CONSISTENT RUGBY

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1935, Page 12

CONSISTENT RUGBY

RECORDS FOR FOUR YEARS TARANAKI CLUB FOOTBALL (By “Side Row.”) The suggestion made on this page last week that something be done to enliven the Taranaki Senior Rugby competition has prompted “Side Row” to conduct a little research into the records of the past four years. During that period the championship has changed hands each year, Okaiawa, Waimate, Patea and Stratford having its turn. An analysis over the four years shows that three of the four winners have been consistent teams, Waimate having had one peak ye,ar among three others not so good. Judged on this standard, Tqkapa is the unluckiest club. It has since 1932 been in the top flight each year without ever managing to secure the honours. One suggestion made by "Critic” on this page last week was that the number of clubs should be reduced. This is not preferable to a system of semi-finals among the four leading teams; the only way to eliminate any clubs from the senior competition, in "Side Rows’ ” opinion, is not necessarily to arrange combined fifteens from clubs drawing players from small areas, but to seek to “comb out” the teams with the poorest records. In compiling this table ’‘play-off’’ matches of the 1932 and 1933 seasons have been included. In 1932 Okaiawa beat Patea in the southern play-off and went on to beat Stratford in tile final. Patea and Waimate took part in the southern playroff the next year, drawing once before Waimate won. The Manaia club beat Stratford again. Patea’s turn carpe the next year,and Stratford was unbeatable in the season just ended. Stratford has easily the most consistent record. Its collective margin of points in the 53 games played is 466, no otheir team having a margin of more than 273. Including the two play-offs in which Stratford was beaten, the team has lost only eight matches in- the four years, no other team having lost fewer than 14. Okaiawa has gone through the four seasons without sharing the points in qny one match. The story of a team’s style of play can be seen dimly hi the cold figures below. Kaponga, sixth on the list, has scored fewer points than eight other clubs, but next to Stratford, Kaponga has had fewer scored against it. .New Plymouth Old Boys is low on the list, In spite of a respectable total of points, the explanation lying in the average of 14 points conceded each match against Stratford’s five. Inglewood’s doubtful honour of bottom position is tone that a club with a large area to draw upop, should take steps to rectify, but the rear son, as with all clubs with a scattered membership, is lack of combined training. The positions on the four seasons' “premiership” table are:— Points Ch

P. W. D. L. For A. P. Stratford .... 53 41 4 8 754 288 86 Patea 58 37 7 14 603 424 80 Tukapa 52 34 4 14 680 403 72 Okaiawa .... 58 36 0 22 661 446 70 Opunake .... 56 29 6 21 454 450 b4 Kaponga 55 28 5 22 .508 369 61 Star 52 26 5 21 620 456 57 Waimatc :.... 57 27 3 27 582 627 52 Hawera 55 23 4 28 526 559 50 N.P. Old Boys 50 23 1 26 530 712 47 Clifton 52 20 5 27 396 475 45 Eltham 56 17 5 34. 405 632 39 S. Old Boys .. 51 12 7 32 344 551 31 Athletic 55 11 4 40 336 796 26 Inglewood •.. 50 8 6 36 326 613 22