THE RUGBY CODE MATCHES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1735, 28 April 1913, Page 6

THE RUGBY CODE MATCHES.

MELROSE IN EVIDENCE. ■ HARD TUSSLE AT THE PARK. Synopsis of Results. Oriental 3 Melrose 0 Petone 27 o tyauod Athletic 14 College 0 Wellington ... 15 St. James 5 little Tyltyl, and Mytyl never looked into such a Land of Memory in "Tho Blue Bird" as ono sees (and remembers) when ho goes to the Park and gazes into the murk and shadows of latter-day football. Sometimes tho torch of interest lights the dark Rugby fen a little: sometimes not at all. Sometimes, too—but only sometimes—tho lights burn up quito brightly, and everyone is thankful. They burnt up "some" (as Americans have it) on Saturday and many of tho 3000 people present thought it quite a satisfying day. Grey autumnal skies looked down upon tho games and thcro was no embarrassing sunshine. The clacquers on tho bank found plenty t6 cheer at and roar at, and that is always a stimulating symptom.

Mostly the high lights were all on the Melrosc-Oriental game and tho half lights on the others. Without any announcement, but for reasons/ that were obvious enough later, the Rugby Union decided to play this match on No. 1 ground. The Petone-Poueke game, which was expected to have pride of place, was fought out on tho other field. The wisdom of the move showed very soon, for Petono had ail eight-point lead over 'Poneke in about as many minutes. On the other hand play had gone on for eighty minutes in tho other-game before either side scored. The spectators naturally were interested in a game in which the teams were somewhere near a match. Two years ago Melrose wero on the brink of'dissolution, but having decided not to give up, they sent their youngest recruits into the fighting line, and they fought unequal battles for a season. But that was two years ago; those recruits have grown up now, anil Melrose are now a team who will bo exceedingly hard to beat right through the year. If their clash with Oriental showed npthing elso it at least proved this. It also proved) that Oriental are a very much changed team, if not a very much weaker one. Only a series of thorough trials will show whether the Blapk and Whites aro better or worse than formerly. They have a vastly improved pack, a splendid fighting lot of forwards, but without Roberts their backs are disappointing. Stubborn as the struggle was, it was not a game entitled to lie classed as good by any high standard. It was mainly a, clash of forwards, with tlie backs doing a little hero and there.,. Melrose simply played for safety and played very well for it. The tackling of both teams, especially that of the Red and Blues was excellent, but a game of "good spoiling" in never as fine a spectacle as an open dashing effort. The only try of the match was tho direct outcome of a brilliant sprint by Dingle, who crowded on quito unexpected sneed in tho chase for a ball which had been kicked at random into a bare patch. He won an exciting race with Marshall, and there was much hand-shaking after it.

Only the quarter lights (and less) lit the combat between "Petone nml Ponelce. It was never, as fust as tlio game next door, and in the second spell it slowed away to sheer dullness. Tlio suburbanites had a better team in the field that on tlio previous Saturday, the five-eighths being J. Ryan and .T. M'Kenzio. Ramsden's services are not yet available. Tn general Peneke were outclassed from the start. There was not a great deal tn choose between the forward packs, but Potono backs rtmped over everything in front of them. Petone'si goal-booster, llacfarlane, gave a fine exhibition of kicking and assisted' not a little to pile up the suburban score. About twenty minutes after tho dame opened Til.vard received a lcielc on tho leg which necessitated bis removal from- tho field. The injury has not yet been diagnosed, but is believed to b<\ a fracture of tho small bore of tho leg just abavo tho nnkle-joint. He was replaced after about ten minutes by Mitchinson.

ORIENTAL & MELROSE, STUBBORN PLAY THE FEATURE. For ten minutes or moro after tho commencement the rival sides fought an indecisivo battle. A.uy slight advantage that tliero was for anybody was one of position merely, and that advantago was with Melrose. Once Oriental got away well with a movement which was, to begin with, a passing rush, but which developed into a go-as-you-please, nnd they went very near to scoring. Melrose saved only by a speculator by H. Capper, which sent tho ball into touch-in-goal. The Red aiul Blues retaliated a moment afterwards with a forward rush reminiscent of tho old-time Melroso pack—a bustling scramble which overwhelmed everything and everybody that came in its way—and when Oriental wero in extremis defending, H. Marshall snapped a very clever mark right on tho lino and almost in front of goal. Tho kick—an easy one —was missed by Capper. Up and down the field the play surged several times. Oriental wero trying frantically to attack in their own way, and tho Melrose backs wero content to kick for safety, and to play to thenforwards. The latter gave tho Oriental backs some very full moments, but somehow or other, by skill and chance combined, somebody always came round to save. A spell in which honours woro fairly easy ended without score. Opening out in tho second spell, Melrose got busy from tho word "Go," and tho Black and Whites were in a bad way on their line when a free-kick-, gave them a moment's respite. The stay of proceedings was only for a moment, however, for J\ Marshall dropped for goal, and tho ball, which dropped under tho bar, was charged down. -Right between the posts, Oriental were in diro distress, and ajscore seemed the only likely end to the tangle when a Melrose forward foolishly penalised his side bv lying on the ball. Tho free-kick eased the tension, nnd-by and by Moffitt, Bunckenburg, and Co. camo away with the ball at toe, and had tho Red and. Blue defencc in a bad way for a spell. T'hcv never consummated the attack, but tho forwards struggled manfully to get over. Onoc Carrad had a chance on tho fringe of a loose scramble, but he knocked-on instead of taking the ball cleanly, and a sorum was allowed. Black and Whites controlled the scrum, nnd tho ball went out to M'Leod on tho blind side, but tho threadbare ruse failed. Very soon afterwards tho Oriental backs had a run in the open field, but the tackling of tho Red and Blues was sure and ruthless. It always demoralised the Oriental back movements. Repulsed for the time being, the Oriental forwards returned to tho charge, and a mngnilicent rush with MoiTitt and Perry m iront of it was stopped with nothing to spare by Marshall kicking tlio ball dead. 1 he tackling of tho Melroso men toro up tho passing rush which Carrad set going from the ensuing scrum, and play was over the half-wav line in a twinkling. .tho Black and White forwards, showing remarkablo pluck a.nd energy in front of a back division that was letting them down persistently, drovo back up-field bv slow degrees, assisted by occasional good kicks and charges by Kinvig, the only Oriental Iwck who showed any really good form. The Black and White backs set the crowd veiling with a passiugrun-Garrad to M'Leod, to Owles, to Kinvig, to Dingle to M'Leod again—but M'Leod was pushed into touch near the corner. A toe-kick on tho lino should liavo let Melroso up. but the kick was short, and I he Oriental forwards put the pressure on again. A haphazard kick into open he d sent tho ball clear of everybody over tho goal-lino in tho farther corner, and Dingle, after n very smart run, fell on it fairly and scored the first try of the match. .1-0. Orient nl attacked again, am. right on tho line Capper brought off a brilliant but tluky save by kicking the ball into touch-in-"oai just at the instant when two Jilack and White men were in tho act. of falling on it. From the edge of tho scrum the ball was pressed over and grounded bj Mullaiiev, but the spot was iu touch-

ill-goal. The tide of battle set in favour of Melroso then. Once J. Marshall had an excellent chance from a looso kick which sent the ball his way, but ho failed to hold it, and could do no better than kick into touch well, down-field. A scramble on the Oriental line ended in the ball being kicked over, and dead. Thereafter Oriental were able to keep tho play up in the neutral zone, or the right side of it. Tho game ended five minutes afterwards, and Melrose were then bciug lmrd pressed. Mr. R. Evenson was roferco.

PETONE & PONEKE. F.OVGH PASSAGE FOB THE BEDS. Faced by a'forward pack as good as their own and a back division much l)ettcr than they could boast, Poneko had a rough passage in tiieir contest with Petone. The suburban team showed a fmo combination, the backs playing well up to the forwards. Poneke signally failed to present as good a front, and ragged play by the rearguard gave the forwards more than their share of hard work. The brisk onset of the suburbanites was quickly rewarded. Their first score was a penalty goal kicked by Macfarlane — tho first of a series of similar achievements by that' player. Soon afterwards Nunn picked up the ball in a loose scramble near the Poneko line, and sent it out to Calcinai. Tho latter slipped over to a try and Macfarlano converted. Petone, 8; Poneke, 0. Play continued 011 the Poneko line, Petone attacking fiercely in concerted rushes. Macfarlane kicked another penalty goal, and Nank'iville got over tho line to a try, between the posts, with Morris hanging round bis neck. Macfarlane goaled. Petone, 1G; Poneke, 0. Tho Poneko defence at this stage went all to pieces. From a loose scramble a l'onckc forward kinked tho ball over his own lino, Macfarlane improved the opportunity by dashing over to a score, and then converted his own try. Petone, 21; Poneke, 0. Following up their kick, when play resumed, Poneke charged down field, and from a mark Morris had an unsuccessful shot at goal. Tho respito gained by Poneko- was of brief duration. Petono soon ; resumed their attack and were at it, hammer and tongs when the spell terminated. Just before the bell rang a try was thrown away, E. Ryan sending _an impossible pass to Danscy, on tho wing. Poneko set un a lively attack when play resumed. Tho forwards came on ill a rather scattered formation, but with a lot of dash, and Jacobsen had chased tho ball over tho lino with intent to drop 011 it when M'Kenzie just managed to kick it into the stand. Hot contention followed not far from the Petono goal. A Poneke man kicked tho ball over tho bar from the field, but the score was disallowed on account of a previous infringement. The next incident was a dash by Mitchinson. He all but scored in tho corner, but fouled the corner flag, and was tacklcd just short of his objective. Petons again asserted themselves, and worked down-field, until Macfarlane goalfd from <1 mark. 24; Poneke, 0. The succeeding i>tay vas indecisive for a time. Tho Poneko backs made a tentativo sprint now and then in attack, but never got far with it. The gamo at this stage ran no risk of breaking the by-laws relating to speed. Both teams visibly had tired, and in the duller play that lasted henceforth until the end of tho game the dour determination •of tho Poneko men stood them in better stead than it had done earlier in the day. Tho concluding play was dull, and wept mostly in Pctone's favour. One*, when suburban team sallied down-field M'Keniio ran over to an easy score in the corner. Macfarlane failed in a difficult Kick at goal. Pcto-ne. 27; Poneke, 0. Mr. R. T. Bailey was the referee.

ATHLETIC i. COLLEGE. FAST, OPEN GAME. Fast, open play characterised the match between Athletic and Victoria College, played at tho Polo Ground, Jhramar, on Saturday. The University men, who opened the season, by a creditable performance at Petone the previous week, did remarkably'well again, and only two tries were registered against them—both in tho first spell. College failed to score any points themselves, but there wero sevral occasions when they were within an ace of doing so, notably when Beard made very fino shots at goal from long range. Athletic assumod the aggressive early in tho game, and E. Foberts gathered up tho ball near tho centre of tho field and transferred to Evenson, who potted a neat coal. Athletic •!, College 0. A little later S. Wilson, taking a pass from Evenson, kiteked up to tho College full-back. Tno latter was in difficulty for tho moment, but Wilson, who followed up, ju'st failed to score. Jiore points came to Athletic, however, by tlio agency of 8011, who dribbled the ball into fho scoring area from a line-out, and gained a try near the pests. E. Roberts converted. Athletic. 9, College 0. The next Athletic score camo as the result of passing between. 15. Roberts, Robi.iso.'i, Evcnson, and M'Donall. Tho last-named scored and Evenson goaled. 'Athletic U, Colltgo 0. This was how tlio scores stood at half-time. In the second spoil, College proved quite a match for their opponents, and, though unable to score themselves, they successfully defended tho'r lino against tho Athletic attack. Tho play was hard and fast, tho ball travelling constantly up and down tho field. Athletic at ono stago were awarded a penalty in an easy position, but E. Roberts failed with the kick. College appeared most likely to score towards tlie end of tho game, when Quilliam and Fawcett broke clear away. S. Wilson crossed the field with what looked liko a forlorn hope of saving the situation, but lis secured the bail cleverly and ruined the scoring chanco ot' College. With a little hope at tho outsit, tho College men made tlio game interesting, and all played well, Ryan, Grey, Qralliam," and Beard doing fcwst. On tho Athletic sido A. Wilson," Btol, Roberts, and Evenson were noticeable for good work. ■Jlt. T. Jones was referee.

ST. JAMES V. WELLINGTON. From tho spectators' point of view, this game, which was played at Petoue, was far from interesting, beyond the kicking propensities displayed by tho fullback of each team. Lambert! placed two magnificent goals for Wellington, from half-way, and Thomas, for St. James, did soiuo serviceable drop-kicking. On one occasion he was unfortunate in having n dropped goal from half-way disallowed through his kick not being over tho infringement mark. The spectators, numbering about seventy, hnd their interests centred on tho Wellington-Pctone junior game on the adjoining ground, where a strenuous battlo' was being fought out. St. James lost the services of Young towards tho closo of the iirst half, \oung was racing with tho ball, and when collared fell heavily, and was unable to 'take further part in tho game. o Wellington had tho best of tho game during tho major portion of tho first spell, their first score being obtained from a goal kicked by Lambert. Miller added to the t-.>tal by a fine run from half-way, and touched down i/car the posts, but no goal resulted. 0-0. Give-and-take play followed, and several shots a't goal by members of both teams from penalty kicks, had no result. Towards the end of the spell play becamo more even, and several good openings were nullified through St. James backs preferring to kick instead of initialing passing rushes. Half-time sounded wKli the ball in St. James' twentv-live. and the score ti—o. In the second half Wellington did most of (he attacking, although had St. James played the proper game, that of giving the' ball (o the backs, (hey would have done much belter. As it was, the try they did get was the result of a fine passing bout between ITekota. Israel, and Utika, the former touching down, while Thomas converted. The Wellington forwards wero too good for their opponents, and Miller added another 'try after a fino effort, and this, with a goalcd penalty by Lambert, brought tho score to 15—5, and the game ended.

JUNIOR. Marist Bros.' Old Boys defeated Poneke at Minimal- by 11 points to 8. For tho winners Mitchell scored threo tries, one being converted by M'Grath. For tho losers, L. Smith gained two tries and Lamberg converted one. Mr. A. Thompson was referee. Oriental scored 1( points nt Miramar against three points scored by Victoria College. For the winners, J. Brown and M'Combie scored tries, M'Combio converting one, while M'Girr kicked a penalty goal. Victoria College scoro was a penalty goal kicked by Fathers. Mr. 1!. 1-ordyce was referee. Athletic defeated St. James by 18

points to 3, in a game controlled by Mr, ,f. F. O'Suflivau.

Selwyn defeated Porirua by 2G points to nil. Tries wero scored by Galvin, I)o Clifton. (2), Macdonald, I'. Cooper, liurke, Flack, and Buck, and Roberts converted one.

i'etone defeated Wellington by 5 points to 3, after an exciting game. Rowe scored for Wellington, Hay failing to add. Millei- scored for Petone, and J. Ryan con-verl-cd. Petono played with fourteen men up till a few minutes to the call of time.

Selwyn-Porirua, at Porirua.—Won by Selwyn by 28.t0 nil. Winners gave a | good exhibition of back play. Tries were scored by D. Clifton (2), M'Donald, | Cooper, Flack, Buck, Burke, Galvin- W. Roberts converted one. Jlr. W. J. Mere- 1 ditli was tho referee. I AtliJotic Juniors defeated St. James by i 18 to 3. Third Class. , Selwvn defeated Wadestown by 11 | points'to S. Tries for tho winners wero scored by Jeffries and Curry. Curry eonverted ono try and kickcd a jraialty goal. Berhamporo (9) defeated Petono (0). Peek and Miles scored tries for tho winners. Orientals defeated Wellington A by o points to 3. M'Comisky soored for Oriental, which was converted by Watson. Henderson scored for Wellington. Berhamporo defeated I'e/tono by nine points to nil. Tho gamo was Chieily confined to the forwards. Upper Hutt defeated Athletic by G to 4. Fourth Class. Poneke beat St. James by 11 to nil. Fifth Class. Petone registered a mammoth scoro against Marist Old Boys, defeating them bv 5G points to nil. Tho scores were: Dcmiehy (5 'tries), Nicholls (3), Parrant, Devonport, Stanford, Okaby. Boyd, Thompson, Matthews, and Savage, 0110 each. * Denuchy converted 5 tries and Nicholls 2. Athletic beat St. James by 40 to ml. Macauley (2), M'Cartie (2), M'lntyre (2), 'Linley, Watson, and Desmond scored tries. Watson converted three tries. M'Cartio converted two tries and also lucked a penalty-goal. IN OTHER CENTRES. (By Mograph.—Press Af.ioGU.tion.) Christchurch, April 27. Beautiful weather was experienced for "the continuation of the Canterbury Rugby Union's competitions this afternoon, and the grounds wero in first-class order. The most interesting of the games played was that between Old Boys and Linwood at Lancaster Park, which after a good contest, ended in a win for Linwood by a potted goal to a try. ScoresLinwood i Old Boys 3; Sydenham 15, Merivale 9; Albion IG, Christchurch 3; Canterbury College 20, Marists 3. Dunedin, April 2i. The football season opened to-day in perfect weather, and •■tho grounds wore in splendid condition. Results:— Southern; (11 points) beat Kaikorai (3 points); Zingari-Riclimond (11) Mat Alliambra (3); Union (11) beat Pirates (10)! Port Chalmers (18) beat Dunedin (5). Palmerston N., April 27. Rugby senior results:— Feildtng 14, Western 6; United 8, Oriental 3. Juniors :-United 8, Western 3.