ATHLETIC-SPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2260, 21 September 1914, Page 9

ATHLETIC-SPORTS.

RUGBY WELLINGTON BEAT OTAGO SOME BRIGHT PLAY. The Wellington .Rugby, representatives defeated the Otago touring team at Athletic Park on Saturday .by.2s'points to 11.'. The afternoon.was chilly and dull, and a high, wind blew from the north. In the first spell Wellington' played with ihe gale, and ran up a dozen points—a try by Algar and three pen-alty-goals by E. Roberts. Wellington should have scored several tries before Algar got oyer, but want of care in passing robbed them of points. Roberts's three goals were landed from just inside half-way, and were all excellently judged shots. Otago did not score in this spell; they were defending almost the whole time, and defending very poorly. Time and again Wellington simply poured oyer them, only to find that a hard kick gave the- full-back ample time in which'to.clear, or that a bad pass had ended the attack. . .'Otago. came here with a record which stamped them as a weak team,', .and, without doubt, they were weak, but Wellington judged them on thoir reputation, and held them cheaply from the' kick-off. That is the explanation as to ■ why Wellington scored only one try in the opening spell. From the commencement, the Wellington backs threw the ball about with exceptional freedom, but the result of a sort of determination to keep up the passing at all costs was that ground was often lost, and passes were frequently intercepted. The defence of the Otago men was lamentable in many ways. ' A man with a burst of speed, or any kind of side-step,, or feint, could beat them with ease;, but in cases where they got near their man and were not deceived, their tackling was sound and hard. From all references' to weak defence the full-back (Hanna) is excepted. He played splendidly throughout the match. ; Several times in the first spell Evensen treated the crowd to flashes of brilliancy similar to those which made him the star of the Canterbury-Wellington match. He would flash through the defence with a dazzling burst, and " penetrate to the three-quarter line,- there invariably to err in some one of the many directions open to a man galloping at top speed. More than once he might have got right through had he iucked the leather under his arm, and set out for the line on his own. Half-way through the. second spell he retired, injured, and Madden replaced him. '

An Otago Revival. The second spell opened badly for Otago, as Wellington added five points to their total in the first few minutes. Using the wind well, Otago had worked down to the Wellington line, but a Weilington rush (passing and dribbling) by backs and forwards, carried the oval the length of the field,'until at last Wilson got, his hands on the "ball.■'■■■' Crashing with full force midst.of several of the visiting forwards who had moved back to defend the goal-line, the powerful "Rangi" bowled them over like ninei pins, and scored behind/ the -posts'. Roberts goaled, and Wellington led ,by 17 to 0. In a brief- space of time, Otago, who rallied well, "registered 11 points—tries :by Denham and Tanseyja penalty-goal by Patterson, and a. goal from Denham's try by WatsonV. ' Wei-; lington were on deck again towards the end of the voyage, and Wilson carved a path through the; defence, and 6cored his second try. Bell scored a little later, and, Roberts converting, the result of the match was;-Wellington,-25; Otago, 11. Wellington, played better football iii the Canterbury match, and were really, more'' superior to Otago than the scores indicate. The victors have had a very successful season, and their annexation of the Ranfurly Shield is quite well deserved. '.■'■•

The Players, and Past History. .. Saturday's teams were: — Otago,—Full-back, F. Hamia; threequajters, Marks. S. Withers, J. 'Whittaker; five-eighths, E.. Watson, F. Williams ; half, W. Dryden; wing-forward, W. Brown; pack, P. Williams.(captain), W. Duncan, J. Irvine, A. Patterson, fl. Atkinson,VW. Tansey, J. Geary. - Wellington.—Full-back, J. Twomey; three-quarters, E. Ryan, B. Algar,.A. Fisher; live-eighths, J. Tilyard, A. ifivensen; half, E. lioberts; .wing-for-ward, S. Shearer; pack, B. Brown, W. Francis, A. Wilson (captain), R. Paton, H.Deut, W. Eyan,W. Bell. Referee, Mr. L. Simpson.

The results of previous matches between the provinces follow:— 1877, Otago won by 4 goals 2 tries to nil; 1879, Wellington won by 1 try to nil; 1885, OtagOjWon by 11 points to nil; 1887, drawn, no score; 1891, Otago won by 6 to 3; 1896, drawn, no score; 1897, Wellington won by 10 to 6; 1898, Otago won by 9to nil; 1899, Wellington won by 6to 3; 1900, Wellington won by Bto 6; 1901, Wellington won by 10 to 9; 1902, Otago won by 8 to nil; 1903, Otago won by. 6 points to 3; 1904, }Vellington won by 15 to 13; 1905, drawn, no score; 1906, Otago!won by 6 to 3; 1907, drawn, 3 points each; 1908, Otago won by 17 to 15; 1909, Wellington won by 13 to 3; 1910, Wellington won by 19 to 6; 1911, drawn, 9 points each; 1912, Wellington won by 19 to nil; 1913, Wollington won by 18 to 11.