FIRST RUGBY WIN

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21179, 31 July 1940, Page 10

FIRST RUGBY WIN

WAIKATO TEAM’S FORM DISPLAY AX TAURANGA BACKS PLAY BETTER GAME ■ Had the form shown by the Waii kato Rugby representatives against Bay of Plenty at Tauranga on Saturday been displayed when the side met Auckland at Auckland rececntly, | the result at Eden Park may have i been a different one. Waikato com- ■ manded the game against Bay of Plenty last Saturday in a manner : which bore out an earlier conteni tion that the Waikato team would be a match-winning combination this season if the backs were in form. Had the forwards been more prominent in feeding the ball to the backs the V/jukato score may have reached a big total. It was not the fault of ;E. H. Catley, the hooker, however, that Waikato failed to secure the ball more often from the scrum. Future Fixtures 1 Although Bay of Plenty is not considered to be a strong fifteen, the : form of the Waikato players revives the hope that Waikato may yet be ‘ able to lower Auckland’s colours this • season. The chance will come on August 10 at Hamilton in a fixture ■ which should command mure public ! attention than usual. Waikato lias the form to make a brilliant tussle of the match if the backs and forwards play up to the form of which it lias now been shown they are capable. However, Auckland is likely to be a | vastly improved team by August 10 : as it will have had by then the advantage of a tour which so far has been tremendously successful. Wai- ■ kato’s ability to secure the ball from the scrum, however, may give our backs an advantage which a repetition of the form shown at Tauranga : would enable the fifteen to present a | stout challenge to Auckland. On ' August 31 Waikato will play Thames • Valley, at Morrinsville, the fixture j being the last oi' the representative • programme for Waikato. A Brilliant Forward j Each game played by Waikalo adds : strength to the opinion that P. J. Farreii, of Tauuiri. has been the big- , gest "lincT in Waikato forward play lor many years. Newcomers to the ' district oflc-n have difficulty in gaining representative status in the forwards because of the high class of the Waikato pack. Even Farren, who had won warranted praise for his club-game displays in the early part ; of the season, failed to win Waikato j selection for the first team selected to play Auckland in the game which I was never played. His prominence |in club play, however, forced his claims and he was chosen to play in ; the games against King Country and Auckland. Then he was prominent • but against Bay of Plenty on Saturj day he was the most prominent forward on the ground, playing a magI nilicent game

Played Fine Games A. Maclean again showed at Tauranga that he is a fine loose forward who has improved immensely even since being given his first chance in the Waikato team at Auckland. Satherley played his first game on Saturday and impressed, particularly in line-out work. One of the best of the Waikato forwards, however, was W. Daniell (Waipa) who was right on the ball from start to finish. Warrender played up to his usual consistent high standard.

Disappointing Backs There was no doubt that City had the speedier and more youthful backs in the game against Old Boys but, although they faced weak tackling,

they did not make as much use of their opportunities as xhey could have. Dobson, at half, played his best game for some time and Hand, a promoted junior, showed distinct promise but otherwise the line lacked cohesion. Featherstonhaugh, Old Boys’ diminutive half, sent out a long pass when given time but by failing to tackle low allowed City’s forwards to come straight through too often. None of the other backs impressed. In the Scrums J. M. Taylor played a splendid game on Saturday, also, and, next to Farren, he was the best player in the pack. Waikato appeared to have trouble in the scrum. Nearly every time the ball was placed in the scrum E. H. Catley, the hooker, was penalised. Catley has won New Zealand renown for hooking, and he easily cut-hooked the opposition at Auckland, and throughout all these games he was rarely penalised. It seemed strange, therefore, that decisions should rule him out of order in the scrums at Tauranga. Waikato had to depend upon its ability in the line-outs to make its openings against Bay of Plenty. Another Fine Game A redeeming feature of the CityOld Boys game was the excellent play of the fullbacks, Brighouse, particularly, again impressing. His positional play again enabled him to clear many of Old Boys rushes while lus sure handling, dexterity in picking up a rolling ball and great kicking saved City time and again. Albert Lissctte. Old Boys fullback, was the steadiest player on his side. He was the only one who tackled low consistently and he marked very cleverly in the lace of City's forward rushes on several occasions, j His line kicking was as accurate as ; usual. Waikato’s Backs | It is idle to speculate what may j have been the result of the Auck- ! land game had R. Everest been able j to take his place alongside L. G. C. Reece to make up Waikato’s five- | eighth combination. The game is i now a thing of the past but the dis--1 play of these twv five-eighths at I Tauranga on Saturday again indi- | cated that, together, they are two i of the finest inside backs that the I district has possessed for many seasons. They work in together spleni didly and many of the best move- ; men is at Tauranga were the result 1 oi the clever understanding between i them. When Reece made a break

through Everest was always with him and repeatedly Everest had the support of Reece when the former took the initiative. A. J. Aitken was not as prominent against Bay of Plenty and on occasions he appeared to have difficulty in keeping pace with i the attack. C. Perkins was again a 1 good winger and he secured one excellent try. Repeatedly, however, chances were spoiled for him because Aitken was not always fast enough to provide the link between Everest j and Perkins. On one occasion Per- ; kins caused a ripple of mirth to float j over the ground as he dodged from i one wing right across the field to the other flank before floundering in jumps, dodges, and fends apparently 1 confused in which direction to proceed. The fact was that Perkins had dodged in so many directions evading the opposition that he had actually lost his bearings and did i!ot know for the moment in which ■ direction the goal lay. Worked as Individuals Most of the play in the City-Old , Boys match was left to the forwards and, for the greater part of the game both sets worked as individuals. There were few concerted forward movements, the only one of any note being when Old Boys forwards handled the ball well in a dash of nearly half the field, which culminated in Waite scoring. For Old Boys Bremer and Lee were the pick while Spiro, the Keen brothers and Johnson were always up with the j play for City. Very Poor Tackling The standard of play in the City- ! Old Boys match on No. 1 ground, Rugby Park, was very disappointing j especially when the great games of j earlier in the season are taken into j consideration. The most disappointing feature was the very poor tack- j ling, particularly by Old Boys and it was really remarkable that City did not win by a much greater margin. Too much kicking by both teams also spoilt the game lor the spectators and , only at one stage,.just after halftime, was the enthusiasm ol the , crowd apparent. The play was then : brighter with both teams attempting . to open up the play and with botn j securing points it looked like develop- j ing into a fine match. However, it slipped back into a scramble.