away, Malcolm scoring. Morrissey’s kick - missed. Okaiawa took a hand, carrying s play to Old Boys’ line. Morrissey aty tempted to run clean behind the posts, - but Guy charged down his kick and fell r, on the ball to score. Clarke’s kick struck a an upright and rebounded into play, t Heartened by this success Okaiawa was e again the aggressor. Rangi Ruru lined i at the comer, but attempts to penetrate s were not successful. 3 Empire Old Boys 12 Okaiawa 8 o -ft a Mr. J. F. Kiley wfls referee. ' OPUNAKE BEATS HAWERA s l ’ FORWARDS SCRAMBLE IN THE MUD 1, “ [’ BALL IMPOSSIBLE TO HANDLE. 1. r By 14 (three tries, one converted) to eight (two tries, one converted) Opunake beat Hawera at Opunake. Heavy rain j had been falling all the afternoon and it continued throughout the match, makd ing the field an expanse of mud dotted r with pools of water. Handling the ball was impossible and the game was a for- . ward scramble. The play was very even, especially in the first spell, and Hawera at one stage was leading B—6. Opunake’s persistence won the day, although in , point of play there was little difference between the teams. Harrison was the outstanding forward on the field and King played well. The teams were: — Opunake: King, Dobbin, R. Malcolm, Le J. Malcolm, Robinson, Hohaia, Casey, n O’Shannesy, Wilson, Bradley, Leatherby, Ruakere, Taylor, Murfitt, Harrison. j Hawera: Nowell, Harrington, Brown, Geary, Bishop, Greenbanks, West, Clel” ments, H. Butchart, Beecham, E. Mur“V phy, Joyce, B. Murphy, Holloway, Rangi. Even play characterised the first spell, with both packs playing w-11 under dif- ■’ ficult conditions. Hawera looked like scoring on two or three occasions but could not do it. A dribbling rush by the Opunake pack saw Wilson score. Hohaia’s kick missed. Early in the second spell Murfitt broke away and, threading through the opposi-

tion, sent on to Dobbin, who scored- butcould not convert. The Hawera pack came to life and a vigorous attack culminated in Harrington scoring. Bishop’s kick Keeping up the pressure, Hawera again attacked and Geary scored, Greenbanks converting. - Opunake revived and looked dangerous' until Hawera farced. The home team resumed the offensive, and Leatherby scored in the comer. Harrison’s kick missed. Hawera pressed into Opunake territory until an infringement occurred on the goalline arid Opunake relieved and soon reversed the territorial position. From the only passing , rush of the day-J.-Malcolm scored. Harrison converted with a fine kick. The game ended without -further incident. ’ ■Opunake 14 Hawera 8 Mr. R.- Bowman refereed. OHURA SUB-UNION PLAY MATIERE CLUB’S TRIPLE WIN. HEAO GAME ABANDONED. The Niho Niho senior Rugby team’s match at Heao on Saturday was abandoned when A. Weinberg (Niho Niho) fractured his ankle soon after the commencement. The Matiere club had three wins against Ohura at Matiere and Tokirima juniors beat Niho Niho at Tokirima. Results are— Senior. Matiere 5 beat Ohura 0. Heao v. Niho Niho abandoned. Junior. Matiere 1 beat Ohura 3. Tokirima 28 beat Niho Niho 3. . ~ ' Third. ' Matiere 9 beat Ohura 8. The Matiere senior team was Pleasants, J. Margan, Lawler, A. Ross, C. McDougall, P. McDougall, J. Ross, N. Margan, D. Margan, Crooks, Sotham, Parkinson, Baker, Box, Nelson. The Ohura senior team was Gould, Jack Gill, Koorey, Howie,' Peters, Zemba, Craven, Woodney, Stephenson, Jones, Brett, Freeman, Smith, Kemp, Robinson. SOUTHERN JUNIOR GAMES. ; First Juniors. Waimate beat Patea by default. Okaiawa beat Kaponga by default. Hawera 3 v. Ararata 0. . - . ... Third. Grade. . Patea .8. v.. Old. Boys 3.. . Fourth Grade. Kaponga 6 v. Waimate 3. PROBABLES PLAY POSSIBLES. AWAKINO’S BARTLETT CUP. > With the object of selecting the senior team to represent the Tainui Sub-Union a. match was played at Awakino on Saturday between Probables and Possibles. The game resulted in a draw, each side scoring three points. The game was evenly contested throughout and reflected credit, on the. selector, Mr. A. Bartlett, Awakino. Tries. were .scored by K- Witra for Probables. and by M. White for Possibles.. For Probables, C. Hepburn, second five-ejghths, and Witra, forward, played good football, and others who played well for this side were J. Templer and R. Welch. The outstanding players in the Possibles team were M. White at wing three-quarter, R. Whitehead and J. Hanner at five-eighths, and P. Lake, forward. s In the final match for the Bartlett Cup, Awakino juniors defeated Okau juniors by 6 points to 3, tries being scored for Awakino by D. Hunt and J. Bartlett, and for Okau by D. O’Holdren. Awakino hold the cup for the present season. ONLY ONE JUNIOR MATCH. CLIFTON DEFEATS SCHOOL. Owing to the rain all the junior fixtures in the northern and coastal divisions with one exception were postponed. As New Plymouth Boys’ High School will be meeting Sacred Heart College next week, School fulfilled its engagement against Clifton first juniors at Waitara. Owing to some misunderstanding regarding the postponement it was impossible to get a full team away. Clifton won by 14 (a converted try and three penalty goals) to nil. As a result Clifton, High School and Star are all level in the lead with 12 points of a possible 16. RUGBY IN OTHER PROVINCES. Christchurch: Football matches for the first time this season were played on muddy grounds. In the senior Rugby competition Old Boys 5 beat Christchurch 0, and so made it impossible for Sydenham to lose the championship. Other results are: Sydenham 16 v. Linwood 8; Merivale 12 v. ’Varsity 9; Albion 6 v. Athletic 3. Auckland: There was a constant drizle of rain and muddy grounds for the football matches. The Rugby results are: Marist 13 v. Training College 5; Technical Old Boys 6 v. College Rifles 5; Grammar 8 v. Grafton 6; University 6 v. Manukau 3; Ponsonby 11 v. Otahuhu 4. Wellington: Heavy rain on Saturday caused the postponement of all football . matches.