FOOTBALL

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 413, 23 June 1898, Page 7

FOOTBALL

[By

Vigilant.]

THE CUP MATCHES.

A n unusual amount of interest attached to last Saturday’s district cup competitions, and more t'Z particularly in the Newton v. Parnell match, played in front of the stand. Newton had won five matches in succession, passing through without defeat, thus establishing a clear lead of one match for the cup honors, and in the event of their not receiving a check it was generally coni' , ceded that the other clubs would have very little ■ chance of reaching them in the second round. Parnell recognised this, and laid themselves out , to bring about the defeat of the red and whites, but although they made a great bid for victory they proved unable to accomplish the task, Newton again coming out on top by 16 points to 9. the win being full of sterling merit and showing • that the district is possessed of a fine fifteen. As the matches completed the first round in the ‘ competition, and it is hardly likely that Newton will lose the season’s honors—having two clear p wins to the good —I append the table showing the positions of the different clubs : — Points

• Note—lt will be seen from the above table that North '■ft Shore and Suburbs have only played five matches, this being due to the postponement, through some misunderstanding on the part of the clubs concerned, of the match arranged for Saturday fortnight.

Pillenger played a rattling good game at full' '* / ' back for Newton, getting out of difficulties very smartly. Roberts was the pick of the Newton three- . .quarters, and in addition to a strong attacking t? game showed good defensive play. ftjft Kirkwood played very well, as did also Freest man at times, though the latter mulled his takes rather badly on two or three occasions. ;*• Mynott is undoubtedly a smart five-eights, B’ and clever in making openings, but nullifies his . value in this respect by clinging to the ball too long instead of passing. [ftp. Clarke distinguished himself on the wing tor / Newton, while in the forwards Otway, Lewis, 'Wilson, and Eaton were the best of a good allftl. round lot, not a man shirking his share of the ft “ graft.” Eaton scored two of Newton’s tries and kicked a goal from a mark, thus contributing ph” 10 of the 16 points scored by the team. k ' Hedges, at full-back for Parnell, kicked very ft, well, and with the exception of an error in attempting to force a ball on the bounce, which cost Parnell three points, played a useful game. ftft ' Asher was as good as ever, and played a dandy three quarter game for Parnell. 'I hat run in , whjch he and Laws were the principal factors, ~ft’ ft and’which ended in his scoring a try, was as pretty a bit of work as we have seen this season, ft. ■' and illustrated the wonderful pace of which he >?/ is possessed. Other features were his fine taek'ft. ling and taking of the ball. ' Laws was up to his best form, and kicked . splendidly. !.ft Laing made a great five-eights, but Pierce, behind the scrum, was not up to the mark. ft" Murray played a fine forward game, but his Bq place-kicking was decidedly off. Others in this 'ft' division calling for mention are Handcock and Hogan, and Whitley on the wing. While the result of the Parnell v. Newton match was a surprise to the majority at Potter’s Paddock, a greater surprise was the drubbing ft ' meted out to Grafton by the North Shore fifteen, ft who won by 14 points to 5. The best full-back game in Saturday’s matches , was undoubtedly that of Smith, at full for Grafton at the Shore. The clean aud skilful manner in which he pulled his side out of tight places ; was a treat to witness. J' Of the other Grafton backs the Hume brothers ft (2) and Tait were the best, though the whole of : the combination in this division was not what it ki has been in previous matches, due no doubt in a [ft / measure to the absence of D. Hay and the fact that Fielder, who replaced him, did not play ,ft anything like so well as I have seen him in bygone days. The Grafton forwards were undoubtedly over- • matched in weight, but played determinedly. • McGregor, Cucksey, and Brady were always ftconspicuous. Cardno, the North Shore full-back, was again •ft below his best form, and though very little was ftft .lost to his side by his indifferent taking of the ft ball, this was nevertheless his weak point. Francis proved himself a valuable addition to ft” the Shore three-quarters, and played a strong aggressive game right through. g’? Nicholson played right away above himself, doing a wonderful amount of work, and the ft Gerrards both showed themselves in a favorable ft light . ft- ’ The Shore forwards showed great improvement ft‘, in combination, and pulled together right well. Marshall was always in the thick of the fight, ' V and veleran though he is, there are few that can ft beat him among our younger players. Others prominent were Pitt and Dacre, though not a i ft . man dodged his full share of work. ftv City went under once again, this time to . Suburbs, who won by 11 points to nil. City have ft how lost the six matches played, and had 63 points scored against them, and have only scored

McPike, Absolum, and Gage were the best of the winning team’s backs, the first-named playing a rattling game. McKenzie, Speight, and Gillett were again on the scene, and as usual were always in the van. Others noticeable in the front were Waterman and Williams.

Donovan was very safe at full back for City, while of the others in the rear division none showed up better than Siddle and Meehan, while Cories did good service behind the pack. Browne, McKean, Beeston, and Tyler gave a good account of themselves in the forwards.

On Friday evening last at a general meeting of the Auckland Rugby Union the proposal to extend the residential qualification of visiting players to fonr weeks instead of one -week as was previously the cag,e. The motion was only adopted by a narrow majority, some offering objection on the' ground that as Parnell had benefited by the old system, the week limit should be allowed to continue until the close of the present season, in order that other clubs desirous of so doing might benefit by it. The firm stand taken by the Referees and Auckland Rugby Union in the suppression of insulting remarks on the part of spectators to those in charge of the game has had its effect, and the matches are now particularly free from objectionpractice. Any onlookers found guilty will be warned off the ground. The crowded nature of the Grandstand at Potter’s Paddock last Saturday showed the necessity for an auxiliary grandstand. The well-known City back, Frank Surman. has returned to Australia. Wellington v. Canterbury “reps” meet on August 20th. Coromandel play Thames next Saturday on the latter’s own ground. The Otago Union will probably send a team to Wellington this year.

Referees and players would do well to note the following rulings agreed upon at a meeting of the Association last week in conference with the captains of clubs : —l. That a fair catch must be taken at the first attempt, and any rebound whatever is a knock on. 2. In every case of a man throwing himself on the ball as in stopping a rush, it shall be strictly dealt with and penalised as lying on the ball. 3. In law 11, paragraph E shall be construed as subject to the second portion 7, law 8, as to the option, choice, or penalty (free kick or scrum).

Club Played Won Lost For Against Newton 6 6 0 71 12 < Parnell 6 4 2 73 39 Ponsonby 6 3 3 42 30 : Grafton 6 3 34 35 Suburbs 5 2 3 22 28 g North Shore 5 2 3 21 56 City .6 0 6 3 63