RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16740, 23 May 1922, Page 2

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

JUNIOR MOTES. (Bt '• WING FORWARD.") Tho surprise of the round just concluded was undoubtedly tho deteax of Riccarton by Christchurch. The former team had won ad its previous matches decisively, and they must have had an off day to go down to Christchurch by 35 points to nil. On the other hand, the Christchurch team has been improving its combination from week to week, and it was realised by those who saw their fine- exhibition against ’Varsity B that they were shaping in a way which, if maintained, would land them near tho top of the competition list at the end of the season. Riccarton have only just begun to play the stronger teams of the competition, and their meetings with Marlst**, Merivale and Old Boys will be looked forward to with interest. Old Boys and Merivale played a groat game at the Show Grounds, and the result, 25 to 5 in favour of Old Boys, was hardly expected. It was not thought that there was such a. big diffore.ies m these two teams. ’Varsity A appear to l*e suffering from lack of regular players, consequent on the vacation. They lost to North Canterbury by 9 Points at Rangiora. Linwood defeated Sydenham-Lyttelton at Linwood Park, and Albion continued their run of successes by defeating Technical by 11 points to 3. The following table shows the positions of the various teams to date:—

* Signifies one by default Th© following is the draw for next Saturday:—Christchurch v. Varsity A; Marists v. Sydenham-Lyttelton; Albion v. Merivale; Linwood v. North Canterbury ; Old Boys v. Riccarton. Technical A win from ’Varsity B oy default. LINWOOD (18) v. SYDENHAMLYTTELTON (3). Although beaten by 15 points, Syden-ham-Lyttelton were by no means disgraced, and but for an unusually heavy slice of the bad luck which has been theirs throughout th© season, the united team would hav© had Linwood fully extended throughout the game. Indeed, it seemed at- half-time as if. despite their being a man short, SydenhamLyttelton had the measure of their opponents, but in the second half the extra man made all th© difference. The game throughout was hard and very fast, but not rough. Linwood set a hot pace from th© kick off and scor’d two tries in the first ten minutes, their only scores iu the first spell. After that, however, Sydenham-Lyttelton took a hand, and play varied rapidly from on© twenty-fiv© to the other. Then came the United team’s first misfortune. J. Stevens, one of th© heaviest forwards, who had been playing a hard, solid game, received a smack on th© neck in a- scrimmage, and had to be parried off. A moment later T. H. t awn, captain of the team and the fastest man in the pack, injured Ins arm, but continued playing. Then H. 1 Herron, tli© full-back, was twice laid out in the space of a few minutes, but was able to resume. Lamb scored a good try after one of his runs down the line, but a. few minutes later Sbirle>. after a. good run. crossed the line hut grounded the ball n few’ inches out of touch- In the second spell H : -- rjn V}.« again momentarily laid cl.and Hooper, half-back, also received a nasty smack. Linwood are a good fast team, bj) bout J. Turpm and the Ivluy brothers they would have 1 een beaten on Saturday. Hi© forwards play a hard, v'did game in the loose, and work well together. Turpin, the wing-forward, was t-i;-il,\ the best of vanguard, although inclined to play off-side. and. having no wing-forward to oppose him for most, of th© game he had a regular picnic” on Saturday and scored four times. Of the backs AY. Kluy, who is on a holiday virit from Wellington, ployed a great game. l T is side-step-ping and oork-sc.row runs v well worth watching, and he proved exceedingly hard to tackle. ll© always seemed to do the right thing at the right time. His brother ably supported him and did quit© a lot of heady work. Linwood made a wise move in changing their full-back at half-time. Despite a hasty reorganisation the iSy<denram-Lyttelton pack proved vastly superior in scrum work, and the hookers obtained tho ball on all except two occasions. Time and again th© forwards retrieved the position, especially in th© second .'pell, when tho hard going was beginning to tell. T. H. Lawn, despite a strained arm, played a great game, and h© was well backed up bv a hard working pack, which held its own in line-outs and was superior in tight work. The absence of a wingforward to protect th© half probably

hampered th© backs’ chance*, but they were weak in tackling, and this gave Linwood three tries. Lamb, on th© wing, is th© most consistently good player in th© team, and he maintained his average of one try per match- The only other outstanding barks- were Shirley, who also plays a consistent game, and Hooper, at hair. The five-eighths are weak and need practiceCHBISTCHTJBCH*(Bo) v. RICCARTON (0). Riccarton were outclassed on Saturday by a team which was superior both backs and forwards. Christchurch played their best gam© to date. They mad© the play open and passed at every opportunity. The forwards hooked well and broke up quickly. The backs ployed as they have never played before. Nothing went wrong and the hall travelled amainlv out from the half through all hand? to the wings, and then—a thing that not usually done in junior football - the ball tra\’eled back by in-passing, sometimes as far as the second fiveeighths- This shows the form the Christchurch backs were in, and it ; s no wonder th© three-quarter line scored eight tries. Richards, custodian, was safe. Webber and Lewis, who are a pair of flier', did their work well Rohilliard :it centre stayed with his speedy confreres the whole day. and has the makings of a very dangerous centre. Johnston and Condliffo let the ball out on every occasion. J. Mayo got rid of th© ball quicker than is his usual wont. Feast, BeTl and M’Cree were prominent for good dashing play among th© forwards. Riccarton herßm© demoralised after eight points had been recorded against them in as many minutes, and they never recovered sufficiently to give their opponents any anxiety. The lighter members of the team received somewhat sever© handling and Raxworthy had to retire during the second spell. The forwards worked hard individually, and the following up was praiseworthy. The backs have neither combination nor speed, but they use their heads. One or two cross kicks landed in the right position, hut there was not a back speedy enough to make this mode of attack dangerous. The tackling was good. Ray worthy in the five-eighths played well, but was fed too much. Boou at half was very nippy, but i little light for a tough game like that on Saturday. The Caukwell brothers and Taggait were prominent throughout the game in th© forwards- Mr L. Cade handled the game tactfully. OLD BOYS (25) v*. MERIVALE <BY Again without their full complement Merivale took the field against Old Boys at th© Show Grounds on Saturday. Old Boys, with th© sun at their backs, carried play down to th© Merivale twenty-five, where it centred for tho greater part of the first half. Th© east wind blowing across the ground spoiled most of the attempts at conversion. In the scrums Old Boys generally got away with the ball. The following up on both side® was somewhat ragged. and at time players fumbled badly. On© or two good passing rushes were initiated, but were, stopped by good tackling, play usually resolving itself into lively scrambles for possession, in th© course of which the ball frequently crossed th© line.

C. Duff played a fine game for Old Bovs, scoring their first try. W. H. B. Buckhurst and A. Harris made their nsual good showing, each adding six points the total. L. A. Keys, in the forwards, played up to his form, and scored a fine try. T. Hardie also showed up well. Both packs worked well, and willingly, their fielding and kicking being especially good, but they could improve in their concerted efforts. ALBION an V. TECHNICAL (3). Albion had the of the game, their forwards being too good for Technical. They followed up well, but good kicking by Technical saved certain tries. Burke (Albion! played a solid game, using his weight to advantage. The backs did some good passing rushes, hut others were spoilt through holding the ball too long. Oldridge, on the wing, scored a good try near the cal! of time. This player, who is very fast, did not get many chances. Pitt. play, ing at five-eighths, was the best back cf his side. He is very nippy, and led some fine rushes. Freeman, who usually pl&vs centre, was at full-back, and played a good safe game, his line kicking being very noticeable. Technical had an off day. Their forwards were good in the loose. Richards did good work, and Corwin was aho noticeable. K. Little, on the wing played well, while M. Mardon. at fiveeighth. followed up well. He is a good kicker. T. Mardon played a safe game at full-back. JOTTINGS. Lin wood have brought to light a fast wing three-quarter in O. Vogt, an Australian, who, if he can only learn to take the ball better when going at full speed, should prove a good scoring man. Tlio easy defeat of Riccarton by Christchurch has made the Junior competition more of a puzzle than ever to would-be pickers of this year’s champions. The varying form shown by many of the teams’ makes it extremely difficult to guess how they will play from week to week. Marists and Albion seem to he having the most consistent run of successes, although Albion have won some of their matches by very* narraw margins. Christchurch Old Boys and Lin wood seem to be improving. Some of the Juniors failed to put in an appearance on Saturday. Possibly the trots were a greater attraction than a game of football. H. Bathurst has been a member of the Sydenham C3ub for many years, and he was a welcome addition to the Sydenham-Lyttelton Junior forwards last Saturday. Tt is probable that will bo playing in his old place as hooker next week, as the present paJr w ill lie broken np by the departure of one of them for the North Island. Fred Walker, who has turned orrt on one or two occasions for Old Boys’ Juniors, dees not intend tv nlay arby this season. This is unfortunate for Old Boys, who will love a good forward.

r r. w.. L. I>. Pts. Cham. For Aget. Pts. Jurists . . 5 " 4 » 1 C6 23 4J Albion 4 1 89 27 4 Chrietchurch . 3 4 1 89 27 Ricoarton 4 1 43 o3 4 Old Boys 3 1 1 67 23 34 Iii n wood 3 2 50 35 3 N. Canterbury 5 2 3 82 Merivale 3 31 61 ’A'areily A 3 1 38 38 1 S3 d.-Lyttelton . 5 1 4 32 86 1 Technical 5 4 1 24 61 \ ’Varsity B 5 — 0* — 34 55 —