THE RUGBY GAME.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIX, Issue 1065, 4 August 1910, Page 13

THE RUGBY GAME.

MAORIS v. AUCKLAND. NATIVES’ NARROW WIN. Much has been heard of the doings of the Maori team during their Australasian tour, and. on Saturday Auckland Rugger enthusiasts were given an opportunity of seeing for themselves just how good these" natives are, their opponents being an Auckland representative fifteen. The

match was played at Alexandra Park, and attracted some 2000 spectators. Owing to the fact that a number of the best players who journeyed to Australia with the Maori combination were unavailable, several vacancies had to be filled by local players, and, despite the staleness which generally sets in after a strenuous tour such as the natives have lately completed, the Maoris gave a display full of merit, and succeeded in defeating the chosen of Auckland by 8 points to 6 after an exceedingly fine exhibition- When the Maoris played a drawn game—B points each —with Wellington a fortnight ago they were represented by a stronger team than took the field for them on Saturday so that it would seem that several alterations will be necessary in the Auckland fifteen if they wish to keep the Ranfurly Shield in their possession when they meet Wellington op August 20, ‘ The game,from start,.to finish was fast and open, and so keenly wa,s. it contested that the spectators shouted themselves hoarse- The Maoris outshone the Aucklanders in individual

play, while the tricky runs and clever handling of the leather bore evidence of the fact that they are a first-class combination. The play of the Aucklanders was disappointing, and their work was not as brilliant as one would expect from an Auckland rep. team, "'‘‘their passing at times being on the weak side. - The Maoris came with a great rush at the finish, turning the tables on their opponent’s when the ’ Aucklanders looked to have the-game. -in their safe keeping. After the 'ex-cellentall-round' display for which the -Maoris were responsible, their victory was a most popular one, and they were given an ovation as they left the field. ■ 7 The teams were represented as follows:— New Zealand Maoris (red and black). —■Fullback, Eruera (Auckland) ; threequarters, C. Ryland (Poverty Bay), R. Nuku (Bay of Plenty), G- Rogers “(Rotorua); five-eighths, S■Clark (Auckland), A. Kaipara (iPo?verty Bay); halfback, M. Piki (Can terbury), J. Hall (Auckland); forwards, G- Sellars (Auckland), W. WCunningham (Auckland), W. Cunningham (Auckland), B Moffit (Auckland), J. Martin (Taranaki), A. Takarangi (Wanganui), M- Paratene (Wairarapa) • Auckland (blue and white). —Full-

back, J. O’Leary; threequarters, McKenzie, McGregor, Stewart; fiveeighths, Magee, Armstrong; halfback, Morse; wing forward, Wilkes; forwards, Tyler, Tresize, Francis, Bigelow, Maguire, Wylie, Martin. The Maoris had the advantage of the wind and sun in the first spell, and the ground being in splendid order both teams set off at a great pace. Auckland being awarded a free kick, Francis was entrusted with the shot, but was unsuccessful- Good play by the Auckland forwards carried matters into the .Maoris’ 25, where Morse secured possession from a scrum near the line, and, sending the leather to Armstrong, /the f latter ran in and scored. Magee’s’ attempt at goal was fruitless: Auckland 3, Maoris nilNothing of incident happened until Kaipara intercepted a passing run by the Aucklanders, and sent the ball on to Nuku, who, after putting in a fine run, transferred, to Alec and the Wanganui man, after gaining further ground, returned the leather to Nuku, who was thrown out at the corner. Auckland being penalised.

Hall had a shot at goal, but without success. Both sides were throwing the ball about in good style, and onlookers were treated to a fast and clever exhibition. Rogers, the Maoris’ wing-threequarler, caused considerable excitement by v baffling his opponents with a tricky ,run, but his dash for the line was well stopped by O’Leary, . Magee finally bringing relief to. the .Aucklanders with an effective line . kick. Clever passing by the Aucklanders saw the Maoris in difficulties, bu’, headed by Takarangi, they got out of a tight corner. On working play back into the>Maoris’ territory, Francis had another attempt at goal from a penalty, but was unable to pilot the ball oyer the'; bar, the Maoris forcing- A passing. run, in which Morse, Stewart, Armstrong, Magee and McKenzie handled the ball in turn, resulted in the last-named player getting over and registering Auckland’s second try. O’Leary failed with the kick: Auckland 6, Maoris nil. Auckland had slightly, the; better of operations during the remainder of the first spell, and were on the point of scoring when the bell rang for half-time, with the scores unaltered. . -

With the weather conditions against them in the second spell the Maoris’ chances of winning appeared very remote. However, a surprise was in store for those; in attendance at the match; the Maoris displaying superior tactics than adopted by the Aucklanders. Play was fast and furious, and seemed to be all to the natives’ liking,'-their remarkable’ form being an outstanding feature of the spell- Takarangi, Rogers, Nuku and Kaipara proved a quartette of clever exponents of Rugby, and some very fine play was witnessed in consequence, their passing runs being executed in masterly fashion. A scrum in Auckland’s 25 gave the Maori backs a chance, Kaipara distinguishing himself by outwitting the local rear division with a tricky run, and transferring to Nuku. The latter handed, the leather back to Kaipara, who capped the brilliant effort by scoring a meritorious try. Cunningham converted: Auckland’ "6, Maoris 5. A good sprint down the line by McGregor, the Auckland wing-threequarter, looked like bearing fruitful results, but he was collared in the nick of time. Sorhe few minutes later McGregor was carried off the field with a sprained ankle- After several vain attempts to get across by means of passing rushes, Piki set the Maori backs in piotion by passing to Nuku, who sent on to Kaipara, who in turn passed to Hall the last-named grounding the ball over the line amid great applause. Cunningham failed to add the major points: Maoris 8, Auckland 6. i Encouraged by their lead, the Maoris got down to their work ,in splendid fashion, and succeeded in giving the Aucklanders an anxious time of it, Francis securing possession raised the hopes of Auckland supporters by making a dash for the line, but he was tackled by Eruera, the fullback. The Aucklanders tried hard to turn defeat into victory, but the Maori defence proved perfectly sound, the game ending with the home team attacking, the final scores being: Maoris 8, Auckland 6Mr- Angus Campbell made an efficient referee.

The British footballers left Auckland by the Maheno on Monday night, a large crowd gathering on the wharf to bid them farewell. As the boat moved off, hearty cheers were exchanged, the Britishers visit to Auckland having been a highly popular one. The team will play against a Sydney thirteen on Saturday, after which they sail by the Orient liner Otranto foi' the Old Country.

Interviewed in regard to the financial side of the British Northern Union team’s visit to New Zealand, the manager (Mr. J. H. Houghton,) stated that the takings for the three matches amounted to £875 Bs, made up as follows: —Match v. New Zealand Maoris, at Victoria Park, £73 8s; against Auckland representatives at Rotorua, £45 3s; and against the New. Zealand representatives at the Domain, £433 •9 s. The amount was divided in the proportion of/ 60. ; cent. to the British team, who had to pay all their own expenses, such as fares and hotel bills, and 40 per cent, to the New Zealand Rugby League, who had to stand the expenses of ground fees', advertising, and all local expensesThere would be a small loss on their visit to New Zealand shores, but they had not expected to make money. The Australian tour, however, * proved highly successful financially.