INSIDE BACKS SAME

Taranaki Daily News, 20 April 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

INSIDE BACKS SAME

TUKAPA LITTLE DEPLETED GEO. SULLIVAN RETIRES Tukapa has suffered the loss of part of last year's pack, but as the club was working on a rota there are few real vacancies to fill. The backs, which contributed three men to the representative team, are almost unchanged. Papps is away from North Taranaki at present and may not be back for the beginning of the season, but' he will be available before long. Webster is doubtful this season after a summer with the athletic club, and George Sullivan has definitely retired. That leaves the club with five definite backs of last year’s senior team—J. Sullivan, Claude Brown, Neville Gardiner, Boswell and Wallace. To make up the vacancies Mr. C, Brown has his eye on three or four likely juniors.

Five of last year’s forwards are missing. Colin Allen has been transferred to Christchurch, J. Bethell is playing for Eltham and C. McNeill will be out for the season owing to illness. The other two are Ruakere, and Dr. A. Mcllroy. Those left are , Kenny, Carter, Sorensen, O’Dowda, W. S. Thomson and Knott, while R. Voullaire, a youth more than six feet high, who played once or twice for Kaponga last year, promises to develop into a splendid forward. T. Sullivan, the third of the trio of brothers, has returned to North Taranaki and will play for his old club. Mr. Brown; club and Taranaki selector, will again persevere with his 3-3-2 scrum behind which Boswell, Brown, Wallace and Sullivan did great work last year. In effect the old 2-3-2 scrum with the extra forward on the front row, the 3-3-2 formation is the most compact of all, and the odd man in the front row is able to pack down on either side. It v.’ill be interesting to see the scrum in operation in the early games against the 3-4-1 formation.