CANTERBURY BEATEN BY TARANAKI

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22504, 12 September 1938, Page 6

CANTERBURY BEATEN BY TARANAKI

Disappointing Standard of Rugby

HOME TEAM’S BID IN SECOND HALF

In the closing match of an unimpressive southern tour the Taranaki Rugby team beat Canterbury at Lancaster Park on Saturday afternoon by 13 points to 6. The visitors showed much better form than their indifferent record would suggest them capable of, and they shaded the Canterbury team in nearly every department of the game. Ground conditions were perfect, and although there was a brisk and cold easterly breeze the bright sunshine brought a

fairly large attendance of spectators to, the park. As a spectacle the game was. a big disappointment, there being few movements on either side that showed both constructive attacking ability and simultaneously the necessary finish that makes ground-gaining movements into scoring movements. Nevertheless there was excitement toward the end of the game when Canterbury got to within two points of the visitors’ total,.only to have another converted try place the result beyond doub^;

Chief credit for Taranaki’s win must go to a hard-working forward pack who kept close on the ball throughout the game. The visitors’ forward rushes were always so well supported that no movement could be called finished until the ball had gone out of play. A rush might be checked three or four times, but the Taranaki forwards, packing round very quickly, were soon in position again to carry on. The visiting forwards were well supported by a back line which, without showing any real genius, was always ready to “give it a go.” The inside men were both solid and hard to stop, and they made numarous thrusts which narrowly failed to bring scores.

A Sudden Reverse Canterbury kicked off from the south end, and attacked immediately. Clarke nearly dribbled over after a clean hook by Taranaki had beaten Arnold, the visiting half. Soon the Taranaki forwards took play to the Canterbury twenty-five, and Brown raced through a gap almost to the lino. Nolan stopped him well, and McPhail cleared splendidly. A blind-side move, in which Pearson handled and ran brilliantly, took Canterbury back again. Nolan was also risking great lengths of ground with Ime-kicks. Off-side olav gave Canterbury a chance, and White missed from 40 yards out. the ball going just under the bar. However, a Taranaki man knocked on, and a team-mate played the ball, off-side, in front of the posts. White’s kick, from close in, went over, but apparently he had taken the kick from the wrong place, and a scrum was ruled. Then came a severe reverse for Canterbury. Taranaki raced away, backs and * forwards handling brilliantly. Whittaker was held up right on the line, but Neilson dived on the ball for a great try, Meuli goaled well. Taranaki 5, Canterbury 0. Taranaki was soon on the attack again, but constant lifting in the scrums nullified some good efforts. Peppenll beat Empson with a great side-step, and sprinted downfielcLto send his forwards charging at the Canterbury line. A defender was penalised in a coun-ter-rush, and Meuli goaled. Taranaki 8, Canterbury 0. Meuli just failed with another penalty almost from half-way, soon after. Just before half-time Hadlee made a slashing run. Pearson came inside him, but was stopped by Toro when a try seemed likely. White missed from a penalty at an angle, but Hay raced upfield, and sent on to McPhaii, who kicked high. Fright just failed to gather in, and Duncan, diving for the ball under the posts, missed by inches. Toro cleared well, and the half-time score was: Taranaki 8, Canterbury 0. Play was very scrambling at the beginning of the second half, and Taranaki still had the “edge” in the forward exchanges. Toro twice fumbled high kicks in face of forward rushes, but the covering-up was efficient, and Taranaki was able to clear. Infringements by Canterbury also cost the home team big lengths of ground. Young was injured, and Richards came on in his place. . . Arnold, taking an m-pass from Brown, was nearly over, but the ball was Knocked on as Nolan took him well. Then, from the Canterbury twenty-five, the Canterbury backs raced away? Hadlee fended off his opponent, and outstripped Pearson. Feinting to kick, Hadlee swerved round Toro, and dashed over at the corner. He failed to convert, Taranaki 8. Canterbury 3. Fifteen minutes remained, and the Taranaki forwards made a great rush. Nolan twice cut through to rushes, the second time Hay and ux-n----can carrying on well. Taranaki was penaS and Nolan goaled easily. , Taranaki 8, Canterbury 6. With five minutes to go, Foley kicked high, and Duncan and Empson followed up hard. Neilson Taranaki under hot pressure. The Taranaki forwards, however, broke through and when Nolan over-ran the ball, Benton and Richards had a clear run in, the latter touching down for Meuli convert. The game ended: Taranaki 13. Canterbury 6. - Referee: Mr C. R. McCallum. TEAM TO PL'AY RULLER CANTERBURY SELECTION A. G. HUNTER AVAILABLE A. G. Hunter, the brilliant ybung University centre three-quarters, will be available for the Canterbury representative Rugby, team for the first time this season when the provincial side will meet Buffer in the return match at Lancaster Park next Saturday. J. A. Hooper. New Zealand representative five-eighths, will take his place in the side again, but H. Miffiken. All Black forward, will not be available. , , TT The team, chosen by Messrs H. O. Jelcoate. N B. Carnegie, and V. Craw, is : G. T. Nolan (Old Boys). Three-quarters: W. A. Hadlee (Old Boys). A. G. Hunter (University), F. L. Pearson (Air Force). Five-eighths: J. A. Hooper (Sunnyside). W. Jarman (Merivale). Half-back: C. Saundercock (Old Boys). Forwards —Front row: P. Rhind (Christchurch). H. B. Hay (Hurunul), R. Duncan (Sunnyside),. , ~ Middle row: W. Fright (Sydenham), C. W. Williams (University). L. Homer (Air Force), D. Herman (Technical). Back-ranker; F. J. Foley (Old Boys). Emergencies—Backs: J. Walker (Eliesmere), D. P. White (Athletic), R. Empson (Linwood). Forwards; N. J. McPhail (Old Boys). D: J. Cunningham (Air Force), W. Sargison (Sydenham). The team will assemble at the mgnt training ground, North Park, at 6.30 tonight and Thursday for training. NORTH CANTERBURY SUB-UNION RESULTS OF SATURDAY’S GAMES The results of matches played in the North Canterbury Rugby Sub-Union competitions on Saturday are as follows: Senior—Oxford 6. Glenmark 6; Cust 21, North Canterbury 5: Amberley 23, Woodend 6. Junior Match for Amur! Shield Kaikoura beat Kowai by 3 points to 0 in a junior match, played at Sefton. for the Anjvuri Shield, which is contested by winners of the junior competition in the Hurunul’ and North Canterbury SubUnions Respectively. Draw for Next Saturday

Canterbury’s failure again lay in the comparative sluggishness ot the pack and in the complete lack of penetration among the inside backs. Both backs and forwards operated so well, on occasions, as to show that they are capable of better things. The forwards worked conscientiously in the tight, but they had insufficient devil in following a loose ball, and they were not as fast up to the rucks as the Taranaki pack. Sound tackling has been a feature of the play of Canterbury back lines this year, but the side ■was less impressive in this respect on Saturday. The covering-up was as efficient as ever, but failure to take each attacker, man for man, lost the home team a great deal of ground during the game. Taranaki Leader An outstanding forward In the visiting pack was T. G. Fowler, Taranaki captain and hooker, who showed that he has maintained the good form he showed in the All Black trial matches last year. Always looking for work in the tight, he was nevertheless one of Taranaki’s best hunters in the open. J. McLean, F. Whittaker, and T. Joyce

were forces to be reckoned with in these tearaway loose rushes. H. Benton, a lock forward, also impressed as a fine all-rounder. The Taranaki backs -were given the lion’s share of the ball, and they did not do as much with it as they should have done. I*. Arnold, the half-back, sent his. line away most efficiently. G. Brown and B- Neilsoo, both heavy men for inside backs, often wade ground with clean breaks through the defence, but the three-quarters, with the exception of A. Pepperill, showed little ability to take advantage of these openings. P.. Toro, the full-back, showed speed and coolness in making some fine saves. His kicking, too, was excellent. Lack of Thrust H. Milliken was the best of the Canterbury forwards. More men with something of the sustained vim which Milliken always puts into his play are what Canterbury needs. C. W. Williams was much more impressive than in his first match after the return of the All Blacks, but even so he was still below his form of the inter-island game. W, Fright showed speed and enterprise at times, but D. J. Cunningham and F. J. Foley have both played better games, especially in the loose. Their line-out work was good. K. Duncan and H. B. Hay played very solidly throughout, and N. J. McPhail. a last-minute substitute for P. K. Hhind. did some clever cover-defend-ing. .

Canterbury’s failure to press home back attacks was disappointing. The inside men, W. A. Clarke, D. P. White, and W. Jarman, handled and ran crisply, but they did not often attempt to beat their men, and Jarman’s attempts to open up gaps in the defence with stab-kicks were poorly judged. Hadlee, handling uncertainly at times, nevertheless tried hard to get through the defence, but though he several times ran round his marker he usually crowded his wings on to The touch-line. Hadlee scored Canterbury’s only try in a splendid solo effort. The wingers, starved on .attack, defended well, and G, T. Nolan, full-back, returning to the representative side after illness, played splendidly, except for one mistake in the closing minutes of tbs game.

THE TEAMS The following were the teams;— Taranaki Full-back: P. Tbra Three-quarters: A. Pepperill, J. Meuli, A. Wetton. Five-eighths: B. NeUson, C. Brown. Half-back: L. Arnold. Forwards: Backranker, P. Whittaker. Middle row: J. McLean. J. Coull, H. Benton, R. Young. Front row: T. Joyce, T. G. Fowler, R. .Walker. Canterbury Full-back; G. T. Nolan. Three-quarters: R. Empson, W. A. Hadlee, F. L. Pearson. Five-eighths: W. Jarman, D. P.White. Half-back: \V. A. Clarke. Forwards; Backranker, F. J. Foley. Middle row: W. Fright, C. W. Williams, H. Milliken, D. J. Cunningham. Front row; R. Duncan, H. B. Hay, J. McPhail.

The following is the draw for next Sat- ! urday in senior matches, of which there is only one more round to be played:— North Canterbury v. Oxford, Woodend v. Gust. Amberley v. Kbwal, Glenmark a bye.

CHALLENGE CUP COMPETITION

RANFUELY SHIELD

CHANGES HANDS

SEMI-FINAL GAMES

SOUTHLAND BEATS

SUNNYSIDE TO MEET CHRISTCHURCH

• OTAGO

Sunnyside and Christchurch are the finalists in the ’ Canterbury Rugby Union’s knock-out competition for the Challenge Cup. In the semi-final games on Saturday Christchurch beat Air Force by 6 points to 0 in a keenlyfought match played as a curtainraiser to the representative fixture at Lancaster Park, and Sunnyside, on its home ground, beat Technical Old Boys by 13 points to 7, after being down 7-3 at half-time. , . The final, which will probably be played as a curtain-raiser to one of the remaining representative matches of the season, should be a good contest. Sunnyside, with its wealth of good material, took a surprisingly low place in the union’s championship, but in its best form is as good as any team in the city. Christchurch, after an indifferent start to the season, finished extremely well, and is a greatly improved side. CHRISTCHURCH BEATS AIR FORCE CURTAIN RAISER TO MAIN GAME Superior on the day in botli backs and forwards, Christchurch beat Air Force 6-0 a't Lancaster Park on Saturday in the semi-final of a Canterbury Rugby Union’s knock-out competition. The game was fast, but patchy, and remarkable for the number of opportunities that went astray, and promising movements mm ended nowhere. Time after time Air Force would get within a few yards of the Christchurch line, and just as often fail unaccountably to finish off a movement that should have ended in a certain try. The Christchurch attack was .Tided, too, by the weakness of the Air Force tackling, which is usually good. There were- many replacements in the game through Injuries, and in the second spell, with new players on in place of the regular team members, play was almost always best described as scrambling, and most of the time it was dull. Black, at full-back, was, until he went off, a tower of strength, to the Christchurch defences, and his sound tackling and good kicking took the sting out of many Air Force rushes. The rest of the Christchurch backs played games that were sound and reliable, although a long way from brilliant. The forwards worked well. Bacon and Fleming—until the latter joined the procession of injured players going off—being outstandingly good. Bice, for the first spell, was the beginner of most of the Air Force attacks, but a leg injury slowed him up and finally he had to go off. Hardy also showed much promise, and had lie been given more of the ball, and more support when he did get it, the scores might have been different. The forwards worked well enough in the loose, but were overshadowed most of the time in scrums ana line-outs.

MATCH ATTENDED BY RECORD CROWD (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) DUNEDIN, September 10. Otago lost the Ranfurly Shield to Southland in an exciting match at the Carisbrook ground to-day, the final score being: Southland 10, Otago 5. The match was seen .by a crowd of more than 30,000, which is a record for the season.

The match was plAyed in perfect weather. A north-east breeze blew practically across the ground, giving little advantage to either side. It was the first time in the history of th* shield that the same provinces have met twice in one season in a shield match.

The Otago team was weakened by the absence of. Simon and Gillies through injuries, and of Trevathan through a family bereavement. Mitchell took the field for the first time for Otago. The Otago forwards attacked hotly from the kick-off and narrowly missed scoring twice in succession. Black failed in an attempt to pot and Perriam then crossed the line beside the posts from a passing rush by Otago, but lost the ball and Southland forced. , ~ Southland lost a chance when Ballantyne missed with a penalty kick from a fairly good position. Offside play by Otago presented Ballantyne with an easy opportunity, but he again failed. Vigorous Attack Southland attacked vigorously, and from a scrum on the Otago line Graham dived through to touch down close to the posts. Ballantyne converting. Southland 5, Otago 0. . . . Otago rallied, and for a scrum infringement Southland was penalised, Taylor missing an easy chance to open Otago’s score. Playing with great dash and determination, the Southland forwards had the Otago line constantly in danger, only slow handling by the backs, and sound tackling by Otago, preventing a score on more than one occasion. The spell ended with the score: Southland 5, Otago 0. Southland opened the second spell at a fast pace and after a forward rush the ball was kicked over the Otago line. Grace dived through to touch down close to the posts. Ballantyne converting. Southland 10, Otago 0. Otago secured the ball from a scrum at midfield and passing among the backs saw Black run strongly down the touchhne from the twenty-five to score a fine try at the corner. Taylor converted with a great kick. Southland 10, Otago 5. Otago was now playing much better, and Southland was given a hard time defending, until Purdue found touch at halfway with a long clearing kick. Maintaining the pressure, Otago just missed scoring on two occasions, but the Southland defence held, and the game ended with Southland regaining the shield. The final scores were: Southland 10, Otago 5. WELL CONTESTED MATCH AUCKLAND BEATEN BY WELLINGTON MANY INFRINGEMENTS i (I'RESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON. September 11. Sodden after heavy rain during the week, Athletic Park soon became a quagmire for the Weilington-Auckland representative Rugby match yesterday, but the football was of an excellent standard considering the conditions, and was full of incident throughout. Wellington won by 12 points (one try and three penalty goals) to 6 (a try and a penalty goal). Two of Wellington’s penalties came from “feet up” in the scrums by Auckland. For a long period Wellington dominated the scrums, and this superiority enabled the side to direct the run of play. It also tempted Auckland into the scrum infringements, which were largely responsible for the home side’s victory, there being little between the teams on the run of play. , . , Both sets of forwards and backs rose superior to conditions, and the pace was surprisingly fast for the heavy ground. There were also some fierce encounters, particularly in the second spell, compelling the referee to administer a number of cautions. Features of the play were the excellent handling and running of Pearman, the Auckland first five-eighths, who impressed as the best visiting Inside back seen m Wellington this season. The sound work of the full-backs, Pollock and Solomon, and splendid forward play by McLean (Auckland) and Todd (Wellington), who in his first representative season has improved in every game, and looks likely to attain All Black honours in the future. McLean showed that he is still a very fine footballer. He led the Auckland pack ably, and his excellent sense of anticipation made him a continual source of trouble to the .opposition In the loose. Tindill and Sargisson combined well behind the Wellington scrum, Sargisson showing excellent judgment and lineki was a surprisingly large number of penalties, mostly against Wellington, because of the over-keenness of the forwards, who were frequently caught offside. Auckland's infringements were mainly in the scrum. Wellington in Possession

The teams were:— Christchurch —A. T. Black; J. J. Busfield. Baker, E. Neame; M. Watson, D. Toon; W. J. Byrne; Jesson, Fleming, Ryau. W. G. Stonehouse. Reid. G. Gasson. H. B. Bacon, S. Horweil. Air Force —Lenard; N. A. Svcnson. J. Hardy, C. M. Whittington; J. C. Ritchie. Mac Donald: C. Bice; C. Perrett D. Scriveit, S, Toon, Roth.well, Galr, Hart. Trolove, Lee. Christchurch made a keen beginning, .and pressed Air Force hard after a clever cut-in by Watson gained a lot of ground. Black had two attempts at penalties, and his second succeeded, giving Christchurch an early lead. Christchurch 3, Air Force 0. After repulsing some strong forward attacking by Christchurch, the Air Pprce backs, sent away in faultless style by Blee, turned on some speedy rushes. Solid tackling by Christchurch, however, was an effective barrier against a try. A spectacular 50-yard dash by Blee gayj Air Force a further chance, but again the Christchurch defence held. By this time Air Force had found its feet splendidly, and attack after attack launched at the Christchurch line just failed. However, Christchurch reversed the position brilliantly, enhancing its lead at the same time when Bacon, a good loose forward, on his own, ran 40 yards to score a good try. The Air Force defence was well out of position. Black narrowly missed converting. Christchurch 6, Air Force 0. Christchurch was attacking again when half-time was called with the score still: Christchurch 6, Air Force 0. Over-eagerness and mishandling robbed Air Force of apparently an easy try early in the 'second spell, when for five minutes Christchurch was kept penned on its goaf-line. The Air Force forwards came back on attack again, after a long and dull struggle in midfield, but Black in a scramble on the line saved by forcing. Blee, the Air Force half, was now absent from the side, after receiving a leg injury, and his place was taken by JC. Sutton. Christchurch had a chance to increase its score when the forwards swept through to the Air Force line, but a series of mlshandlings and bad passing ruined good chances. Air Force worked its way back to wjthin a few yards of the Christchurch line, but again failed, in spite of many chances, to finish off the movement. A splendid line kick by Black sent Air Force back to half-way. A scrambling second' half finally ended with the score: Christchurch 6, Air Force 0. Referee; Mr A. Woodsford. SUNNYSIDE BEATS TECHNICAL MOST POINTS FROM FIELD GOALS AND PENALTIES In a fast and, at times, exciting game at Sunnyside between Sunnyside and Technical Old Boys. Sunnyside won by 13 points to T. Technical Old Boys showed enterprise in the first half, when they were favoured by a strong easterly wind, but the Sunnyside players, who appeared considerably heavier, were not playing up to their usual standard. Points scored by both sides were mainly from penalty kicks and fteld goals. The teams were as follows: —

Dominating the scrums in the first spell, and making good use of this advantage, Wellington had the better of the first spell. A heavy ball made it difficult to finish off movements, and the inside backs resorted to short punting. These tactics may -have led to better results but for the excellent work of both full-backs, Pollock and Solomon, who fielded the ball brilliantly, and never failed to find the line. The only occasion when Solomon failed led to a try by Wellington. From a scrum Tindill set the backs going. An astute short punt by Jones beat Solomon. The bounce favoured Fulton, the speedy Wellington centre, who cleared away from the opposition. The only other points scored in this spell were two penalty goals by Pollock and Pearman. At half-time Wellington was leading, by 9 points to 3. Early in the second spell Wellington might have scored when Tindill shot round the blind side of the scrum with Edwards in support, but Edwards was badly obstructed by Martin. The referee failed to notice the incident, and Tindill was compelled to kick, the ball going over the line for a force-down. The visitors then settled down to more solid scrummaging, and by stopping the home side’s monopoly of the ball, took the initiative, giving Wellington some anxious moments. The excellent defence of Pollock. Tindill, and Sargisson was largely responsible for keeping Auckland out, but the persistent attack was finally rewarded, Bond following up a speculator over the Wellington line to score. In the concluding stages Wellington returned to the attack, and from a scrum infringement by Auckland, Pollock kicked an excellent goal. '

Sunnyside—L. Moran, Perkins, Chlnnery, W. Oliver, E. A. Vincent, W. Ritchie, S. McCarthy, Aitken, T. Moran, H. McLeod. N. Miffiken, G. Newton, A. Young, G. Kelly, R. Burke. Technical Old Boys; X. Sellars, P. Coote, C. Buckley, R. Kiddey, Tolputt, Randall, R. Sturrock, J. Brown, Hayles, W. Harvey, M. Harrison, P. Lake, H. McLean, H. Yates, Keats.

Technical attacked hotly during the first quarter and though they held territorial honours they found the defence stubborn and failed to penetrate It. A counterattack by Sunnyside took play to the other quarter, where a bright back movement ended in Perkins scoring a try in the corner. The kick missed. Aided by the strong wind, Sellars put Technical ope point in the lead with a nice field goal.' Technical rallied after this and the forwards pressed hard in the twentyfive. Sunnyside was penalised and Sellars’ kicking gave Technical three more points. Half-time came soon after with Technical still attacking. Sunnyside opened hostilities in the second half with a strong forward rush to the Technical quarter, where play remained for about five minutes. Sunnyside was repulsed temporarily, but N. Milliken got possession in the clear about 30 yards from the Technical goal and balanced the tally with a fine field goal. Sunnyside had a narrow escape when McCarthy sent the backs away near halfway and Chinnery fumbled. Coote intercepted nicely and tore down the line for what looked like a certain try. but put his foot over the touch-line with a few yards to go. L. Moran gave Sunnyside a three-point lead with a grand penalty kick from half-way. With a few minutes to go Moran was successful with another penalty kick, making the final score:

Sunnyside 13, Technical Old Boys 7, Mr R, E. Dunne was the referee.

WELLINGTON B BEATS MARLBOROUGH

(PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) BLENHEIM, September 10. After a rather ragged exhibition of Rugby, the Wellington B team beat Marlborough by 17 points to 12 in the last representative fixture for the season in Marlborough. The visitors played more open football and had a better understanding and combination, but lost a good many points through inability to finish off movements. The Marlborough side also suffered through lack of thrust, the failure being mainly attributable to slow, inaccurate service from the scrum, and ,the combination of the backs was not up to standard. ... In the first half Wellington led by 9 points to 3, but Marlborough evened halfway through the second half. At 12 all Wellington scored the deciding points 10 minutes from the end, and the remainder of the game was fairly even, but distinctly ragged. . For the winners, Stevens, Bnen (two) and Jones scored tries, and Crisp kicked a penalty goal and converted one. try. For Marlborough. Foley and O’Rourke ■cored tries and both Sowman and MelUsh kicked penalty goals.

SEDDON SHIELD

RETAINED

DULLER BEATS WEST

COAST

VICTORY BY SEVEN POINTS

TO SIX

I [THE PRESS Special Service.]

WESTPORT. September 11. Plaving hard, and at times a desperate Pl y Rniinr defied the last challenge Sm fi£sx Kfwaa to-day. cSSf'aaS SSrtiaJ a|?|t most IreH's-sS ffif llmVSndl? defence o?V°'bE.i|; strenuous forward (.lay ““MU™*, Jot" aft.Bu.?e‘r I«w.“s fS?S thP oecfSon against their strongest oppoThe packs were matched in most departments, witn Duller having a slight advantage in the *5“? West Coast getting more of the ball-fiSi? line-outs, where the All Black, Ron King, showed to advantage.^

Little Good Back Play Neither pack had a great deal of assistance from its backs, and good back play was almost at a minimum. West Coast was more dangerous than the home backs not improving a great deal on their recent poor displays, xneir handling was uncertain, and to make matters worse A. Dunn (Buller who had been Injured the w ee * had a complete lapse of form- His line kicking was weak and also his work in other departments. He redeemed .himself however, by kicking a great field goal In the first half, and these points turned out to be the deciding factor in a close game. S. Stewart (second eighths) was again the mainstay of the Buller backs, both on attack and defence He repeatedly saved his side when West Coast looked like scoring, and used his brains to advantage. ’ W. Weenmk (right wing three-quarter) was very dangerous on attack in the first half, but was well marked by A. King. Before half-time Weenink was injured, and from that stage failed to show up. J. Alexander (first five-eighths) although sometimes slow on attack, was the best of the other Buller ba The West Coast backs often threatened danger, especially when the ball came out to W. Mann (centre three-quarters). He played a dashing game, but when shifted in position in the second half was somewhat uncertain in handling. N. Davidson (half-back) was the most brilliant of the West Coast backs. He gave splendid service from the scrum, which was not always appreciated by L. Williams and R. Roberts (five-eighths), who lacked thrust. Roberts in particular was very disappointing, and he was sent out to centre threequarters in the second half. A. King was the better West Coast winger. Until his retirement at half-time with injury. Lynch played a good game at full-back: G. Mason led the Buller forwards in, their hardest test of the year, and was often a formidable opponent to King in the line-outs. J. Brown also played a splendid game and showed surprising speed as a breakaway. J. Lake, a great worker in the tight, and G. B. Wilson also played well. v The West Coast pack showed more spirit than any pack from its district that has played on Victoria square for some years. King was a splendid leader, and other fine forwards were J. Hammond and A. Bowes. This trio was outstanding, but the whole pack worked with a will. The Play In the early stages the teams battled hard in the middle of the field with early evidence of the class of game the forwards were to play. S. Stewart opened Buller’s score with a fine penalty kick from outside his twenty-five. Buller 3. West Coast 0. , ' West Coast was on its mettle, and only good tackling by D. Straqhan and Alexander kept the visiting backs out. Mann and King were particularly dangerous in passing rushes. Buljer took play to halfway, and West Coast had a set-back when Dunn kicked a field goal midway between the twenty-five and half-way. Buller 7, West Coast 0. Buller fed the heavy winger Weenink. and he made some fine dashes. The halftime score was still Duller 7, West Coast 0. In the second half the teams put all they had into the game, and excitement was Intense when Davidson kicked two goals from penalties to bring West Coast to within one point of Buller’s score. Buller 7, West Coast 6. Davidson missed a goal which would have won the game for the visitors, and when it looked as if West Coast would score at any time, Buller rallied and took charge of the game in the last five minutes and held their opponents out. The final score was; Buller 7, West Coast 6. SEVEN-A-SIDE TOURNEY AT GERALDINE TWO CHRISTCHURCH TEAMS WIN TROPHIES [THE PRESS Special servlce.l GERALDINE, September 10. Two Christchurch teams, Sydenham and Beckenham, won cups at the Geraldine seven-a-side tournament to-day. Cup winners were as follows:—Senior. Ola Boys (Timaru); junior, Sydenham; third grade, Beckenham; fourth grade. Star (Timaru); and fifth grade. Star (Timaru). Entries showed a large increase on last year and some good play was seen on grounds which .were in excellent order. At the conclusion of tournament the president of the . Geraldine Sports Association thanked the teams and called on the Mayor (Mr J. R. Lack) to present the trophies. Results were;— Senior , i First Round—Old Boys 3, Zingari 0; Geraldine A beat Celtic by default: Old Boys 8. Geraldine B 3; Temuka beat Waihi by default. Semi-final —Geraldine A 3, Temuka 0; Old Boys a bye. Final—Old Boys 5. Geraldine A 0. Winning team: I. Cameron (captain), E. Hunter, G. A. Macfarlane, D. Annan, C. Hall, N. Gould, N. Riley. Junior First Round—Hinds 3. New Brighton 0; Temuka 8, Pleasant Point 0; Athletic (Christchurch) beat Star by default: Beckenham 3, Zingari 0; Pareora 9, Timaru Old Boys 0; Sydenham (Christchurch) beat High School Old Boys (Christchurch) by default: Celtic a bye. Second ’Round —Hinds 6,' Celtic 0; Athletic 3, Temuka 0; Pareora 6, Beckenham 3 ‘ Semi-final—Sydenham 5, Hinds 0; Pareora beat Athletic. Final —Sydenham 5, Pareora 3. Winning team: R. Amtman (captain), R. Boyd, J. Elkis, J. Walsh, E. Farmer, L. Harrow, A. Boyd. Third Grade First Round —Beckenham 3, Temuka 0; Celtic 5, Geraldine 0; New Brighton 5, Old Boys 0; Rangitata Island a bye. Semi-final —Beckenham 5, New Brighton 0; Celtic 18, Rangitata Island 0. Final—Beckenham 8. Celtic 0. Winning team: R. Killworth (captain), D Crookston, G. Eaton, R. Rodgers, R. Rose, G. Eddington, A. Sherratt. Fourth Grade First Round—Old Boys beat Athletic (Christchurch) by default; High School Old Boys (Christchurch) 3, Zingari A 0; Star 6. Zingari B 0; Young Farmers’ Club 3 Celtic 0; Beckenham 3, Pleasant Point 0; Temuka 5, Geraldine 0. Second Round—Star 3, Old Boys 0; Temuka 3, Young Farmers’ Club 0: Old Boys (Christchurch) 8. Beckenham 0. Semi-final—Temuka 5, Old Boys (Christchurch) 0: Star a bye. Final—Star 3. Temuka 0. Winning team: C. McNaughton (captain), D. Loach, K. Roddick, W. Aitken, W. Morrison, P. King, F. Saunders. Fifth Grade First Round—Star 6, Celtic 0; Pleasant Point 6, New Brighton 3; Temuka beat Athletic (Christchurch) by default. _ Semi-final—Temuka 3, Pleasant Point 0; Star a bye. Final—Star 3. Temuka 0. Winning team: A. McWhirter. G. Irving, J. Fraser, A. Fletcher, R. Livingston, Macdonald, Good.

SOUTH CANTERBURY BEATS NORTH OTAGO • (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGEA-M.) TIMARU, September 10. The South Canterbury Rugby representatives to-day beat North Otago by 35 points to 9. The home side fielded what was considered to be a weak team because of sickness and injuries, but the new back line functioned splendidly, giving a bright display. The forwards also -went well, and the team was generally superior in 'all departments. „ „ „ In the junior game. South Canterbury beat North Otago by 42 points to- 0.

SOUTH [AFRICA BEATEN

BRITAIN WINK FINAL

TEST MATCH

MARGIN OF FIVE PVOINTS IN

EXCITING GAME

(UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COWTSIO®T-)

(Received September 11, 8.30 ,p.m.) CAPE TOWN. Septerriber 10. In the final Rugby football tes * match Britain beat South Africa by 21 POtote to 16. At half-time South Africa was leading by 13 points to 3. There was an attendance of 26.000 for the match, which wa played in cloudy weather on a ramsoaked ground. _ , r „. Boyle replace Nicholson and Smith, re Springboks broke away. Turner scored fdr ss?.u Co Dancer then scored for Britain, and from^kpenaTty^lcirit I,' 1 ,' w^nft^^^core^vas pvcitement whs intense whfin Tuj a penalty goal, giving South Africa the lead. 16-14. Six minutes the end of the match Grieve dropped a goal from 40 yards out, .making greased 18-16 in favour of Britain. Duff 1 souring the visitors’ score to 21 after securing the ball from a line-out. HAWKE’S BAY BEATS WANGANUI MARGIN OF 26 POINTS (PRESS ASSOCIATION! TELEGRAM.) HASTINGS. September 11. The touring Wanganui team was aefeated to Hawke's Bay by 29 points to 3. The game was played on a greasv ground in heavy rain at Nelson Park, Hastings. The visitors were outplayed by the heavier Hawke’s Bay forwards. The excellent back combination ana rucking of the Hawke’s Bay team kept Wanfmniii ncnned in their own iweniy five the Wanganui full-back. was working hard and making good saves fare of determined thrusts. txt«v.h A tricky run by Clothier sent Ward over for Hawke s Bay r, converted. Then, soon after Clothier s in«;ide swerve was successful with wara fcoM The half-time score was 10 points to 0 in favour of Hawke s Bay, A forward rush saw Bowman Ijoove, and this was followed by' a similar tr> u v ward bringing the score to 16-0. Fox and Hannigan scored in Quick when the Wanganui men were tiring ana missed'tackles. The last try was converted, making the sc ° re L 0 ’ aftfir a Wanganui now pressed hard and alter a fumble by Dyer. Barton scored for the visitors. TTie last Hawke’s Bay try, scored just before the final whistle, was verted. The final score was. Hawke s Bay 29, Wanganui 3. AUCKLAND COLTS BEAT THAMES VALLEY (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) AUCKLAND, September 11. The Auckland colts beat Y t ®\r ley representatives, in a Rugby match played at Eden Park on Saturday by 24 P °Tries t( f or 1 Auckland were scored by Barry, Evans, Schubert, Molloy, and Cato. Hare y converted two tries. and B ® rry .9UfHare also kicked a penalty goal. Ams lev. Rowe, and Woodlands scored tries for Thames Valley, and Ludwig converted one. RUGBY LEAGUE SYDENHAM’S GOOD WIN BACKS TOO STRONG FOR ADDINGTON BIGHT TO CHALLENGE HORNBY FOR VIVIAN CUP Playing excellent Rugby League, Sydenham was altogether too strong for Addington at Sydenham Park on Saturday, winning by 25 points to 13. It was a play-off to decide the winner of the round, as the teams were equal with four wins and one loss each. As a result, Sydenham wiU now challenge Hornby, the holder, for the Canterbury Rugby Football League's Vivian Cup. Considerably weakened by the absence of three of the regular backs—A. Geddes, D. Wilson, and R. Barbarel— Addington did not look strong enough, but as at the interval Sydenham, which had. had the cold wind behind it, was leading by duly i H points and had lost Ray Brown, who was in fine form, Addington’s prospects looked reasonably good. However, Sydenha*m was generally even better against the wind, and the longer the second spell went the more marked was its superiority. Addington played well, but mistakes by the weaker backs left too much to be done by the others. Sydenham was on to errors in a flash. Its very strong back line was always ready to rush off, and with its flashing passing was hard to stop. ' The line is now going twice as well as in the early part of the season and is a really excellent side, the best the club has had for years. Each man is close to representative standard. At half-back L. Brown was superb. He was up in every attacking movement, often being In the line twice, and sent in good passes to S. Syme, a young five-eighths of considerable promise. Syme is very neat in his movements and fast in getting out of trouble. Guy and T. Duke made a number of spectacular dashes, some more than half the length of the ground. As full-back Scott was soundness itself, fielding well and running with good judgment. \ Addington’s backs, who were beaten in all places except Young’s, had a hard afternoon, mostly on defence. Bench and Young were the best, with Young outstanding. He was the spearhead of almost every attack and often had to stop two men when on defence. His coveringup earned rounds of applause. Bonniface and Hall also came in for a lot of tackling. Of the forwards, who were fairly even. Watt was most noticeable for Sydenham, with Wilson and Grimes working hard. Fraser, Price", and Ward were always in the van of the Addington rushes. The teams were as follows; —

Sydenham—R. Scott; D. C. Syme, R. Brown, T. Duke; W. Guy, S. Syrae; L. Brown; I. Wilson, F. Jones, E. Grimes, J. Denvir. W. Watt, J. Duke. Addington—H. Calder; E. Spurr, L. Bench, H. Sykes; L. G. Young, W. I. Bonniface; J. Hall, K. Wiltshire, A. Scott, R. Ward, R. Price, B. Fraser, G. H. Briggs. When Hull and Young set the Addington backs off in a passing rush Guy broke in at half-way and set off on his own. Weak tackling helped him on to score wide out. He also kicked a splendid goal. , In less than a minute Addington rushed back, loose forward work going to the line, where Young scored. Sydenham 5, Addington 3. After Guy had missed a penalty, L. Brown jumped smartly from the loose and sent to Wilson, who crossed wide out. Guy’s kick did not rise. Calder failed with a hard penalty for Addington. A thrilling run by T. Duke was stopped only at the corner flag. Young going right back to the Sydenham line. A quick return saved Sydenham, and Ray Brown went on by himself to score from half-way. Guy missed. Sydenham made three strong runs. Bonniface saved well from Wilson, but D. Syme came in to take a pass from R. Brown and score wide out. Guy missed, leaving the interval score; Sydenham 14, Addington X.

An Adding!* rush, soon after resuming, was held ftp. Fraser was handy and picked up to send across the backs to Spurr, who crossed in a tackle. Bonniface’s good shot just missed. In another Addington attack Guy intercepted and dodged his way for 70 yards before scoring. T. Duke goaled. Sydenham 19, Addington 6. Bonnlface kicked a great goal from the side line for Addington. Spurr, of Addington, and D. Syme, of Sydenham, had to leave the field injured. Fast passing among the Sydenham backs gave T Duke a run, Guy coming in to score! Duke missed at goal. Addington worked back to the Sydenham twenty-five, where Price broke from a scrum and sent to Young, who came in very smartly for a try and conversion. Sydenham 22,'Addlngf° n , 13 iL Sydenham rushed back from the kick-off, Watt going on with Gosney, who had replaced R. Brown, and scoring uy at final. leaving the final score: Sydenham 25, Addington 13. Referee: Mr H. W. Lawrence. JUNIOR GRADE Sydenham IT, Addington 2. FOURTH GRADE Woolston 24. Fourth Grade Representatives 23.