PRIMARY SCHOOL RUGBY WON BY RANGITIKEI

Wanganui Chronicle, 24 August 1949, Page 6

PRIMARY SCHOOL RUGBY WON BY RANGITIKEI

Wanganui Was Runner-Up NEW PLYMOUTH, Last Night (OC) I—Defeating Manawatu in the final Iseries of games, Rangitikei won the 18th annual quadrangular Rugby tournament for primary schools which concluded at New Plymouth today. Rangitikei won all three of its matches, Wanganui won two, Manawatu one and Taranaki none. Results were: Rangitikei 3 v. iManawatu 0; Wanganui 6 v. Taranaki 3. The match between Rangitikei and Manawatu was evenly contested, and although not spectacular was full of interest. The Rangitikei backs were most impressive with their speed and in the first half were far more dangerous. Effective tackling by Manawatu and an occasional tendency for the Rangitikei backs to run too far with the ball, however, caused one or two promising movements to break down.

Manawatu pressed hard in the second half and often came close to scoring, but each time just failed to pierce the defence. The Rangitikei pack was the heavier, and- working more as a unit, often burst through the less cohesive Manawatu forwards with vigorous rushes. The standard of line-kicking by both full-backs wa s often of a very high standard and the length of the kicks was at times exceptional for schoolboys. Rangitikei s score consisted of a try by R. Kingi. Wanganui just managed to beat Taranaki in a hard-fought and, at times, dour struggle. Neither side had any outstanding advantage, either in weight or speed, and what back movements there were were short-lived because of the vigorous defence of both sides. The Taranaki backline, reorganised after the earlier games, functioned more smoothly, but found the defence determined. The packs were evenly matched and broke even in the scrums and line-outs. Both produced hard, purposeful rushes that swept play from end to end, at times completely cnanging the fortune of the game. Wanganui’s score was made up of tries by A. Papworth and G. Stuart, and for Taranaki L. Styles scored a try.