SATURDAY'S OUTDOOR SPORTS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 853, 27 June 1910, Page 4

SATURDAY'S OUTDOOR SPORTS

U m fc. n U h e> a by t»a sia &EA ORIENTAL TEA! TROUNCED BY. OLD BOYS. PONEKE NOW' ON TOP. . - ATHLETIC EFFECT A DRAW WITH ST. JAMES

. Saturday was a day of surprises so far as senior llugby was concerned. Th.ero.wero, it is officially estimated, over 4000 people at the Athletic Park, where Oriental, who were leading for the championship, were- decisively beaten by a comparatively weak team like Old Boys and Athletics, after an •interesting but far less exciting contest drow with a much more successful team ill St. James. Out at the Uutt, too, Poneko, who are now on top, wero lucky in getting homo against Hutt, who have played indifferently throughout tho se-ason. Another surprise arises from tho fact that Wellington, who it seemed likely would go through tho competition without a win, secured a victory at tiio expense of Southern, ■which, prior to la-st Saturday, was tho only team which had not been beaten by Oriental. Play was somewhat interfered with in the various matches by a strong northerly and tho greasy state of the turf in places. . To say that Old Boys created a surprise by defeating Oriental would bo to put it mildly. It was astonishing enough to the majority of the spectators to find that Old Boys wero holding their <swn against tho only undefeated team in tho competition, and whon tho score started.to mount up in Old Boys' favour, tho enthusiasm of the onlookers was roused to a high pitch. Tho splendid work done by the Old Boys' hookers ■throughout the match, and tho brilliant passing of the backs in tho second spell, came as a revelation. Up till half-timo Gilberd had not boon" exactly -happy behind tho scrum, but in the second half ho opened up tho play in fino style, and in tho last quarter of an hour ho had his tacks working liko a gigantic piece of machinery, the last try being perfection in football. As for Oriental, they wee all at spa without their skipper, M'Lcod, whilst Sturrock was also absent. It was apparent after their match with St. James that they can do well enough without Roberts, but it is certain after Saturday's match that they cannot spare M'Leod. And hero it may be said that if tho representative selectors cannot gaugo M'Lcod's worth when ho is playing, it should bo easy enough, for them , to get a fair estimate of his value when ho is not playing. But •that is merely by the way. Oriental wero further weakened by injuries to ■two .valuable forwards in Cameron (the leader of tlieir pack) and Perry. Tho latter .returned to the field with a bandaged head, and Cameron was replaced by a substitute. As it was, the team finished the game with a man short, as Chant, the full-back, had his shoulder dislocated in the second spell. The positious of the various teams as a result of Saturday's matches are now ,*s under:—

OLD BOYS, 16; ORIENTAL, 3. From the commencement of play between Oriental and Old Boys, the former team, playing from the western goal, commenced to attack and kept the Old Boys well back in-the twentyl\vle, Oriental wing three-quar-ter, made two fine runs early in the game, and was dangerously near the poets once when l'icot upset him. Scrums wero frequent, and though play was still in Old Boys' territory, tho attack was warded olf to a great extent by the excellent hooking of 'Dodd and Jiicobseu, the ball thus being kept from the Oriental backs. In a .loose rush, -however, Kiuvig (Oriental) snapped up and transferred to Sullivan, and the latter after a useful run sent it on to Matheson, but the pass •(a wild one) was not accepted, and a Bcoro was lost. Old Boys then got into difficulty by a passing rush in their own twenty-five, but Uilbcrd extricated his side at a critical moment. After a shot by Kinvig, more, passing between Sullivan and Matheson resulted in the latter being thrown uut near the corner. Perry, Bunekenburg, and Tyrell were doing great work among; tho Oriental forwards, but tho epleridid hooking of tho Old Boys mid food line-kicking by tlicir backs comined to make a sound defence. An .infringement by Old Boys gave Matheson a futile shot, and l)odd then headed a lino rush into Oriental territory. Tho ex-Collegians then sustained tho attack for nearly a quarter of an hour, and Oriental wore finally forced down. Soon after tho drop-out, Perry, ' an Oriental forward/ received a kick on tho head and retired for tho remainder of the spoil: From a loose rush near Old Boys' line, Carrad secured and dashed across. Oriental, 3; Old Boys. 0. On .resuming, Perry reappeared, and Galloway replaced Cameron, who had retired owing to an injured e.vo. It was at otirii apparent that Old lioys wero out 1o win, and Grace presently created excitement by kicking high from half-way and following up. Mathesoii failed to take the ball, and (J race took it from the bounce and scored a lino try. Jlarchant converted from an anglo. Old Boys, 5; Oriental, 3. Almost every scrum now saw tho ball go out to Old lioys, and their opponents wero beginning to look i/orried. Temporary relief mine from a fumbled passing nißh, and l'yle broke away witli tho ball at his toe, but Gilberd saved and kicked down field. lie failed to find tho line, however, and Matheson secured, and, running up the field, transferred to Sullivan, to'Kinviß, to Pyle. Tho last-named made a great run, but was topplpd over by Dawson. From a line-out Old Hoys' forwards rushed the ball right down to within ten yards of tlio scoring area, where Oriental wero penalised through the full-back hanging on. Marchant kicked a magnificent goal. Old Boys, 8; Oriental, 3. A brief interval of uneventful pl.iy was followed by Picol. marking in front of the posts, but Merchant failed with tho sbrt. About this lime, Chant, Oriental full-back, sustained partial

dislocation of the left shoulder and retired. ' Merchant had another unsuccessful shot, but in the rush that followed ho secured the ball and scored. Old Boys, 11; Oriental, 3. Old Boys' hacks were now playing in great stylo, and the crowd was raised to great excitement whon Gilbord secured thn ball from a scrum and commenced to thread his way through the Oriental roarguard. At the psychological moment he transferred to Mafchant and. on itwent to Grace. Then Picot, coming up at top speed, received a pass from Grace, and in turn transferred to Dawson. A whole army of. black and white jersoys swarmed round Dawson, but lie had full steam 'on, and bumping his way through two or three opponents, he ran round behind the posts and scored amidst a storm of cheers. Marchant converted. Old Boys, 10; Oriental, 3. Jlr. Xelson was referee. ST JAMES, 6; ATHLETIC, 6. It would have been difficult at any stage of this contest to have forecasted the result. Proceedings opened with a determined onslaught on the part of Athletic, and St. James soon realised that if the game wero to bo allowed to resolve itself into a duel between the forward divisions it might go very hard with them. To open up play, to suit their methods was, however, not an easy matter. As a result of Leahy on the Athletic right wing failing to | field the ball, St. James eventually secured temporary relief. Athletic infringed twice; but the wind in one instance, and the distance in tho other, prevented Thomas from turning tho chances to account. l''oi- a little whilo play became much faster; still, as neither of tho. rearguards was showing much combination, it was not particularly interesting. About half-way through the spell again asserted their superiority. Thuro wero, however, no "fireworks" about their efforts, so it came somewhat as a surprise when it was seen that they had pierced tho St. James defence. It appears that after a throw-in, the ball wont llapson's way and seeing a clear passage along the touch-lino ho dodgod over. 3—o. Elated with their success, Athletic again applied the pressure and through M'Grath badly misDeldiug tho ball they got within striking distance. In order to obtain relief the St. Jameii backs resorted to long kicking, and Leahy, for the second time, let his sido down. When Athletic, got back to a favourable poaitioli,. they varied tiu-lr attack by bringing their rear division into action, i'rom a ruck insido the St. James 25, Murray threw out the ball to M'Kenzie who jumped high and gathered in a difficult pass. On wont the ball to jl'Donald, and "Sim" Wil■soii, comini; round last on the outside, next got possession with the result thr.t lie scored a''pretty try. G—o. Athletic continued to have tho better of tho first spoil, but St. James jnust | ho credited with a lino passing rush. (Jetting tho ball after a long line-out, F. Crowes skipped Bradley in favour of his brother, \V. Crowes who, l/.v » strong run sot within a yard or two of tho Athletic line. H. Kobqrts, who was supporting him foil and rickod his knee, the result being that Dobson had to take his place for the rest of the game. The second spoil opened very disastrously for tho Athletic team; indeed, by the way in which St. James .overshadowed them for a time, it looked as if they had "done their dash", and that tho tables were'about to lie turned with a vengeance. Within a fewminutes St. James had driven Athletics right back and in eome scrambling play which followed Hills got over. Then tho St. James rearguard took a hand, with tho result that for a time Athletic were sorely pressed, i'irst to one side of the field and then ti) the other swept the fast St. James backs, but they were not so clover as usual—crowding quo another and failing to boat their opponents. Bradley potted opportunely on one occasion, the ball missing the posts by only a narrow margin. At last, however, St. James wero well rewarded for their persistenl. attack. In a sciamble mar tlio Athletic lino E. Roberts made a short run, and lost the ball, but Bruce, 'coining; up behind, found an opening, and dived over tho line. Thomas failed to enhance the score. 6—6. In view of tho fact that Athletic again pulled themselves together, St. James by no means had the butter of the remainder of the game. Indeed, cither sido might have won had it taken full advantago of the chances which came its way. As Athletic could not break through tho defence, S. Wilson on one occasion had a pot, but was blocked. Not long afterwards Evenson, from a penalty shot, mado a fine but fruitless attempt at goal. St. James- also initiated several rushes, but no further luck attended their efforts, and so the game ondod in a draw—G points aside. Mr. W. Spencer controlled tho game. WELLINGTON, 6j SOUTHERN, 0. Tho match at Karori did not attract many spectators, and it was not a particularly brilliant exposition of football. Those who havo weighed up tho comparative strengths of the teams taking part in tho senior championship wero mostly of opinion that Wellington would at least havo a win this week. Defeating a team such as that which represented Southern on Saturday wns not great honour for the conquerors, however. The Southern backs played a ragged game, and were seldom seen in attack play, while the forwards, although a useful lot, did not follow tho leather with consistent earnestness. Kicking off against tho wind, and up a eloping around, tho Southern pack took play over tho Wellington twenty-five line, but the onslaught—if it deserves the name—was not marked by sjierinl merit in tho way of organisation or even ardour, mid it broke down in consequence, Wilson nnd Turner redirecting the ball down (in tho wind. A little energy on the part of the oagor Wellington men soon told against the Southern looseness, for Turner, having snapped at a:i op"iiiiii;, toed tiio ball into Lambert's reach, and the tall wins tliree-quartor sprinted over the lino. 3-0. Although Wellington had rather the bettor of tho game during tho remainder of tho spell, there was no further addition to tho Ecore. On resuming Southern again took charge, hut, as might have been expected from tho happenings at tho commencement of the match, tliis enthusiasm v/aH not long-lived, and Wellington quickly reasserted themselves. Although tho

Southern half, Gallagher, obtained tho bail fairly frequently from tho scrums, the Wellington forwards, in the loose, wore undeniably the superior pack, and tlio second and only other score ol the mutch was duo, for the most part, to their verve. Tlio ball came out to Lambert from a brisk scramble in mid-field. Ho punted followed up, obtaining the hall a. second, time, ami Vrossed the Southern unal-line. 6-0. And those wero tho last p:>ints to be registered, although onco towards tho close Southern, in a last rally, came close to scoring. Gallagher took the bull forward, but, when Duncan received it and had an easy opportunity to run in, ho hesitated and was promptly collared. Jlr. J. Francis was the referee. J'ONEKE, 3; HUTT. NIL. Tho most sanguine, people at the Hutt and in Wellington were surprised at tho gallant resistance put up by Hutt against tho formidable city team on Hutt No. 1, ami had it not boon for tho decided weakness of Barnott, Hutt's full-back, a second win more than likely would have been recorded for the suburban team. R. Leahy mado a reappearance in tho ranks of the Kods, and was about the best forward on tho ground. Pon-eke commenced operations by forcing Hutt determinedly, and it scorned only a matter of seconds before tlio iteds would begin scoring, but Hutt's backs were defending wuil. a.ud their weighty forwards tackled splendidly. Although tJic-y wero compelled to force down on four occasions in quick succession, they finally ETicc-eedcd in carrying play on tlio good sido of half-way. Again and again did Poneko try tlieir backs, but never mado headway, this being either through holding' on tou long or through tiio smart tackling on the part of their opponents. Krom a lino-out at haJf-way, Hunter, Cak-inai, and Donnelly, with a fino dribbling rush, evaded all opposition, and Hunter secured the only scons of tho match. Poiioke 3, Hutt 0. l'onoko again pressed, and Gardiner attempted to pot a goal, but the bail did not rise, tlatt were peualised for off-sido play, and Slater was entrusted with the kick. '11k bail wont over tho bar, but the goal was disallowed by the referee, owing to » liuui liemg Ui front. ToiK'ke's wing-three-quarter mulled the kick-out, and Koutloy nnd Hedgeniiui, following up smartly, took tho leather a.t their toes, pJmo&t to a score, but Slater saved his side" with n kick to half-way. Both towns woro now going strongly, the tackling lic-ing keen, but the scare was not added to whr-n half-time was called. •Everybody thought that tho second spoil would soe Iltitl's downfall, but the spectators wero wrong, lor the- suburban forwards played a3 they never played before, and only missed scoring on 'several occasions by inches. During one of these attacks Walshe was penalised for lying on the ball, in close proximity to tho goal-posts, but Hekcta craild not even up the score, and Poncke subsequently made strenuous efforts to pierce the defence. Tilyard beins; especially prominent. At this stag.? H'cketa had to be carried off owing io in-jiiries, and his place was taken by Tan.na.hill. Pojioke, when within striking distance, wero awarded a penalty, but Walshe did not improve. Oontiii'iiinn; the attack, the Jlods swarmed over their opponents' goal-line, whore Cudby, who was playing splendidly, brought relief with a, fino kick. Play was very exciting now, and tlio llutt forwards woro beating Poneke in every dopartmo-nt of the game. Yet no luck came thwr way, and thus the game (the best that Hutt has played this season) ended—Poneko 3 points, Hutt nil. 31 r. Tregea-r was referee. PETONE, 28; MELROSE, 3. Potono opened the game at- No. 2 ground, Hutt, with a strong attack, and a few minutes after the start, Strickland, after a fino dodgy run, touched down at tho corner. 3 —o. jUclroso forwards' then initiated a rush, which took play over half way, .where, however, "Joo" llyan snapped lip from a rebound, and racing along the lino scored under the posts. Al'i'arlano made no mistake- with the kick. B—o. l*\ir the next quarter of an hour; nothing of an interesting nature happened save a series of long kicks and runs straight across the field.' liolroso forwards then put Pctone on tho defence, but Corson saved with a fino kick, and Dent and M'l<'arlano, following up smartly, smothered the. return, and the former dashed over. M'Karlano again converted. 13—0. Petono again attacked, "Joo" Ityau being conspicuous. Alelroso were relieved, however, with a well-judged kick liy Scott, which enabled them to get within scoring distance of their opponents' line. Hardliaiu cleared, and from a line-out, this player took tho ball at his too. and secured the fourth try. 16—0? Shortly after half-timo sounded. The second spell, was an easy time for Pctone, whose forwards attacked from the start, and J. Price dived over. 19—0. Uclrose tried tlieir backs at this stage, and wero just beginning to look dangerous when Jl'Kenssio intercepted and turned defenco into attack. From a scrum this player obtained the ball and potted a nice goal. 23—0. The host piece of play on Jlelrose sido was when liicliardson secured from a scrum and transferred to Tworney, to M.-vrshni!, to Scott, who raced over. 23—3. Just after this H'Kenzie, after a clever passing rush, added another try for l'otone which M'Karlanc converted. 28—3. Jlr. L. Simpson was the referee. JUNIOR. lVt-tine, 37; Old Hoys, 0. Whitley, Daly, Parrant, and Cudby • scored two tries each, and tries wero also obtained by Nankiville and K. Byan. Aston converted two trios, and kicked a penalty goal. Oriental, 20; St. John's, 0. Jlelroso defaulted to St. James. Poneke, 9; Athletic, 0. Schvyn, 8; Wellington, 3. THIRD CLASS. St. John's were soundly defeated by Wellington College by 52 points to 3. Trv-gettorx for the winners wore: Kaillie (3), Harris (3), Heard (2), and Kobertson, Stewart, Gallic, Williamson, and (iothiirt (one each). Childs converted three, trios ami Stewart two trios. Tho latter also converted a penalty. At Jolinsmiville, Porinia defeated Jolmsoiiviliu by 3 points to ml. Jfelrosc defaulted to Petono. Karori, 17; Schvyn, 3. Poneko, 14; Victoria College, 3. Southern, 15; Exchange, 0. Scores who obtained by I'unscll (2), Wetherall, Gray, and Taylor. FOURTH CLASS. Schvyn, 17 ; St. John's, 0. The scorers wore: 'liiuiso (2), and Desmond (1). Wsiriio converted a try, and kicked two penalty goals. Southern, I!*; St. James, !). Martin scored for the losers, and I hose who obtained tries fur Bulllhran were: Hiiyes, Kdwards, Dipper, and Doherty. C:ipp:"-r converted two tries, and kicked :i penalty goal. '■■ Potono, 20; Athletic, 3. FIFTH CLASS. Wellington College defeated Selwyn by !U points to 3. Pctone, 33; Southern, U. '

is .5 — *~- £ c ! 2 £ S o >* 3 '5j:'S h ? kI ft P< P. O o. Poneke 8 7 1 - 71 9 U Oriental 8 G 1 1 87 33 13 St. James .... 8 G 1 1 105 :Si 13 Petono ., 9 G 3 — 13.1 51 12 Athletic 8 4 3 1 03 13 0 Old Boys S i 4 — Gl 47 8 Vic. Collcgo 8 3 5 — 5fl 77 G Southern ... 8 2 5 1 l>3 125 5 Hutt 7 1 ' 5 1 23 77 3 Mclrose 8 1 G 1 21 ()(! 3 .Wellington ... 8 1 7 — 23 107 2