OUT DOOR SPORTS

Observer, Volume XXXVI, Issue 50, 19 August 1916, Page 10

OUT DOOR SPORTS

[By Sphere.]

FOOTBALL. TO the minds of football enthusiasts who were hoping for a fine ■afternoon on Saturday, that phrase in Holy Writ, which runs, "It rained and rained and rained again, and looked like keeping on, must have presented ■ itself, as the squally and bleak afternoon made itself felt, Nevertheless, much good play was witnessed, and in both Rugby and League, departments a first-class standard of play was maintained. - • * " The League Game. On Saturday last, the weather prophet predicted "Sky overcast, cold rain squalls probable." This announcement did not deter close on 3000 stout hearts, who were prepared to face the bleak squall to see a good game of Northern Union football. The matched teams at Victoria Park were City and Newton, for the semi-final for the Roope Rooster competition, the. gate proceeds from which are donated to charity, by request of the donor ot the trophy. Had the day been fine and the turf dry, an' excellent exhibition would have resulted, with honours to Newton. City had all the luck, nnd, with a better understanding among the individual members ot the team, won by a decisive m l ar ? in j Newton, on the other hand lacked combination, so much so that promising movements failed to materialise at the critical time, and several tries were thrown away in consequence. The bad luck element was in the Newton team. Tobin and Williams Tailed to score by sheer bad luck, and at other times Newton s backs met with minor accidents that took the sting out of the back play, His and Lovett retired. Both were playing sterling games >m positions where the success of the back play centres — five-eighths and centre three-quarters. Joe Bennett, ricked his knee, and could not give the hooking in the scrum too much attention, the consequence being the City hooker, Duggan, beat Joe badly. The way Newton started made even the strongest supporter of City feel uneasy. Time and again the Newton's rearguard tried to penetrate City's defence. At times it looked as if Newton would be successful and cross the line, but it never came off. Opportnmties were lost. Once Tob n slipped' and threw away a moral, and at other times the too eager Newtomtes would overrun the post or else knock it on. Fitzgerald, the City full, saved time after time, and generally his placing of the ball was. excellent. City's win was. mainly due to the finesse which crowned any. of their attacking movements, combined with stamina and good training. The thirteen points difference in the scores does not indicate the respective merits of the teams, in the writer's opinion, had the teams been equally trained and shared ekmallv 1 the necessary requirements in football to make good combination, Newton would have won. However, any hopes that the Newton players, may have had tailed to ripen, and so City must play Ponsonby for the silver rooster and tor the title of "Cock o' the walk' for season 1916. The five charities nominated by his Worship the Mayor will, on the sixpenny gate, benefit; to the. extent of £50, thanks to the efforts of the League officials, As regards the, in-

dividual players, it would be unfair to criticise. Every man did his best; some were better on their legs than others, but, taking into account the slippery nature of the turf and! the wet ball, each player acquitted himself creditably.

Of the full-backs, Fitzgerald was much safer, and. a more finished player than Newton's custodian. However, the red and white man did good work, and will improve with experience.

Opai Asher turned out for City to fill his brother's position. He was very tricky, and showed a bit of his old? form' at times. Sutton and Davidson were,; the-.pick, of the other backs, and with the assistance of Lunn (City's, half) opened! up the game considerably. Farrant (Newton's half) did yeoman service, initiating several "hard luck" movements. Newton's forwards made no bones about collaring, upsetting the burly City forwards with a regularity that delighted the spectators. Joe Bennett was the pick of the red and white pack. Once he showed a bit of pace when he challenged Opai and incidentally got the better of him to the delight of the stand. Rukutai was as. prominent as usual, ably supported by "Gooby" Francis and Barchard. The rest of City's forwards played to a man, and may be given the credit of winning the match, which ended City 16, Newton 3. The popular player's competition created an additional attraction and provided much amusement and excitement. The candidates had their placards hoisted high, and were ably championed by enthusiastic touts. On entering the Park, individuals would have, pushed into their hands printed cards, each bearing reference to the claims and qualifications of some of the candidates. Opai Asher was the. veteran of Northern Union football, Joe Bennett was Newton's representative against England and <■ Australia, "Scotty" McClymont was- the "Ponies" hero, and so on. Eventually, after a spirited, barracking, each patron was expected to make his choice and place his vote in the ballot box allotted to his fancy. The ladies, with evident merriment, joined in the fun, and each received a cheer when her vote was cast. The poll was closed on the commencement of the senior match, and the result was declared in the following order: McClymont first, Asher, Ifwerson, Bennett, Farrelly. The League management committee, has given permission to teams representing Ponsonby and Richmond to play Thames at the Thames. The Junior Advisory Board's report contained a recommendation that a City junior player be cautioned for tripping another player in the City v. Newton fourth grade match. The player denied the accusation -and said that he had slipped. Spectators at the semi-final of the Roope's Rooster contest on Saturday were treated by the City Band to their first public performance upon their new silver instruments. * .*- • Rugby. Eden Park saw the first and most likely only representative match of the season, when a Soldiers' team played the Auckland reps.i The game opened up very fast indeed, and both teams got right at it at once. The Soldiers were the heavier by far, but their lighter opponents simply ran. them off: their legs. The Soldiers declared themselves very fit, and anticipated a win to their credit. They were manifestly surprised, though, at the stamina and speed of their younger opponents. The game returned a win for . Auckland, the scores being, Auckland 24, Soldiers nil. For Auckland, Lucas was undoubtedly the best forward on the ground, while the backs all played brilliantly, it being quite unfair to individualise, except that Gasparich (fullback) was inclined to take too many chances^and Boucher opened lip passing rushes like a veteran. The forwards showed great combina-

tion and head work, their work in the loose and in. following up being very fine for such young players.' For the Soldiers, O'Brien, centre three-quarter, was the mainstay of the side. The only regrettable incident occurred in the closing stages of play, when one or two members of the Soldiers' team apparently forgot themselves and thoroughly deserved the caution administered by the referee. Great credit is due. to Mr Nicholson, the selector for Auckland, for the team he. put on the field on Saturday. In reply to "Old Timer's" remarks anent the altering of rules to improve "Rugger," which appeared in these columns recently, "Pessimist" pens the following :— "How is it that whenever a suggestion is put forward for the alteration of the rules of Rugby the main consideration in framing the alteration is always the public and never the players. Now, sir, in this country we cannot, afford, to keep professional footballers, and have to depend wholly on the amateur who plays the game as a sport, not as a business. Bearing this in. mind, is. it not obvious that if you are. going to continually alter the game in the direction of making it faster, the average amateur is going to find it impossible to attain the fitness necessary to play the game properly. Take the League game in New Zealand. We must all agree that we can never hope to attain, as high a standard of play in that game as they do in countries where the real professional flouri.hes. The reason is simply that the. working man has not the time to devote to the training necessary. 'Old Timer' should remember that the players do not indulge in the game for the benefit of the public, but for their own. physical good. Let us take his particular suggestions. He desires the complete abolition of the wing forward, and for what reason? Simply because a wing forward, to be successful, has-tt)t-be» a tricky, brainy player. If 'Old Timer' will allow himself to recall some of the wing forward games as player by such men as Gallagher, Gillett, etc., he will quickly get rid of the notion that this player is only on the field to commit breaches of the rules. Then again, he desires to take away all incentive to players, to become adept at the art of kicking. There is little enough of Football about the game now, and if you make more changes you might as well change the name. No, sir, the game is all right. It only requires playing in the proper spirit." The Association Game. Soccer enthusiasts were treated to a good exposition of the game at Devoriport on Saturday last, when the Auckland reps, played a team picked from soldiers on leave. The weather unfortunately proved uninviting, showers falling throughout the afternoon. Notwithstanding, the attendance was fair, and the charities to which the gate was put should be augmented siderablyNoticeable among the soldiers were several of last year's seniors, including Webster, Jennings, Cox, Baker and Atkinson, and their combined efforts were often productive of good results to their side. The Auckland team, consisting mostly of junior players, gave a very good display against then* more seasqned opponents, particularly the front rankers, whose nimb'l.eness and combination won ground, as. well as applause. The game ended in favour of Auckland by 9 goals to the soldiers' 2. Chambers scored both goals tor the soldiers. Second Grade.—ln an unfinished game, Mount Albert (2) defeated Richmond (0). Fifth Grade.—Devonport Presbyterians defeated Technical School, 2-0. Sixth Grade. —North Shore A and Belmont tied, 1 goal each, scored by Gee and Barton respectively. North Shore; B' beat St. i Helier's, 1-0. Devonport I?resbyterians (4) won over Takapuna (3),