MARIST DEFEATED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 90, Issue 167, 22 July 1946, Page 7

MARIST DEFEATED

IMPROVED SHOWING BY OLD BOYS’ FORWARDS (By “Carisbrook.”) AH hough they fielded a scratch team, Wanganui and Old Boys, by working together in the forwards, and by their better understanding among the inside backs, defeated Marist by 17 points to 5. The game, on the whole, was scrappy, with only occasional patches of interesting play. The Old Boys’ forwards played a solid game as a pack, and with the weight behind him, D. Almond secured the majority of the ball from the set scrums. In the absence of P. Wilson, J. Cook played behind the scrum, his delivery to K. Welsh being quite good. Welsh, as usual, was a tower of strength, and with Moore Hunter outside him, they combined very well. A well-known forward (Monty Allan) played at centre, and a good showing he made, in spite of the unaccustomed position. His tackling was very solid, and when called upon to combine in a passing movement, he was there. On the wings were D. Nancarrow and the veteran “Bill” Rutherford, neither of whom was called upon to do a great amount. Nancarrow made the better showing of the two, and an attractive try in the corner was secured by him in the second spell. Playing full-back was another veteran—'M. Clay. Although he was slowing up towards the end of the game, he got through some useful work. Except for a brief period, shortly after the start of the second spell, the Marist forwards did not play with their usual dash, and allowed Old Boys to come through them on numerous occasions. The backs went quite well when given the opportunity, but for the most part Old Boys’ inside backs kept their opposing players well marked and allowed them little freedom of movement. G. Williams played a good game behind the scrum and served L. Walden with fast and well directed passes. R. Bruce (second five-eighth) and T. McCashin (centre) were a good combination, but in spite of several determined attempts, they could not bring their efforts to bear fruit.

Knox Welsh opened the scoring with a penalty goal after about ten minutes of play, giving Old Boys an early three-point lead. There was no further score until about halfway through the spell, although Marist came within an ace of scoring a spectacular try. T. McCashin intercepted a pass from Hunter to Allan, ran through and kicked. D. Sullivan came up with him and carried the ball on at his toe, but Welsh, following up fast, just beat him to the ball as it crossed the goal line, and forced. Old Boys were getting the ball from the scrums. On the Marist twentyfive, Cook received and shot the ball out to Welsh, who stab-kicked through. Nancarrow, in trying to gather the ball up, knocked on, but from the resultant scrum V. Halford—fast side row forward—carried the ball across the line for a try. Welsh missed with the conversion.—Old Boys 6, Marist 0. There was no further incident, before the interval. For ten minutes after the resumption of play the Marist forwards played with plenty of dash, and they drove Old Boys back deep into their own territory. The forwards hooked to Williams, who set his backs in motion, the ball reaching McCashin, who kicked. , Sullivan followed up, but in attempting to gather it up came into violent collision with an Old Boys player and was injured. However, McCashin was there, and he picked up and went across. Bruce converted.— Old Boys 6, Marist 5. OLD BOYS RETURN

It was not long before Old Boys’ forwards again took the initiative and a loose attack resulted in K. Stone scoring a try, which Welsh converted. —Old Boys 11, Marist 5. Stone was an outstanding forward on the day, and with E. Withers, S. Ireland, and McKnight and Halford also playing good football, the pack pleased with its performance. D. Nancarrow was the next to boost Old Boys’ score, his try after a strong run down the line being a meritorious one. The kick failed, and Old Boys stood nine points ahead. Another strong forward rush towards the end of the game was finished off again by Stone, who scored his second try, both of which demonstrated ihe value of following up. Welsh’s final attempt at goal failed, and the game ended with ihe scores. Wanganui and Old Boys 17, Marist 5. Mr. C. Spriggens was Ihe referee. The teams were as follows: Old Boys. -Backs: M. Clay; D. Nanvarrow, M. Allan, W. Rutherford; M. Hunter, K. Welsh; J. Cook. Forwards: S. Ireland; K. Stone, D. McGregor, E. Withers, R. McKnight; W. Scott, D. Almond, V. Halford. Marist.—Backs: F. Managh; T. Griffen, T. McCashin, D. Sullivan: R. Bruce. L. Walden: G. Williams. Forwards: A. Roszka; M. Griffen, P. Haddick, H. O'Leary, D. O’Leary; P. Wiwi, L. Managh, F. Huwyler.