FOOTBALL.

Timaru Herald, Issue 170307, 31 August 1920, Page 9

FOOTBALL.

NOTES AND: COMMENTS. (By " Touehline.") ■ • ... u iC .^ ■■.'■-.. <2. -< •" , ■• OJ "■. , ■' '■ .C 3 ' 3' ■ a ■'*■'• > •—' 3 >r o , o o . - . p- 'ft g Jonu.ka. ... 10 7 3 '95 50 14 Celtic . . . .10 -6 4 .104 42 12 Old Bujs .., . . 9 '4 ' 5 'G4. HI S /uigan ... ... 9 4 5 ' 105 114 3 Hiwiroa ... 9 1 S 49 90 x REP. FIXTURES. Sept. 2—Wanganui v. S.C. (Timam).' oept. 9—Wellington v. S.C. (Timaru) sept. 18—Otago v. S.C. (Dunedin). Sept. 22—Southland v. S.C. (lnveroargill). South Canterbury v. Wangaiiui on Thursday, at 2.45. An effort is being made to have the evening trains delayedfor the convenience of country visitors on the day of the.'"Wellington match. It is aiiegeu mat some goals placed by a. country piay Vl - tins vear were ol ooubuut legality, the Oaifiiuving been kickeu ott the placer's hand instead on- tile ground. li Wellington beat Auckland on Saturday, uie Ranfurly Shield will be played jor lor the first time in the doin.li Island next week, at the Caledonian C rounds. ' _.lt is said there is «. prospect of the' Waihi Oiub being revived at "Winchester next season. There are plenty of players for a. good senior team in the Wiiickester-Urari-Ueraldmo districts. Some changes are possible in the South Canteruury team for Thursday. Bennett has a knee and will have to be replaced, and Crannitch is on the sick list and may not be. able to play. One or two other backs are also uncertain starters.

A Wellington scribe says :—"Storej

is a fine wing three-quarter, and probably will yet rank with the greatest we have had in the game in New Zealand. He takes tho ball splendidly, gets into lim stride quickly, and his linal dash lor the line is ideal." Backblocks players in the North Is?. land often travel long distances for a

j game, and it is said that one of the Wairarapa reps, has been doing 70 miles each way by horse and train to have his weekly outing with a Masterton club. On the motion of "All-Black" Glenn tho House adjourned to allow members

to witness the match New Zealand v. Wellington. "When Harding's AngloWelshmott were playing New Zealand in the. second test in 190S the Supreme Court adjourned in the middle of a case so that the jurymen might see the game. They went back to Court and gave, the prisoner the benefit of the doubt.

K. Roberts, of Wellington, largely as the result of having converted 17 tries for New Zealand in the recent Australian tour, brought his total number of points in New Zealand games, up to 101. Only about live men, including T. Lynch (104) have passed the century mark in these games. W. Wallace, with about 360 points, easily holds tho lead.

flic result of the WellingtonNY anganui game suggests that South Canterbury will be up against formidable opposition on Thursday. Wellington have not been defeated for a couple of seasons, and in running the holders of the Ranfurly Shield to 20—14 tho men from the river town must be credited with a good performance. The result of the other match in which South Canterbury was interested was looked upon as a foregone conclusion lor Otago, as the Wairarapa team had a jlot of minor casualties following its two matches in Canterbury, and could not have been in good shape for their Dunedin game. Tile score, however, was a good deal larger than was expected.

It has been patent since the Leg inning of the season that South Canterbury is badly off for hookers, as there has not been much to choose between a dozen or so front-row men so far as securing the ball is concerned, and all that can be said for tho chosen panis that they are not inferior to the rest at getting the ball and are the best of the bunch in the loose. Another weakness is found in the halfback section. Two of them have had a fair chance under decent conditions, and a third is being tried out this week. On a wet ground, which is not hoped for, the Hiwiroa man can bo expected to do better than the others have done, but if he does not prove superior on good going a risk may have to be taken for the Wellington game. Dewar is at some disadvantage in living m Waimate, as he is unable to join m the little practice the other oaeks are able to get. South Canterbury handsomely defeated North in two lower grades last weoK, but Chnstcliurch got more tlun its own back at Dunedin yesterday when the record score for a tournament game was put up against Timaru High School. Christchurch had earned a big reputation this season, and it was Haver considered that the local team was a great one it being recognised that it was deficient in scoring power. Its pack was a solid one, however, and the defence of the backs had appeared fairly sound, find ™j e DI S score came as something of a shock to Timaru's supporters. The final will be played on Thursday between Otago and Christchurch, Southland and Timaru providing the preliminary game. Christchurch have hot yet succeeded in winning a tournament final, and if. they gain the honours this year their success will be very popular.

Iho succession of comparatively dry p-ouuds • we have experienced for the last couple of years may be the cause of tiie noticeable change in defensive play. In las"t week's rep. match not one South Canterbury back went down to rushes, all preferring to trust to clever handling to effect a. check. ! It has to be admitted that much skilful work is done on dry grounds when there is some bounce in the ball, hut on a wot turf tho now popular method is a hazardous one, and wet grounds may be met with on the southern trip if not before. Even S>pillane, who used to he a model rushstopper now trusts to his hands. About the only two young backs of any class who appear willing to get down to a rush are Joyce and Dewar, and if Direen and Ward are excepted there are few forwards who. settle a rush in the old-fashioned way The modern style suvea-a lot of bumps and is pretty successful on. dry days, but it may bring about a heavy defeat on a sloppy field. ■ ■ j . , The two New Zealand men' engaged last week hardly lived up to expectations. Storey was eager for work, but until he got a knock which pretty well crippled Him soon after the game began lie had few opportunities, and he was so hampered that he was wise in retiring a t half time in favour of Joyce, who did a. good deal better than the crack could have done under the circumstances. It is expected that Storey will be riaht for Thursday's game, and it is to be hoped that he has the end of the ill. rack which prevented him from showing the local public the class of player he really is. Donald was a, little disappointing in view of ins big reputation, perhaps because too much was expected. He hegan well, but soon appeared to tire, and though his

conspicuous figure flashed at intervals Uio was not consistent, and exeept at the scrum side was riot equal to iscott, -who delved into the play ait through, while Donald played a purely wing ;gaine. It would not bo safe, however, to judge the Wairarapa captain on this' showing, as more than likely he has had a surfeit of football lately. He was not particularly keen on settingout on tour again one day after arriving at his home from the Australian .'tour. Donald avers that he has a younger brother at home who is a better player than' himself.

If memory serves it was six years : since a primary schools rop. game had been played with Canterbury. Just ;ts the war was beginning the Rugby Union chartered a special' traiu, and the senior. High School, and primary reps, travelled together to Christchurch, and two of those visits were not returned until the present month'. The result of the late schools match, furnished gratifying evidence that t!:«foundations of llugby are being well and truly laid in this district. The Canterbury Association has a. greater number of boys to draw upon, and as their fifteen was the result of eliminating tests of about eighty picked lads the teachers in charge of them were quietly confident that they would win. The controllers of the home team were less sanguine, as half a dozen country boys were included to the supposed detriment of combination, but the infusion of new biood proved the salva-. • tion of the home fifteen. The dead ground made piay dull for a time, but it brightened as it progressed, and the Canterbury boys threw the ball about a good deal in a "pretty" but not very effective fashion. The visiting backs claimed marks at every opportunity to allow Pay, the full back, to kick for touch with the wind. The home backs did not show any particular promise in the first half,'but principally as the result of nippy defence by JUason they held their end up until the interval.. Once they got into their stride after the change of ends they showed marked superiority, and with the forwards giving them possession they showed really fine combination for a "new" team. Mason (half), Cookson( five-eighths), Hanson (centre), and Yeiteh (wing) were responsible for some good work, the strong and straighter running of the two last named being in striking contrast to the cross-field work of Canterbury. Quirko (Orari) who had not played in a match this season, was safe and cool at full hack, and Hall and Slade did fine work in the forward division. Their display was so pleasing that it is a pity another rep. match could not be arranged for the South Canterbury boys. The weather left little to be desired for the Wairarapa match, and the Caledonian oval was in better order than appeared likely overnight; the ball was dry though the going was very dead. A north-easterly breeze affected the piay a good deal, being scarcely noticeable at ground level but being fairly strong above the line of the tree-tops, and a good many of Juno's kicks which had been good for thirty or forty yards in the first spell went almost straight up and down against it, giving a fair indication of what it meant to the game. With the sun and wind behind them the Wairarapans gained a lead of three points in the first half, but this did not look sufficient, and with the positions reversed the 'home team went to the front and stayed there. The play gcncrallv was fast and vigorous, but it was seldom thril.lling. The visiting hookers, Irvine ! and Strachey (the latter a Timaru native) secured the ball with unfailing regularity, and gave their half heaps of work, but little attempt was made to play a passing game, and the tactics of the northerners were very similar to those favoured by South Canterbury a dozen years ago. As far as could b'e judged the Wairarapa front row men were better than the Canterbury pair who looked good a fortnight earlier. Clarke appears to be a solid forward, and for a man whose years are variously stated to be between 39 and 44 Desmond is a bit of a wonder.. R, Booth, who played at full back until lie retired half way through the second spell owing to an ankle sprain met with in Christchurch, played a very safe game. In club football he performs at centre. The most conspicuous figure in the Wairarapa rearguard, however, was . the five-eighths, Juno, a fine all round man. Unless he was playing to orders, however, he was much too individualistic for 'the ultiing down wind wag extremely good,, but the spectators would have been pleased had he given his supports more to do. The other backs were shifted about more than once after Booth was replaced. Carson, one of the wings, is a neat player, and Irvine was nippy. at five-eighths and fair at full back. The &outh Canterbury scrum left a lot to be desired, being less compact than the opposing phalanx, and this did not help the front row men, who seemed to make a poor fight for the ball. Another weakness in the scrummage work was the lack of breakaways, who should have been in evidence with the other side' getting the ball so regularly. Though badly beaten in the scrum, Parker and Ward were as good as any of the pack in the loose, Ward doing more tackling than any of the other forwards. Shea played another solid game, and Stewart, though very light for a rep. team, acquitted himself cred, itably. Except Bennett and Flynn all the forwards played up to form, though there was not enough backing up and there was too much inclination to pick up the ball when it was rolling nicely in a loose rush. Scott played a great game in the open, and his kicking was very serviceable, both with and against the breeze. Oraunitch filled the difficult role of full back admirably, and as he possesses the coolness so necessary for the part it looks as if tiiis highly important business wili be in safe hands if he recovers freni his indisposition. Storey did not last long in the three-quarter line, but Joyce made a good first appearance in a big game. Logan and I>oull both showed wonderful improvement on their Canterbury game, though Logan's handling was uncertain. Doull looked nervous for a time, and he was unlucky to knock his shoulder again when scoring a try. Cooke and Taylor were very good at five-eighths. Cooke never played a better game; his at- , tack was as bright as ever and his | footwork good, and lie put more heart ! into his defence than usual. Taylor hardly ran straight enough, and at times seemed slow an moving, but whenever he was pressed he rose to the occasion and performed brilliantly. Head got no chances from the scrum, but was disappointing in most rer spects. Since he was incapacitated a month or so back he seems to have lost his knack .of opening the game from the back of rucks or from longs rushes, and as a consequence his backt, received few favours from him, to the disappointment of those who expected them to drop into a- passing game. The kicking was often good, but the Wairarapa men did so little actual running with the ball that the tackling of the home backs was not properly tested, and little attempt was made to cover fellow backs on defence. The team as a whole shaped very much better than in the Canterbury game, and further improvement can be looked for this week. Appearances point to it all being needed,