MERIVALE BEATEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17570, 22 June 1925, Page 4

MERIVALE BEATEN.

CHRISTCHURCH LUCKY IN A HARD GAME,

LIN WOOD GET A SURPRISE AT RANGIORA.

As a result of Saturday's matches the senior competition of the Canterbury Rugby Union is now in a very interesting position. Four teams—Linwood, Christchurch, Merivale and Old Boys—are first (equal) with live points each. It is years since the contest for the championship was so close, and there is every promise that there will be some exciting games before the premiership for the season is decided. The principal game on Saturday was that between Christchurch and Merivale, who met on the Oval at Lancaster Park. The weather was beauti- .. ...... .he game was witnessed by a large auenaance or spectators. After a, close and exciting game, Christchurch won by 8 points to 3. At half-time Christchurch were leading by 5 to nil. Merivale attacked for the greater part of the second spell, hut they lost several opportunities of scoring. The surprise of the day was the defeat of Linwood by North Canterbury at Rangiora. When the final whistle sounded North Canterbury were leading by G points to 3, and they thus secured their first win this season. Playing on the south at Lancaster Park Old Boys had an easy win over Varsity by 27 points to G.

I POSITION* OF Tll ID .TEAMS. ‘ The following: table shows the position r. f the teams at the end oi’ the v itilth round:--

CHRISTCHURCH v. MERIVALE. A very large crowd assembled at Lancaster Park on Saturday afternoon to witness the second meeting of the Christchurch and Merivale teams. When they played in the first round Merivale were successful by 9 points to 5, and the general opinion prior to Saturday’s game was that Merivale would again be successful. But failure to make the most of some rare opportunities cost Merivale the match. Right from the very start the play was exceedingly keen and hard, and it continued so till the end of the game. Christchurch appeared to realise that their only chance of winning the championship lay in a victory in Saturday’s match, and consequently the forwards got busy from the jump and made the pace a cracker all through the first spell. It was cnl} r to be expected that they would tire a little in the second half, but they rallied again towards the finish and were holding their own when the bell sounded. The play was really too hard and keen to be brilliant. The passing movements which both sides attempted quite frequently were met with solid tackling and only occasionally )vas much headway made. The best movement of the day was the one which resulted in Brown scoring a try. Talbot was responsible for making a brilliant opening and then Brown got past two opponents and outpaced a couple more before grounding the ball in a handy position. It was a really spectacular try. He took the kick himself and succeeded in giving his team a lead of five points, which they maintained throughout the spell. As was expected, Merivale played up much better in the second half. They were in attacking positions time after time, but the backs gave a most disconcerting display of hov, r to. hang on to the bail and some wonderful opportunities went begging in consequence. * Hooper offended in this respect a good deal, and then when he did let the ball out it was held on to by one or other of the backs, usually Ford. With anything like decent com- ; bination Merivale must have scored > two or three more tries. They had ; very much the better of the second spell, except towards the finish, when the Merivale forwards appeared to be a bit sick of watching the backs missing their opportunities with such insistency. Merivale’s .only try was obtained by Oliver. It was the reward of backing up after a passing rush had gone astray. W ith the score 5-3 Merivale looked to have a great show, and it was at this critical stage that the backs failed badly. Christchurch, who had been defending their goal very strenuously ail through the second spell, came with a rattle at the finish, and a scramble near the Merivale line ended l in Melvin dashing across near the cor- ’ ner. This was just at the end of the game and Merivale's chance had thus . gone. The defeat of* Merivale has made the competition more interesting than ever. , It is years if ever before that four teams have been level for the Christchurch senior championship. As the . games have been going it is very hard : indeed to say which side will win the championship. Kirby was unable to play in the Christchurch forwards, and this necessitated a slight- rearrangement. Frame , went from the back to the side of the scrum anti Bacon took his place in the back row. The pack played well and had little the worse of the argument f with the opposing set. Melvin was | always in the thick of things, and ( Frame and Gibson also shone out in the loo.se. In the first spell Scrimshaw gave a line display of wing-forward football. He showed a great turn of speed, followed up fast and never fail- ~ ed to grass his man when he reached him. He was not so prominent in the second spell. . Mullan gave a very sound display at half, being equally at home on defence and attack. The Christchurch • selectors have been wasting this youth by playing him in other positions. Finnegan also impressed by his dis- >, play at live-eighth. M’Gregor had a severe gruelling, and although he limp- „ ed badly all through the second spell he stuck gamely to his task. His defence saved his side from trouble sev--1 eral times. The All Black, however, . seems to be a bit on the stale side, >. unless it is that one expects too much j The three-quarter line went well. Talbot in particular played a very line e all-round game up to the time he had to retire with an injured shoulder. Brown and Robilliard both exhibited plenty of dash. v Young played surprisingly well at full-back. He handled the ball well and got his side out of difficulties on , several occasions. It was not Carnegie's fault that Merivale were not successful. He was in the thick of it all through the game. Besides doing his share in the tight i work he was prominent in many of the loose rushes. 11 was easily the , best display he has given for years, 1 and the veteran seems to have taken

a new lease of life. Some of the Merivale forwards worked harder in the second spell than in the first, but Car- j negie was a conspicuous figure all through. Hooper spoiled an otherwise good display behind the scrum by a tendency to go on his own too much. This was especially the case in the second spell, just when the other backs badly wanted the ball. Evans and Oliver were more solid than brilliant at five-eighths. Oliver showed his usual consistency in looking for'work and opportunities. The three-quarters did not usually get the ball till it was too late to profit. Ford played very well at centre, but, like Hooper, he hung on to the ball too much at critical moments. Hart went very well indeed at fullback. He rarely made a mistake in handling and kicked with good judgTaken all round the game was a disappointment to the Merivale supporters, as with the openings offering they should have won. The result was naturally very pleasing to followers of. the. Christchurch team, as it has put them well in the running for the championship. OLD BOYS (27), ’VARSITY (C). Tho game between Old Beys an 1 ’Varsity did not result in a very high standard of football being shown ami, as Oild Boys won by 27 points to 6, the game was rather too one-sided to bo particularly interesting. The ground was not in too good order, being fairly muddy and greasy, and this hampered the players to a certain extent. However, in the first spell, at least, Old Boys did not play up to their us > ual form, tho passing amongst tho . backs being of a rather ragged detcription. They showed better form in the second spell, and during this spell they rattled up nineteen points. On the day’s play Old Boys were a good deal tho better ten and they deserved their win. On the whole, the ’Varsity forwards played a fairly good game, and most of tin- attacking on the part of ’Varsity was done by them. Th.- ' Yarsitv backs, however, did not combine well ,and they lost several chances of scoring. Probably the best back on the ground was W. Dailey, the Old Boy* half. He played a great defensive game, ’ and saved his side time and again. H • was here, there and everywhere, and always seemed to lx> handy when wanted. Dailey was also prominent i on attack, and he used every oppor- , tunity that came his way to let the ball out to the backs. , D. Hay, at five-eighths, played a ' very fair game, though on one or two occasions he dropped passes front Dailey. G. Mortlock. the second five- . eighths, was recently promoted from , i the juniors. He has justified his pro- “ motion, and must be regarded as one ol the most promising young fiveeighths in Christchurch to-day. He ’ went well on Saturday, and scored a [ couple of tries. Carleton was playing again on Saturday, and he appears to hare ’ completely recovered from the injury hs received earlier in the season. Ho was at centre-three-quarter, and showed t lot «>i dash on attack. On several oc- ’ casions he was prominent in passing movements, and be handled and kieke*; the ball well. Tho two « imr-three-quarters, .J, Hobdav and R. Carleton. ; both played dashing games. Hobday scored a couple of tries. Carletcn. who ' was one of the inside backs for Old ■ Boys last season, is developing into quito a good winger. D. Nixon at lull-back gave a rather , disappointing exhibition. He was col- ' hired in possession far too often when ‘ he had every opportunity of getting rid of the ball. This season Nixon has not been showing the consistently : good form that he did last season. Old Boys were without the sendees ' of J. 11. Parker, and his place at ; wing-forward was taken br 11. Boag. who played in his usual dashing stvle. On more than one occasion Boag putin ’ some good pieces ol dribbling. Gcner--1 ally speaking, tho Old Boys forwards played well, but at times thev were a bit slow in getin.g round tho ball. Though suffering from an injure! arm. I. Gray played a great game. Ho followed up well, and was in the tide.? of it tho whole time. F. Clark 7. Skipworth. J. P. Low and S. Baird also played well throughout. 1 Of tho ’Varsity backs. J. Shaw, at centre-three-quarter, and It. Gulden, live-eighths, were* tho best. Both of them wore prominent on attack and de- ;• fence, but the trouble was that thev did not receive sufficient support from some of the other backs. J. Brodie - ; played a fine game behind the sc-rum. ’ i au ‘i did bis best to open up the play - j -M. Barak, at. five-eighths. however. v , was not comliininyf too well, and hi* | handling of tho ball left a good tied • j to bo desired. ; I Green, the ’Varsity full-back. was l I Sound on defence, and lie did not inakti ■ j many mistakes. There was a. lack of - ; uasli about the play of R. Simmers, an/ iof the ’Varsity wingers. On one oct j casion he would probably have scored 1 I a try if he had made a more deteri I mined run for the line. I On the whole, the ’Varsity forward* - j played well, and thev got their fair 1 j share of the ball from the scrum. J. • j Burrows played his usual fine game. \ i and worked like a Trojan from the [ " kick-off until the final whistle. A. 2 Montgomery. G. Thompson and C. • Drader also did their full share of the ! work.

NORTH CANTER 13TRY (6) v. | LIN WOOD (3). ’This match, which was played at Rangiora in the presence of a large attendance, was hard and even all through. Excitement ran high in the concluding stages when North Canterbury with three points ahead fought desperately to frustrate Lin wood's persistent attempts to score. Possibly bad play continued another few minutes Lin wood would have crossed the lino. As a rule, North Canterbury hold their own comparatively well_ in tho first half of a game, but after that the necessary cohesion seems to go missing. On this occasion, however, they gained confidence in the • second half, their play beine characterised. by exceptionally well organised attacks, in which George Mehrtens was especially conspicuous. I fin wood lost one or two good opportunities of scoring, but the countrymen on at least two occasions also came within an ace oi scoring. Smith s dash from the twenty-five yard line, a few moments after play commenced in the second half, won tlio game for North Canterbury. Davis was the most outstanding back for Linwood, while L- Elvey, full back, played a fine game. Equallv as fine a game was the work of the full back, A. 1). Ringer, in the opposing team. SENIOR B GRADE. Each round of football in the Senior B Grade lias furnished surprising re suits, but easily the most surprising was the heavy defeat suffered by th: J leading team, A arsity. who went tin - • der to Riccarton on Saturday, on the latter’s ground, by 21) points to 3. This is more extraordinary as it is the heaviest defeat suffered by any team in the competition during the season Christchurch scored a fair victory over Merivale at Lancaster Park. A> usual, Alorival gave one of their in-and-out exhibitions. At one stage if the season they had built up a, very solid and formidable combination, but subsequently several players were proni oted. On present form Christchurch should do well in later matches, while Riccarton will always prove a stumblingblock. A win for the Riccarton lad-, would lie both well-deserved and popular. It is now three seasons sinre they tied with Albion in the Junior Grade for competition honours. The team has remained practically the same ever since, but individualism lias been both its strength and it weakness. Although there are several very clever footballers in the team, lack of com hi nation has been the chief stumbling block to the Riccarton lads in then attempt to achieve success. Ibo following table shows the j'o.si tiens oi tho teams:- -

CHRISTCHURCH B (12) v MERI VALE 73 (3). While Christchurch and Merivale senior A teams fought for supremacy cn the oval, the J 3 teams met on :':i ■ west ground at Lancaster Par!:. There was a big margin between the r:. pcc live standards of the team - 1' rnatcli producing an unin teres tin: game, which ended in a somewha. comfortable win for Christchurch, who had all the belter of the play in tin iirst spell, and at half-time were lead ing 9 (1. Play in the sec .ml half was more even, and, each side scoring threi points, the game ended 123 for Christ church. Both sets of forwards played well Christchurch shining in the loose, while Merivale showed their superiority in, tlie tight. I* or Mori vale Maxwell y:a'o-d v. H. udm; hi-: u eight and -. to advantage. Ebert and Five were also prominent. !arrant stood cut among tlie Christ church ; »rwards. Feat t, at wing-for ward, and Cranfield were prominent among tne rest of the pack, all cl whom worked hard throughout. It was in the backs that Christchurch showed their superioritw While passing rushes bv .both sides often broke down, the Christchurch backs had better combination than their opponents. Hume, full-back for Merivale, was safe, while Ritchie showed up at times. The fault in the Merivale rearguard appeared to be with the inside backs. For Christchurch, V L. Lewis mrused plenty of dash into his work. *"' iS tr ” wa s good solo effort. Rob-

erts and Cocks played well. Stepiien■<un was safe at full-back. his powerful kicking being his greatest asset. At- Lancaster Park. Vest Christchurch beat Merivale by 12 points to M The half-time score was 9—o. For Christchurch. Lewis nod Cox scored tries. while Farrant and Feast kicked penalties. Hammond scored for Aleri vale. Referee: Mr S. Barnett.

THE RUGBY GAME.

AVCK L A Xl> MATo' JIB S. Per Press Association. M'CKI.A Nr\ .1 ane 20. 1 Jen I weather prevailed Tor the t'ootl.all. It**.suits .Marista 20. l uiv. rsity Manukau Jl, Newton ’’ '. scooiidarv school mateh. the first of • - ■ • .. : \ ■ ■■:!• •*. o. t*a ... King's ( •<>!- suited in a victory f->r the former by £» Mount Albert Grammar School 20 heat Sacred Heart 2. WELLIXGTON MATt ITISS. WEI J JXGTO.W June. 20. I'on eke 27. 'Varsity 1 I'oru 1:,: now lea Is for ti.e- . hamj.i..*: J.ip. « irlenta 1 *. Atlib ti - Ivtoue 10. Marist i 5. Wollinslon St-lwyn o. 1-Jut I 2. Old Roys 2. • rxi;nix ma r<*11es. m:.XICDIX, June 21. Pirates 11. 'Varsity A b. •Varsity E 22. Union Zinjiarl IC, Imnedin 0. Kaikorai 21, Southern G. Alhambra G. Taieri 0.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

ENGLISH TEAM DEFEATS QUEENSLAND. Uy Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Aua. X; X.Z. Cable Association. BRISBANE. June 20. Fifteen thousand spectators sa vQueensland outclassed by the Bnglish team, the result being II goals to nil. England had tho advantage of thweather, three days’ rain having made the ground greasy and showers falling during play, which, in both halves, w. in Queensland territory. The English England played an effective back garn • and showed wonderful combination an i footwork despite the mud. They scored six goals in the first, half. Batten ( J), Simms (f>). Hannaford and

1-inwood Christchurch Games. IV. 1,. J>. K 2 — Points. I\ A. SO 49 79 4 0 Ch.' G Merivale . 5 2 — 96 00 Old Boys . 2 — 114 48 ft j Albion 7.i 64 N. Canterbury t <3 1 26 129 40 119 1

Points. _. V.'. ] ». L. Fo r. A js*i. Chriatchurcil . 3 I 7 53 an a> Iticcarton . . . 3 7J 40 • Merivale . . 2 — :) 5,1 7 > Technical . . j — 4 45 C3 j