THAMES BEAT ROVERS.

Thames Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9976, 24 June 1901, Page 4

THAMES BEAT ROVERS.

A SPLENDID GAME,

What' was undoubtedly the most exciting game of the .season^ was: played on Sa'turdsly" when: Thames and Rovers again met. In.:;^ previous match Kovers defeated Thames, and had they repeated their performance on Saturday the pup matches would have been robbed of a good deal vj»f their interest, as Rovers would jiave had a substantial lead. After a/well contested game, which was witnessed by a goodly number of spectators, Thames secured the victory by the narrow margin of three points (a try), thus placing Itovers. and Thames equal in the competitions. Thames kicked of|, and a, scrambling scrum followed. Rovers' broke up the pack and came away with the ball, but kicking too hard Meehan secured, and passed to Kiviell, but Rovers forward coming down fast smothered the, continuation/ of the pass. McDonald was. next pronimeatj'ljut"ite wis-^ j^xibus, and; McLean and Winder had np difficulty in shifting play to Thames quarters. Back came the ball to Kinghani, who, marked, and the leather went out at ;the half-way flag. In the line out jplay that followed McDuflf was pro-' iminent, but the continual .ynresttingi ,on the line became monotono^ls, jun-; stil the Rovers fprwards got away, land after an exchange of kicks' Win-, jder marked in ;!Thames 25, and' icleverly kicked but near the corner, ■flag. Here Roveris made strenuous efforts to score, Vbut Bucklandj ;and; Dufty came opportunely^.to |hf-p?-.cue, and a long,; punt by tie latter saw the danger iavferted. Fast; play followed, in whicit both sides,, frequently offended, and jas a result wie referee's whisile was, heardfafoo V.of ten.. A free kick to Thamesjinj Royejrs quarter nearly gave Jhe>,ij>Jue. *and whites a goal. Afte?thiPluck ]^at Dufty, Buckland, Sand McGregor showed up with a pretty -passingl run, which was spell stopped by jtovers, who -were playing a. hard,game^Next McDuff and Moore g6t away, and had the forwards kept their places a splendid rush might have ensued, but the Rovers were too keen, over-ran the ball, and Thomas, McDonald, «•—■VV-**-V::- '■"*'".™.tf:^ ■ .W'-i^'^tt.i:.-!.!-.:'.!; :.-.:.•-•.= > •■■ > . -^. •' r..;: •.-,■ BBHBBBd^^W^^^^H^^^^wß^nT From the 'scrum Meehan. secured, and passed to, Buekland, who dodged the opposing wing and made for the line. He,y?as .collared, and fell, but regained his ieet and set sail again.,, He passed and McDonald was rushing, up in support when he was obstructed. Free kick to Thames.- - Dufty made a good attempt, but failed to' register the 1 desired goaLi,"(Fast and interesting play ensued until half .time, the game being very evenly contested,

, In the second spell the fast play wag continued, and for thp first Mve minutes it, was anybody's ,game. The forwards indulged in some hard kicking, and as a result the ball was all over the ground, the backs for a time having very little to do. From a Thames forward rush McLean marked, «but the kick was smothered, and the play was shifted to Rovers territory. A series of well formed scrums saw the reds gain a slight advantage, but when Thames opened up and made the game loose, the danger was removed. Faults were frequently made, and consequently free kicks were awarded, but with the., exception of a high punt followed Up in splendid style by Rovers, who looked like scoring when Kivell punted to the line, the pky was not of a high quality. At last Thomas saw a chance, and making an, opening he passed to Slattery. The latVer transferred to McGregor, .who sent the ball to Buckland, and' the latter to Dufty. It was a pretty piece of play, and had it not been for Kingham, Winder, and McLean Thaimes would probably have scored. The ball was sent out to McLean, and his kick was marked. Dufty had a shot at goal, but failed, and immediately after the kick out Rovers were again pressed, Buckland taking a pass, and dodjging McLean, scored near the corner peg amidst cheers. Dufty's kick was again resultless. Thames 3, Hovers 0. TheJatter then shook themselves up, and gave the blue and whites a lively five minutes, but the Thames wonderful luck in clearing their lines, several speculative kickß taking the ball right i? the line in the best possible place. Then. Thames rallied, and took play to Rovers quarters, ,where hard:kicking resulted in Rovers being forced down, four-times in'succession. Excising play followed,. Rovers rushing the ball right down to 'the opposite end of the field, where the. struggle fiercely raged. A free kick' was given to Rovers near Thames lines, and the faces of the Rovers supporters wore a jubilant look as Winder made the attempt. It resulted in failure, however, and after give and take play the whistle blew, leaving Thames the victors by 3 points to nil '

In the junior match True Blues t, Bcr«r 11. th^ forwer,.after nn inter,«^tJDf |IS»i weft b^ 3 yoioU.