RUGBY TEMUKA NOW LEAD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21676, 10 June 1940, Page 6

RUGBY TEMUKA NOW LEAD

Narrow Win Over Makikihi Celtic Show Good Form Ragged Game at Waimate Chief interest in the South Canterbury Rugby Union's competitions on Saturday centred on the match between Temuka and Makikihi. who previously were unbeaten. The game was hard fought, and finally Temuka succeeded by three points to nil. placing them in front. After a ragged match Old Boys defeated Southern (Waimate) by 21 points to 19. while Celtic secured a runaway victory over Zingari by 41 points to nine. In the game on No. 1 ground at Fraser Park. Star defeated Geraldine by 18 points to three. TEMUKA UNBEATEN AN EXCITING GAME In a game full of incident and excitement Temuka beat Makikihi by three points to nil at the Temuka Domain on Saturday. The visiting pack hunted fiercely in the loose and for 20 minutes in the second spell had Temuka fighting hard to keep its line intact. Had there been more method in their rucking and more skill in their dribbling rushes, the Makikihi forwards would have at least made a draw of the game. C. Hansen was the best forward on the ground. He was not a “shiner” awaiting opportunities; he made them. Time and again he came out of the tight with the ball at foot, to lead a slashing attack. He was well supported by D. Crowe, a clever line-out forward. R. Barlow, at second fiveeighth, was the mainstay of the rear division. His handling was faultless and his line-kicking had length and accuracy. His speed off the mark enabled him to initiate many attacks, but the combination outside was not working smoothly. Hattersley, who played on the wing in the first half and at centre in the second spell, was never given a chance. In spite of this he made valiant efforts to give thrust to the attack. W. McCully was the best of the Temuka forwards. In the tight he was not excelled and he extricated his side from many dangerous positions by smothering the ball m the face of forward attacks. Watson was next in merit and by fast following up he caught the opposition in possession. Nolan at half overshadowed his vis-a-vis, Lundy, who appeared to have an off day. Goodson at first fiveeighth was sound in attack and defence and his try was a clever effort. Play was mostly confined to the forwards for the first 20 minutes. From a line-out in Makikihi’s 25 Nolan received and sent a smart pass to Goodson, who, with a change of pace and direction and the use of a number of “dummies,” left the opposition flatfooted. Dawson missed from an easy position. Playing with great dash from the commencement of the second spell the Makikihi forwards gave the defence a torrid time. Indiscriminate kicking nullified much of their good work. Excitement was tense as the play fluctuated from one end to the other. Close to the call of time F. Dawson made a break but his pass near the line was smothered. The final score was:— Temuka 3, Makikihi 0 The gate, which amounted to approximately £2B, was in aid of the Red Cross anneal for the Sick, Wounded and Distress Fund. A BRIGHT GAME OLD BOYS’ ( LOSE WIN In the brightest match seen at Waimate for a long time, Old Boys narrowly defeated Southern by 21 points to 19 in the South Canterbury Rugby competition game. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the match was that R. Lundy’s kicking produced every Southern point. Lundy played one of the best games of his career, and kicked four field goals and one penalty. Southern were weakened by the absence of W. Murphy. J. Bryce. G. Wright and E. Veitch, who are victims of ’flu. Juniors filled the gaps, and two of them played outstanding games. J. Inkster, half-back, never had any time to spare, but whenever he could he got the ball out to Lundy. C. Baxter, the full-back, had a lot to do and did it well. Old Boys won 75 per cent, of the scrums, and at one stage elected to take scrums instead of line-outs. N. Gould as half-back, showed excellent speed in getting the ball away from the scrums, but the best back in the team on the day was P. Hay. His good handling and speed often caught the Southern backs out of position. Lundy added all the Southern points, and Old Boys obtained their first three points from a penalty kicked by Ryan. Mitchell scored, the ball first being handled by Hay and N. Riley. Shortly afterwards Hay broice through the Southern backs and scored under the posts. Both tries were converted by Ryan. The half time score was 13—8 in favour of Old Boys. Gould sent out a long pass, and Hay ran half the length of the field with the Southern backs out of position. A. Moore lost a score when, after making an excellent run, he decided to go round bcZind the posts and had the ball knocked out of his hands by Baxter who forced down. Ryan added the final score, receiving from Mitchell to go over near the corner. Old Boys 21, Southern 19 Mr L. E Smith was referee. STAR ON TOP GERALDINE BEATEN Although there were several bright patches of play, the match on the stand ground at Fraser Park between Star and Geraldine did not reach the standard set by other senior games in the last fortnight. Both teams tried hard and there was little let up in the pace of the game, but cohesive team play and smoothly executed tactical movements were very few. Star put on all their points in the first half and appeared to be set for a runaway win, but a reorgar.isa ton of

the back line in the second half was ; ill-advised and effectively put a brake !on the enterprising and penetrating movements which marked the play of ! the team in the early stages. • Geraldine started off in great fettle ’ and with their forwards swarming : over the Blues and the backs throwing 1 the ball about on both flanks it' I appeared that they had the measure j ! of the Blues and were going to make a close bid for victory. But the Blue | backs, who showed their mettle in one or two opportunist breakaways, soon got into their stride and the result was never in doubt. Star got more than ! their share of the ball in the set I scrums and W. Jack lost no time in shooting out accurate passes to the backs. Sinclair, the team's speedy winger, was playing at second fiveeighth, and and although he was liable to run into trouble at times, was the pivot of the attack. Running straight and fast, he combined well with A. Macintosh at centre. It is hard to understand why he was shifted to the wing in the second half. Graybum went from the wing to the first fiveeighth position, but he did not combine well with his supports and it was no coincidence that in the second spell the Blue backs appeared to lose all their snap. The Geraldine rearguard did not see as much of the ball as their opponents, and with the exception of J. Harris were not conspicuous for enterprise. Their passing was accurate but slow, and they were handicapped by the scrambling play i of the forwards, particularly as the game progressed. Star opened their account with a penalty goal by R. Wilson. Their first I try was the result of a delightful movement which travelled across the field from Grayburn, to Wilson, to Macintosh, to Landman and back to Macintosh who went over fairly wide out. Wilson converted. Two tries were scored by L. Brophy from passing movements oroginated by the backs. On the first occasion he accepted a pass from Wilson, and on the second finished off an opportunity made by Jack when he made a corkscrew run along the sideline and in-passed to the forwards. One try was converted by Wilson. Geraldine's points came from a penalty shot by J. Taylor. The final result was— * Star 18, Geraldine 3. Mr J. L. Bush was referee

BIG MARGIN CELTIC SUPERIOR TO ZINGARI With a better understanding between the forwards and backs than was the case with the opposition. Celtic ran up a big score against Zingari at Fraser Park on Saturday. The Greens won by 41 points to nine. The Celtic forwards were workers throughout the match and gave a splendid example of the value of following up and bustling their opponents, as many of their scoring efforts came about through catching the Zingari backs unaware. Possession of the ball from the scrums gave the Celtic backs every opportunity and the inside men cut holes in the Zingari rearguard. In the first spell, the Zingari side were the equal of the opposition in the loose, and were unlucky not to score on many occasions, but in the tight, the Greens had the better of them and forced their way through in dribbling rushes. After beating the Zingari forwards the Greens would shoot the ball back and coming away fast the backs would leave the opposition rearguard standing. B. Cox. the Celtic second five-eighth made a number of brilliant runs and scored several tries by catching the opposing backs on the wrong foot. With 21 points against them in the first half, the Zingari team came back again undaunted and appeared to put renewed vigour into their play. It was only a flash in the pan. as the backline soon developed their old sluggishness and there was no understanding between the forwards and the backs. Times without number a Zingari forward would come away from the scrum with the ball, only to find himself unsupported and a splendid chance lost. B. Mulcahy and F. Butler were the pick of the Celtic pack. They were unremitting toilers in the tight and did more than their share of the loose play for front rankers. A goal kicker of merit was revealed in C. Fitzgerald. He put over two excellent penalties from midway between the 25 and halfway line. R. Thompson and W T . Shewan were the pick of the Zingari pack, Shewan excelling in the loose. From a scrum on the line a forward dived over and W. Dwyer converted to put Celtic five points ahead. Twice Cox slipped through from the 25 line and scored by the posts to make the score. Celtic 11. Zingari nil. A spirited effort brought Zingari within scoring distance, and a CNtic player infringed, G. Scott putting over a penalty. Celtic returned to Zingari territory and Mulcahy dived over from a forward rush. Dwyer converted. The half-time score was Celtic 21. Zingari 3. On the resumption of play, J Fitzgerald broke through to score. Dwyer converted. The Greens came back again and Butler went over. The advantage of following up was exemplified when C. Fitzgerald bustled a Zingari man near the line to dive on the ball and score. The kick missed. Two penalties in midfield were put over by C. Fitzgerald in quick succession, but Zingari came back to within scoring distance and a penalty gave them a chance, G. Scott kicking a goal. Following a bout of short passing C. Fitzgerald scored. Zingari worked back and G. Goddard charged down a clearing kick to score. The final score was— Celtic 41, Zingari 9. THIRD GRADE Zingari beat Geraldine by 13 points to nil. J. Clark. G. Cormack and J. Dore scored and I. Parker potted a goal from 40 yards out. Temuka 9, Timaru Boys’ High School 9. Old Boys 30, Celtic 0. FOURTH GRADE Playing at School Park Star defeated Zingari by 23 points to nil. 1 Livingstone (2), Taylor and Manning scored tries. Fraser converted one and kicked three penalty goals. Temuka 9, Celtic 5. FIFTH GRADE Temuka 11, St. Patrick’s 6. IN OTHER CENTRES CHRISTCHURCH Rugby Linwood 9, Army 5. Sunnyside 13, Air Force 12. University 18, Merivale 7. Technical 13, Athletic 3. Albion 11, Old Boys 6. Christchurch 19, New Brighton 12.

League Riccarton 11. Waimari 8. Sydenham 20. Hornby 10. Addington 21, Linwood 5. Soccer Technical 4. St. Albans 0. Nomads 6. Thistle 2. Western 9. Air Force 8. Rangers 8, Celtic 2. Hockey Selwyn 10. Army 2. University 1, Sydenham A 1. Trinity 4, Sydenham B 3. Redcliffs 4, Technical 2. DUNEDIN Rugby University A 19. Pirates 9. University B 16. Zingari 5. Southern 8. Dunedin 3. Alhambra 12, Taieri 8. Union 6, Kaikorai 0. Soccer Caversham 2, H.S. Old Boys 1. Northern 4. Mornington 0. Mosgiel 5. Maori Hall 0. Roslyn-Wakari 8, Tech Old Boys 2. MASTERTON Rugby Carterton 14, Red Star 0. Greytown 22, Masterton 6. Gladstone 12, Old Boys 0. AUCKLAND Rugby Suburbs 14, Ponsonby 9. North Shore 17, Technical 11. Otahuhu 16, Training College 14. League Auckland 10, Maoris 7. Soccer Mount Albert 14, Eastern Suburbs 0. Onehunga 4, Y.M.C.A. 2. Abels 6, Air Force 4. Comrades 8, Ponsonby 2. North Shore 2, Thistle 2.