FOOTBALL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18469, 22 May 1928, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

SENIOR B NOTES. CHRISTCHURCH STILL UNBEATEN. The fifth round of the senior B grade was played on Saturday in good weather conditions. Kaiapoi sprang another surprise by beating North Canterbury at Rangiora. Sydenham were uniucky to lose to Merivale, being beaten by two points. This, is the third occasion that Sydenham have lost by two points or less. Christchurch maintained their unbeaten record, winning from Albion, West Old Roys gained a fairly easy win over Qld Collegians. Linwood beat Merivale and Varsity beat a weakened Training College team by a big margin. The following table shows the positions of the teams: —

WEST OLD BOYS (22) v. OLD COLLEGIANS (3). Playing at the Polo Grounds, West Christchurch Old Boys scored an easy victory over Old Collegians. Weak tackling and lack of combination in the Ola Collegian backs' enabled West Old Boys to i.un up nineteen points during the first hall. In the second half, however. OJd ColJeg.ans showed considerable i'lipro* cvmcnt, and had the better ol the play for most of the time. At full back for West, Roberts played well, his line kicking being particularly good. Eade at. second five-eightlif? played a solid game and his fast following up often put the opposing full-back in trouble. Amongst a hard working pack the most noticeable were R. Dawson, Robb and C. Dawson. For Old Collegians Jackson at half played a great game. Rundle at centre is fast but was given few opportunities to show his speed. Forward Young played a hard game, his tackling being good. Stark as lock also played well. *2 3 2C MERIVALE (5) v. SYDENHAM (3). At the Show Grounds Merivale gained a narrow win over Sydenham, who were very keen and showed great dash in the first half, but tired later in the game. From the kick-off the pace was hot, and Merivale had some anxious moments on defence. The Sydenham pack played good football in the loose and controlled the’ game for quite a spell. The Merivale backs were rather slow at times, but were fairly sound on defence. Although there was little combination amongst either set of backs, individually they played well, while the defence in most cases was fair. Both sides were unlucky not to score in the second spell. Merivale narrowly missed several penalty kicks, while Kerr, the S> r denham half, hit the post with a fine pot at goal. Merivale showed better form than in some of the previous games. The pack played well together and received their share of the ball, while their tackling was good. The backs, however, still lack cohesion, though individually they are sound. One who continues to improve is Stringer, the fullback, who played a fine game on Saturday. Although he made one or two mistakes, he took the ball well and kicked excellently. Flewellyn, on the wing, was one of the best backs on the ground, his straight running and sound tackling being outstanding. It is a pity, however, that he does not get more of the ball, as he finishes off his movements well. The other wing, M’Gregor, also played a solid game. Ebert, in the five-eighth position, was sound, while Murphy played a fine game behind the scrum. The forwards played well. Although beaten at times in the first half, they held the upper hand in the second spell. Sydenham are a well-balanced team who have been unlucky this season in just being beaten by a few points in each game. Kerr, at half-back, played a nippy game, and got the ball away well. The mainstay of the backs was J. Young, at five-eighth, .who, although not brilliant, played a heady game and gained a lot of ground. Lapslie also played a good game, and was outstanding for his fine line-kicking. Of the forwards, Swainey was the best. lie played with great dash, followed up fast, and was dangerous on many occasions. He proved a fine leader, and was well supported by Hill and Sharpe. CHRISTCHURCH (14) v. ALBION (3). After a fast and interesting game at the Show Grounds Christchurch beat Albion by a fair margin. Taken as a whole, Christchurch are a well-balanced team. The backs are very sure, and the forwards arc a solid set. The pick of the backs on Saturda’y was Cocks at five-eighth, who played a very headv game. lie was very useful on attack, drawing his man before sending the ball on. He was well supported by Prater, who was sound on defence. Mil-' som gave a fine display at centre, and at times was brilliant. He is easily one of the best backs in the grade, and on Saturday brought off some fine movements. In the second hilf he.had to retire through injuries, and his absence made a big difference to the backs. The forwards went well throughout, and had easily the best of the tight work, hooking the ball with precision.

For Albion, Sweeney played well on the wing, and was about the pick of the backs. Parkes was sound at centre, but did not seem to combine too well with the others. At half-back Mitchell gave a fair display. He got the ball away well, but did not receive good support from his forwards.

Points. Ch. P. W. L. r>. F. A. Pts. West Old Boys 6 4 — 1 71 17 4£ Christchurch 4 4 — — S3 20 4 Kaiapoi 5 4.1 — 62 33 4 Merivale A .... 5 3 1 1 46 41 3J St Andrew's O.B. 4 3 1 — 43 26 3 Bin wood .... 5 3 2 — 54 54 3 Old Boys 5 3 2 — 77 27 3 N. Canterbury 5 2 2 1 51 52 21 Trinity College 5 2 3 — 45 8 7 2 Old Collegians 5 2 3 — 37 4 4 2 Albion 5 2 3 41 35 2 Varsity 4 1 2 1 43 77 1* Sydenham ..4 — 4 — 22 40 ■ — Merivale B ..4 — 4 — 11 78 — Sunnyside . . 4 — 4 — 29 102 —