TEMUKA WIN WELL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21085, 11 July 1938, Page 12

TEMUKA WIN WELL

Still Leading For Skinner Cup Saturday’s Games In spite o£ sodden grounds and greasy balls matches in the . last series of the first round of the South Canterbury Rugby Union's senior competition on Saturday provided fast and exciting football. Chief interest centred in the meeting of Temuka and Star, occupants of the first and second rungs respectively of the Skinner Cup ladder, at Temuka, where Temuka in one of their best games this season won a decisive victory by 17 points to six. In the only game at Fraser Park. Old Boys beat Celtic by 14 points !o seven and at Geraldine Waimate accounted for the home team by eight to four. RESULTS AT A GLANCE Senior Temuka 17, Star 6. Old Boys 14. Celtic 7. Waimate 8, Geraldine 4. THRILLS AT TEMUKA FAST GAME OX WET GROUND Temuka more or less set their seal to the title deeds of the Skinner Cud on Saturday when they defeated Star their nearest rivals, by 17 points to six in a game v/hicli produced some of the best football seen at Temuka this season. In common with other playing : fields, the ground was heavy, having: thawed down to a depth of about two ; inches under which it was frozen hard. ■ Temuka scored three tries, one con- I verted and two penalty goals to Star's ■ two unconverted tries. Considering the state of the ground it was expected that the game would; be a fairly tight, forward struggle but. ' although the packs domin '..t xl play there were many flashes of brilliant back play which thrilled the spectator.;, j Once again Temuka owed its win largely to its forwards. There is probably J no more even pack in the competition and. while it numbers no outstanding : individuals among its personnel, as a combination it is a most effective vanguard. With the exception of the first ten minutes, they completely over- ; shadowed the Star forwards in the first spell and gave their backs any amount of opportunely; to open up play. Thenshort passing rushes were particularly devastating and in both scrums and line-cuts they appeared to hold too many guns for Star in the first half. In the second spell, however. Star played like a different team and had . slightly the better of the play as a result of their improved work.

Backs Well Matched Handling the greasy ball remarkably well, both sets of backs treated the crowd to some clever movements. The rearguards wore evenly matched and solid defence put a premium of individual effort to make openings. In this respect the game produced several exciting moments. R. Jamieson and D. Hopkinson in particular proving themselves opportunists of high rank in manoeuvres which contributed to Temuka’s total. Star began well and held a territorial advantage for the first ten minutes, but the defence of the Temuka backs was equal to the demands made on it, and the country pack gradually gained the ascendancy and held it for the remainder of the spell. Once in an attacking position they heeled cleanly and Brosnahan gave his backs plenty of ball. They had many fine chances, but poor handling and lack of finish by Wilson and Grant robbed them ol what appeared to be certain tries on three occasions. Grant losing possession twice when he had only to accept his pass and cross the line at the corner. Temuka’s first try came after about 15 minutes of play, Polhill and McCully leading a forward rush in the 25 which terminated with McCully diving over under the bar. Dawson converted. A few minutes later. Star were penalised for a scrum infringement about 30 yards out and Dawson piloted the heavy bail between the posts, repeating the performance later in the spell when Star gave away another penalty on the 25 line. Star Improve With the score 11-0 at half time, Star played with better finish in the second spell and adopted bustling tacties in an endeavour to make up the leeway. The forwards worked better an ’ held a temporary territorial advantage. Ivey made a good break from a ruck at the 25 and threw an inpass to Adkins near the line, the Star packleader crashing his way through the defence to score a good try in a handy position. Cartwright failed to enhance the score, however. The Star five-

I eighths were playing with more combination at this stage, and their efforts on attack were rewarded with one of the brightest movements of the game. Greyburn shot the ball out to Jack, and it travelled smoothly out to Alsop who. in the 25. drew both Wilson and Gran;, giving Cunningham a clear run to the corner for a pretty try. ! which Cartwright failed to convert. When Temuka were pressing near Star's line. Grant came in to make an I extra man and passed to Goodson, to I Jamieson, who threw a long pass to | Hopkinson. the winger racing across | near the corner before the opposition were aware of it. Dawson found the I angle too great. The last try of the , match was the result of a good piece iof opportunism by Hopkinson. Wilson ' i received inside halfway and kicked for the corner but the ball fell short. Hopi kinson dashed up and, collecting the ' bouncing ball in his stride, flashed over wide out and ran round to score behind the posts mere or 'A > unopposed. It Was a good try which placed i I Temuka’s win beyond all doubt. Daw- , son’s kick went wide and the final ■ score was:— Temuka 17 Star 6 Mr W, Direen was referee. CELTIC DEFEATED I OLD BOYS’ BACKS THE DECIDING Gaining the ball from the scrums | and sending tl' r ir backs away at every ■ opportunity Old Boys proved too good J for Celtic at Fraser Park on Saturday i defeating the Greens by 14 points to | .seven. . Considering the conditions un- I deri :ot. both sets ol backs handled ex- j ceedingly well, indulging in chain passing whenever possible. It was evi- I dent early in the game that the issue f was B.yween the hard working Celtic! pack and the speed.; Old Bovs back . lino. In the loose rushes the Green vanguard were superior but in the set ' scrums and nu-ks, the margin was In the first spell Celtic adopted the I backs away from every scrum, but : movements: broke down time and again ! through the f< iilt.y handling of the greasy ball. Shortly after the inter- • val a change of tactics was evident, the Green packmen preferring to keep ! the ball tight and gain ground with : locse dribbling rushes. Led by p. Fitzgerald the Celtic forw-. rds storied i the Eluc line time and again, only re- I solute defence keeping them from scoring. At limes in tire forwards play became very wiilin;.. and much un- ' necessary back chat took place, the* referee issuing a e,"neral warning to both I earns. Ola Boys "i" . ( :■ .1 . ".ently, even 1 when pinned on their own goal line. I the speedy inside backs cleaving a pas- : sage through the Green defence time) and again, but infringements and bad i handling spoilt many promising move- • rnci’t •. In the last quarter the Celtic' forwards asserted themselves, carrying I all before them, only over-eagerness I

I and offside play keeping them from I adding to their score. ! Both Old Boys and Celtic had former South Canterbury representatives playing for them. After several seasons on the bank L. Mahan turned | out for the Blues, and proved the kingpin on attack, paving the way for two i tries. Roper, who played for Celtic in 1924 and represented South Canterbury I in 1928 as half-back, gave a sterling display behind the Green pack, getting through a lot of defensive work, and sending his backs away with well I directed passes from the scrum. | Receiving from a scrum in the first five minutes Parsons sent his backs away lor K. Hall to cross near the posts. Riley converted. Desultory play followed till l„ Mahan picked up and side-stepped an opponent to send a long pass to Cameron to Riley to Ryan, who touched down in the corner. The kick failed. The second spell opened i with Celtic attacking and from beneath the posts Roper flung the ball to C. Ryan, who potted a field goal. Midway through I he spell the Blues essayed a rush to the 25, where E. Rvan picked up and inpassed to j Cameron, who forced his way over I wide out. Riley's kick went outside | the uprights'. An orthodox back rush brought the Blues a try, K. Hall receiving to cross unopposed. The kick failed. Celtic rallied in the last few minutes and swept downfield for C. Ryan to pick up and, selling the dummy, send out to J. O Conncl. who scored in the corner. The kick at goal was unsuccessful, making the final score— Old Boys 14 Mr C. F. De Joilx was referee. WAIMATE VICTORIOUS GREASY BALL SPOILS PLAY Although Waimate beat Geraldine by eight points to four in the match at ’ Geraldine on Saturday, the home side

put up a creditable performance. Geral- 1 dine were aggressive in the first half, , but could not finish off their scoring : movements, sound mothering tactics j by the Waimate backs nullifying their ! efforts. The ground was fairly greasy and a slippery ball made handling | difficult. Several passing rushes bright- ! ened play and showed that Waimate 1 was capable of bright work in good ; conditions. Bustling forward work was ; also a feature ol the Waimate play. In the second spell Geraldine saw little of Waimate terri lory, although one or two | forward attacks looked dangerous, but | good work by the backs staved off . further Wmmate scores. Geraldine kicked off and Waimate | immediately set up an attack. The for- | wards thrust their way to the Geral- I dine twenty-five where offside play saw i M’urphy miss with a penalty from an easy position. Geraldine retaliated and I from a tussle near the Waimate twenty-five P. Callanan sent over a beautiful drop kick from wide out. j Geraldine 4. Waimate 0. Waimate kept up I he pressure, but the defence held. I Taylor gained ground with a splendid line kick, an I a scrambling rush saw Murphy clear with a nippy kick. A penalty gave Geraldine relief. Vial was i caught offside and the kick by Murphy ! sent play beyond midfield. Lundy snapped up from a scrum to send to Frost, to Flynn and Bartlett, back to Murphy, to Flynn who was tackled. H. South had ■ a likely opportunity with a penalty i from a fair way out. but the ball fail- | ed to rise. A dribbling rush led by Ponsonby and Hansen sent play to the | Geraldine twenty-five, where K. Loach i saved smartly. The Geraldine backs got going but Murphy intercepted and dribbled through to pick up and dash across and run round to score under the posts. Hansen converted with a. nice kick. Waimate 5. Geraldine 4. Wright came in from the whig and the ball was sent across the back fine, but Mclntosh saved. The Geraldine backs got going but. Murphy intercepted. Wright made a beautiful solo efloi u and took the ball from midfield to tne corner, where Vincent, the home custodian, brought | him down. Murphy looked like scoring, but iie was well tackled by Martin. In the second half J. Manchester replaced Jim Flynn who retired owing to an injury. Callanan. Blyth and Loach were prominent in a fast dash, but good tackling nullified the effort. Hard rucking work .saw the Waimate forwards I bring play to the Geraldine end nd Blyth sent to Callanan io Blyth. to Loach who '..as smothered. Waimate attacked and Geraldine could not get beyond the twenty-five line for some time. Murphy missed with a penalty from an easy position. From a scramble near the Geraldine corner W. Lundy snapped up and forced his way across. Hansen just missed with the kick. Waimate 8. Geraldine- 4. Geraldine remained on the defensive for a quarter of an hour and Worner and McPherson finally got away and took play to the Waimate twenty-five, but the visiting forwards soon reversed the position. Vincent clearing with a timely kick. Wright nearly scored bin he was forced ; out in the corner. An exchange of line kicks followed till Callanan sent the ball to Waimate's cornei with a splendid kick grim tussle followed, but the Waimate pack forced play back to midfield. Time came wLfi play in the Geraldine corner, with the scores: Waimate 8 Geraldine 4 Mr T. P. Smell v a.- the referee. MAORI TRIAL MATCH (onditions; prevent good DISPLAY Telegraph I'iess OAMARU, July 9. The South Island Maori Rugby trial played before a fair gathering of spectators at the Showgrounds this afternoon resulted in a win for the Seddon Shield Disiricis peal:, t Southern Combined by 11 points to nil. A very heavy ground and grear.y ball militated against the bright open Rugby usually associated with the best Maori players in the Island, but the match nevertheless was full of incident with bustling forward play and fine tackling. The match opened sensationally lor Raharuru to open tire score for the Seddon Shield Districts in the first few minutes by kicking past the last line of defence and beating the opposition to the touch down. Kotua added the major points. The Seddon Shield Districts' forwards were heavier and speedier than their opponents, but there was no further score until well into the second spell when Melich kicked a fine I penalty goal. Just before the call of

i i time Kotua macle a fine opening, sending on to B. Ward, to M. McDonald, * who dived over for a good try. For I the Seddon Shield District Raharuru, •Kotua, Melich, G. McDonald (backs), , D. Mason. Hepplite. M. McDonald and | B. Ward (forwards) played sound, at- [ tractive Rugby. For Southern Combined, Taituha (back) and Purdue (fori ward) were the outstanding players. ; Purdue was probably the best forward on the field. GISBORNE NOMINATIONS By Telegraph—Association GISBORNE, July 9. I Four Gisborne Rugby players have ! been nominated for inclusion in the I Maori All Black Team to visit Fiji. [They are:—J. Lockwood (who previously represented New Zealand), R. Kutia, I J. Leach and S. Smiler. ASSO( lATION SATURDAY’S GAMES Results at a Glance Senior Northern 1, Old Boys 1. Pirates 4. Central 1. Boys’ Games West School 1. Main nil. Cobbers 1, Marist 1. NORTHERN v. OLD BOYS The game at Russell Square opened with the exchanges even. An advantage was given to Old Boys by Kemp, his centre pass being returned by Stack. Dods set his left wing in motion, Bishop breaking up the combination when the movement became dangerous. A second attack by the Reds resulted in Green saving with confidence. Wing play by both teams was indulged in for a spell, neither side being able Io find shooting form. As the ball became heavier, by reason of the muddy state of the ground, the forwards relied mainly on short passing movements. Play was by no means brilliant, and the first spell ended score. Old Boys, led by A. Green in the centre forward position, hotly attacked (he Northern keeper, Wynn saving with no time to spare. A goal kick secured by Dods carried play into Northern territory, and the forwards carried play within shooting distance of the goal. J. Stack centred the ball from Northern left wing, the ball flashing right across the goal mouth, Johnman tipping the leather between the uprights. Play became brighter Northern striving hard to increase the lead. A shot from the Red centre-forward gave Green some trouble to clear. Old Boys’ continued to attack chiefly by long kicks by Bishop and Green, Clyne eventually finding the net with a shot from short range. Dods tried a shot from a long way out, the ball going over the bar. The game finished without further score. Mr W. Roundhill was referee. CENTRAL v. PIRATES Anzac Square was in a muddy condition when Central and Pirates batted to get goals. Play opened with an attack by the Black front line, Cordner

I clearing with a long pass Io Duncan. ! Shears got possession on the Central i right wing but Weston crossed the field i and tackled well. A smart run down i field by Smith spelt danger for Central, but Taylor handled with confidence. McAuliffe was prominent in clearing attacks by the Pirates forwards. Donley getting offside nullified a chance by Pirates to score. The first goal was scored by Smith, after a bout of passing by the Pirates forwards. It was a hard shot which Taylor had no chance to save. DeLatour was seldom called on. Weston and Prattley clearing any likely attacks by the Central front line. Taylor saved twice in quick succession from Denlcy and Swan, but was beaten 'by Smith from inside the penalty area, and the half time whistle sounded with Pirates two goals in the lead. Central opened with a determined rush and Weston. Prattley and Jeffrey defended the goal with credit. Failing to get through with forward rushes, Duncan tried a long shot which beat DeLatour. Inspired by the goal. Central played a passing game and DeLatour was called on to save from Allan and Shears. A penalty was given against Weston, Cordner missing narrowly with the shot. A passing movement carried play to the Central end. Smith secured possession, and scored with a hard shot. Pirates attacked repeatedly, Cordiner defending stoutly for Central and driving back some hot cross shots. Smith was playing a great game in the centre-forward position for Pirates, and added the fourth goal with a smart trap from Swan. The whistle sounded with the Black's attacking. Mr J. Drummond was referee. PETER DAWSON (IP Bs Telegraph - Association WESTPORT, July 10. After holding the Peter Dawson Cup for eight years, the Buller soccer team lost the trophy to Westland at Ngakawau on Saturday. The challengers were superior in every department and scored 5 goals to Buller's one in the first half. In the second spell Buller rallied and neither side scored, but Westland had a decided advantage. R Scott (Westland.) inside left was the outstanding player on the field an J scored three goals. T. Dobson and A. Cameron also scored for Westland. Ryan scored for Buller. ICE HOCKEY AT MOUNT HARPER In a fast and evenly contested game Mount Harper were defeated by Lake Tekapo in an ice hockey match yesterday by three goals to two after extra time had been played. The game was for the Erewhon Cup w ich has been presented for competition among Winwhistle, Mt. Harper and Tekapo ice skating clubs. The cup was presented to the winner by Mr H. T. Richards, president of the New Zealand Skating Club. In the course of his remarks, Mr Richards asked skaters not to be impatient with the apparent disunity existing between the various clubs and the parent body at present, as some difficulty had been experienced in getting into communication with the various clubs but some improvement could be expected within a very short period.