TARANAI BEATEN AGAIN.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13994, 27 August 1909, Page 4

TARANAI BEATEN AGAIN.

WAXUANVI WINS BY TIIHKE POIXTS. A POOH EXHIBITION' OF KHiBY. To what a pass has llnglrt tout ball m Taranaki lallcn uhen a pro\ nice n-pletc with traditions of Ba\l\s :m<l doods. ul hauilno and O'l)m\<l;t. oi ■Snip" Allen, Hunter and llumplii i<"-. plarcv. in the Itunby held Midi :i wrctciu-il team as that which went down Ik-Joiv Wanganui's. iittcon yisieida\ .iltiinoon to the tune of nine points to six is- j terday's Taianuki teuni was a -orry apology lor the Riifjby giants the pro\ince. has turned out in former < I «i > s , and illustratoil iorcilily the low standard the game hah come to in 'laran.d.i It niii Uie poorest te«.ni that ha, i-e-prosontetl Tar ami ki ier many yc«rs — a team without dash, eonilmintion or hkill and a team that was lucky to get oft with only a three points defeat. A score of 15 points to 6 would have been a fairer indication of the merits oi the two teams. The amber and blacks gave a wretched exhibition, anil it was only the good play of the Wunganui men that saved the game from degenerating into a farce. Wanganui well deservexi its victory. It had sent up a good team, with plenty of speed, dash, combination and fckill botfc forward and aft, and needing only a really good general and a little more weight in the forwards. The blue forwards averaged only list. 131 b. in weight, but more than made up for this by their fitness, speed, and superiority to the Taianaki forwards in tho finer points ol the game. In their previous game with Wanganui the Taranaki forwaids piomised to develop into a fairly good lot. but how sadly have they belied that promise I Nor were the Taranaki hacks by any means up to their usual standard. For one thing, they played out of position right through tho game, allowing Wanganui to intercept many passes. In the first spell, too. tho connecting link between the half and the three-quarter line was out of gear. Roberts was a failure at five-eighths, chiefly because he clung to the ball too long, while Mynott was not up to his usual form in attack, although solid in defence as a rule. In the second spell J. Stohr came up to five-eighths, Dive played centre three-quarter, and Roberts took Dive's place as wing threequarter. The home team was without Tamu and Cameron, absent for the inter-is-land match, but Wanganui also had two men, Mueli and Milne, away for the same reason, while two other good men, Souter and Dustin, were unable to travel witlTthe team. The ground was in good order, but the showers of rain that began to fall shortly before the match made the ball slippery. Several stoppages were caused by players being knocked out temporarily, but none was of any real seriousness. M'Leod, who was "laid out" three times, was the worst sufferer, the plucky Wanganui five-eights receiving several hard I knocks. The s attendance was slightly over 2000. 1 The teams were as follow : — I Wangantti (blue and black) :—Fullback, ' 'Jago ; three-quarters, Abbott, i Coe, Signal ; five-eighths, Campion, M'Leod (captain) ; half, Dowe ; wingforward,' Takarangi ; forwards, Aitken, Bishop, Murray, Marchant, Leahy, Muli ler, Gill. Taranaki (amber and black).—Fullb«ck, Potier; three-quarters, C. Sheaban, J. Stohr, Dive; five-eighths, Roberts, Mynott (captain) ; half, Thurston ; wing-forward, T. Sheahan; forwards, Kivell, Cain, Crowley, Smith, Young, Pini, Swainson. ,