MANY AUCKLAND * RUGBY MEN ARE TOO TIRED TO TRAIN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17877, 19 June 1926, Page 11

MANY AUCKLAND * RUGBY MEN ARE TOO TIRED TO TRAIN.

SPARKLE AND GLITTER HAS GONE OUT OF CLUB FOOTBALL BUT PONSONBY CHAMPIONS WILL STRENGTHEN REPRESENTATIVES. (Special to the “ Star.") AUCKLAND, June 18. There is something amiss with Rugby football in Auckland this season. The stylo of plav is not satisfying; a great deal of the old sparkle and glitter has vanished; fhe standard as revealed bv the club games is certainly lower. And unless something is done—and that speedily the spirit of carelessness which has crept into the club matches will be reflected in the play of the representative team. Summed up, Auckland’s chances in the representative fixtures may be described as promising. This is true, despite the weakness of club football, because those in the running for representative honours, particularly the Ponsonby men, have not yet become imbued with the general feeling of inertia. In Auckland to-day it is not a question of selecting the best man from many worthy claimants for a place. It is a question of accepting the one man who is head and shoulders above the crowd. There is not the competition for places that there should be. It is too late io do much to improve club football this season. The Rugby Union, it is stated, is now considering plans for ensuring that the senior teams will he adequately coached next year. This may slop the rot. All Rugby enthusiasts in Auckland sincerely hope so.

The year 1925 marked, the highest level reached in Auckland. Rugby .since the upset caused by the war. The last couple of seasons, however, have seen a slump—not a .landslide, but a very perceptible slipping away in the stand ard of play. What is. the reason? The management committee of the Rugby Union has sought an answer to that tantalising question. The referees have been called into informal conference. The matter has been probed and sifted, and out of the. mass of talk, has emerged this one vital fact: The senior club teams, with the exception of

backs, was very weak. The players were sufficiently tested, however, to provide a tolerably accurate guide as to how the representative team for the matches against Taranaki. Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington in August will lx* constituted. The Auckland team, by the way. will not tour the South Island this year as originally planned. BRILLIANT PLAYERS. Three players—Lucas. Sheen and Hook -are playing really brilliant footbail this season. Lucas is the only 1921 All Black now in the city, Cooke being in Hawke’s Bay and Ces. Badeley in North Auckland. Lucas, captain of the all-conquering Ponsonby team, is right at the top of his form, and is better even than when lie was chosen for the British tour. He has speed, he has brains, he has generalship. Time and again he has flashed through with the ball from the 25 yards line, and ended up with a score. He generally gets about three tries each match. But “Freddy’’ is not selfish. Being at centre he. is naturally in one of the best positions on the field for scoring. Lucas’ “stock.” then, may be written down as 100 per cent excellent. Christchurch Rugby followers will remember that dazzling schoolboy fiveeighths partnership of Talbot and Sheen. It is this same Sheen who is delighting the Eden Park “fans” this year with his wonderfully• fine play in the five-eighths line for College Rifles. On attack he is really brilliant, his cutin being perfectly executed. Perhaps he shines particularly brightly because of the general weakness of play in this department. Auckland has too many five-eighths who never rise above the

B representatives against South Auckland. and made some great openings, lie can also play at five-eighths or, indeed, in any position in the backs. He is marvellously versatile. George Goodacre, of the Grammar team, has now struck form. lie plays at centre in clv.b matches, but. acted as full-back in the representative match against Waikato. He is almost a certainty for selection in the August matches.

Good men on the wing are wanted in A tickland. Mattson is playing well, place in the reps., although the selectors gave Broderick preference in the A team on King's Birthday. Olsen, of Varsity, will probably be the ;other winger. Loft, of the Marist L. C. Mattson. Old Boys, also has claims for selection, but he is a little on the light side. Broderick will be lucky to get another game. Neil Ifwerson partnered Sheen in the five-eighths line against Waikato. Ilis inclusion was criticised at the time, for his club form has been rather drab, lie holds on to the ball too long and overdoes the kicking. Still, he must be given credit for a good game against Waikato. Cammic-k. of Ponsonbv, has been playing solidly, while Hook’s claims have been mentioned. Sheen is marked off as a certainty.

Ponsonby, are not training as they should do. Some of the senior teams have coaches: others have not. Judging from what one hears, the majority of the senior players are practically indifferent to the necessity of getting lit and keeping ht. In Auckland the senior competition is divided into A and B grades, each comprising six teams. Ponsonby, Grammar Old Boys. University, College Rifles, Marist Old Boys and Grafton are the A teams, and Training College, North Shore, Ellcrslie. Manukau, Suburbs and Newton comprise the B section. ‘ HOME AND DRIED. Although the A section has just entered upon the second round, interest is almost dead because of Ponsonby’s commanding lead. The “Ponies” arc right out in front, and are everywhere regarded as “home and dried.” In six matches they have rattled on 160 points, while only 25 have been recorded against them. No other team has got within ten points of them. Grammar and College Rifles made the best lights; the other teams were routed. The one-sided nature of the senior A c ompetition has. of course, caused public interest to wane. In the senior B competition things are more interesting because of the great form of both Training College and North Shore, who arc bracketed at the top of the competition. These boys are playing much better football than the majority of the A teams, and the meeting between the two clubs provided a wonderfully refreshing game, the result being a draw, 9 all. COMPETITION KEEN. The general feeling of listlessness in club football has given the Rugby authorities serious food for thought. League is strong and Soccer has a fair following. To keep its crowd the Rugby code must be made attractive. Overtures have been made with the idea of having the rules interpreted more according to the spirit than to the letter of the law*. But the referees, as a whole, give a fairly broad interpretation of the rules. The referee alone cannot make the game attractive; that is mainly the job of the players. The referee, of course, need not whistle for every knock-on, and he can stop the “sacks on the mill'’ style of play about which complaint has been made. But the referees are doing their best to keep the game bright. It is the turn of the players now. NOT MUCH HOPE. Now, despite the admittedly lower standard of club Rugby, it does not follow that Auckland will not be able to field a strong representative team. But that team, unless aided by the most remarkable good fortune, will not wrest the Ranfurly Shield from Hawke’s Bay on August 21. The reason is that Auckland simply has not the team, man for man, capable of beating the holders. Two representative teams were tried out on King's Birthday, the A team playing Hamilton and the B team the South Auckland Sub-union, comprising the country districts around Pukekohe. Both won easily enough, but in both cases the opposition, especially in the

Don Wright (Grammar) and M.'Manus (Ponsonbv) are ’the best of the half-backs. It is difficult to see Wright out of a piace. Cashmorc, of the Varsity team, has also improved wonderfully as the .season has advanced. Keene, the Varsity. skipper, is genDon Wright. c.rally regarded as

having the rover position well within his grasp. He is a great toiler and plays consistently well in every match, being always on the ball. Lynch, of Grafton, was given a trial in the B reps, and he did well. He has a great turn of speed, which should be of distinct advantage to. him. Some enthusiasts claim that he is better than Keene, but that is open to very serious doubt FORWARDS ARE SOUD. When it is mentioned that the selectors passed aver Righton, 1925 All Black for both the A and B teams, the natural conclusion is that Auckland is inundated with good forwards. That, to a large extent, is true, but it does not account for Rigliton’s exclusion, for he has played well this season. The Auckland forwards seem to be losing the art. of short passing, which has. been a noteworthy feature of their play for years past. But there arc some big solid men, who can keep up with the ball and, with nearly two months in hand before the big fixtures, a formidable pack should be sorted out. A match against the touring Maoris has been arranged to talce place on July 17, and this will provide an excellent opportunity for trying out the candidates for Auckland’s North.. Island tour. . On form shown to date the following forwards should go closest to representative honours:—-S. Hadley (Marisl), Palmer (Ponsonbv), M'Williams (Ponsonbv;, Webber (Ponsonby), Catlicart (Grammar), Knight (Grammar), Righton (Ponsonbv), Batty (Grammar), Noakcs (Grafton), Finlavson (Grafton), Sorrenson (Grafton). Miiiimnnmiiiiii jiwininiiiiiiimiHiiiiijmuimimiiimiiinimiiumiiimHmi

T. R. Sheen. stage of running aimlessly across the field. With Sheen it is different. He flashes straight through, often cutting in past a couple of opponents, and thus gives the men outside him a chance to break away. To his other attributes Sheen has added a most valuable side-line—the field goal. He has won three matches for his side by this means. In the last minute of pla}* against Grammar. College Rifles were three points behind. Then Sheen got possession and potted a beautiful goal. His team won by 13 points to 12 and the stand cheered Sheen to the echo for his spectacular effort. The very next Saturday Sheen potted another goal, enabling College Rifles to beat Grafton by 4 to 3. And. more recently, Sheen's boot gave his team another victory over Marist bv 12 to 8. “ PICTURESQUE.” Hook, the Ponsonby full-back, is the most picturesque figure in Auckland football at present. He has been criticised, and perhaps rightly, for leaving his post and hunting for tries with the other backs. But behind a team like Ponsonby the job of the full-back is at times rather dull, and the temptation to advance is strong. Playing at full-back in club matches, lloolc has this year the unique record of scoring five tries. He takes some risks when in possession of the ball, but he is a most difficult man to stop, and his play has provided one of the lew purple patches in local Rugby. He , played on the wing for the Auckland