THRILLING FORWARD DUEL AT MANAKAU

Chronicle (Levin), 21 June 1948, Page 4

THRILLING FORWARD DUEL AT MANAKAU

Commencing at an. iexceptionally fast clip and, mucli to the surprise of spectators, becoming faster as it progressed,. the senior elasji at Manakau between Hui Ma: and Levin Wanderers was the best game seen in this district for a Jong.time. Hui Mai won the day by 10 points to thrtee. > - i • Winning the toss, Wanderers took. advantage of the yery noticeaple fa'il from one end of the field to the other. Diirmg the first exchanges it was obvious that the forwaras were going to fight out the issue, with. the bucks.playing a secondary part. Taking the game right through, the posse'ssion of the bail from the set scrums was even, both McCashin (Hui Mai) and W. Winiata (WanderefS) 'huving *a grand duel. ( Perhaps , the odds were siightly in Ta.vouf 'of^fhe HUiCMai' pack, as they wer.e noticeahly outwejghed by the hlack. vanguard, The line-outs and rucks'were, grim affairs, all the fpfwards battlihg- as if their fives depended upon the outcome. McCashin (Hui Mai) was the outstanding player on the field. His try early in the second spell was brilliant. If the district's .young forwards were to follow this stalwart's e^ample, they would soon be p'layers worth watching. Every forward on both sides piayed excellent football, but it was a shame to see such grand football marred by the surprisingly poor handling qf the rearguards. Of the backs on both sides G. Sciascia (Wanderers) was perhaps a shade better than both M. Staples and W. Page, of Hui Mai. Page, at fullback, alwayg takes the ball feplendidly and bis long raking touch finders on Saturday certainly had a very discouraging effect on the opposition. Wanderers scored first, a goocl try by McCready, which W. O'Donnell narrowly missed converting with an excellent kick. Shortly before half-time, I. Robinson broke through after faulty handling oy A. Hakaraia (Wanderers) . He went over the line between the posts, but, as he fell, he lost the ball, which. McCashin very smartly touched dowh- I. Robinson kicked a very ea'sy goal. Early in the second spell, again as the resu'lt of poor handling by the black backs, the Hui Mai forwards burst through the defence at the twenty-five. As the ball came clear from a fierce ruck, McCaship, with a devastating dribbling rush, outplayed and outran three defenders to toucb down for a really fine try, which I. Robinson again converted. There was no further score, although both teams narrow'ly migsed on several occasions. The feature of the game was that not one penalty kick brought points. The final score was a good indication of the merits of the teams. On the day Hui Mai were a more compact upit and thoroughly deserved their win. - -~ The r,eferee was Mr. F. G. Carrington.