CANTERBURY TEAM EXCEL.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 538, 22 August 1932, Page 11

CANTERBURY TEAM EXCEL.

Inflict Decisive Defeat on Auckland. FORWARDS JUSTIFY ALL PRAISE

AFTER their mediocre showing against South Canterbury the previous week, the Canterbury team surprised their followers by inflicting a decisive defeat on the Auckland touring team on Saturday by 14 points to nil; and this was in spite of the visitors winning most of the scrums and having every opportunity of showing up at their best. Canterbury played above themselves, particularly the forwards, who broke away from the scrums to such purpose that the opposing inside backs had little room in which to work. The team work of the Canterbury men won the day, and kept the Ranfurly Shield in the province.

It was a game of changing fortunes, and in which the luck was with Canterbury, though there was no denying v.ho were the better team on the day. Canterbury had their total swelled considerably because Roberts was in fine kicking form. In this department, Bush was disappointing. Auckland won practically all of the scrums in the first half, but their backs could not swing into action before coming up against the Canterbury breakaways and the determined line of Canterbury backs. Then Canterbury recovered something of their hooking powers in the second spell, but their chances were correspondingly limited through the Auckland backs making fewer mistakes and losing possession less often. The visiting rearguard made a spurt towards the end and put in enough good work to deserve a couple of tries, but in each case a hitch occurred at- the critical moment. Solomon Well Marked. The Auckland forwards were half a stone heavier per man, and Solomon deemed that sufficient to allow him to

the field against South Canterbury, but whose inclusion, like that of King and Bouterey, was advocated in the “ Star” before that match. It is amazing to think that these three men should ever have been omitted. Hazelhurst was one of the stars of the day. Bouterey’s Jong passes put him more or less out of range of Solo-

mon, and he cut the defence to shreds on several occasions with brilliant runs. Innes was a solid link in the chain of backs, but in defence he and Hazelhurst were sometimes left standing when Jamieson and Cornthwaite got going in their clever style. Caughey found Oliver's defence very sound, but the Auckland All Black was more than a match for him with a clever corkscrew run, which at one thrilling stage of the game looked like ending in a score for the northerners. Forwards do the Work. Milliken outshone Pearson as a winger and played a really solid game opposite Brown.

remain out of the scrums and play as a wing - forward, which he did to great effect He was a versatile link with the fiveeighths, and a champion rover all through, but his style was considerably cramped by the attention paid to him by King and Thompson. Solomon in all his glory was not more

than a match for King round the scrum, and the Canterbury man played the game of his life in the loose. Thompson came into his own as a smart breakaway and was second only to King in his particular style of loose play. Bouterey v. Corner. The diminutive Corner carried more guns than Bouterey in the first half, particularly in work on the blind side of the scrum, at which , he was an adept. These moves, which Canterbury set out to watch closely, had them napping now and again, but Pearson could not get far away from the speedy 1 Lac*. sand there- .was cm Canterbury’s part more backing up in defence than Auckland exhibited. Corner’s star waned somewhat in the second half as the Canterbury hacks came to the attack, and Bouterey proved a clever half at marshalling his backs, though some of his badly directed passes left Ilazelfcurst in a hopeless position. Hazelhurst Brilliant. All the Canterbury backs played well, especially Hazelhurst, who was not on

For positional play and judicious use of the line, Roberts had it over Bush. Too much praise cannot be given to the Canterbury forwards, who worked like heroes in the tight work and took their turn in the loose. They broke up faster from the scrums and had a better idea of supporting their backs than had Auckland, who left too much to Solomon. Manchester, King, Thompson and Perkins were champions in the loose and shirked none of the tight work. Hadley, Palmer, Batty and the eighteen-stone Kahu were the pick of the Auckland forwards.