FINAL PRACTICE GAMES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20281, 16 April 1934, Page 11

FINAL PRACTICE GAMES.

Rugby Players Exert Themselves to Win Senior Places. FORWARDS LOOK PROMISING. SATURDAY was the last opportunity before the start of the first grade Rugby competition for clubs to get a good workout for tiieir sides, and most of them indulged in practice games, changing the fifteen around during the game in order to give every candidate a chance. As a result the football was somewhat straggling, but there was ample evidence of talent, and enthusiasts are looking forward to an interesting club series? this year. Christchurch beat Albion by 26 to 11 in their annual friendly game, while Varsity took a 12—6 victory from Athletic. Merivaie overwhelmed the Rakaia Club. Till the teams were changed round at half-time, Sydenham found Sunnvside a hard proposition.

There was little brilliance in the Christchurch-Albion game, the work of the backs being unfinished, an excusable fault at this stage; but there was some good scrummaging, and both sides have material for really good forward packs. Christchurch should be especially strong in that respect. Manchester, Cottrell, Adorian, Wade, Maxwell, Simpson and Price all showed to advantage, and the reserve men brought on at half-time, of whom Anderson was prominent, indicated that there is any amount of material. In the backs, Christchurch are not so well served. They have had the bad luck to lose Shirtcliffe and Pawson for the first part of the season through injury, and they leave a gap. There are good useful half-backs offering, including Joe Gaskin, who played in the position on Saturday. Jack Gaskin, who was in the Old Boys team last season, is a useful addition at first five-eighth. Hart and Fleming are the pick of the four wingers that Christchurch tried. J. M. Ollivier was the most impressive of the new backs tried by either side. He played a sound game at full-back for Christchurch, and should develop with experience into a fine player in that position. The Albion forwards, who were given ?r4°° d - lead by Howell > Dasler and M Hattie, were not far behind the Christchurch pack, even though the wind m the second spell proved too big a Handicap for the side. Preston, Hobson, Clark and Thompson did well on occasions in the backs. When he settles down again after his long spell °f cricket Roberts should be just as useful at full-back as ever. K Christchurch can get a working combination at second five-eighth and beating tC * m EhOL,!d take a lot of SYDEKHAM IN FOBM. Sydenham, -winners of last vearV T e J 0" tood S Sunny--A”! in ” ers of the second grade last * them by 28 to 16. Sunnyside s backs were at fault in the second half, and too often one man Jfft to deal with two or three French, Sydenham’s full-back took wmf / :n ii‘ to settle down, especially was srn.nd m w klC m nB ’ l,Ut after ‘hat was sound. Hazelburst and R. Brown '„r e Prominent In the backs. Fright oirf f.' -.e" ton, a recruit from West pock Boys ' were hard workers in the Shinny-side team should have a good chance m the second grade comwn'l h. 'e iS S ea r- . rspecially as there en.erea £2 Training College fifteen ’ - , T he team has been strengtheuea with some new blood. Two Most Coast men, J. Masters, an ex-Xew Zealand representative, went

well in the backs on Saturday. Hart is a hard tackier, and seldom lets a man past. M’Jannet, who played in the Linwood pack last year, will stiffen up their forwards, and Bowden, a Leeston player, pulls his weight. W. Oliver has lost none of his dash, and Bisphan. Chinnery and Rowe seem to have got into form quickly. Sydenham were able to push through Sunnyside in the loose, but in the tight, when Sunnyside got down to it, thijigs even. FEW BRIGHT SPOTS. . Few bright spots were provided by Varsity and Athletic when they met on the south ground at Lancaster Park, and for most of the time the game resolved itself into a training gallop. Although Varsity won by 12 points to 6, the score should have been wider in their favour, for during the greater part of the game tli.ey kept their lighter opponents penned up. It was only lack of penetrative power that kept them from doubling their score. A number of changes took place in both teams for the second spell, the selectors being anxious try out all the men at their Varsity' have little new material to work on, but the team will be fairly solid when they manage to get the necessary combination. A. H. Andrews the captain, showed that he is still in the front rank as a forward, and the try he scored was a great piece of opportunism. In R. B. Hamilton, Varsity have one of the best of the younger forwards in Canterbury, and from the beginning to the end he could be seen in the van getting through a tremendous amount of good work. M’Auliffe, the half-back, managed to get the ball away well, but the five-eighth failed to do the right thing •nim* times out of ten, and passing movements were rare Athletic are very light, and this year they have filled up a number of gaps with juniors. They played a plucky game, but it does not look as though they will get far, and they may find the burly forwards in many of the other teams too hard to hold. W. Laffey a promoted junior, played a sterling game as full-back and cleared repeatedlv in the face of forward rushes. L. Moran last year’s half-back, acted as half-back and played a fair game. The forwards til,"'? <l wel1 ’ * nd jt is » nity that the.\ have not more weight. The inside backs did not see a great deal of the The tackling of both teams was too ivfjl fo I A! le most part, but the hard f the ?J, oun(:i may have been partly responsible for this. New Brighton Club. ,\i ew Brl el}ton Rusb.v Football h £ !d a . practice matnfl In the Rawhit, Doma,!, on Saturday afternoon for the purpose of grading the teams. The match resulted:—MicMle-weight team 6, under sixteen years 3. M r J. Freebourng was referee. . ■ <^ t T, the contusion of the practice special emergency meeting V s . hel< k Mr J - N. Clarke being in the chair. It was decided to form three teams, a third grade, a sixth grade and a team under sixteen years with a 9st i’rV.V- Th ere is the probability of an additional team being formed.