WEEK-END RUGBY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 251, 18 July 1921, Page 6

WEEK-END RUGBY

GAMES IN MUD AND RAIN

PETONE DEFEATED Athletic 11, Pelone 6. Poneke 6, Berhampore 3. Wellington 3, Selwyn 3. Oriental 6, University 3. Saturday afternoon’s round of Rugby football games was played in mud and rain. All the matches resulted in close finishes, and spirited contests were tho order of the day. Much interest attached to the meeting between Petone and Athletic on account of tho fact that Roberts and M. Nicholls, rival five-eighths for New Zealand honours, were on opposite sides. Followers of Rugby naturally watched the play of both men very closely for the purpose of comparing taeir relative suitability for tho position on tho five-eighths line which the selectors deemed should bo filled by the Petone representative. On Saturday, however, Roberts completely overshadowed Nicholls, thereby making his non-inclusion in the first New Zealand team all the more difficult to understand. Roberts, who has been playing on the top of his form of late, was in his element in the mud and rain in the match against I’etone. He displayed considerable initiative in attack, while on the defence his ingenuity also stood his side ip good stead. M. Nicholls, on the other hand, was weak on defence, and on the r.ttack his work lacked sting. As regards ihe game itself, the better team won. The wintry conditions upset the Petone brxks’ calculations, and made it impossible for thorn to be seen at their best. Athletic made a wonderfully good showing in defending their goal-line, and it aae their work in this department which rtally won the match for them. Brook, their full-back, was a host in himself, and

seemingly he could do no wrong. He played one of the best games at full-back ' that has been seen on the park .’or many a day, and his success should entitle him to a try-out in the local representatives before the season ends. I’etone were without the services of Hom- ■ ' ilton, and his place on tho tnree-quarter ' Uno was taken by Fitzgerald, who in the circumstances did fairly well. H. E. Nicholls (the suburban half) played up to form, and it was not his fault that Petono were defeated. Rangi H ilson was missing from the Athletic fifteen, Bognuda playing in his stead. During the game Bullard had to retire an account of an old injury to his leg, and his place in the Athletic team was filled by Adams. Poneke were by no means at homo in their match against Berhampore, and they had to extend themselves ’n order to win. The rain militated against the success of the University backs, who were pittpd against Oriental, but ‘heir frrwrrds did surprisingly well against the heavier pack. As it was, Oriental just managed to gain the decision. The remaining contest was between Wellington and Selwyn, and it resulted in a lard-fought draw. Petono’s defeat tends to revive interest in the championship, in that Poneke are now only two points behind them. The suburban team thus may well hope for fine weather for one or two of their remaining fixtures. ATHLETIC V. PETONE. Petone and Athletic met at the Athletic Park, and on account of tho bad state of the ground the game was played east and west at the north end of the field. Petone started out in great stylo, attacking right from the kick-off. Tho backs got going, and 'Thomas was well collared by Roberts, while making a spirited dash to tho goal-lino. A line-out [pllowed, and half a minute later Corner picked up on tho run well inside the twenty-five, and passed on tho lino to Fitzgerald, who foil over and touched down with two opponents embracing him. M. Nicholls failed to convert from a difficult angle. Petone, 3; Athletic, 0. Athletic set up a counter-attack, In which Houghton did much good work, and ho just missed scoring. The Bluo and Blacks were successful in putting a curb on the activities of their opponents, and their stock rose several points when Bullard deftly centred. The Athletic pack commenced to run through Petono, buU'the suburbanites found salvation in a freekick. A good line-kick by Brook again placed Petono on their defence, and before long the attacking side levelled up the scores. The try came when tho Blue and Black forwards got the ball from a line-out, enabling eno of their number, Christie, to score. Parsloo failed with tho kick. Petono, 3; Athletic, 3. The suburban combination then became more aggressive, and irom a scrum well back H. Nicholls sent, the ball out to Fitzgerald, who when challenged, kicked over the full-back’s head and followed up. The ball went out of touch and Petono got it from the line-out, only to be nonplussed by a timely mark by Hall. Petone renewed their efforts, and. twice Sutton saved the situation. On the second occasion he just beat Ashton to*, the ball on the forcedown. Headed by Love the Petone forwards kept pegging away at tho goal-line of their opponents, causing tho l»tr- to force thrice in quick succession. The game was now verging on a mud scramble, forward play being tho order of the afternoon. Brook was doing great work in repelling the attacks of the invaders, and his efforts frequently aroused the crowd to spirited applause. Then something out of the ordinary happened. Brook fielded tho leather about halfway and kicked down the centre ot the field. Ho followed up smart y, and as the ball rolled over the goal-line he touched down, beating the ■ defenders. Roberts converted from between the posts. Athletic, 8; Petone, 3. After this Petone made repeated attempts to score, and they assuredly would have scored but for tho brilliant fielding of the greasy ball on the part of Brooks. The suburban backs indulged in several flutters. Mark Nicholls passed to Corner, who transferred to Ryan after a clever run, but tho slippery ball proved too much for tho latter. A minute or so later Petone thew away an excellent scoring chance. H. Nicholls got tho ball from tho serum and sent it out to his brother, to Corner, to Ryan, to 1 Kzgerald, who slipped in crossing the line and lost possession, enabling Brooks to lush in and forcc-a fine eave. Ryan gave his pass to Fitzgerald when almost on the line Had he. retained possession ot the leather himself ho must have scored. Eventually Petone did score, but it was from a forward scramble near the. crane . Price turning the trick. M. Nichoßs failed to convert. Athletic, 8; I<■ l ° n ’ ’ The remaining few minutes of the spell were captured by Athletic and they were pressing Petone when the bell rqng toi the interval. On resumption, Athletic set up a p - longed attack, and their opponents had their work cut out tn avert further disaster. Finally a long "specuiator relr ed matters for Petone. and M. Nichol I. had an unsuccessful shot at goal from « mark. Athletic again took charge of the game. A bout of line-kioking-in which the honours went to E. Fyan-put. 1 etorm on the attack for a brief interval. Athletic forced twice before they succeeded to ridding their territory of the cnemi. After that it was Athletics goine. 1 he> fitHckod with great gusto and had > tone repeatedly in tight corners. Once then Athletic looked like scoring Ashton (the Petone wing forward) uas penalised for offside play. W. Ry™ took the kick but the ball failed to rise. Roberts got his backs going nicely on several occasions, till finally they scored. Uobe.ts started the movement, and Houghton touched down in the corner from a pass bv Sutton. Adams failed to conceit. Both teams were now fast tiring, and the call of no-side brought welcome relief to both. Mr. J. S. King was referee.

ORIENTAL V. UNIVERSITY. The hopes of those who anticipated an interesting game between University and Oriental at Kclhiun I’ark were damped—literally—by tho moisture both above and below ground. Play commenced in a heavy rain squall and the strong northerly gale immediately drove the ball and the play to somewhere about midway along the southern boundary line. Here, in a patch about twenty-iivo yards long and fifteen yards wide, for the greater part of the game twenty or more pairs of hard, working feet—and at times hands, heads, and bodies—churned the already spongy turf into a black, slimy mixture, in which even the bail "alid.” Given a dry day, the University backs and capable forwards were reckoned as more than a match for Oriental’s vanguard superiority, and the surprising feature of the game was the manner in which the University forwards settled down to counter and worry the heavier and more skilful opposition. But the weight of the'Oriental pack told, and to them went victory. Moffitt was always prominent for Oriental, and gave one ot his best exhibitions, while Gair and Brown were also noticeable. Of the University pack, Scott, Woodward, Burns, and Hutchison were always on the ball. Of the backs and back play little need be said. With the exception of Healey and Hanson, the Oriental rearguard did little. Healey was given a fair amount to do, and usually he did it really well. Hanson, behind tho scrum, played a game full of grit and resource. For University, Siddells gave a display that was characteristic—resourceful, sure, and on occasion dashing. He originated the one sustained passing effort of the game, an effort that deserved a better fate than it met. Aitken also was prominent when opportunity served. The play needs tho barest description. In the early stages of the first spell University forced down twice. Soon after Oriental opened a scoring account, Griffiths getting over from a forward scramble. Hanson’s kick failed. Early in the second spell Thomas (University) took a good mark just inside the Oriental twenty-five. His shot at goal was successful—an excellent kick, considering the state of tho leather and trickiness of the wind. Play was then carried into the University area, and during a hot attack King broke clean away, but was interfered with by a University player. For iliis obstruction King was awarded a try. Hanson’s kick at goal was charged down. Near the end of tho game while hotly attacking, Woodward, a University forward, smartly picked .up from the loose and dived for the line. Many who were in a position to judge were of the opinion that he grounded the ball, but the decision was a force-down. Oriental thus won by 6 to 3. Mr. 11. Leith was the referee. PONEKE V. BERHAMPORE. Football at the Kilbirnie Recreation Ground suffered from the weather as much as in other places. The storm of rain in tho early afternoon swamped tho grounds, and gave the sea birds a treat picking worms off the surface. When play commenced in continued rain and a howling northerly, the playing fields were quite unfit for football, and players huddling up against the blast regarded .the pools of water on tho grass ruefully. Rain continued throughout the short first spell, and there was no interval at the change-over. Poneke, while the turf was still merely wet and not churned into mud, attempted to open up tho game, but without success. Berhampore made no such attempt, but confined their play to the forwards. As the ground got worse and worse it became impossible to handle the ball accurately, and difficult even to stand upright. The consequence was the type of game known in Rugby parlance as a "mud scramble”—a splashing through puddles ftrom end to eud with more feet to the ball than hands. The score was even at half-time, 3—3, one psnalty goal against another. King kicked one tor Poneke, and Walters drop-kicked another penalty for Berhampore In the second spell Poneke had much the better of things against a team weakened by the absence of some of its chief players. A determined forward rush led to Hughes crossing the Berhampore line for the first- and only b y of the match. King failed to convert. The game ended in favour of Poneke, 6—3. Mr. Brooker was referee. WELLINGTON V. SELWYN. The match, Wellington v. Selwyn, on the Kilbirnie ground, was a closelycontested and even affair between the two teams at tho bottom of the list. A heavy wind with much rain swept the ground from end to end during the first spell. The scores came early. Wellington, playing with the wind, pressed hard, on their opponents, who were facing the rain, and Haines scored a fine try. Tull just missed with tho kick. Immediately afterwards Selwyn attacked and equalised. M'Quade notched a fine try on the wing, and Wilson's kick was charged down. There was no further score through ihe rest of the game, which ended in a draw, g_3. Mr. Fletcher was referee. Third Grade. The "curtain-raiser” to the I’etoneAthletic senior fixture at the Park was provided 'by teams representing Petono and St. Patrick’s College, third grade. From tho outset St. Patrick’s became aggressive, and within ten minutes had registered 6 points (two unconverted trios). At tho close of the spell the score stood at 12 points to 9 in favour of St. Patrick’s College. In the second half Petono asserted themselves and established a lead of 3 points, which they maintained until tho close of the game. Tries for the winners were obtained by Jenkins (2), Bond, and Mockridge, and Ambler kicked a goal from a penalty. Scots College defeated Selwyn by 10 points to 6. M’llvride and M. Feist scored tries, and Tait potted a goal for Scots College. Fifth Grade. Scots College defeated Wellesley College by 11 points to nil. Petono beat Selwyn by 16 to nil. Sixth Grade. Scots College defeated Technical College by 30 points to 7. Seventh Grade. Scots College defeated Selwyn B by 38 points to nil. MATCHES ELSEWHERE

WAIRARAPA (33) V. MANAWATU (11). <Bv Telccranh— Special Correinondent.l Mastertoni July 17.

The Manawatu and Wairarapa senior representatives met at Masterton on Saturday afternoon. A strong wind was blowing, and rain fell at intervals, so the conditions were not favourable to good football. Nevertheless, an interesting game was witnessed, in which Wairarapa showed undoubted superiority especially in tho backs. Manawatu forwards did good work, especially Carroll, Diedrich, Harness, and Buckna.ll, but their bucks were weak. Wairarapa threatened from the kickoff, through Manawatu backs mulling, but a free-kick gave Manawatu relief. A Manawatu passing rush was followed by a Wairarapa forward attack. Manawatu were penalised for offside play, and Torrance landed a splendid goal from well over thirty yards out. Jho Manawatu forwards, headed by Carro l and Skinner, cam© away, and, smothering Matson, looked like scoring, but. a knock-on spoilt tho attack, and B Booth brought relief with a good kick, but the Manawatu backs came again to the attack, and offside play robbed them of a good chance to score. IV airarnpa broke away from the froo-kick. but a passing rush was spoilt by oftside play, and Manawatu sent the ball out at halfway. Manawatu had a strenuous time defending. Their backs were weak on defence, tuid eventually Wairarapa

smashed through, and in a. scramble under the goal, scored a try, which Torrance failed to convert. Manawatu, by good forward work, carried play to the Wairarapa twenty-five, where a great Manawatu rush saw Cartoll break away and score. The try was converted. Wairarapa kept up the attack, and from a passing rush among the backs B. Booth scored. Torrance failed with the kick. A period of play followed in which the tussle was between the Manawatu forwards and the Wairarapa backs. Each side came near- scoring. Then the Wairarapa forwards, headed by J. Donald and Desmond, worked the ball down the field, and Knowles slipped across. Torrance missed with the kick. Shortly afterwards Wairarapa scored from another forward scramble, and just on the call of half-time Manawatu notched a. try. the score then being; Wairarapa 17, Manawatu 8.

Manawatu started off in the second spell with vigorous attacks by tho for- ■ wards, Carroll, Buckland, Diedrich, and Skinner doing great work. From one of these attacks Buckland scored, but no goal resulted. The ground was now very heavy, and play was little better than a scramble. The Wairarapa backs, however,handled the- ball wall, and made several gpod passing rushesl The Manawatu backs let the Wairarapa forwards through on many occasions. The Manawatu pack, which had been putting up a groat fight without receiv- ■ ing much support from the backs, now began to tire, and Wairarapa took charge of the play for the rest of the spell. Grcuble, B. Booth, R. Booth, and J. Donald scored tries for Wairarapa, Watson converting (two. Manawatu were dangerous on three or four occasions towards the close of the gome, but failed to add to their score. The Wairarapa backs fielded the ball too well, and tho local forwards now held the Manawatu vanguard in check. Tha final score was: Wairarapa, 33; Manawatu, 11. PALMERSTON GAMES. By Telegraph—Special Correspondent. Palmerston North, July 17. As the representative .team was on tour, all other senior matches were postponed on Saturday. Tho principal attractions on the show grounds were the meeting between Feilding A and Pohangina in tho semi-final of the Junior Championship, and a game between the Old Boys and present pupils of the local High School. The weather wan fine, but the turf wae inclined to be a bit on the greasy eide, as tho result of heavy rain overnight. The Pohangina. and Feilding A match was very closely contested, and ended in a draw, neither side being able to score. The standard of play was not particularly high, tho game being confined chiefly to clashes between the forwards. On the day’s play Pollangina were somewhat the better, but were unable to turn advantages to account. Their forwards are a hefty, willing lot, but the backs seem to lack initiative when in a scoring position. The match, Present v. Old Boys of High School, produced some excellent football. Early in the game Saywell got a goal for Present Boys from a free-kick. Old Boys gathered thieir forces together, and from a pretty concerted movement between Seeker, Wilton, and Eglinton, the last named scored near the corner, and the scores were even. Shortly afterwards Fairbnothar, at wing three-quarter for the Old Boys, obtained possession just outside the twenty-five mark. He short-punted, and following up smartly, beat Brophy for the ball, and ecored. M. Hodder added tho major points. Present Boys were not done with, and shortly before halftime Saywell added a further three from a penalty. The second-half of the game was hotly contested, but neither side added points. The closing stages were marked by nice concerted movements on both sides, and the tackling was a treat to witness. AUCKLAND MATCHES By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, July 17. Grafton beat Marist Old Boys by 9 points to 8; College Rifles beat University by 11 points to 3; Grammar School beat I'onsonby by 13 points to 8; Parnell defaulted to North Shore. DUNEDIN RESULTS. By Telegraph—Press Assooiation. Dunedin, July 16. Kaikorai boat Southern by 8 points to nil; Alhambra beat 'Varsity A by 10 to 5; Zingari 'beat Union by 6 to nil; Pirates beat ’Varsity B by 14 to 9; Port beat Dunedin by 6 to 3. WEST COAST V. BULLER. By Telegraph—Press Association. Westport, July 16. A|match between West Coast and Bui-' ler for the Rundle Cup was played today on Victoria Square under drenching showers and on a very slippery field. It ended in a win for the Coast by 9 points to 3. All the scores were got'in scrambles over the line. Coast had a good set of forwards and used the boot better than Buller, who were too much inclined to pick up .the slippery ball, when kicking would have been more effective. Nevertheless the game was very even, both sides missing some good scoring openings and having lucky saves in scrambles after the slippery ball over the line. Tries were scored by M'lntosh, Hall, and Nelson (Coast), and Whittaker (Buller).

The Petone fifth class team, whose line has not been crossed this season, and against whom no points have been scored, achieved another success on Saturday by defeating Selwyn by 46 points to nil. Exceptionally heavy scoring has been the rule of this team, they having in ths twelve Snatches • played registered 453 points. The captain of tho team. G. L. Nicholls, a younger brother of the two New Zealand representatives, M. F. and H. E. Nicholls, has scored 190 points. Other members who have achieved scores reaching double figures are: Jowett (56), Clark (50). Burd (34), Rodger (17), and Goble (17).