RUGBY SEASON

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 73, 13 May 1946, Page 5

RUGBY SEASON

SECOND SERIES PLAYED ALL-ROUND IMPROVEMENT SHOWN General improvement was registered on all fields of Rugby games played under, the Whakatane Union last Saturday. A pleasing feature was the increased public interest and the promising younger players who are taking the game on and giving an excellent account of themselves. Matches in town and district were well supported and on the main were well worth seeing. In Whakatane itself the Senior and Junior games were watched with keen interest. The standard was good and individual flashes of play made for plenty of enthusiasm on the side line. The Third Grade match was also keen and willing. In the County, the matches draw surprisingly large attendances. At Taneatua one of the most exciting Senior games seen in that township for many years, resulted in a fine win for the locals after a gruelling contest with Poroporo. The games at Waimana attained a high standard and indicated that here as elsewhere there is plenty of promising material for the selectors once the rep. fixtures are under review. The Junior fields show a definite shuffling down to team work and concerted effort. Training is much in evidence and some pretty football should be seen amongst the younger boys before the season is through. THE SCORE BOARD SENIORS Paroa beat United 19—5. Taneatua beat Poroporo 14—9. Ruatoki beat Waimana 14—6. JUNIORS Paroa drew with United B—B. Poroporo beat Taneatua 6—3. Waimana beat Ruatoki 6—3. "THIRD GRADE High School beat Taneatua 40—0. THE SENIOR FIELD PAROA’S VICTORY At the Whakatane Domain on Saturday, * Paroa and Whakatane United Senior teams met. Thp match was fast and tough, a number of players receiving medical attention during the game. United took the kick and the match opened at top pressure, both teams packing on the pace. It was noticeable that where Paroa was concerned, three out of every four times the ball did not reach the wing, when it definitely should have, owing to selfishness among the inside backs. The United line, on the other hand, kept the leather moving from man to man. As the game proceeded and the visitors settled down, however, their passing and handling improved considerably. United’s first (and only) try came from a forward movement. The ball went out to the backs and across the line to McGougan on the wing who ran and punted, but the United pack, keeping possession, rushed to the line where Carey dived over near the uprights for 3 points. Le Pine converted easily, and the score board read s—o in United’s favour.

United persisted with bustling tactics, but Paroa, warming up, were also on their toes. First try for Paroa came from a line-out in the corner of the field, United defending, when Simpson secured and dived over putting his side on the score board.

Dod’s kick was divinely directed —it hit the upright on an angle, and bounced back over the bar, making Paroa equal in points. From a mix-up on United’s 25 line, Cleland sprang clear, and brought off a runaway try. T. Riini made sure of the kick. Paroa hooked from a scrum and the next moment the ball was in the hands of Aukaha who dived over to raise Paroa’s score to 13. The kick Went wide. The second half opened with United playing against the sun. Paroa took the initiative and forced United into a defensive position in their own 25. Right on the line, Hona took the ball from a line out and crossed. Dodd just missed the difficult kick but the-score read Paroa 16, United 5.

A later penalty w§s awarded to Paroa, and R. Laurie bar nicely adding 3 points. *

Whakatane retaliated with a forward attack which developed ended as a back line movement in Paroa’s quarter. Possession was lost, and Tai Riini (Paroa) came through in a solo sprint. Dodging two United men he passed to his brother Tina, who made another 15 yards before being turfed. When the final whistle blew, the points were Paroa 19, United 5. Mr F. Peebles refereed. AT TANEATUA ' LOCALS DEFEAT POROPORO Poroporo fielded a powerful fifteen which momentarily swept Taneatua off its feet. The black and whites however swiftly adjusted themselves and countered the invasion by adopting some very successful smothering tactics. An early penalty to the blues was missed by Kororiko. Taneatua retorted with a handy invasion from which Semmens notched a penalty and a moment later Moore by keen following up landed a good try which Semmens failed to convert.

W. McCready retired hurt at this juncture and was replaced by Kohunui. Improving with the game Taneatua sent the forwards away again and Shaw scored. Semmens failed to convert. Half-time arrived with the score 9 nil in Taneatua’s favour.

Poroporo infused new spirit into the second half giving the home team some anxious moments on defence. Playing with determination the blue forwards swept through, ball-at-toe and Pirini Merito notched a good try which went unconverted. A moment later the same man kicked a penalty goal from a handy position. The pace became terrific as once again Poroporo attacked and penetrated the stubborn opposition. J. Kingi scored in spectacular manner in the corner evening the score 9 all to the accompaniment of a great demonstration from the side line.

The concluding ten minutes saw some of the tensest club football we have seen for many a day. The climax came when A. Sisam at the head of the Taneatua pack led through to the blue quarter where Shaw snapped up and scored beneath the bar. Semmens had no difficulty in converting. The game ended soon after with the score Taneatua 14, Poroporo 9. Mr L. Green was referee.

THE JUNIORS POROPORO 6, TANEATUA 3 From the outset the game was keenly contested and fairly fast Poroporo held the initial advantage and fielded a lighter but more active pack. Taneatua discovered some good individualists in the back line but lack of understanding ruined many bright openings

The second half was most exciting and gave, the spectators many thrills. Evenly balanced, the home side withstood successfully the repeated attempts of the visitors to add to their score. Poroporo was unlucky not to score in the final stages of the game. The points for Poroporo came from a try by Nuku and a penalty goal kicked by Tiepa. Taneatua’s points tame from a free kick by R. Hill. Mr A. Mitchell was referee. UNITED v PAROA i The Junior game between Paroa and Whakatane United which also took place at the Domain resulted in a draw, points being 8 all. The match was fast and interludes of really good football were much more frequent than on the previous Saturday. The Paroa side played an open game, and concentrated on dribbling and passing rushes, with quite fair results. Hard and constant packing on the part of United forwards forced Paroa into many a sticky position defending their line and time after time, kicking for the line was the only thing which saved certain tries.

In the second half, United forced the pace, Goodall, Rutherford and Maxwell all coming within inches of scoring.

In the United team, Martin, this time playing at fullback, was prominent, with Rutherford, Henderson and Goodall, all back line men, also showing up. For Paroa, Horne, at second fiveeighths, and Lafferty, were two good

men. This side’s tries came from Wano and Riini, the latter converting his own. Dines and Martin obtained the points for United. Mr G. Oswald was referee. THIRD GRADE A Third Grade match between Whakatane D.H. School and a much lighter Taneatua team resulted in a win for the former 40—0.