THE TARANAKI REDOUBTABLES BEATEN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1837, 25 August 1913, Page 8

THE TARANAKI REDOUBTABLES BEATEN.

LEAGUE NORTH & SOUTH.

WELLINGTON'S SPIRITED GAME AT AUCKLAND.

Only 3000 People! i With every prospect of being half a thousand pounds to the had l this season, tho Wellington Rugby Union continues to receivo the ill-treatment of Fortune. No cup final, shocking weather for minor representative matches —tho only possible result was shrinkage, of receipts. However, there loomed on view a series of first-class fixtures, and tho flame of Hope burned bravely on. First of this series came tho Taranaki-Wel-lington match Always an interesting team, Taranaki wero sure to draw well at ,any time They won tlio Ranfurly Shield, and the general desire to see them in their meeting with Wellington grow even greater: A strong Wellington team was selected, tho week was brilliantly fine. What a game it was going to be 1 How tho union rubbed its hands in prospect of the "gate"! Never did tho schemes of mice and men,

which the poet Bums sang of, go further astray. Everyone knows what the weather was like, and SOOtf'as an ample estimate of such attendance as there was. Wonderful Amber Rushes. . Tho rain-soaked ground was converted into an excellent bog by tlie youths who were allowed to play what they call "curtain-raisers" on it, and when Wellington! and Taranaki took the field 1 few expected l anything more than a mudscramble. Thero were some, however,, who had sufficient confidence in both teams to hold tho view that tho ball would bo thro™ about regardless of its slimy condition, though disappointment was cansedi through the absenco of Stolir, R. Roberts l , and Cain from tho Taranaki fifteen; the Amber and Black was, in fact, represented bty its weakest lot. All anticipations of the game, however, wore upset by what actually took place—it was some of a surprise every way. On the one hand it was not a mud- scramble, and, on the other, there .was little passing by tho backs'. But

it was hard, fast, and exciting, and th'o quality of the work was excellent. The visitors played with a viin which made their rushes terrific; and Wellington answered 1 with ample vigour. Anxiety to Get the Ball Out. Wellington won, but, without some luck, things might easily have gone tho other way. Taranaki had tho better material, but suffered from a slight overdose of confidence. They made strugglesom© ' bids to set the ball en tour along the lino of their backs,

and this, to somo extent, accounts for their loss. Had they been more circumspect about banging a slimy, unholdable bit of leather about on general priiv ciples, the .Wellington forwards would not havo raised the siego as often as they did._ The situation thus created is ono wliioh. is familiar to most players of experience—a pass with nn impossible ball, a bump of Tearguard into rearguard, tho-leather bouncing every way and any way, and then a charge of the defending forwards, driving play arp to tho other end of tho field. Wellington rede thisi manoeuvre for all it. was worth, and they rodfe it with success. Tho Rush of the Day. It was when the Amber and Gold men wore thus on their mottle, rushed right on . to their goal-line, that tho impetus of their forwards and some of tliieir backs; ivas manifested. In one rush alone they carried tho ball from their own line to the Wellington twontyfivo, and so fierce was tho sortie that three Wellington men lay prone ill their train. They broke through a melee under the goal, swept over tho forwards and tile half, and left the last-named prostrate. They then broke through the five-eighths and! tho threequarters, and l only the full-back, Evensen, stood in their path. And, good man as Evensen is, his stand was but a brief, one. Half the Taranaki van seemed to hem him together, and' the Athletic back rebounded l from them, falling full length iin the mud. With the wisdom of an old hand, however, James Ryan had doubled back, and pluckily dived 1 at tho feet of the avalancho. Next moment, however, ho had 1 joined Roberts and Evensen in tho Land of Dreams, and the avalanche was moving rapidly forward, to tho Wellington goal. Taranaki, however, was sailing a little too close to tho side-lino, and 1 eventually tin Wellington'® twenty-five t-lio ball went out. '

A Word on tha Ambers. E. Roberts's, knee failed him in the first spell, and he had to leave the field. He was replaced by Nunn, a better half for such a game. Towards the end of the game Brown, the Taranaki half, was rather badly hurt, and had to retire to tho three-quarter line for a while. On tho whole, it was regrettable that, with two such fine teams in the field, tho day was so unsuitable. Wellington had a capital fifteen, and Taranaki created a great impression. Forwards as good as theirs are rarely seen here, and their backs aro a particularly fine stamp. Love-r----idge looks every inch a champion. There never was a pluckier half than Brown, but Taranaki does not fully realise how good ho is. Hill, tho fullback, gave an exhibition which any man who ever occupied tho position could bo proud of. M'Leod (fiveeighths) came in for several outbursts of hooting from the crowd, which seemed to bo under the impression that ho was playing roughly. The wing-for-ward, Taylor, is far above anyone in tho position whom Wellington has brought out in tho last several years, and tho Herculean Wa.imato forward, iTamu, stood out conspicuously as tho best forward on tho ground. Tamu .is a fine forward, who has been playing up to All-Black standard for years, but has not had the luck to be selected for the Califoruian tour. PLAY ON FOOT. FORWARD WORK A FEATURE. For about ten minutes after the start of tho game, Wellington, aided by a number of free-kicks, kept Taranaki in their twenty-five. • A big kick by Hill lot tho Amber and Blacks up to half-way, and from thero fierce forward rushes drove Wellington back, back to their own lino. Wellington worked back to half-way, but a fine, line-kick by Brown sent tho oval out near the city team's corncr flag. In a handy position for scoring, the visitors endeavoured to get their hands on tho ball in a warm mix-up, and the result was thut whoro uood foot-work

would probably have brought a score, tho Wellington forwards broke through, kicked the ball from the fingers of those who wero trying to pick it up, and a moment later the two teams wore struggling strenuously right under tho Taranaki goal. Bit by.bit tho Tnranaki forwards cleared their goal, and at halfway Loveridgo gathered in tho leather, flashed round to tho wing and booted it to tlio corner flag. Brown marked from tlio line-out, and from near tho side-line Hawkins kicked for tlio goal. The stand was just commencing .to applaud a kick which seemed to be sailing fairly over tlio middle of the bar when the oval dropped, struck tho crossstick, and rebounded in-field. Taranaki got under tho ball nnd rushed it' over, but Wellington forccd. Taranaki resumed the upper hand immediately. Evensen shot for tho side-line, ■ but Hawkins smartly prevented tho ball going out. He centred. Tho Amber forwards swarmed under it, and were heading strongly for tho Wellington lino when Mitchinson, who was much off-side, checked thom. Tho penalty against Mitchinson gave Hawkins another shot at goal, but with it ho failed. An almost irresistible Wellington rush swept Taranaki tho length'of tho field. The Rush of the Day. Under their goal-posts Taranaki fought like tigeis. They burst through the 'Wollington vanguard, booting tho ball through tho ruck; brushed tho backs aside, and sent tho ball out in tho Wellington twenty-five. And there, when tho halt was called, were E. Roberts, Evensen, and James Ryan stretched helplessly in tho mud. They wore all rubbed back to animation and after somo delay resumed play. Roberts soon retired, and Nunn finished out the gamo as half-back. Taranaki's backs were making great efforts to-throw tho greasy ball aboftt, but the Wellington forwards, playing well, drove the visitors before them, and Taranaki forced just in timo. The impetus of the Taranaki pack again over-bore Wellington and a great rush, headed by Tamil, was the commencement of 'a desperate jnd prolonged'attack on the Wellington lino. At length Miller broke away with a wonderful dash and the Black pack instantly removed play to tlio Taranaki line. Tliero, a brief battle; • another Taranaki once again answered tho call of "Go Yellow 1" and their combined onslaught carried them to tho Wellington twenty-five. There Tamu, away out on his own, was wrestling vigorously with

several/ tenacious defenders. Over tile lino went the oval with the visitors hard upon it, and just as an Amber ann was strotching forth to touch down the slimy oval, or the creasy ground, or both, turned the chance in ■'Wellington's favour, and, quick as a flash, ii Black forced. In Taranaki's twenty-five M'Kenzie got the ball nicely away to Tilyard, who Kent it on to Ryan,. Ryan booted and Hill forced ncno too soon. Half-time, and no score, j Second Half—The Scoring. The second spell went off with a bang. Ryan intercepted a Taranaki pass, and away" went the city team right to tho Taranaki lino. The rush ended in Hills (Wellington) losing the ball just as lie was about to touch down. Fino rushes by tho Wellington forwards resulted in Taranaki's . defence being probed, and M'Kay scored under the posts during a wild scramble. H. Paton 'goaled. Wellington, 5; Taranaki. 0.

A brilliant run by Mitchinson placed Wellington again on the attack. Down the''field galloped the Black vanguard, but a beautiful mark by Loveridgo checked them. Tho alert Taylor relieved tho trouble' for Taranaki temporarily, but Wellington were soon again attacking, and whilfr in tho visitors' twenty-five H. Paton landed a penalty goal. Wellington, 8; Taranaki, 0. There was no further 6coro, but tho gamo was hard and fast to the end; and Wellington, somewhat fortunate, but thoroughly deserving victory, left the field tho winners, with tho score: Wellington. 8 points. Taranaki 0 points. Tho teams engaged were as follows: — Wellington (in Black): Full-back, A. E. Evensen; three-quarters, F. Mitchinson, James Rvan,' J. G. Kinvig; fiveeighths, J. M'Kenzie, J. Tilyard; half, E. Roberts; wing-forward, J. Cumiingliame; pack, C. Hills, J. Francis, A. Wilson, H. Paton, R. Paton, G. Miller, C. M'Kay. Taranaki (Amber and Black): Fullback, L. Hill; three-quarters, Mouli, Loveridgo, Don Cameron; five-eighths, J. M'Leoa, S. Cameron; half, C. Brown; wing-forward, Taylor; pack, Dewar, H. Whittington, Prouse, Tamu, Pini, Ward, Hawkins. J. M.'Leod captained the visitors, and A. Wilson the city team. Mr. L.. Simpson was referee. CITY GRADE CAMES. THIRD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP. By defeating Upper Hutt, Oriental won the third-class championship. Oriental's total was 9 points, and tho lcFei'a 3 points. Avery, Benton, and Hickson scored tries for tho winners. Fourth Glass. ( The fourth-class championship jfwas won by Petone, who defeated Poheko on Athletic Park by 9- to nil—tries by Hancock, W. M'Ewan, and T. Bums. The Schools. The Manawatu and tho Wellington Public School representatives met on Athletic Park on Saturday. Tho gauio 'was drawn—no score.

Tllio Wellington and Manarcatu Bcliool teams were entertained after the match at dinner at the Burlington Oafo, by tho Wellington Public Schools' Rugby Union, Mr. W. T. Grundy president,, of the union, was in tho chair, and amongst thoso present were Dr. A. K. Newman, M.P., Messrs. D. Guthrie, M.P., D. Buick, 31.P., R. Lee, chairman of the Wellington Education Board, and Stewart, of the Lytton Street School, Feilding. Spocclios congratulating tie boys on their excellent play wore made by Messrs. Grundy, Guthrie, Stewart, and Lee. JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES. Tho following are tho Rugby junior representatives to play against Wairarapa on Saturday, August 30:—Fullback, Shaw (Oriental); three-quarters, M'Donald (Selwyn), Carmichael, and M'Giri- (Oriental): five-eighths, Wynward (Petono), Miller (Petone); half, M'Vay (Athletic); wing, Probert (Selwyn); forwards, F. Cooper (Selwyn), Ro.vling (Athletic), Gair (Oriental), M'Pheo and King (Selwyn), Luoni. (Athletic), Watters (Wellington),- emergency, Hagan (Petono).