FOOTBALL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18629, 26 July 1930, Page 16

FOOTBALL

REPRESENTATIVE FIXTURES.

To-day—South Canterbury v. North Otago at Oamaru. August 16 —v. Ashburton, at Ashbur- j ton. August 23—v. Otago, at Timaru. ! August 28 —v. Waimate. at Waimate. i September 6 —v. North Otago, a" . Timaru. The Beri Cup match will be played between Old Boys and Temuka on August 2. On August 30. a third, fourth and fifth grade seven-a-side tournament will be played on Fraser Park. To j make the tournament a success, the j support of all clubs is desired. ! Old Boys are to be congratulated on I their win against Temuka on Saturday, j for by their convincing display, they 1 settled all doubt as to which Club is j entitled to hold the Skinner Cup for I the 1930 season’s play. Although the j country team was second, they held : that position last year when Star defeated them in the final, and another match against Old Boys for the Beri Cup should be full of interest. The Temuka fifteen lacked the fitness of their rivals, and this was no doubt responsible for their defeat to the extent of 23 points to 11. Temuka held ! their own in the. first half, during which period play was of a particulari lv good standard, and half way ! through the final session they aroused I the enthusiasm of country barrackers ! by scoring twice in the space of a few I minutes. It could be seen which way I the game was going, however, for Old ! Boys came with a final spurt and coml pletely demoralised the opposition. I Prior to leaving the field last Satur- ; day to catch the express for the north | en route to Auckland. A. Strang, the I South Canterbury All Black, was the life and soul of the country backs. He ; was responsible for much bright individual work, and time and time again piloted his side out of danger. Strang was entitled to the great ovation the crowd gave him when he left the field. The match between South Canterbury and Wanganui on Fraser Park on Wednesday was a most disappointing one. considering that conditions were so favourable. The visitors were not a particularly strong side, but their display was poor, and they will j need to show greatly improved form 1 to-day if they hope to have any chance of lifting the Ranfurly Shield from ! Southland. The shield holders will be j without Hazlett, but they will place a hefty pack on the field, and it is their forwards who arc likely to overrun j Wanganui, who average about 13 stone : in the pack. Although it is hard to single any one of the Old Boys' backs out for praise on their exhibition against Temuka last Saturday, ?t might not be out of place to state that A. Lawson played his finest game this season. When there were any openings to be made Lawson made them, and by his . initiative was responsible for more than a few of the 28 points that gave Old Boys such a handsome victory. Much comment was heard at Fraser Park on Saturday concerning the try secured for Old Boys by J. Berry, a forward who emerged from the day’s play with flying colours. It was said by many that Berry knocked on before he crossed the line, but the referee (Mr A. B. Rowlands) stated that Berry kicked the ball and was obstructed just before he fell on it. “I pointed to the Temuka player and awarded an obstruction try,” said Mr Rowlands. The South Canterbury pack which met Wanganui on Wednesday was a fairly light one, but with every man doing his job, they showed to advantage even with the weight against them. The Callanan brothers were in the picture all through, and look like developing into two of the best forwards the province has had for some time. Last season Dan played in the backs for Waihi, and the training he had in handling is now standing him n good stead. Jack is only a boy yet, but he has the makings of a really good forward. Phillips went well in the early stages, but in the

second half was not quite so prominent, the pace having made itself felt. Adkins showed up in the loose, but in this department StevenI son was not so prominent, although he ' did his part of the heavy work. Sim1 1X101*8 also shone in the loose, and ; worried Duncan, the visitors’ half, a j good deal. The folly of the man with the ball ; tr\ ing to hurdle or jump over his would-be tackier was stressed by Mr F. T. Evans in an address to Christchurch Rugby referees. When the jumper was tackled there was always the danger of a broken neck, said Mr Evans, recalling the case of the late “Barney” Armit. Armit was one of the idols of Dunedin football crowds but he had a bad habit to jumping ! over the man trying to collar him. In a game against Taranaki in 1899 Armit tried to jump over Bailey, captain oi Taranaki, but he was taken by the legs, went over Bailey’s head, and practically broke his neck. The injury was something similar to thal received by Jim Turpin a year or twe ago. But 30 years ago science had nol advanced to its present state, anc whereas Turpin had recovered Armil | lingered for a short time and died. A good many people were inclined j to condemn Connolly for his moderate showing against Wanganui or Wednesday, but when the actual facts are known, probably they will change their opinion. In no single instance did Connolly let his man beat him and while his fielding was not clean he always kept the ball within range His one weakness was in kicking tc touch, but here he was under a serious handicap. On Saturday la-st he received a severe kick on the right leg, which practically rendered the member useless for hard work, and it will be recalled that on Wednesday Connolly used his left foot repeatedly To make matters worse, he received a kick on his leg during the game, and so under the circumstances he did remarkably well. Rarely have two South Canterbury representative players made such poor showings as did Roper and Blyth against Wanganui cn Wednesday. Usually Roper can be relied on tc make play open, but on Wednesday he failed to show up at any stage, and as a result the back play of the home side suffered considerably. Had Blyth been up to standard, he might have been able to make amends for Roper's mistakes, but he too was decidedly weak Gaffaney was all over the paddock and played much below his usual standard. Neutze justified the confidence placed in him by the selectors but would strengthen his defence considerably if he learned to use his left foot. Wilkes did not get many opportunities to shine on attack, but his defence was sound. L. Mahan, whe replaced Trotter at the last minute was the best back on the ground. He has been playing consistently well ! throughout the season, and how he j has not been given consideration before is hard to understand. The British team, at present New Zealand’s honoured guests, are without question the most brilliant Rugby combination which has ever visited this country, says the “Dominion.” True, the 1921 Springboks were a great side, but the strength of the South Africans lay in their solidity and almost rocklike defence, while the success of the 1930 British team is attributed to the speed of their backs, and to their ability to give their flying wingers chances to speed over the line unmarked. Up till Saturday last, the British team had played fourteen matches on the New Zealand tour, of which they have won eleven and lest three. Up to the present. Wellington and Canterbury have been the only provinces who have been able to lower the colours of these speedy representatives of England, Ireland, and Wales, not forgetting Scotland’s solitary ambassador. The two Test matches so far played have resulted in honours remaining easy. Britain winning the first Test at Dunedin by 6 points to 3, and New Zealand squaring the ac--1 count in the second Test at Christ- ! church by taking the match by 13 j points to 10. after the British team I had had to play throughout the second ■ spell with fourteen men. It will thus I be seen that New Zealand is seriously | challenged by this brilliant band which j the Oid Land has sent out to wrestle

for the Rugby honours of 1930. So even are the teams that the rival claims for the New Zealand as against the British system of play must remain in abeyance. The most remarkable thing about the contests so far is that the two countries have completely reversed their time-honoured methods of play. For years past, those in control of the game in this country have argued that the game needed speeding up. and to this end obtained permission to alter a few of the Rugby rules. The Home countries have long been credited with playing a stodgy brand of Rugby, with much hard scrummaging, frequent kicking to touch, and orthodox passing by the backs. The present British team has completely exploded this fallacy. Today it is the New Zealand players who are on the defensive, and it is the British players who are opening up the game. in every conceivable way, and throwing the ball about with an abandon which has delighted the crowds wherever they have performed. In short, the roles of the two countries have been completely reversed. This only goes to show’ that it does not depend under what rules or particular scrum or back formation the game may be played; it depends entirely upon how the game is played. Rugby under British rule can be made as fast as either public or players can desire, and this Prentice and his associates are proving. The third test between Britain and New Zealand will be played in Auckland to-day. The South Canterbury Rugby Referees’ Association submitted the following question to the New Zealand Referees’ Association for a ruling: "When a scrummage is taking place, the w’ihg-forward. who is on side when the opposing half secures the ball, moves up to the opposing five-eigths and waits for the pass and takes it. Should he be penalised for offside?” The answer received was “No.” Congratulations to A. Strang in again winning a place in a New Zealand side. Judging by reports from Auckland he has been working in well with Corner and Nicholls. and it is to be hoped that he reproduces to-day the form he showed against Britain in Timaru. In proposing the toast of the referee jat the dinner to the Wanganui and South Canterbury teams on Wednesday night. Mr J. Crowley (manager of the Wanganui team* said that the referee had a thankless task. The public were inclined to say all sorts of nasty things about him, but they should remember that a referee could only give what he saw. If the public would only realise this, and give the referee some support. then he was sure a lot more men would give their services in the interests of the game.

R. Carleton, of Waimate. who is regarded as one of the finest backs seen

in Waimate for some time, will to-day have a run in the South Canterbury representative team against North Otago. Owing to injury. L. Mahan is not available, his place being taken by A. Lawson.

j The incident in the recent Rugby match between Britain and South Canterbury, when Prentice, captain of the tourists, was alleged to have been ' bitten by an opponent, was amusingly commented on by Mr J. S. Wauchop at the dinner given to the teams at the conclusion of the match at Gisborne. Mr Wauchop said the Canterbury player must have found the British captain rather tough, but he assured Mr Prentice that he would be free from similar attacks in the test matches, as the speaker understood that the All Blacks were so old that they played without their teeth! i E. Pick Rang, the ex-New Zealand i forward, who joined the Northern | Suburbs Club last year, and was a j breakaway in its First Grade team, 1 has commenced training again with Norths, and is available for selection | in any of its teams (says Sydney Sun.) ; After achieving prominence as an amateur boxer. Pick Rang fought as a professional, with the result that the Northern Suburbs Club sought the opinion of the New South Wales Ruyby Union whether he was still eligible for selection as an amateur footballer. The union decided to seek the opinion of the English Rugby Union, which replied that a professional pugilist could play union football. The attitude of the local body in cabling headquarters in England caused comment, as it was quite clear that under the rules there was nothing to prevent Pick Rang from playing union football. Although Pick Rang had attended Northern Suburbs’ training before the season’s commencement, early successes as a professional “pug” caused him to prefer the roped arena. Recent decisive defeats at the hands of heavy-weights Redmond and OMalIsy, however, have caused his stocks to slump, and Pick Rang to return to the le:.s strenuous sport of Rugby football. Auckland has always been a Rugby stronghold, and has a proud record against overseas teams. The first British team to visit these shores in 1888 played four matches against Auckland. The first, played on May 19. resulted in a win for Britain by 6 to 3; the second, on May 24. was won by Auckland by 4 to nil; the third, on September 3. was won by Britain by 3

to nil; and the fourth, on September 12. was drawn, each side scoring one

point. Auckland maintained her prowess by defeating the British team in 1904 by 13 points to nil. and the Anglo-Welsh team in 1908 by 11 to nil. In the match against the South African touring team in 1921, Auckland was bracketed with North Auckland and Waikato, and the Springboks easily defeated the combined team by 24 points to 8.