FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 182, 27 April 1908, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

OPENING OF SEASON. RUGBY. Tho Rugby season was commenced in earliest 011 .Saturday j when tho championship matches were got' under way. Pour senior games wore played; at Miramar, and one at I'etoiie. Tho play was fairly interesting at Miramar, but a high- wind swept tho field, and numerous stoppages had to bo made to revive injured players. Tho injuries were mostly due to the softness of the players at this early stage of the season, but the rough ground may also have had something to do with somo of them. Something like two thousand spectators journeyed out from town by tram and steanior, but judging by the comments made on every hand 011 tho way home, football at Miramar-will not be the popular sport it was when played on the Athletic Park. There were very few ladies in Saturday's crowd, and there is certainly no great temptation for tho. fair sex to patronise tho new grounds.

MELROSE (12), ; V. PONEKE (0). Tho principal game of tho . day was tho Melrose-Poncke contest, in whioh Melrose proved ' themselves : tho. superior combination, holding tho uppor hand practically the whole time. The winners liavo a solid forward team, most of tho members of. which have done good service for the club for some timo past,: but ,it is:-in' tho rearguard that a marked improvement is shown 011 last year. With tho exception of George Spencer the wholo of the b,acks aio young players, and on Saturday's showing give' promise of developing into a fine combination. Tho Poneko •serummers are .a-good-solid lot,-but -thoir backs , arc lost without tho. mainstays. of recent years—Wallaco and P. Mitchinson. 'Tho Melrose forwards attacked from the outset, but an over-hard kick sent the ball into touch in goal. They camo on again only to repeat the performances after being driven out-twice. At. length; a speculator by one of tho Melroso,, backs sent tho ball up in front of the posts. , Tho . forwards followed and smothered tho^Pjonekc.full-back, who was penalised for lying oil the ball. Georgo Spencor took tho kick and-converted. Prom the kick-out Mentiplay led Poiieke into'their opponents' quarters, where Gardiner had a fruitless, shot, at goal from . a free kick. Poncko kept at it, and Toohill missed a clear riin in through' just failing to.get up to a fast kick along tho ground 011 tho wido sido of tho field. The red and black's maintained tho uppof hand, and Gardiner had another unsuccessful shot at goal from a penalty kick. A", spell of even play was followed by another assault by Poncko, the outcome being another freo-'kidk. Rush had a shot, but although he made' a great'- attempt failed to find thoi posts. Tho; Melroso, forwards, led by.Dowar and Adams, rallied at length, and sot up . a long attack, but could not break down tho defence of the red-and blacks. At last Melrose were-rewarded as the result of'a fino niece of work by ..King, who broke; a,way/from'a throw in in.the 25, and'scored after .eluding' several Poneke backs, diving over the line when tackled:by the full-back. -George Spencer failed to convert;-; The balance of tho spell was slightly, in favour of Melrose, Georgo Spencer missing another penalty goal by a, few inches. -When half-.time sounded tho score was Molrosc C, Poneko 0. ■The second-,term,was all in favour-of Mel-' ,rose,.who added two more 1 tries. 'Play had not/been.'in' -progress very"-long before .C. ;Murphy crossed t-lio Poneko lino ncai; tho posts, picking the bsll •up from a looso scramble. Gcorgo Sponcor sent.the ball over one of the uprights. Towards the close of tho game Poneko'put in two strong; rallies, brio of which-looked as though it must.end in a try, when > Gcorgo Spencor stopped in and saved. Just 011 tho call of: time. Melrose added their filial try.A straggling rush smothered,- the Ponoke : hacks, and. ended in. Church scoring under ' .the posts. . George took, the, kick, .but. failed ; to convert, and tho game ended, Melrose .',12, Poneko ,0. Dewaij " King, -J. 1 ... Spencer,' ..-aiid" 'Adams,' werotho". best' of^':tli!o.;Melroso, forwards. Georgo Sponcor played a grand game at fullback, and so did "Greeks, Church and C. Muj'iihy; Paul-was, about, the safest of: tho Ponoke backs, tho . 'others 1 being about ,a dead * level. Rush, '■! O'Brien; ■ Calcinai, and Mentiplay, wore tho pick of-tho forwards. Mr. E:WyliowaS r'eforeo. ''

ORiEHTAI. (6), v, ATHLETIC (3). The Oriental-Athletic game was . fairly exciting. The Oriental men had the best/of the first spell,' 'but- tho Athletic forwards eamo to lights in : <tho second term and gave, their opponents a warm time. After a spell of oven forward'play Oriental assumed the offensive, and passing between Roberts and Matheson saw tho ball kicked over tho lino by the latter,, thus enabling Athlotics .to force down. . The blue and blacks worked down the line, and kept up a strong attack, .which failed,-, to produce ~any score. Suddenly Matheson changed' the complexion of things by.a dash, over Half tho length of the field; Jlalos ~saved the position 'and', repeated'.'tHoi performance'almost immediately afterwards, picking tho ball up smartly-from, tho front of a dangerous forward rush..'' Orientals cainc.. again, Roberts';'": Hamilton, Matheson, i and Hcenan combining in. a passing rusli, which ended within threo yards of tho lino'. A little later. Roborts secured the hall from a throw in in tho 25, and a nice piece of passing by. Sturrock, Matheson 'and Thompson saw*; the latter over tho line. Thompson took the kick, but failed, to improve.. Oriontill continued'.to hold tho 'best* Position, and another passing rush by. M'Leod, Gibbons, •Sturrock, 'and Matheson ended in the latter scoring after a fino ■ piece. of ■ play. Thompson's kick at goal ivas a failure; Tho balance of\ tho spell was in favour of Oriental,, who on one occasion, went within "an ace of scoring: from, a passing bout. ; Practically tho wholo of the second spell was in favour of Athletics;' whose forwards attacked strongly, at times keei)ing tho black and whites penned on tho line' for minutes at a stretch.' Roberts nut in a great amount of work' stopping. ruslic's, and Sturrock also defended well. Athletic succeeded in, registering one. try/-Kiveil-getting over from a scramble in the.corner, y'Hales failed with the kick.. The blues kept up the attack to the end, but no side-sounded with Oriental 6 points and Athletic 3. Mr. J. Condor was referee.' " 1

WELLINGTON (3) V. ST. JAMES (3). In tho four Clip matches played at JVlira"nar.otf Saturday least interest' appeared'to oentro in .tlie initial contest this season between '.Wellington-and St, James. Play, .which was confined for tho most part to the ™terestiri'g only' occasionally. Tho St. James team, which was not quite ,so heavy as tho Wellington side, showed botTheir' forwards worked together well, .especially in tho lo'ose, where,. in particular; Perry,, ox-Port Chalmers, shone most conspicuously. A few 'good passing rushes were initiated by the St. JarneS hacks, 1 but their attack.lacked vim. The Wellington' vanguard mado splendid use of their weight '? wor ' c >- an( l their backs secured the ball more frequently than their opponents. The back division of the Wellington team'showed good defence, but there-was room for considerable improvement in thoir attack. . Time and._ again opportunities to inaugurate passing rushes were not made use of. The result—a draw—was a fair index of the'merits of tho teams. "In tho first spell, owing to tho prevalence of a N.U. breeze, most of tho piny tool; plaeo on tho. south side of tho fiold. > Tho St. James forwards broke away several times in succession, and tho hacks also did good work Onco Crowes'kicked up tho field, and J'Vguson following up smartly secured. Perry was tho next to handle the ball, and then WrWit who was tackled. Wellington gradually worked back, but Thomas, at full-back for St. James, returned with a splendid kick. Tho Wellington- forwards did good work at thi3 stage, but, on several occasions, Perry Wright, arid company broke away in the, Jooso for St. James, and gained.considerable ground. About-tho middle of the spell ' Bridge distinguished himself by securing) owing to a faulty pass among tho St. James backs, and kicking out well down the line,' tho St. Jamos forwards again

carried the ball into Wellington territory, where Warwick", tho half-back, secured closo to tho line, anil transferred "to Wright, who, amidst applause, touched down. Crowes, who tool: the kick, made a good ofl'ort, but failed to majoriso. After this'- revorse, tho Wellington side played up. Their backs initiated a passing rush; little advantago was, hmyevor, gained. With tho aid of a fret-kick, Wellington gained a lot of ground, which was made up principally as a result of Perguson's efforts. Through failing to. tako tho ball, Sheridan, the Wellington full-back, got his sido into difficulties towards the end of the spell, which ended—St. James, 3 points; Wellington, nil. Pairly vigorous forward play characterised tho opening of tho second half. Whilst play was in St. James's 25, Hill secured a marl;, but Sallars's attempt at goal was a poor one. Work on tho line-outs was now a feature of tho game, Jl'K'ay, for Wellington, being especially prominent. The; St. James vanguard shortly afterwards worked down the field. Near Wellington's corner flag Bill, who had shown good defence despite an injury to his' hand, saved by marking opportunely and kicking into touch well along tho line. St. James again pressed,. but a force down —tho first to bo recorded for tho (lay— Kas tho only result. 1 After tho kick-out, play ,was inoro oven. Crowes and Wilson were shortly.afterwards ordered off 'thp lic-!d. Wilson, according to his! statement, received! a kick, arid, 011' tho spur of the' moment, caught hold of Crowes, who, ho thought, was responsible. A brief tusslo occurred, and the referee, upon tho ground that blows "were allegedly struck, would not allow tho players in question to rosunie. An infringement, later gave M'Gratli a place-kick, which was a splendid attempt,' tho ball striking 'ail upright. Tho Wellington forwards took a turn at attacking; and" tho back division rendered valuable -assistance. As a result of Perguson handling the ball when lie was off-side a freekick; was' awarded'-to Wellington, and to the delight pf Wellington's supporters Sellars. equalised tho, score by a splendid effort. St. Jamos tried hard during the 'remainder of the spell to again score. When they wore jn a good position, Btmckenburg spoiled a good olianco by infringing tho off-side rule. TJie match ended without further score—S't, James, 3 points (a try); Wellington, 3 points (a penalty goal). • Mr. H. Card proved an efficient referee.

[ OLD BOYS (9) v. VICTORIA COLLEGE (5). i This game, though not watched by. many i poople, was an iutorcstiiim one, and .was well contested. In the opening stages the • College, playing with the wind, had the bc-t- -- ter of the contest, and kept their opponents on tho defensive. The College ! players got 1 away with a good - rush, and a 'score stt-.med . inevitable,but the backs did not make use of tho advantage which 1 tlioy had obtained, and Thomson spoiled the attempt by a successful, tackle. Piny was next ill favour of tho' Old Boys, and eventually' fi.ey were rewarded, for their persistency, ;Eiias getting over as the-result, of ,a capital juiss' from Thomson. Avery .took the kick,-'.but made a poor attempt.. Old Boys had Uio; misfortune to. Ipso the services .of A. l Bogle 1 shortly after this. . He .was. playing 'in- tlio .tbree- 4 quartor lino, and was i-acing -ioivn tie field with the-ball .when ho was tackled, ami in tho resulting fall. ,he,ha4 his collar-ijcno ! broken. Old Boys continued to bo- aggressive, and shortly .after forced, 'their opponents as tho result of a .long, kick by Thornton. .The whites wore ha vino;, oil the best, of the game at this time, and from a; sticng forward rush' Marehunt succeeded -in getting over. Thomsoij this tirao took the .kick/ but his-effort wasi.a feeble one.■, Therc .was. ro , further scoro. in'the. first spell, The second-spell saw'some interesting 1 and lively play, t-ho College team making tho ,best use they, could of.the wind. ' .Matters ii) regard to tho number of'men wprp 'equalised in' this spall, G. • Gobdbohere, ;of Old Boys, receiving a knock in the eye, which, necessitated' his retirement. Play' was '.fairly oven during t-ho first part. of the -second spell, but. the:'Collego thou brightenod up, and had their opponents oil' the 1 , defensive, .Tho Collego team workc-d down near' their opponents' line, - and ; Goodbehore succoodcd in getting over 1 -near the posts. Hitchings .took tho kick, and placed n goal, 1 making -the score 6 to. 5. This had..'the'effect of iiiirparting.life '-to, the College'team, and; they ; made strenuous efforts'' to' obtain the points -necossary to place tliem-'ahead' 1 ofHllcir. : 'op■^ l ■ -P9hc'nts;' but with jut success; . Tiulhope took a mark', and Hitchings had 4a ; wick'at goal. He .made a very good attempt, but had hard luck, .the ..ball - just .hitting the post and glancing off. .Near tho end of t-ho game Old Boys, rallied, and ..-put . 'the . finishing touches on by adding another > three .points. 1 The .ball caino out 'from- a' scrum in'their opponents' twenty-five, . anf! Thomson got away, with it. .. He was collared, but passecl to. Freyberg, and .when tho latter-, was caught took the ball from : him, and raced over the line. Thomson took the kick 'himself, but failed, and the game Pnded shortly afterwards, .the. result.,.being-TvOld. Boys,-9 points (three tries); ..Collego, 5: poiiits try). v PETONE (16) v. SOUTHERN (0). ' Tho match between Eetone.and Southern was played on tho l'etone Recreation Ground, and resulted jri aaviii for the honio team by 16 points 4 -'to'. nil: The: ajame' was fast and open, 4 and - the spectators "numbered about. 1500. 4 - l'etone played with; tho sun behind- their backs. Play wis at ,'an early, stage carried to tho Blues' 25, but J. Ryan found the lino on tho Reds' side; of half-way. Tho Rods forced _ the play, tho leather going . out at touch in goal. From the kick out a' return kick by lnstono let the Blues into -trouble, but M., Ryan staved off what seemed-a. certain score by air excellent lino.'lock". Shortly after Reid had' a penalty' shot at ' goal for the Reds, but tlie . ball went ; wide of tho mark. 'From ;a .. scrum ' on, the lleds' lino Macldcy secured for Pctone, and instituted" a . passing rush, , which ended iii; Hpuso grassing the' leather . near' the posts. Instone . added 'tlic major points-— Pct-ono, ■ ;. Southern, 0... From a line out in Blues'. 25, Knight smothered Armstrong's kick, and'plav was quiclcly transferred ! to tho Reds' line, where, from a line out, Coil Sullivan secured arid dived over. lnstono took the kick,, but no goal resulted—Petono, -8> Sout-horn,'o. -. The Reds':wero put on the fence,: Init-subsequently>ttackbd, tho ball being kicked over the dead ball lino. ■ i The Blues/forced the paco at the commencement of the second half, arid the Reds were compelled to force down. 1 From a scrum on half-way, > tho ball came■ a.cross the: field -to Maokloy,' who put in a great run, 1 arid scored near i the corner flag. No goal resulted— Petono, 11; Southern, 0. Up and down play followed tho kick out, neither sido . gaining advantage, owing to smart tackling- on 'both sides. The Blue forwards, headed by M'Gill and Rcjuly, Sot up an invasion oon the Rods' quarters, and from a scramblo ori tho Rods 1 25's tho ball camo out among tho Blue 'backs Green instituting a passing rush, which ended m Maokloy again grassing the 1 leather. J Ryan added tho extra points — Pctone 1G - Southern, 0. Time sounded shortly after with play in Southern territory. 4 ' 'Mr F' Laws controlled the game.