HARD-FOUGHT GAME

Chronicle (Levin), 15 July 1946, Page 8

HARD-FOUGHT GAME

SHANNON' DEFEAT FOXTON In a hard-fought battle in the rain and mud, Shannon seniors defeated Foxton by 9 points to 6 on

:he Shannon Domain. The wet weather spoiled any spectaculai play and made it miserable for tht onlookers. This is the first occa,ion since 1940 that the Shannon ,eam has been successful in outDointing the Foxton senior team. Phe tearns that took the field were .is follows: — Shannon: Mortimer, Fuller, Campbeli, Cailesen, Pedersen, Aitchison, Chester, Higgott, Ellison. .tauhihi, Gadsby, S. Chester, Rob.nson, Speranza and Cowley. Foxton: • McNiel, O'Donell, Winiata, Tanukara, Taylor, Jarvis. faylor, Piripif, E^rown, Vertongen, J. Betty, M. Betty, Evans, Smith md Roebuck.

! From the opening wnisne voxuon pressed into Shannon terrirnry and a free kick ailowed the lorne team to clear, the ball going nto touch midway between the shannon twenty-five yard line and ualf-way. From the line-out play :eturned to the home twenty-five ind from another free kick the home side i'ound touch at halfvvay. Following rucking play in nid-field, Shannon pressed into Foxton ground and from a handy j oosition S. Chester went over go i "-core the first points of the game. | Mortimer's kick failed. Shannon j 3 Foxton 0. 1 Soon after the kick-off a scrum .vent down on- Foxfon's twenty- : .ive line and an infringement gave ! he home team a free kick, which | jrought play tack to the Foxton ' ive-yard line. Foxton cleared and j oiay returned to home ground and ; i.ollowing a line-out a scrum went . down for a knock-on. Faulw play in the scrum gave the visitors a j free kick, Winiata taking a shot at ' goal. The kick failed to go between ! .he uprights and Shannon forced. ' Play soon returned to Shannon ■ cerritory and Mortimer, finding ; louch on the home ten-yard line, aved what was a dangerous posi- ; .ion for Shannon. From ihe linejut Foxton pressed on to the Shan- ! non line and the home side forced ; again. A forward pass resulted in | a scrum going down inside Shan- : non's twenty-five and Fuller kicked up-field to find touch jusr ! short oi the half -way flag. The i home team pressed hard, but a free ' kick savcd the visitors. From a ; une-ouc Shannon pressed to the : Foxton line again and a scrum i went down under the, goal posts. ; Foxton were compelled to force ; and from the drop-out play returned to the visitor's line and I ;hey again forced. Play centred around half -way for some min- : utes, and a line opening by ! O'Donell sent Brown across the i Shannon line to even the points. I faylor 's kick failed. ! With the score at three all, and ' following the kick-off, a fast up1 field movement by the Shannon : forwards sent Aitchison over for a fipe try-. Mortimer .failed^ with the 'kiek. 'Foxbon opened thfe; attaclk after the kick-off. 'A fiife-"passinig' rush brought the visitors to th'e ; Shannon lme, and G. Betty went : over to bring the score to six all. Winiata failed to add the extra ! ooints. . Lcose play in mid-field brought the ball to Foxton ground again, and following an infringement in a scrum, Shannon were awarded a free kick, Fuller's attempt just failing to make the cross-bar. Foxton forced and from the drop-out a fine passing rush by Gadsby and Higgott brought play to Foxton ground, but a speculator kick saved the position for the visitors, the ball going into touch on the twenty-five yard line. The whistle sounded for half-time with the score unchanged at six all. Heavy rain fell during the interval and' the second spell opened with a very wet ball and heavy field. Shannon undoubtedly had the better of the second half and were on the attack righo irom tne opening whistle. However, Foxton played a great defensive game and were unfortunate in not gaining more ground with some of their smart moves. A kick down-field brought the home team over 'the Foxton line and Cailesen, following up fast, was just beaten for the ball. From the drop-out Fuller and Aitchison brought play into Foxton ground again, and once more the visitors had to force. A, good up-field kick by Betty brought j ^he ball into the Shannon twenty- I five, but Mortimer, with a fine kick, ' found touch well over the half-way line. Higgott opened play for the home team and a good run by i Cowley looked like a certain try, I but the ball went dead. Shannon | again attacked and Higgott went over about five yards from the corner flag to bring the home team in the lead. Fuller's Ifick fell short. Shannon 9, Foxton 6. Foxton attacked from the kickoff and were soon on the Shannon line and the home side forced. ' From the drop-out play went into

Foxton territory, but a fine run by McNiel brought the ball to Shannon's line again for Higgott to savr with a fine kick. Play moved back and forth, with both sides finding it hard to handle the ball in the heavy rain. Following a scrum on the Foxton five-yard line, right under the goal-posts, an infringement gave the home. side a free kick. Fuller took a shot at goal, out the slippery ball slid off the fide of his boot. Play hovered in Foxton territory until the final .vhistle sounded with the score stili at Shannon 9, Foxton 6. Mr. S. Graham was in control of .he match.