RANFURLY SHIELD

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 303, 18 September 1919, Page 7

RANFURLY SHIELD

RETAINED BY WELLINGTON BIG WIN FOR HOME TEAM • By defeating Auckland by 24 points to 3 at the Athletic Park yesterday afternoon, Wellington become- tho holders, of tho Kanfurly Shield for the 1919 season. Tho match was the last interprovincial game of tho season so far as Wellington are concerned, and in none of the previous Ranfurly Shield contests of the yenr were they beaten. There were between 8000 and 9000 spectators present, amongst whom were: The Primo Minister (Mr. Massey), tho Leader of the Opposition .(Sir Joseph Ward), Major-General Sir Alfred Robin, several officers from H.M.S. Now Zealand, a number of members' of Parliament, ami.tho Mayor (Mr.- J. P. Luke). Despite the fact that rain foil overnight nnd.in the morning tho ground was in g-ood condition. There was but little wind, but what there was was inclined to be somewhat changeable. From what had .been heard on .all sides before the match, it was anticipated that Wellington would hare to exert themselves to prevent tho Northerners from winning. As a matter of fact Wellington could scarcely havo had a more easy victory. They outclassed their opponent*, in all departments, nnd gave t<. really fine' display. The play was very fast, and fnirlj open. In both spells Wellington hai the best of the game, but had their goal-kicking been of a hiirliw order they must have won by at least nine;more pcir.ts than they actually obtained. Green,, the wing-forward, -was entrusted with'several of t.ho kicks, but owing ..to hi? right Iβ? be-in? bad' his attemnts were faulty. The Weltdngton backs fielded ex. ceptionally well, nnd the forwards were on the ball the whole time. In addition, their Dassin? was' also good. Barker, at wing-three-quarter, thoroughly justified his inclusion in the team, and his great speed made him nn awkward customer to handle. When the Auckland backs pot the they showed-themselves to be good sprinters, and their passing was nflsn good, but it was not-up to the standard of the Wellington rear division;

THE PLAY. , Auckland kicked off with the sun in their eyes, 'ami soon 'afterwards/Welling- • tor were compelled to fores. Following the drop out, Iloberis, Corner, and Barker got jjoing in n, passing movement, but Barker was held up. as ha. was charging down tjw line. Auckland were penalised after Barker had taken nn. excellent mark. ' Green took the .kick, but although his attempt yias. good so far us direction went, the, ball fell, a trifle short. ;Corner picked up from the ruck iu tha Auckland twenty-five,, but he. made.a faulty pass to Tilyard, and this spoiled Barker's chance of cutting in when the ball ultimately reached Lim. The Wellington hookers-got tho ball from aeorum in front of goal, and a , rush ensued on the part of Roberts, Corner. J. Tilyard, and Algar, -.who clev.erly beat, all his opponents, and touched down. Green failed '-. with ' the kick. Wellington, 3; Auckland,' 0. ' Wellington set up a hot attack in the subsequent play, the prime mover in , which; was ltoberts, but Auckland were successful in •fending off danger; Badslev then did somo very good work for Ins side, and breaking through a phalanx oi Wellington.-'players,.* ho. started a movement'which drovci'Wellington back to their own end. Eventually, Wellington returned, and a most exciting piece of play took plate. Roberts dashed round the ecrum. and. got on' to the Auckland line, but ae he reached it ho was tackled. He threw the ball on to -Ogar, but the latter was not near enough to take it, #nd Auckland saved. '•'Fairly'open play followed. Auckland were awarded a free-kick, and Heath narrowly:' missed placing- the ball between, the posts; Some cood line-kicking by Roberts and u swift, dodgy run by Barker were the leading incidents in tho following play. A nice Wellington back rush was stopped by Grierson. who found the'line- with a timely kick.- A'little later Grierson, einirle-lianded,; held up' another ..rush'., by Tilyard,''Alga'r, 'and Barker;•'"''XJ'riersori grassed Barker just as he was about to cross the line at the';corner. Tile. Auckland full-back. Heath, was now called upon to prevent a further score going against his side, and this- he did in very fine style. Sobers then took a freekick, but it was charged down. .Algar picked u|), and kicked well down field, shortly after essaying a pot. The ball fell short, however. Play, now remained in the vicinity of the Auckland line. De Clifton. Roberts, l>aton, and J. Tilyard ■were tojretner in a scramblo near tho line, and .Tilyard' '.sent the ball on to De Clifton, who got over. Green again had no luck with-the kick. Wellington, 6:' Auckland. 0. '■'.■■'-■ During the succeeding; play the Auckland .backs tried hard lo get through the Wellington defence, but the Wellington forwards were far too good for them, and repeated attempts to break. away were frustrated. Once more the visitors foujul themselves dofending, and a scrum was ordered. Hoberts did a clever bit: of dodging after the ball came out of the Gcruin, and a pass to Corner saw the latter touch down. J,. Tilyard took the kick, but though the', shot was an easv one, he made a .very poor attempt. Wellington. 9; Auckland, 0.- : • In tho closing stages of the spell. Wellinuton were doing most of the attacking, but it must be said that Auckland de-fende-1 well. On several occasions Wei-, linstton. very nearly obtained tries, but the visitors managed to avert any scores. At lensth the ball came out to Wellington from the'scrum', and Malin, who .was etan'dinsr wall up, eventually •. received. As was cxnected, he had a shot at potting a goal, and he succeeded in oxcellent style. Wellington, 13; Auckland, 0.

THE SECOND HALF. .■Wellington had the sun in their oyes ■Tvhoii the second spell opened, and tho Auckland 'forwards immediately got' to ■work. M'Arthur saved with a. lucky kick to the line after the ball came out of.Hho ruck. Auckland attacked 'hard, and Green took a fine mark as,the yisitow wore in dangorous proximity.* to the Wellington line!' Wellington relieved and attacked, but Sutherland saved his Bide. The Blacks returned to the charge, hut' Woolley found the line. From the ) throw-in, Corner caught tho ball and he handed* it to Tilyard. The latter sailed up field diagonally, and actually reached the Auckland line, where he "lost possession. _ At this Ktago Auckland lost.the services'of Gasparish, whose place was filled by Burns. The Wellington.backs again took part in a passing bont,.Roberts running on for a good.space on his own. Heath got the ball, however, and found tho line. ■ Play then shifted to half-way, where Tilyard-cot the" ball, which he whipped away to Barker. The latter put in a.great run up. the line, and, beating nil pursuers, he scored an excellent try. Mr.lin failed to convert. Wellington, 1G; Auckland. 0. ' Roberts afterwards attempted to.break clear, but G.rierson intercepted his procress. . Tilyard found the line, and Auckland got tile bettor of the throw-in. They attacked strongly, but Roberts saved the situation with a w.ell-judgnd line-kick. Roberts, Tilyard, and Barker wero once more seen.in a pretty piece of passing, but Barker was held up on tho line. Auckland then got the ball from tho loose, and Be-rrick passed to GSrierson, who set off down field-, M'Arthtir proved a good tackier, however. Auckland kept up tho pressure, and some hard play followed in' the Wellington twenty-five. Here Green's leg gave out. and .he was forced to leave tho iield. Calcinai going on (o fill the vacancy. Ultimately, Auckland were rewarded for their effort!, , as their backs got the ball, and Grierson had a clear rim in. Heath failed to convert. Wellington/ 16'; Auckland, 3. Shortly after this Auckland were in a verv serious predicament, but they managed to extricate .'themselves from the •difficulty. A minute later, however, Tilyard was ecc.n in a- great run, which ended in his scoring alongside the posts. Robert?; converted. Wellington, 21 • Auckland, 3. Fast up-and-down play followed, ami Malin saved well when Auckland were attacking. The Wellington forwards then Bwept up field lo the' Auckland lino and Paton sot over. i>. Shearer took the kick, but missed. Wellington, 2-1; Auckland, 3. .■ .■■■'.' .Wellington were now .running all over their opponents, and doing as they liked with .them. For jfclie most part Welliugton did all the attacking. Ryan received a hurt to one of his legs during a

scumble on (he Auckland lino and liad to retire. Baker went on in Ihis place. Woolley afterwards broke away, but ho' wns promptly grassed by Roberts. Tho final incident of note in tho game was an unsuccessful attempt by Malin to pot a goal. Wellington were attacking when tlio whistle sounded "time."