Rugby.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18451, 30 April 1928, Page 12

Rugby.

OLD BOYS WIN. LINWOOD LOSE AGAIN. Fine weather favoured the Rugby games in Christchurch on Saturday, and there was a large attendance of spectators at Lancaster Park, where Old Bovs and Merivale did battle on the oval. Old Boys won a fast and exciting game by 19 points to 11. though the standard of plav was not particularlv high. While Old Boys deserved the victory, they were lucky to win by so manv points. They had only a little the better of the game, and probably owed their success to the fact that they made better use of their opportunities. The win of Old Boys came as something of a surprise, Merivale being the general favourites before the game. Playing Christchurch on the south ground at Lancaster Park. Linwood, who lost by a point to Varsity the previous Saturday, were beaten b}* 6 points to 9. The score at half-time was 9 to 3 in favour of Christchurch, and play in the second spell was veryexciting, but Linwood failed to get a lead.

On the west ground Varsity did not. have much trouble in beating Technical by 23 points to S.

OLD BOYS BEAT MERIVALE IN EXCITING GAME. While the game between Merivale and Old Boys was fast and exciting, the standard of play was not particularly high. There were occasional pieces of brilliant work, but mostly these were on the part of individuals. Both sets of backs lacked combination. Old Boys won by 19 points to 11, but there was not all this difference between the two teams. On the day’s play Old Boys were the better team, but not by very much. Still, they deserved their win, as they made better use of their opportunities than Merivale did. At half-time Old Boys were leading by 11 points to 6. In the second spell, with the wind in their favour, Merivale attacked soon after the kickoff. They kept Old Boys on the defensive for quite a long time, but were unable to increase their score. Then, wth dramatc suddenness, Old Boys scored a couple of tries in quick sue-, cession. These tries might have appeared lucky, but they were really the result of good anticipation on the part of Merritt. For the first Merritt crosskicked to Ogier, who gathered the ball in and dashed through an opening in great style. For the second, Merritt, by following up the ball fast, got over at the corner. These two tries gave Old Boys a lead of 19 points to 6, and they marked the turning point of the game. Merivale made desperate efforts to increase their score, and, while they managed to add a converted try, they did not succeed in getting any further, though, with a bit more luck, they would have got at least another try. There seemed to be something wrong with the Merivale forwards on Saturday. They did not play with nearly, the same dash as they did against Albion the previous Saturday*, though, in the final stages of the game, they livened up a lot, and taxed the Old Boys’ defence to the full. The Old Boys' forwards, on the other hand, played well, and, though they were lighter than the Merivale pack, they overcame this handicap by hard work. They were much nippier than the Merivale forwards, -who for the gre iter part of the game appeared to be lackadaisical.

The opposing backs were fairly evenly matched, with a slight advantage to Old Boys, who were just a bit nippier than the Merivale rearguard. As already mentioned neither set of backs showed good combination, but both sides have the material for first-class rearguards, once combination is developed. The game was hard fought, and this began to tell in the second spell, when three men retired injured. Two Old Boys players, C. Speight and G. Cox, had to go off, and R. Norrie, the Merivale full-back, also .retired injured. When Cox went to the side-line to receive attention from the ambulance

man. Cromb came on. After being attended to, Cox wanted to go on again, but this, of course, was impossible, as his place had been filled. (Tomb went full-back in place of J. Harris, who moved up to second fiveeighths. while Mortlock went half-back in place of Cox. Harris played a good game at full-back, though once or twice he was just a bit slow in getting rid of the bail. Still, he was instrumental in getting his side out of several tight corners. He also went well at second five-eighths. Cromb made a very fair substitute for Harris at full-back. He fielded and kicked well, but he would have done better had he gone in for low tackling- instead of the "round the neck ” style.

Probably the best back on the ground was H. Ogier, the Old Boys centre. On attack he was always dangerous and required careful watching. The try he scored in the second spell, when Merritt cross-kicked, was an excellent bit of .play. Ogier dashed through so quickly that he left a couple of Merivale players absolutely standing. On defence Ogier was quite as good as he was on attack, and he was responsible for several fine “ saves." Merritt, who played on one wing for Old Boys, was good on attack, but, when it came to defence, he was certainly lacking. His weak defence was strikingly illustrated in the first spell, when Goodman scored for Merivale. Goodman .is undoubtedly a fast runner, but, in spite of this, he does not appear to be a partjcularly hard man to stop. Merritt made a poor tackle, and, although he sent Goodman sprawling on the ground, the Merivale winger was able to get up and dive over the line for a try.

Up to the time of the retirement of Cox, Mortlock played on the wing, but he was not very much in the limelight, probably because play was not

swinging his way. He went quite w r cll at half-back in the later stages of the game.

G. Mehrtens, who was injured in the trial game with Varsity before the opening of the season, was again unable to play for Old Boys on Saturday. His place at second five-eighths was filled by C. G. Armstrong, who made one. or two good openings, though he was a bit uncertain in his handling of the ball. D. Hay at first five-eighths was as clever as usual, and both on attack and defence he played consistently w-ell throughout. G. Cox, the Old Boys’ half-back, was a little slow in getting the ball away from the scrum. He showed a lot of clever play, but was a little inclined to overdo the working of the “ blind ” side. This is a movement that should be reserved as a surprise. On defence Cox was good, being “ as game as they arc made.”

The outstanding forward for Old Boys was S. Baird. Seldom has he played so well as he did on Saturday. He followed Tip in great style and was in the picture the whole time. J. Low played a dashing game at wing-forward. N. Corsbie. C. Speight and F. Clark also showed good form, and, indeed, all the Old Boys forwards were right on the job. R. Norrie was safe at full-back for Merivale. liis fielding of the ball and line kicking were good, and he also tackled fairly well.

Owing to the fact that T. Davies was, unable to play. C. Oliver and W. Oliver were the five-eighths for Merivale, and Rhodes was moved to ’ centre threequarter. Playing at first five-eighths C. Oliver did not appear to have enough room to work in. He made one or two good openings, but the best he .spoilt absolutely by sending out a bad pass to Dorreen, who was in a handy position to score.

W. Oliver played a very fair game at second five-eighths. In spite of his lack of inches, Oliver’s tackling is better than the average. liis defence on

Saturday was sound, but on attack he made one or two bad mistakes, though these were probably due to lack of experience. N. Dorreen ~ T -’-ed a dashing game on the wing for Merivale. He always took a lot of stopping, and on one or two occasions he was unlucky not to score. H. Goodman, on the other wing for Merivale, also required a great deal of watching. His speed made him a dangerous man. Goodman is rather slightly built, and, but for this fact, he would probably be a top-notch winger. G. Rhodes was clever at centre for Merivale. He stood out specially on defence, and was prominent on several occasions for getting his side out of difficulties. Although he was behind the heavier pack, N. Brosnan did not see a great deal of the ball from the scrum. He did not have manv opportunities on attack, but on defence he was quite sound. Of the Merivale forwards one of the most prominent was O. May. He was particularlv noticeable for good following up. The hookers for Merivale were K. Kearney and W. Crofts, but they did not seem to make a very successful, pair. However, in other respects both played quite well. O. Walker was dashing at wing-forward and gave good assistance to his backs. J. Kirkland worked hard throughout. 5# 3 TECHNICAL SHOW IMPROVEMENT. By their play in the second half of their match against Varsity on Sat urday. Technical Old Boys demonstrated that, with good coaching, they would make a very creditable showing in senior foptball. Varsity romped home in the first half, putting on 20 points, and finished victors by 23 8, but Technical more than held their own in the second half, and the try they scored was from a nice piece of combined work.

Varsity had all the better of the scrum work until the Technical forwards realised that result can only be. obtained by combination. When they started working on that principle in the second session, they showed immense improvement. Lack of height handicapped them, in the lineouts.

In the first half it was the same old tale. Varsity got several tries that average tackling would have prevented. Galbraith slipped past man after man, when a hard, low collar would have checked him. Fumbling among the Technical backs game Simes a try that should never have been scored against, a senior team. The Varsity forwards were getting the ball all the time in the scrums and lineouts. Had the Varsity backs been working really well together, there was ample opportunity to largely increase their score.

Sugden was “below form behind a winning pack. lie was much slower than his best, and his passes were erratic. He used the overhead pass far too often.

Grant, at first five-eighths, was a strong link in the chain, but at times he sent out passes which Ilawkes found difficult. Grant is a good type of five-eighths, and his defensive work on Saturday was excellent. Ilawkes showed varying form, the better features of his game being really good. lie is a player who might develop into a first-class five-eighths during the season.

Galbraith showed out at centre with some tricky running, but he also had a tendency to lose touch with the wing men. Loveridgc was very solid on his wing, as also was Calder (who should have been centre), but neither had a great deal of work to do.

At full-back, Chesley had an easy day. His touch-finding was erratic. Montgomery was the best of the Varsity forwards. He worked well all the time and was very strong in the tight work. Fookcs was brilliant at

times, and all the rest pulled their weight.

Morris, behind the Technical scrum, stood up well to a very gruelling afternoon’s work, and endeavoured to open up the game at every opportunity. liis defensive work was sound and very* plucky.

Wilton and Waterhouse were the five-eighths, and both are individualists. Waterhouse showed out well in several dashes.

The three-quarters—Curwen, Bellamy and Scott —were eager, but there was a lack of finish in their efforts, and defence was not their long suit. The backs were much better in the second half, when the forwards gave them a few chances.

Bellamy, as full-back, did some clean work.

The Technical forwards played without much purpose in the first half, but after the spell they gave better than they got. Geayley, the Welch brothers and Dunbur. who replaced the injured Christensen, were the most prominent.

CHRISTCHURCH v. LINWOOD. The- Chris tchurch-Lin wood game, played on the South ground, provided another exciting finish, Linwood, three points down, battering incessantly at the Christchurch line for the last quarter of an hour. The Christchurch players and supporters must have heaved sighs of relief when the final whistle blew, leaving them victors by 9 points (two tries and a penalty) to 6 (two tries).

Although Linwood went within an ace of drawing or winning the match on two or three occasion in the last stages of the game, Christchurch would really have been unlucky to lose, as they certainly played much the better football, especially in the first half, when it was only the battling tactics and sweeping rushes of - the Linwood forwards which saved their line on many occasions. The Linwood defence was severely tested at this stage, probably quite as much as that of Christchurch was towards the finish.

The Christchurch forwards started off with only three of the pack which assisted them to victory last year, and before the game had been very long in progress two of these. N. Galbraith and G. Lawson, were forced to retire with injuries.

It was at first thought that Galbraith had suffered a broken collarbone, but it is now considered that the injury is in the shoulder, and that no bones are broken.

Lawson suffered a nasty injury to his right ankle, and may be unable to play for some weeks. He was going well tip to the time of his retirement, and as ht was one of the fittest of the Christchurch forwards, his loss was considerable.

H. B. Godfrey, who replaced Gal braith, was not fit enough to show tc advantage, but went well while his condition lasted.

“Son” White was drawn from his retirement when Lawson went off, and no other emergency was available. Considering that he had not even had a run, he put up a good performance, and his experience was worth much to his side in the closing stages, when the forwards required a good deal of holding together. The best and fittest of the Christchurch pack were J. Manchester and A. I. Cottrell. Manchester has improved greatly since last year, and his lineout work and play in the loose promised good things ahead.

Cottrell was one of the best forwards on the ground. He tore into the tight stuff and hunted eagerly in the loose. There was a finish to his play which suggested the hall-mark of quality. Until the closing stages, when the Christchurch pack was well beaten, he and Moore hooked very successfully.

J. Bell was tried out' at wing-for-ward, and must have given satisfaction. He was at times outgeneralled by his vis-a-vis, but this was his first game for two seasons. He also had to play in the pack for the greater part of the first spell, and this no doubt affected his subsequent form. In the first half he was on the spot to send the wing. Bibbv, in for a nice try. If the Christchurch forwards wish to do justice to their team they will, need to be fitter than they were on Saturday. Of last season’s team, Mullan is the only Christchurch back playing this year, but the present set have the makings of a good side. Mullan gave a.finc display at half, although he received a lot of attention from the Linwood breakaways. lie dodged through the opposition clevei • ly to start the forwards short-passing on the occasion when Bibby scored. Teape was out of town, and unable to play for Christchurch, his place being taken by H. Fra ter. Fra ter was not convincing. He was too slow up on both defence and attack, and ran across too much without drawing his man. Marshall, at second five-eighths, showed plenty of promise. His attack was hampered by the fact that Turpin, the Linwood rover, was getting out to him too often. In defence he was over-inclined to accept the dummy, but, apart from this, was sound. liis short-punting was well judged and effective.

Robilliard, at centre, was the best back on the field. He has much of the style of his brother, A. C. C., and, if anything, looks to be faster and heavier. It is safe to predict big football for this player.

The wings, Hart and Bibby, had very little opportunity on attack, but both showed speed and dash. The most pleasing part of Hart’s performance was his defence. His tackling was lov. and sure. Stephenson, at full-back, gave hiv team some anxious moments. He went fairly well in the first half, but against the sun he was in trouble. His hand ling was good, but his ground fielding was much too slow.

The Linwood forwards have always been a force to be reckoned with, and this year’s pack is no exception tc, the rule. The individuals are young and fit and keen, and in the concluding stages on Saturday they played all over the opposition, as against Varsity the week previously. It was probably only lack of experience which prevent qd them from scoring towards the. finish.

J. Turpin, the wing-forward, opened up the season with a good display, harrying the Christchurch backs throughout.

Of the pack men, Manihera was again conspicuous, using his weight to great advantage. He is extremely difficult to stop when near the line, and scored one of his characteristic bullocking tries.

O. Turpin was forced to retire, being replaced by D. Burns. His experience would have been invaluable to his side had he remained. The remaining forwards worked hard throughout, and seem a good even lot. They did not spare themselves in the tight, and made same grand sweeping rushes, which gained lots of ground. Time and again they retrieved ground after penetrating runs by the Christchurch backs.

J. Entwhistle and E. Heatley we conspicuous throughout.

The Linwood half, J. O’Brien, again gave a fine display. On defence he is very sound, and his attack was quick and snappy. The five-eighths gave a much-improv-ed display. C. Smart came to light with an effective dummy, which, combined with a fine sidestep, often beat the opposition. When he learns to re establish touch with his supports, Smart will be a dangerous inside back. J. Payne was not' so prominent as one would have expected, but he had something of a handful to mark in Robilliard. His play was generally very sound.

The wings, Wogan and Price, had few opportunities, but went satisfactorily. Price looks to be the makings of a good three-quarter. J. Edmonds, at full-back, was again entirely reliable, and got his side out of many difficulties. His display was first-class.