EYES ON THE RUGBY FIELD

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 205, 31 August 1932, Page 4

EYES ON THE RUGBY FIELD

(Bn

"CROSS-BAR").

Wanted: A mathematician or an Algebraist for the Fixtures Committee of the Metropolitan Rugby Union. Duties: To try and ascertain the 1932 Cup winners on the figures now on the ladder. ' Aery few final rounds of a Cup eom- | petition have ever presented the tangle that the Wanganui Metropolitan Union is faced with at the present time. The writer tried to show possibilities in Monday’s issue, but by no means exhausted the sequence of “ifs” that dazzle the eye of one trying to seek the winners, or the likely final. For instance, a draw each to Kaierau and Old Boys was not taken into consideration. Neither was a draw considered in both matches Old Boys are drawn to play. One could go on almost endlessly and never find a solution. It is a pity that representative matches are falling as to seriously interrupt the Cup competition. It would certainly be better if the issue could be decided straight out. Two representative fixtures and a race .Saturday make the position very complicated, but there is this fact to remember—the players, because of the keen competition for the Cup, are keeping in strict training and theieby creating a good field for the selectors. If Cup competitions finish players will not train on the off chance of getting into the representative team and it. often happens that a selector, stuck for talent, has to call on men who are only partially fit. Last Saturday’s match between Tech [Old Boys and Kaierau was little short of a battle between two fairly well matched sets of forw r ards. It was hard to decide definitely which pack was the better. Taking territorial advantage into account honours would probably go to Technical Old Boys. They would certainly have been unlucky to lose. But the same opinion might equally apply to Kaierau. Both sets of backs failed on attack. Slow insides proved their undoing. It was true, of course, that forwards in both teams broke quickly and caught the backs before they could get under way. There was a certain amount of -contrast, between Kaierau’s backs and those of the opposition, in that the maroons did get the ball to the threequarter lie on occasions, whereas the blue and whites hardly had their best medium of attack in action all day. Rayner, behind the Kaierau puck, had to stand up to a great deal of hard play. Technical Old Boys had realistic strength in the van. and the head of their pack kept breaking hard on the maroon, inside defence. Taking all things into consideration Rayner did well to get his backs started as often as he did. He was palpably slow, however, and his penchant for kicking was not as effective as usual. lie was smothered too often. O’Keefe played a fair game on the Jay. He, too, had a hard task to stand up to the breaking maroon forwards. Bert Delves was too slow to reap much reward after O 'Keefe had functioned, however, and Kaierau appeared to have no difficulty to block attacks before thci- reached the three-quarter line. It was obvious that the policy of Technical Old Boys should have been to open the game up. Their real power lav with the three-quarters, but as not one passing rush came clear to the wings, it can be understood how they were handicapped in the matter of using that power. And on the day play was made more often towards Crichton than Brisco. Crichton is not the fast finisher that Brisco is. Brisco hardly handled the bull in a real attacking move. Ills part was confined mainly to defence, or he came into the picture after those occasions in which play had broken in the Kaierau line. In the Kaierau back line, after the ball had been handed to the wings, there was not sufficient pace in the insidej to come round in support. Technical Old Boys’ defence was always effective also. and that robbed Kaierau of gaining the finish they sought on the day. Technical Old Boys’ lack of finish was, in the main, due to their own slowness or .lack of appreciation of suitable moments t-c open the game up. Two or three good chances were thrown away through hesitation when fast backs were waiting for the ball. Burgess played a very fair game on the wing for Kaierau. but he was well marked and got few chances after the blue and white defence had played havoc with the inside maroon line. Osrnau, Kaierau’s other winger, had difficulty in handling tho ball. The maroons bad il Happy ” Hogg out on the last line of defence. This player responded well and got his side out of many difficulties. Technical Old Boys’ kick-up-field tactics proved of little ‘ avail against him. Little chance was given North to prove his speed as centre. Dennis, who marked him, was very rigid on defence and one run of North’s, that which sent him corkscrewing to the opposite corner of the field, was probably undertaken in an endeavour to escape a defence that was so rigid that it could not be passed. Incidentally, that move of North's nearly caught the blue and whites by surprise. Kaierau’s defence functioned well < lose in to the. scrum, with the result that the backs outside did not have to appear very often as tacklers. >< 'richton was tackled hard early in the match ami that proved that one maroon wing, at least, would have taken some passing. H"gg, the Kaierau full-back, hardly had to tackle all day. but he had a hefty part to play in the face 'of the opposing forwards and in chasing the ball kicked high. Dennis, Technical Old Boys’ centre, has not regained his form as an attacking back. Both his handling and kicking were below his best. His ability on defence, however, did much to pro l oct Weir ar. full-back. Ou the day Weir was fair in a position that he had bcei pitchforked into in Hie last mat'-h ler c". Denoic backed him up well and eloßEd a gap once ui twice wheu he i failed. ' Smith, the Kaierau junior boy, who was played at second five-eighths, I showed great promise. He and Btow- • ••’•s. who played in the ba-k row of jlhe scrum, were promotions from the,

grade down under. Stowers put plenty of life into his play and both these lads reminded people of the fine field the maroons have created for themselves in the junior ranks. ‘ There was just a little bit more life in the blue and white pack for most ; of the game than in the maroons’. Per- | haps •‘more youth,” would be a better , term. Hutchison. Durie, Aitchcson. Marshall. Craig. Ellis. Thompson and Burrell—it was probably tho best pack the blue and whites have had out this year. On the day’s form it suggested that it would test the best in the Wanj ganui competition. AVith more finish in the backs this set of forwards will beat any of the teams striving for the cup. Kaierau, apart from looking to the grades, looked, also to the past for ; talent to build up the pack for the day. Charles, who was hooker for the representative teain last year, was called upon for the first time this season. This is the van the maroons put in the field—Stowers, H. Firmin, Byres. AV. Firmin, Glonn, Pleasants, Charles and Thorburn. Those players responded with a great deal of vim, but their play was more of the bullocking type than that of the blue and whites who displayed a little better ability at controlling the ball with the feet. Both teams would have been unlucky to lose ou tho day. Under such circumstances a draw was a satisfactory result. Technical Old Boys’ players who were close to Durie when he crossed into the maroon goal say that there were several pairs of hands on the ball before he got. it down. In such circumstances the referee’s ruling was quite the proper one. As was expected Marist proved a hard nut for Old. Boys to crack. On the day the greens were unlucky. It often happens with a team that every Hight of the ball seems to go against them. Such a state of affairs was noticeable from the greens’ point of view. In the second spell, however. Old Boys were just able to assert themselves as a superior force for a short period. That proved the greens’ undoing. Once their line had been i crossed their opposition wilted considerably. It was obvious that this match was a I strenuous effort by the Old Boys’ forwards to get their backs opportunities to finish. Opposing the red van was a very determined green pack. Led by Matthews and Buckley this force gave the reds all they wanted in the first spell. There was no score and when half-time came there were many apprehensive Old Boy supporters. One move in the red backs just gave the reds the little bit of superiority they sought. Marist. appeared to take unto themselves an inferiority complex and Old Boys scored again shortly after, increasing their lead to eight points, on the day the winners were not more than five points better, perhaps only three. Old Boys’ backs were not placed correctly to encourage combination. It was a mistake to play Curtayne as a five-eighth. His handling was never sure. Apart front that he might have made a good inside back, but with that weakness he should not have been teamed with a line of backs bent on getting the ball out to the wings as fast as possible. Blyth played his backs up fairly well, though he was still inclined to run into the ruck too often. Because of that and the weakness in the fiveeighth line the centre and wings hal mighty little chance. Gibson rarely made openings in keeping with his usual ability. Egan was penalised also. This player again proved his usefulness, however, in smartly changing defence into attack. He can pick tho ball up from the toes of forwards and initiate a jjassing rush in his own backs. Mitchell made his re-appearance for the reds on the wing. His handling and tackling were not as effective as they might, have been, but he made up for lapses in these directions by always “giving it a go” when he got the ball, which was not often. That he was the player to score first was perhaps fitting after his enforced absence from the game. Spriggens, on the other wing, handled and kicked better than his team mate, but did not display his determination on attack. M'arist improved their back play by playing J. Phillips at the base of the scrum. He is of the rugged type, gives a good pass and is particularly game. His tendency to come round and watch the overlap of attacking wings was noticeable on Saturday, and. emulated the play of Jack Morgan and Jack Duncan. Phillips deserved his selection as the Metropolitan half. Old Boys’ handling was remarkably weak. It was disheartening to see this team of good backs failing in this direction. Very few of the backs could pick up a rolling ball with any certainty. Egun was a lone exception. .Marist distinguished themselves by low tackling. It was inspiring to see how tho green vanguard shaped in this direction. Upstoii. on the last line of defence for Marist, proved himself again in handling the ball and kicking. He was better in both these respects than Reid, but did not equal the Old Boys’ custodian at tackling and going down. Strangely enough Pearce, the Old Boys’ forward who got his place from the reserve list, proved to be one of tho outstanding forwards on tho field. Agnew and Brooker both played well also. In the Marist pack Buckley, Matthews and F. Phillips were the pick. These are the blocks of matches that have yet to be played in the Senior Cup third round:—Block No. 1: Kaierau v. Old Boys; Pirates v. Technical Old Boys; Marist a bye. Block No. 2: Technical Old Boys v. Ohl Boys: Pirates v. Marist; Kaierau a bye. :: :: t: | The important point before the Mutiageinent Committee now is to decide which block should be played first. At tho moment the committee has not had au opportunity of discussing tho subject, but it ir, presumed that when they do come to do So it will be decided to play the first block on Saturday week —Old Boys against Kaierau and Technical Old Boys against Pirates. The only drawback to that would bo that Kaierau. unlike the other i-.lubs. would I not hn\o a hyp until the r-ml of lire

round. But against that it must be remembered that the maroons suffered just the same breaks as the other clubs did in respect to representative matches. Another difficulty to be got over in playing block No. 1 will be the times at which the two matches should be played. With daylight lasting fairly well now that could be coped with, however. however. Another point to note, also, is that Kaierau, if they do not play on, Saturday 1 before getting another until October 1 before getting another match. Needs must when the Devil drives, however, and the committee must have the position made clear. (Since the above was written the committee has discussed the matter and was practically unanimous on playing Kaierau-Old Boys and Pirates-Tech-nical Old Boys, provided the first match kick-off not later than 2 p.m.) Next Saturday there will be two interesting representative matches played in Wanganui—Wangauui v. Mauawhenua and Metropolitan v. Wainui-a-rua. AVanganui teams chosen can be relied upon to play well and bright Rugby is anticipated in both matches. In a letter received by a New Zealand resident from S. J. Malcolm, some interesting opinions of the latest New Zealand team are given by the noted Australian half-back, who also touches upon Australia's prospects iu jSouth Africa and other matters, one of which is his displacement from the captaincy of the Now .South Wales team. Malcolm says:—“l must congratulate you New Zealanders on winning the Blodisloe Cup. I think it was a great effort, considering the team that was sent over, and that all the credit is due to •Billy’ 'Wallace. He made a wonderful team of them —the best team. I think that I have played against. At fir?* I thought we would wiq the Test matches, but the All Blacks developed into a great combination. The for wards put it all over ours. and. of course, I had a wonderful time, seeing about six forwards coming at me all day. When New Zealand beat us in the. second Test I thought our selectors would strengthen up our forwards and put in some good, hard ruckers. Anywav. we were well and truly beaten, and T don’t know how we will fare in South Africa. ‘‘The 1932 New Zealand players were the best-liked team that has been o.ver here, by all accounts. They played the game in the right, spirit, and I did not see one punch delivered in any of the matches. I thoroughly enjoyed every match that I played against them. I think Page was the mainstay in the backs. We. made the fiveeighth position look easy, and he was never troubled by our breakaways. Kilby also played good football in the last ihree games. Of course, the. forwards got plenty of the ball, and Kilby served it out wonderfully well. I thought Innes, tho. centre from Christchurch. was worth his place in the Tost side. ITp runs very hard and straight, and is a. groat defender. T would have preferred him in my team. Ball also played well over hero. All tho forwards played like forwards. Solomon was always in everything. Purdue was a great line-out man, and in the second Test, he was a superman. Tt would be hard to single anv one forward out that was not worth his place. “I only wish we had a few of them [to go to South Africa with us. Tt will not be long now before our team is selected. It will be announced in September. “I think I must be slipping, as I have been displayed from rue captaincy of the New South Wales side in favour of Alex. Boss. (That was for the match two weeks ago.) .1. have captained New South AVales since 1928. and I suppose it is time they had change. Anyway, good luck to Alex. “Saturday’s gate (North v. Manly) at North Sydney Oval was a club gate record—lo,ooo people —so you can »eo that the old g-arne is progressing. The New Zealand tour was disappointing as far as the finance was concerned. I think we will only make about £2OO profit, by all accounts. I have not heard anything official yet.” On the return of the Auckland team to Auckland this week, Mr. F. E. Sutherland, the manager, had a good deal to say regarding experiences on the tour, which was regarded as probably the longest ever undertaken in New Zealand by a provincial side, over 2'500 miles having been covered. “If we had played as well as we did against* Wellington tnere may have been a different story to toll,” said Mr. Sutherland, iu discussing tho Ran furly Shield majch against Canterbury. “The inside backs have been accused of being the weakness, but they were not tho main one. The chief weakness was our forwards. They wore slow in breaking, and their slowness was probably duo to a hard tour. The Canterbury forwards were always quick to break, and. they swarmed round the ball all day. They swept through before our forwards were able to cover. Just as we swarmed over Wellington, Cautorbury i'urjvards swarmed over us.” Confident, but not cocksure, the Aucklanders did well iu the early stages. They gol a bigger percentage of the ball, but Mr. Sutherland pointed out that most tries came from the unexpected rather than from set formations. Corner was always sound. The three-quarter line played well, and Caughey gave a good exhibition. It was the first time on the tour that the team played on a solid ground—in the other matches, the greasy ball and greasy field had nullified back play. Clark and Pearson showed themselves players of promise, and Milliken sailer for tho line with all his old dash and determination. Bush was dropping the ball, and he hardly took one cleanly all day. He also found difficulty in getting the lino. i ‘The forwards plodded along, but they were not on their toes,” said Mr. Sutherland. “The only thing that 1 could put that down to was continual travelling and too much play on soft grounds. AV t - varied our tactics, but could not find u way through. Corner tried solo work, and Caughey wont on his own. Ch>ee Caughey wab almost over, lie cut clean through and a try looked certain, but a Canterbury back managed to tap his heel and he stumbled and fell. Southern officials said that Canterbury played one of the rare games that Canterbury can play. They could not he reeogniHwT as: piaci n-ally (the same (mini which played Soul). UnnlciT'iirv the previous Sa Inrdny. "

Naturally, the team was delighted with its win oxer Wellington, but they were sorry that Wellington had to com plete tho iniftch with only 14 men. “1 am more than ever firmly convinced that the rule barring replacements is a wrong one,” said Mr. Sutherland. “We suffered mure I han our opponents in this respect, and the fact that some of Iho men played on with injuries only intensified their hurt, and their rneovery was made slower. The standard o' - refereeing could not bo classed high. 'Some of tho referees showed a lack of knowledge of the new scrum rules, and this naturally bewildered our players for a time.”