Merivale Score Deserved Win In Grand Game.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18769, 27 May 1929, Page 14

Merivale Score Deserved Win In Grand Game.

CHRISTCHURCH MAKE STRONG FINISH, BUT DEADLY TACKLING KEPT THEM OUT. KEEN INTEREST and the attendance of the biggest crowd of the season at the Lancaster Park Oval on Saturday, to watch the game between Christchurch and Merivale, were justified by the play, which was as exciting as any Rugby fan could wish for. Conditions were ideal, the teams trained to concert pitch and very eager for the heightened chance in the senior competition which a win would give. Circumstances favoured a thrilling exhibition all the way. Marfvale won by 11 points (a goal from a try, a try, and a penalty goal), to 10 (two converted tries). So close was the play that, had Christchurch scored again, the win would have been just as well deserved. At the Show Grounds, Varsity beat West by 20 to 13. Linwood, on the south ground, beat Technical by 11 to 8, and Old Boys had an easy win over Sydenham on the west ground, the score being 24-6. The competition holds great interest, Old Boys being the only team so far undefeated. Old Boys have not yet met Christchurch. Merivale and Christchurch are lying second, with Albion next and the rest nowhere.

MEBIVAX.E ▼. CHRISTCHURCH. First one side then the other took the initiative in the Oval game. The first half was characterised by faulty handling and misdirected effort, especially over the first stage, when the Merivale forwards, playing like supermen, smashed their way to the Christchurch line and held play there, only to have their backs lose opportunity after opportunity through clumsy work. Then, with Christchurch emerging from the defensive, the same fault was evident with them, the conecting links failing to weld the back line into an effective chain of attacking units. On one occasion only did the Christchurch backs combine, and that was when Mullan found possession with the Merivale backs out of position, and sent his men away for Stephenson to score a good try. Credit for the second try to Christchurch must be handed exclusively to Hart. Certainly Mullan showed initiative in refraining from kicking when so near his own line, but then Mullan is a brainy player and knows how to exploit the best points in his team mates. Hart sprinted round Flewellyn, and beat Brosnan, and then there ensued a great race between the winger and Oliver, who had the advantage of having no ball to carry.

running straight and passing well, but as soon as the ball left his hands the sting was gone. Frater was an uncertain quantity from start to finish, and did little more than hand on to Stephenson. Hart was being played for all he was worth, and he was as game as a pebble, but Hart is a winger who must have room to work in, given which he is the most dangerous man playing football in Christchurch. Hart could not, without a yard in which to move, beat the solid tackling of Norrie and Brosnan, and that was what he was called upon to do time after time It would have been far better for Frater and Stephenson to flip the ball out to Hart without running at all than to run across the field. Stephen son should have seen that Hart had no chance unless he, Stephenson, could give him the ball with room to work in, and therefore he should have attempted on such occasions to smash | through at the centre. The only time Stephenson tried a cut-in was when the occasion called for an immediate pass. It was a surprise rush which caught Merivale a man shy. and Hart, who had twenty yards to work in, had a wonderful chance. Instead of drawing his man and sending the ball to Hart, Stephenson attempted a cut-in and was inevitably downed. Soanes, behind the Christchurch scrum, was a good half, and he fed his backs well. He should develop into a first-class club half-back. Mullan caught the eye all the time. He is playing better football in the first five-eighths position than he did as a half. He is game, capable, and heady, and on Saturday’s game, as in others this season, impresses as the best five-eighths in the inside position in Canterbury. Meikle, at full-back, made his mistake when Dorreen beat him for a try, but on the whole his play was all that could be expected of a last line of defence. Boon, on the left wing, impressed as a good and solid wing, and it is surprising, on the form he showed, that he has not made many more appearances in senior football. He can tackle and he is a determined man when the line is in sight. It would be perhaps a profitable experiment if Christchurch were to try him nearer the scrum. The Christchurch forwards played splendidly. . Cottrell impressed as being the best forward on the ground. He is always on the ball, a tireless and effective worker, and he uses his head. Manchester, Wilders ( a young forward of great promise), and Taylor were always hard at work in a manner that brought result. The Merivale pack, up against a hard proposition, rose to great heights Prominent were Suckling, Kirkland, Anderson and Lawson, though every man worked the whole of his passage Rhodes, behind the scrum, sent out some funny passes at the start of the game, but tightened up thereafter, and his defensive work meant much to his side. He went down on every rush that it was humanly possible to stop. In that respect he was well seconded by Dorreen, who settled down to a great game when the strangeness _of his position wore off. His defensive play was splendid. With Dorreen running nicely inside him, Oliver took full advantage of weakness in the opposing backs and played a brilliant attacking game. His play impressed from all angles, and it looks as if this season will be as good for him as any. The Merivale three-quarter line played a sound game right along. Norrie settled down to a solid and useful attacking game and showed that he is a big factor in defence, while the wingers did all that could be expected of them Brosnan, at full-back, continues to show fine form. His tackling on Saturday was deadly, and his fielding and kicking were almost without reproach Merivale deserved a win for their speed and initiative in attack and their splendid defence, but Christchurch, had they scored in the last few minutes would have been equally deserving of victory. Each side crossed the oppos ing line twice, and that fact is a fair indication of the play. It was a hard and even struggle in which each side strove to open up the game, and as such, despite mistakes in handling and passing, it was a sparkling exhibition of the Rugby code. CLOSE SCORING IN AN EVEN GAME. There was not a great deal to enthuse over in the Linwood-Technical game, neither set of backs gaining territory in passing rushes, nor showing much in the way of combined effort. The two packs were very even, tearing into the game with plenty of willingness, and usually relying on loose rushes. Linwood finally won by 11 points (a converted try and two penalty goals) to 8 (two tries) one of which was converted). Territorially, Technical had just as much of the game as Linwood, and though the latter had a fair lead for the greater part of the game, Technical had several opportunities which might have put them in front. The Linwood defence, however, proved equal to the demand? made upon it.

It looked for a while as if Oliver must catch him, but Hart employed a trick that Elvy used to use again and again when being overhauled. He slackened pace slightly and as Oliver came up Hart bowled him over with a strong backward fend which caught Oliver unawares. Then he galloped on for as sensational a try as anyone could wish to see.

There was one other occasion in the first spell when Christchurch looked like scoring. That was when Boon broke away well down the side-line, and inpassed to Cottrell. The hooker swerved like a five-eighth to evade one would-be tackier, and set out for the comer. He was just not fast enough, and Brosnan and another of the speedy Merivale backs got to him in time to throw him ,out over the corner flag. On one occasion in particular Merivale were unlucky not to score. Oliver cut in from a rush, and ran Rowe into fine position. He retained possession a fraction too long, and lobbed out a pass which Rowe took and flashed over. From the stand it was nearly impossible to tell whether the pass was forward or not, but the referee’s decision that it was forward took most of the onlookers by surprise. It had been generally expected that the Christchurch forwards would take the ascendency in their division, but that was far from being the case.

Taken right through, the forward struggle was very even. In the first half-hour of the game the Merivale pack went better than they have this season, and more than held their own. They gave their backs plenty of the ball right through the game, and their work in the line-out and the loose was great. Merivale owed their win to the great work of the backs over the first halfhour of the second spell, and also to the wonderful defence put up by the whole team. In the first half the backs were all at sea. Dorreen was strange in the first five-eighth position, and he was finding difficulty in gathering in Rhodes’s passes from the scrum. His own transfers to Oliver were far from perfect. Oliver was not passing per fectly, and Norrie at the start was fumbling badly. Most of that vanished after the interval. No back line can show its worth as an attacking factor when the transfers are not snap pilv given and taken. When they

warmed up in this respect, and Dorreen was settling down to his unaccustomed place, the strength of the Merivale insides became apparent. Dorreen played with dash and skill, and Oliver walked rings round his vis a vis, Frater. Rhodes dummied into position and then handed to Dorreen, who beat Meikle with a swerve to score the first try for Merivale. That converted, Merivale, who had a penalty to their credit, were only two points to the bad, and they attacked irresistibly. In a swift rush from a handy scrum Dorreen and Oliver both ran beautifully, and when Norrie took the ball he only had to run hard and straight to let Rowe over. It was an excellent combined effort, and a very different tale from the first half. ' Christchurch then took the offensive in a tense effort to pull the game out of the fire, and it was then that their weakness at second five-eighths and centre became mos+ "apparent. Mullan was playing like a leaf out of a text book, and using every bit of his ability and experience to give his three-quarter line a chance. He was

The Linwood forwards play a good, bustling game, and the majority _ of them are young players who will improve with experience. J. Dawson was prominent all the way on Saturday, and he received fine support from C.

Quaid. J. Manihera and F. Thompson also did good work. The Linwood backs showed poor form on attack, and they seldom threatened danger. Penrose is a rather promisyig fiveeighth, and Sullivan played a plucky game at half. J. Edmonds had a lot of work, and got through it very satisfactorily. He also kicked two penalty goals and converted a try. The Technical forwards played the same type of game as their opponents, and hunted eagerly in the loose. B. Welch showed good form, and proved very hard to stop when in possession. Christensen w’as a solid worker, and Miller and Henderson were also prominent. Of the Technical backs, F. French, recently removed from the forwards, showed the best form. His kicking on defence was good, and he showed anticipation and determination when he came up to finish off a forward rush by crashing over for a good try. W. D. Johnston, at first five-eighth, is a useful player, as he has a good defence, and a very fair knowledge of attack. Westwood showed some bright flashes, and if he would concentrate more on making play for those in support he would be better centre. WEST OLD BOYS SURPRISE VARSITY. The meeting of Varsity and West Old Boys provided a close and interesting game, in which Varsity showed superior combination and finish. However, the margin of difference was not so wide as the scoring indicated. Indeed, at one stage, ten minutes before time, West had a two-point lead, but were unable to maintain the pressure and fell away badly. West 0.8. attacked from the start and quickly rushed play to Varsity territory. Bad handling and too much individual effort lost them valuable points. Good combined efforts were rare and high tackling was far too frequent. Varsity fared better in back combination, but seemed to lack, thrust in their three-quarter line. The absence of Loveridge, who was on the side line, was marked. Both packs played with vigour, though the students did not use their obvious advantage in weight. The 3-2-3 experiment in scrum formation was not entirely successful in the first half, but in the second was working to good advantage. N. Alexander was not very prominent at full back for Varsity, and although his tackling was sound his kicking lacked force. The three-quarter line. M. Calder, J. Hair and R. N. Williams, was sound, but lacked finish on attack. Calder has not yet had time to regain his previous form, but showed plenty of dash. J. R. Hawkes at second five-eighth made some pretty solo runs, but was inclined to run across field. At first five-eighths W. E. Alexander played a bright game and showed distinct possibilities His defence was not over-strong. R. Wikiriwhi, the new half, fed his backs well, and with more experience should develop into a useful link. Of the forwards, M. Simes, Langbein and A. T. Montgomery were always

prominent. Montgomery made some great runs and was easily the best forward on the ground. Too much praise cannot be given to A. Roberts, the West fullback. He possesses a magnificent line-finding kick, tackles fairly well, and is a useful place-kick. He is the best man with his boot in the competition. A. M’Kay was the pick of the threequarter line, and his two tries were the result of quick anticipation and keen following-up. R. Chinnery, W. Thompson and R. M’Gregor shone at intervals but were inconsistent. The forwards played pluckiiy against their formidable opponents, W. Brough being the of a fast, even pack. The standard of play was always irregular, and Varsity were not seen at their best until the last few minutes, when strenuous efforts were needed to avoid defeat. The students erred in taking things too easily, and the enthusiastic dash of the younger team surprised and disconcerted the winning team. Once the was applied. Varsity soon asumed the ascendancy. « 88 OLD BOYS v. SYDENHAM. Contrary to the general expectation, Old Boys did not have a complete walkover against Sydenham. They piled on thirteen points in the first six minutes of the game. At half-time Old Boys’ score was still 13 points. The Sydenham backs got going in several good passing bouts, but the solid tackling kept them out. Sydenham’s tackling was very weak at the outset, though it improved as the game progressed. F. Kerr, Sydenham’s full-back, was called upon to do a good deal of work. He has fair goal-kicking ability, and his tackling is fairly solid 11. Woods was the best Sydenham’s three-quarter line, with W Brown next. K. Hazlehurst and J. Young, second and first five-eighths respectively, are a good pair of inside backs, and they made the most of their opportunities on Saturday. The Sydenham forwards were a bustling lot in the loose. Their dribbling work was good. They do not seem to be able to pack their scrum properly. They will probably improve in this respect as the season advances. C. Line, L. Dunmill and C. Greatbatch were the most conspicuous on Saturday. J. Harris played l'uli-back instead of G. Mehrtens for Old Boys, H. Ogier taking his place on the wing. Harris played his usual sound game. Merritt made the most of his opportunities in the early part of the game, when it looked as if Old Boys would have a runaway victory. After that he was not so conspicuous. He received a severe kick on the shin late in the second spell. S. Carleton was in good form. H. Ogier played a sound game on the wing. Although he did not score, he went very near to it on several occasions. W. Dailey, G. D. Innes and D. Hay were a good trio. The Old Boys pack were clearly superior to Sydenham s in weight and experience, yet they did not have things all their own way.