NORTH V. SOUTH MATCH SPOILT BY RAIN

Chronicle (Levin), 19 August 1946, Page 7

NORTH V. SOUTH MATCH SPOILT BY RAIN

-Press Association

By Telegraph-

YV hix.JLlN U 1 UjN , August 18. Fifteen minutos short tnne was played iu the second spell by arrangement, in the Eugby iixture betwecb Uie %\onh and rsouth lsiands al Athletic Park on Saturday, becausc of tho f vvretciied nature or the ground followiiig hcavy rain after a line week, aiid ' with drizzling rain falling throughout. • Xorth won by 8 to 8. ■ Sections of the field were. covered by poois of water. (Jrowds began to fill «• the embankment early in the day but 1 as rain set - in, blowing aeroas the ; grouzvd, the greater part from the open ■ Beetioxi left bel'ore the match started. Included umong those present were tne-tiovernor-Genenii and fiady Freyberg. With eonditions so diiiieult it would \ be hard to go into great detail ou in- j dividual iierformanees, espeeially in the ■ baeks. Except for scrummaging team- •' •work was very near to lmpossible. Six ! members of Ihe Kiwis side were pluy- I ing, four for North and two for South. ; Well-founded antieipatious that it r would have been a great match were : bnly spoiled by tlie weather. Lt was i. the forwards ' day and even then a ' most uupleasant oue,, as after tlie first •; quarter of an hour of play, the ball ! was as slipp.ery as an eeJ and the , ground equully treacherous. JMoves j of'ten ended with the players flounder- i ing ifi- pools of water. The eleincnt oi I chanee entered into Ihe play to a large ! extent. . , The referee, Mr. A. lil. Matliioson, '■ Taranaki, had an unenviable timo as i the. ball and players slithered about the field. Llttle cuneerted work could have been expeeted among the bacKs und tliat there was some refiected credit ou the merita oi' the players. Smith, eentre-threequarter i'or North niuuaged to maintain his footing as well as anv: one ahd made somevpowerful runs, passing with tlie precision and aceuraey ' ueeessarv on such a day to keep the attack going. Y Outstanding among the baeks on both ;. sides for steadiness and reliabilitv was ' Weott, fullback i'or North. Five poinls came froin his boot in the earlier sti.gei of the first half, with a pen..;ty and conversion. All altfiig his Vaiidling and •. kieking won applause. F : eoolii(iss often enablod him to" ev'ua- F, , of the opposing forwards splaslnug u]» » iu close pursuit of the slow heavy ball. j ^ Fraser was responsible for tho only : •North Island.try. A scrum formed' near the .South line. Fraser dropped on ; tlie ball from his front row position i after ^ North forwards Jiad pushed over I the line. | North forwards, (hough predomjnant I in the scrums, wefe out-matc'lied in tne ' tine-outs, though the opportunity fol- | lowing possession was praetically nil. j lt was a matter of ruekiug and follow ' ing through. The over-running of the ! ball was eoniniou as there was littlei bouncc, Often the ball stopped deud !

W hite, Llliott and McTIugli, with j Frazer who seored the try, worked tire- I lessly for North. j South, however, never let up and in ! spite of tl.e disad\^Lntages of the firsr 1 half against the wind, the pack was j mai! for man liltle short of North. ' Uith twenty minutes of the second speti i gone, Khiiid in the back of the South ! seruni, tinished ofi a sustained forward j attack with a fine try which was un- j converted. Jn the two cuftain raisers, to the ( main match, one of which started just ' as a heavy downpour set in, short time was also played.