RUGBY LEAGUE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20364, 23 July 1934, Page 11

RUGBY LEAGUE.

Hornby Prove Too Good for Sydenham. RURU’S GOOD FIGHT. Hornby % proved too good for Sydenham on Saturday afternoon, and won comfortably the game which decided the Canterbury Rugby League’s senior championship. In the first round of the Vivian Cup series, a knock-out competition, Ruru gave Addington a hard tussle in the first spell, the score at half-time being nine-all. The Limvood-Xew Brighton game was ragged, Lin wood winning by a good margin. The games resulted: Hornby 14. Sydenham 4. Lin wood 17. New Brighton 9. Addington 15, Ruru 9.

sc SLOW TO START. Hornby, who did not wake up until half-way through the game, played two men short in their game with Sydenham, but, in spite of this, the home team could not turn on play equal to that of the visitors. Hornby were superior in both backs and forwards, and left no doubt as to which was the better side.

One of the best players on the field was B. Ayson, the Sydenham full-back, who excelled himself both on attack and defence. Later, when he was moved up to the three-quarter line, he proved just as nippy and safe, and -worked hard all the time. E. Hamberger, on the Sydenham wing, justified his position, but he is a better forward than a back.

Hornby’s full-back, Standeven, was inclined to be erratic, though he put in some defensive work and made his side a lot of ground. Of the two halves, J. Sheehy was much superior to T. Thin, but the former was helped considerably by Airev, his hooker. Vivian, Hornby’s best forward, was a tower of strength to his side, especially as they were playing, for a time, with two men out of their pack. Woodgate also was prominent.

For Sydenham, J. Madden, T. Carey and W. Carey were the best of a hardworking bunch. The state of the ground —almost a quagmire—prevented really bright back play, but both teams made the best of conditions, and it was a bright display under the circumstances. A POOR GAME. The Addington v. Ruru match, played at North Park, was decidedly poor and uninteresting. Neither side equalled the high standard of some of their previous games. The Adding-ton backs broke the monotony now and then by indulging: In some spectacular passing rushes. C. Brimble, J. Amos and L. Young were prominent in this department. But their work was the result of smart play by F. Beban. the half-back. When he received the ball from the scrums lie whipped it out clean’ - and smartly. The Addington forwards were a better pack than the ouposition, and had a monopoly of the scrums.

"VS . Boniface, full-back for Addington, was incline.! to be slow, but made amends by some good line-kicking. F. Priest, on the wing, and H. Knight (centre), were always safe, especially the former, who made many inspiring runs. Of the forwards. E. Barbarel stood out because of his excellent work. Me is gifted with plenty of speed and uses it to great advantage. O. Falgar, L. Harding and R. Ward grafted hard. Ruru’s main fault was that its players continually got off-side, especially v hen m a promising position. Two were lest because of this fact. ' ~_ e 11 an< * J Foster were the best of the backs. Unfortunately the latter bn*! to go off at half-time because of an injured knee. His absence was felt in the second spell. A. and C. Murray, P. Teague, T. Sommerville and V. Reid showed up in the scrums and loose rushes. LINWOOD’S BRIGHT BACKS. Linwood succeeded in running New Brighton off their feet in the game at Rawhiti Domain. The Linwood backs were enterprising and, led by F. Jackson and S. Avers, swept half-way down the field with passing rushes on several occasions. The diminutive Jackson was as elusive as ever. M. T. Smith and R. Falgar stood out in the Linwood forwards, but the whole pack worked well. New Brighton again had several regular players missing, but did all they could. The backs were led by M. Davis and the forwards by C. R. Bailey, who kept up his reputation for a try in every game by scoring on two occasions. T. R. Closney played an excellent game at full-back for New Brighton, maintaining a marked improvement in form.

In Other Places. Per Pres® Association. AUCKLAND, July I*2. Ponsonby 6. Devon port 5: Richmond 13. Marist 10; Newton 17. City •>. NAPIER. July 21. Te Xgarue 28, Te Awa 9: Taradule 22. City 2; Clive defeated Ahuriri. GREYMOUTH, July 21. Inangahua 28, West Coast 18. DUNEDIN. July 22. Pacific 8. City 0; Christian Brothers 9 Athletic 0.