HOROWHENUA HAVE DOUBLE SUCCESS

Chronicle (Levin), 19 June 1946, Page 8

HOROWHENUA HAVE DOUBLE SUCCESS

ANNUAL GAMES WITH /RONGOTAI Horowhenua College's first fifteen battled their way through mud, wind, rain and Rongotai College defence to win a decisive victory by 22 to nil in their. annual game, at Levin yesterday, and it was a pleasure to. watch, Both sides played clean, hard football, and the score is in no way an indication that Rongotai did not put up a spirited defence against their apparently fitter opponents. The Horowhenua defence was characterised by sound and eff ective . tackling. Towards the end of the game, as J Rongotai o'oviously tired, the Horoj whenua boys were given the opporLunities to make some spectacular solo eiforts,, two tries being scored in very quick succession by this means. The tcams that took the field were as follows: — j Rongotai College: Powell, Smith, jMoir, Jones, Munr'o, McKnight, I Cornish, Elliott, Knap, ' Warring, j Ryder, Boag, Gatfield, Harris ahd | McKendry. Horowhenua College : Parsons, Lind, Giles, Ropata, Gwynn, Davies, Royal, Hermanson, Walker, Leddra, Stannard, Casey, McClune, Irwin and Lycette. i . Horowhenua kicked off, into the jwind, and followed the ball up to i Ihe Rongotai twenty-five. How- ! over, Rongotai counter-atthcked, jand fast and hard play followed, | with the territorial advantage j going'to neither side. On several j occasions, Rongotai's backs began i movements which seemed to be : stalled by the difficulty of accurate passing in the high wind, which was blowing diagonally across the field. During this period of play ; Parsons was conspicuous by his ! sound defensive play at full-back | for Horowhenua. A series of short ; passing movements by Horowhenua's backs took the ball to the Rongotai twenty-five, and soon ; after Davis • succeeded in putting : over a penalty, which had been : awarded against Rongotai for an | infringement in a ruck in front of ' tlie posts. This opened Horowhen1 ua's scoring account. Following the kick, the local team resumed the offensive, and were unlucky not to score. A Horowhenua player was off-side on the line, and the free kick taken by Rongotai sent the ball back to the Lwonty-fivc line. However, Horowhenua socn regained the initiaU'/n, r.nd Cook was Ihe next to score, uiving over between the posts after a loose scrum about fifteen yards from the line. Davis succeeded in adding the titbits, making the. score 8 — 0. Horowhenua kept up 0 their attacks for the remainder of the half, and several promising movements were checked by infringemeiits on the part of Horowhenua players. The condition of the ground. which was bad in the first half, beeamo worse as the game prbgressed, at times in heavy rain. The i rc ult was that the play lost much o(' i '•? former open character, and individual opportunity became the rulo ralher than teamwork. elthough there was no lack of the intter. Rongotai kicked off, and ITorowh uma once again battered away at their opponents' defence, which held fairly well flght up to the last stages of the game. The next try came when Lincl received the ball from a loose ruck in the Rongotai twenty-five, and raced over to score in the corner. Walker was unlucky not to convert, the score being Horowhenua 11, Rongotai 0. A succession of attacks by Horoi whenua followed, and several. of them came very close to scoring. A spectacular run from half way by Ropata, wading through the defence en route, added a further three points, making Horowhenua's . total 14. Shortly y after, - Wdliler mnde a similar effort, running : ( hrough from the loose play behind ! the half-way line, and scoring in the corner after dodging the defence and losing the ball once ; on the way. This brought the score to 17 — 0. The final points were added by Davis, who ran across beiVeen the posts, after a fine solo sprint from the loose play around Rongotai's twenty-five. Ropata's kick was successful and the final whistle blew just after, with the score at Horowhenua 22, Rongotai Mr. C. E. Wiseley ably controlled the game.