RUGBY FOOTBALL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 236, 24 June 1918, Page 7

RUGBY FOOTBALL

ORIENTAL BEAT IWM SENSATIONAL FlNiSft The weather ivtti, line uviriioiul for ijituiday's Kugby, but Ua , playing around, uoakeu l>y a weeks ram, was nwvvy. Thu duet soniur nwiui ul' thu afternoon—or, rather tha nuwi.ii ordered to be played on Lho ehicl jji-uuiid—-was . tii.al of Oriental and Ponuk-.. Judging solely by apnennuices—nut going by tho gale receipt;.—tho attendance at A miotic I'iirk Jtugjjy maiiiiies tins season have been surprisingly good. Tim piny has been of fair quality, and tho Kugby Union havo managed to sustain mt'ereaL m Hie competition by s(f "staging" I lie principal fixtures as lu woli conceal thu rwulia. J'ivwy week tho public attend in good nnuibers expecting a kecu coutfal, and on several occasions tuey liuvo been far irora ttisaiipoiiicnig.. IJII iSiil.ti'rrtay they got "keen contel" v. ah a vengeance. J ll fact, it wui .-it iici'ii that the issue was compleloly hiiUicu till tho t'Ud, aim tin' (iiii.su whs quilc sisiiiftlionul For excitement it was a gaum <jf gam™, and in this and oilier vespn i was just liio kind of jiiiiti'-ii lho pun!..: lovcb. .If tliu . union could guarantee .something of the kind overy Saturday all other forms of thrill would gu out of fashion lor the season. Poneka took the field bciiriug Hie reputation, of being one of lho best teams in thu competition, and this they had earned. Thoy havo had a big innings of mutches on No. 1 ground at the Park, and not without good reason. Oriental have been much legs in the limelighl, but fliey have shown fair form, and 111 some rospvcU appeared to be about the most promising loam in the. lield; tlinro was much youth and inexperience, but the material was excellent. Poneko were strongly fancied as likely winners, and they began well. In the opening spell the I'oucko liatfts wcro occasionally set in motion, and on one of these occasions the leather got' out to Christopherson, who wound up his run by crossing tho Oriental iiiin. Tho kick at goal did not increase the score. Before the end of the first spell ChristoplßTiion emphasised his usefulness by again crossing tho Oriental lino aud scoring another try for his side. As in tho first Ciise, the attempt to secure the extra points w<l3 fruitless. In the second spell Christopherson fitill further served his sido by scoring again. No goal was kicked, aud the whole of the nino points standing lo the credit of Poneke had been registered by tho one man. Subsequently ilfirks got across, and scored I'onoke'a fourth try. Again the kick at I goal failed, and i'oneke's lolal stuod at 12 points. Oriental's first score was a try by Police. Tito Oriental forwards maintained a steady pressure on Poneke, and fonio of their attacks wore very niceiy executed. Tho second try for the Black and White team was secured by -M'llwraith. .lones took lho kick, and, sending the leiilhor between thu uprights, brought the Oriental tolal up to 8. .lust before the call of tinio Oriental scored again, 3!sum touching down. They were now within a point of Poneke, and the falo of both tennis hung on Jones's kick. Jones brought 11IV Hie goal, and victory rested with his side by one point, obtained in the nick of time. Th* final scores were :— Oriental 11l Poneko 1Mr. Wale was refereo. TRENTHAM B V. OLD BOYS. On No. 1! ground at Athlelic Park Trciilham B defeated Old Boys by 111 points to G points. Brooks, Lynch, and Roberts scored tries for Trontham. Roberts converted his own try, and Heap converted Lynch's. I'idwards scored for Old Hoys," and Marris kicked a penalty goal. Mr. Bradlev was referee.

HIGH SCHOOL MATCH

AU('KI,AjVI> HHATS Tlv AUTK. Hy 'JVlt'sriipli—l'ri'ss AnsqciiUinii. Auckland, .) iiiw -?.\. Aiickliimi IJr.initiiiir Mcliuol ddViilcd To Aiift> (lollcjii! by iiinctci'ii points to nil. The ground was heavy iirnl sticky. Auckland had tho advantage throughout, scoring five tries, tiro of which wcro convonftd.