Bay Of Plenty Beat King Country 16—3 In Hard Forward Tussle

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 82, 16 August 1948, Page 5

Bay Of Plenty Beat King Country 16—3 In Hard Forward Tussle

(Special* to Beacon) ' __j.\ Rotorua, August 15. , Bay of Pleftty beat King Country 16—3 in the Rugby trial at t , Rotorua on Saturday, Though r the weather was fine and the ball dry, the game developed, into a forward battle, mainly because both sets of backs failed to make the most of what their forwards gave them. The Bay showed weak again in the inside backs, who failed to com- % 'bine at all well. Bay led at half time 13—0, but failed to improve their position much after the interval. The forwards had gone remarkably well up to that stage, with Roigaard and McGuigan always in the lead. The try Roigaard gave Fitzgerald was a really pretty bit of work. Having dummied through the whole team and drawn the full back, he handed on at just the right moment. After half time the Bay forwards seemed to lose their sting, though they had distinct advantage, particularly in the loose, in the / first spell. King Country played a more intelligent game in the tight, and fed the backs well, but the latter failed'to use the chances they.diad. Another notable weakness amongst the losers was lack of a really a<S-' v curate boot. Many opportunities of scoring from penalties went begging. Pick of their backs was Cum- , stone, the .half, and Karram, captain of the side, was the best forward. For the Bay, Welch, Martin and McGougan played best in the backs, ? with Gabolinski, Roigaard and McLaughlin most consistent workers in the forwards. - ; Scorers:— • , Bay of Plenty (16 points): McGTougan, a penalty and, 2' donver-. sions; Fitzgerald, McGuigan and Me- i * Laughlin, a try each.' King Country v (3): Cumstone, a, penalty. ‘ "*■