RUGBY IN THE RAIN

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 182, 4 May 1925, Page 10

RUGBY IN THE RAIN

WELLINGTON DEFEATS ATHLETIC PONEKE AND MARIST DRAW I WINS FOR BERHAMPORE, PETONE AND 'VARSITY Blinding showers of rain fell throughout Saturday afteinoon, when the championship matches were continued. Play- ( ers were called upon to show their ability under wet weather conditions, and acquitted themselves on the whole creditably, though the taking of the ball from the air was ..generally uncertain. The surprises of the day were the snirited showing made by Marist against Poneke at Athletic Park, both sides - scoring two unconverted tries, and the defeat of Athletic by Wellington at Lyall Bay Berhampore ran over the weak Selwyn fifteen to the tune ot 30 points to nil at Wakefield Park, and . Petone outplayed Oriental on the suburban ground by 18 points to ml. Varsity got the better of Hutt at the Hutt Recreation Ground , by 8 points to 3. RESULTS AT A GLANCE Berhampore (30) beat Selwyn (0) Wellington (6) beat Athletic (3) 7 Petone (18) beat Oriental (0) - - Poneke (6) drew with Marist (6) ’Varsity (8) beat Hutt (3)

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE >

MARIST FULLY EXTEND PONEKE ' A HARD-FOUGHT. DRAW. Poneke and Marist met at Athletic Park, but driving showers of rain which set in just before play started at 3 o’clock made matters extremely unpleasant J or the players and the 2000 spectators who witnessed what proved to be a close and interesting contest. Marist had the advantage of breeze, and rain behind them, and their solid set of forwards, keeping/ the ball on the • ground, made matters more than interesting for Poneke in the early stages. Play was fast, and the collaring by both sides determined. The backs on both sides failed td take the greasy ball cleanly from the high kicks, and both teams were exploiting this weakness to the fullest extent. The Poneke forwards were faster and mere dashing . in the loose work, but the Marist vanguard, more than counterbalanced this' by putting more weight into the scrum ’and handling the leather better from the line-outs. -From play in midfield, Tijalioney let Foley, the young ,/ Marist winger away, and the latter was ' looking dangerous when he was well taken low by Hall. Marist continued to attack, but were kept out by solid defensive work by Gilbert (full-back) and Hickey (wing three-quarter), who , were'taking the ball well and kicking ‘ powerfully. The Ponekt forwards, with Wilson, Smith, and J. Shearer in the van, came upfield with a determined foot rush, and Algar improved the position with a clever cross-kick. The Marist'forwards, with McHardy, Bowman, and McKee going well, came back ~ in dashing style to the centre. iPoneke returned to the attack, but Hall missed nice opening by failing to field cleanly. The Marist pack, with Holtz, Bell; a,nd Fisher prominent, ■got on a sweeping footrush, which took, play to the other end of the field. Here McKee snatched the leather from the hands of an opponent, and passed out to Mahoney, but Hickey blocked the way. The Marist forwards were going well, and Poneke had an anxibus time till F. Tilyard cleared from near the' posts with a strong punt. A great Poneke footrush, with the Shearer brothers and Calcinai forming the wedge, swept the opposition aside, and Marist it-ere extremely fortunate in >' averting a score. Desperate work ensueft hi' front of the Marist goal, and B. Wilson was laid out’for a spell. The Poneke forwards continued to infuse plenty of dash into their play. Murphy, the Marist full-back, failed to judge the flight of the ball) and when he did l could not hold the slippery leather. This let the fast-following Poneke pack 'down on the Marist line several times. From one of the rushes, the ball was carried over between the posts. Cummings flopped on it, but it flew from beneath his chest, and Wilson pounced on it. The referee ruled that Cum; ■ • mings had not put a hand on the ball, and awarded a , try—a decision which occasioned a good deal of • controversy. Calcinai, in taking the kick at goal from right in front, handled the ball a second time, and the referee declared the kick at goal forfeited.” On resum-' ing, F. Tilyard made a clever swerving ■ run, in which he beat several men before being upended by Ward, The Marist forwards, headed by McHardy' Bell and Mcßae, swept the leather on to the Poneke line, where a try was lost by over-eagerness. ’Marist made a ' battering assault on the line, and eventually pigreed the defence. The ball < came out to Twohill, who sent out a' long pass to Griffen. The Marist winger put in a short punt over Hickey’s head', and, following up fast, regained possession, and scored in the corner Murphy mgjde ’a fine attempt to convert, and the teams crossed over with the board 3-all. As happened to the All Blacks at Dublin last* year, the wind veered round st half-time, so that Poneke had to face the battle and the breeze in both spells. The second spell opened in a heavy (shower, which almost blotted the players from view, and caused hundreds of spectators on the western bank n flee from the downpour. Poneke, who were lasting well, had the best of things for a time, but Marist, aided by the wind, at last found their feet, and set up sf determined attack.' Twohill, behind the knim for Marist, appeared to be able to do nothing right. Several times, with his backs waiting for the leather, the Marist half attempted to cut in past the scrum, and was borne down by the weight cf numbers. It must be admitted that the Marist backs, when they did get the ball, made poor use of it.' They appeared timorous, and parted with the leather at the earliest opportunity. The inside backs on both sides showed a disinclination to go down to the footer rushes, and too, much feeble speculat-ing'-WAs indulged in. After attacking ~for.some time, Marist rushed the bril t over between the posts, and in the ensuing scramble Twohill scored Marist’s

second try. Murphy failed to convert. The ensuing play was strenuous, and interruptions were frequent while casualties weie attended to. Hickey, Poneke’s wing-three-quarter, got a severe knock and had to go off the field, H. Tilyard replacing him. In making a great dive for a score, Ward collided with the corner flag-post; and was laid out for a few seconds. It ’ooked as if Poneke were going to have their colours lowered, but they rallied tljeir forces, and, working with the courage born of despair, they forced' Marist back on their line. H, Tilyard, fresh as paint, made his presence felt. He followed up a kick, rttid fell on the ball over the Marist lint, but the slippery leather flashed from under him, and went into touch-in-goal. Poneke kept up the attack, and the'Marist defence was tested tq the breaking point. Hall went close with a pot from a' penalty. Then, followed the tit-bit of the day. From a ruck at the quarter-mark,\Cal-ciirai shot the ball out to Jessup, \ylio was. off the mark quickly. Nearing the line, he sent a nice pass to H. Tilyard, who dashed over for the best try' of the' day. B. Gibson made a creditable effort to convert. . Hard and determined play followed until "noside” was sounded, and a strenuous tussle, in which the luck was evenly distributed, ended: Poneke, 6: Marist, 6. Mr. G. Bradley controlled the game. PETONE DEFEAT ORIENTAL SUPERIOR COMBINATION TELLS. Petone defeated Oriental at Petone in the presence of about 1500 spectators, by 18 points to nil. The forwards of both teams were evenly matched, but. there was a great disparity between the backs. Petone, combining nicely, and working with that precision which comes from a thorough understanding of one another’s play, frequently turned defence into attack, bringing to nought the hard grafting of the Oriental forwards. On the other hand, the displavgiven by Ihe Oriental backs was well below senior standard, even though aHowances be made for the greasy nature of the ground and ball. Their parsing for the most part was wild, and even when correct was spoilt by failure to take the ball, and there/ was too much speculation Whereas Petone had the art of turning defence (apd they were called on to'defend stoutly many times) into attack. Oriental were apparently unable to take advantage of their many chances. Despite the driving rain, at no time did the game degenerate to a mud scramble. Petone’s total was made up bv -four tries (one converted), all secured in the first spell, and a potted goal by Corner, from a difficult angle in the second half. The three tries obtained by Hawkins were as the result of passing rushes, iirwhich “Doc” Nicholls, M. Nicholls, and Fitzgerald were prom'nent. Fitzgerald scored by following up fast and i falling on the ball as it went over the line. Several tries were lost to Petone in the second spell by the slipperiness of gr.ound and ball, although Hawkins was unfortunate to lose the ball over the line when soundly collared by Wickerts. Oriental missed two possible scores Alien the ball was kicked over the dead ball line. Petone’s finest effort was their first try, which came from a centre kick bv Corner, in itself a brilliant piece of tactics. "Doc” Nicholls ran up fast, took the ball on the full, shot it out to M. Nicholls, who in turn passed it to Hawkins, while that player, running straight down the line with determination, forced his wav over the line to score in the corner. "M. Nicholls goaled; • Mr. R. Heron was the rpferce.,

BERHAMPORE DEFEAT SELWYN C A RUNAWAY VICTORY. At Wakefield Park Berhampore defeated Selwyn by 30 points to nil, being in their opponents’ territory practically for the whole of the game. An outstanding performanc'e was that of Berhampore’s first five-eighths, Lang, *who scored eleven points. No advantage went with the toss, as a cross wind was blowing. Attacking from the outset ( Berhampore forced Selwyn and from the drop-out burst through again, L. Brown just failing to score. Lang missed a goal from a free kick to Berhampore. From a scramble near the line Goodall scored in the corner and made a good effort to convert. 3—o. Wogan, who captained Selwyn, by a good line-kick, momentarily placed his team in an attacking position, but Berhampore cleared with a fine forward rush, led by Christie. From halfway Lang made a great run through his opponents, and fell when just coming to the line. Gaining possession again, he made another characteristic long run, passing to Goodall, to Deere, back to Lang again, who scored. Goodall missed .the kick at goal. 6—o. Lang again opened the attack and put Deere in position to score near the goal posts, Lang converting. 11—0. Selwyn for a brief space came into the picture, having a drop at goal from a mark, and from an infringement right in front of the posts, Wogan missed a very easy kick, and Berhampore were forced for the first time. Goodall had an unsuccessful shot from a penalty kick wide out, and scrnppv play marked the remainder of the first spell, the only additional score being a penalty goal bv La,ng. 1-I—o. Rain commenced to fall earlv in the second spell, and. increasing in volume, continued throughout,

making the ball very difficult to handle, and Berhampore dominated play right to the final whistle. Picking up m the loose H. Charles ran in behind the posts’, Lang missing an easy goal. 17n Lang obtaining possession, stored an easy try, which Deere converte .i 22—0. Lang, who was the most conspicuous player ill the luatcl '- ran from halfway,, and passed to Duncan, to Deere, vfho ran under the posts, Deere missing an easy kick. 25—0. Just on the call of time k. Brown scored from a forward scrambk, Duncan converting. 30—0. Mt. K. Paton refereed. ATHLETIC OUTCLASSED WELLINGTON’S SUPERIOR FORWARDS. Marked superiority in the forward department enabled the greatly improved Wellington combination to the verdict over Athletic at Lyall E. bv 0 points to 3. The ground itself w'as not conducive to good play. in the first place it is by no means level and "lumps” could be encountered at every stride. A biting southerly downpour set in at the conclusion of the first spell, and the concluding half was played in the mud. In the early stages of the game the Athletic backs sliowed up well, -'ith Svenson introducing some neat dashes, but. the Wellington pack were not long in assuming control, and for the most patl forward play predominated. . The Wellington rearguard engaged rushes, but, generally speaking, their handling was not as good as that ot their opponents, who, however, lost chances through the repeated selfishness of their first five-eighths, Gibson. Although low collaring was not favoured, the Wellington team tackled soundly, as Porter and Svcnson have good cause to remember.. Wellington were first to show up as likely scorers, but the referee’s decision went against them. A passing bout, in which Christie, Johnston, Corliss, and Morgan participated, ended in the last-named crossing the line at the corner with two opponents holding on to him. A twenty-five kick out was ordered. The account was opened shortly alterwards, when Johnston goaled from a penaltv awarded in a handy position. Scores' were not equalised until about half-way through the second spell, when Warwick set his backs away >n opposition territory. The ball went to Gibson, and thence to Svenson, who dashed across at the corner, tackled in almost the same way as Morgan was in the first spell. A try was awarded, buf Gibson had no luck with the kick. The Wellington pack maintained the pressure, and before the dying stages were reached the final try was hoisted. Joyce, leading a rush on the Athletic goal, lost the ball on the line, but in the ensiunK scramble retrieved the, leather and grounded it. No goal resulted. Athletic fought hard to even matters, but failed to penetrate the Wellington defence. I hey had three chances with penalties, and the shots, although good, missed their objective. Mr. W. J. Carson was the referee.

’VARSITY DEFEATS HUTT KEENLY CONTESTED GAME. Plaving against Hutt at the Hutt, ’Varsity kicked off against the wind, on a. wet and slippery ground. Hutt forwards opened the attack, and worked well, down the field, but the movemeat was checked by a penalty. ’Vaisity then warmed up and instituted a passing rush,. in which .Love again proved his outstanding ability. Strong defensive tactics, however, prevented any score being recorded, and play was taken back to mid-field, where it remained for some time. Hutt then worked down tlie/ field in the fa.ee of strong opposition, and Cudby receiving, just missed potting a goal. By this time the ball was extremely difficult to handle' owing to the steady rain, and footwork became the order cf the day. Hutt .instituted a dribbling rush led by Daily, but Marks intercepted and sent the leather spinning up the field. Uninteresting plav followed for some minutes, until a rush bv the home team brought the ball into the ’Varsity pre serves, relief being obtained by a force. ■A little later O’Regan opened the account for ’Varsity bv kicking a neat ( goal from a penaltv. The home team then indulged in keen forward play, and succeeded in carrying the ball into the visitors’ twentv-five. From a line out, Whiterod received and ran over, Cudby failing to Convert. Three all. Half-time sounded without any further score being recorded. In the second spell the ground Was in a sloppy condition, and neither side could handle the ball with any certainty. ’Varsity relied mainly on a series of dribbling rushes, in which much clever footwork was shown, but had to face determined opposition. Early in the play the ball was carried well down the field, and Love, with a dash, picked up and scored between the posts. O’Regan converted. ’Varsity 8, Hutt 3. The home team had an' excellent opportunity a, few minutes later, when a mark was taken in front of the goal posts, but the wind swerved the ball, which just missed its objective. The remainder-of the game did not result in any additional score. B—3 being the final tally. LOWER GRADES. Junior. Berhampore beat Selwyn' by 6 points to 3. Third. Berhampore beat Wellington by 8 points to 5. Athletic defeated ’Varsity by 32 points to nil. ~ Old Boys A defeated Scots College Old Boys by 8 points to nil. Intermediate. Berhampore defeated Kaiwarra by 9 points to 3. Fourth. Berhampore drew with Selwyn, C points all. ' Melrose (19), Institute (6). Fifth. Old Boys beat Berhampore by 22 points to nil. Sixth. Berhampore beat Oriental by 16 points to nil. Seventh. Institute (12) beat St. Patrick’s College 3rd (0). GAMES ELSEWHERE AUCKLAND. Er 1 II.EOUA i'll - I’ll HSS Auckland, May 2. To-day’s Rugby fixtures resulted:— Ponsonby, 19; Grammar, 5. Marists, 9; Graftoil,' 8. University, 24; College Rifles, 6. Suburbs, 5; Manakau, 3. Shore, 17; King’s, 6. OTAGO. By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, May 3. Saturday’s Rugbv results were: University A,‘34; Southern, 13. Pirates, 50; University B, 13. Alhambra, 7; Dunedin, 7. Ziiigari-Richmond, 25; Union, 5. Kaikorai, 12; Taieri Rovers, 9.

CANTERBURY. Bi Telegraph—Press Association. Christchurch, May 2. To-day’s Rugby results were: Mefivale, 21; ’Varsity, 1.1. Old Boys, 16; Albion, 9. Linwood, 15; Christchurch, 10. HAWKE’S BAY. By Telegraph—Press Association. Napier, May 3. The Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union’s senior Cup matches yesterday resulted: High School Old Boys. 13; Hastings (for whom Cyril Brownlie made his first appearance of the season), 6. Marist Brothers’ Old Boys, 15; Havelock North, 3. Pirates, 42; M.A.C., nil. MASTERTON. (BY telegraph—special correspondent.) Masterion, May 3. The Rugbj' competitions opened on Saturday, in ideal weather conditions. Results: Red Star, 13; Greytown, 9. Gladstone, 14; Featherston, 3. Carterton, 30; Martinborough, nil. NELSON. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Nelson, May 2. The football fixtures to-day resulted: Senior—Nelson, 9; Rival, 3. Old Boys, 16; Waimea, 3. Junior—Waimea, 3; Pirates, 3. Old Boys, 8; Nelson, nil. College, 19; Rival, nil. Tliird grade—Wakatu, 25; Cadets, nil. College, 22; Waimea, nil. Old Boys, 3; College B, nil. Fourth grade—College, 70; Waimea, nil.

A BUSY SEASON LIST OF FIXTURES. After the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union last week, an informal conference' of delegates was held, at which the following fixtures were drawn up for the season: — June 3—Wellington v. New Zealand team, at Wellington. Wairarapa v. Hawke's Bay, at Nauio" June (i —Sydney University v. Auckland University, at Auckland. June 30—Wellington v. Taranaki, at Hawera. July I—Bush Districts v. 'Wairarapa, at Masterton. July 25 —King Country v. Waikato. July 29—Wairarapa v. Bush /Districts, ..-at. Palliatun July 29—Waikato v. Hawke's Bay, at Hastings. August I—Southland v. Canterbury, at Christchurch. Waikato v. Wairarapa, al Carterton. August s—Southland5 —Southland v. Wellington, al Wellington. Canterbury v. Hawke’s Bay (Shield mats'll), at Nanier Waikato v. Bush Districts, at Pahia,tua. August B—Southland8 —Southland v. Hawke’s Bay (Shield match), at Napier. Canterbury v. Wellington, at Wei-, lington. Horowhcnua or Wanganui v. Waikato. August 12— Southland v. Manawatu, at Palmerston North. Canterbury v. Wairarapa, at Masterton. Waikato v. King Cbunlry. August 15—Southland v. Wairarapa, at i Masterton. Canterbury v. Auckland, at Auckland. Taranaki v. Marlborough, at Blenheim. Hawke’s Bjiy v. Taranaki, at Napier. August 19—Southland v. South Canterbury, at Timani. Taraiiaki v. Wairarapa, at Masterton. Manawatu v. Wanganui. King County v. Auckland. August 22—Southland v. Otago, at Dunedin. Taranaki v. Hawke's Bay (Shield match), at Napier. Wairarapa v. Marlborough, at Blenheim. Waikato v. Auckland. King Country v. North Auckland. New- South Wales v. Wellingfon-Mnmiwatu-Ttorowhciiua, at Palmerston North. August 26—South Canterbury v. Auckland. at Auckland. Wairarapa v. Buller, at Westport. Auckland v. King Country. New South -Wales v. Otago-South-land, at: Dunedin. September 2—South Canterbury* v. Taranaki, at Hawera. Wairarapa v. Nelson, at Nelson. New South Wales v. CanterburySouth Canterbury, at Christchurch. September s—Otago v. Canterbury,! at Christchurch. I South Canterbury v. Manawatu, at Palmerston North. Wairarapiy v. Wellington, at Wellington. New South Wales v. WanganuiTaranaki. at New Plymouth. September 9—Otaco v. Hawke's Bay, (Shield match), at Napier. South Canterbury «v. Wellington, at Wellington. New South Wales v. WairarapaBush, at Masterton. September 12 —Hawke’s Bay v. Marlborough, at Blenheim. Horowhenui v. Wairarapa. at Levin. Otago v. Wellington, at Wellington. Canterbury v. South Canterbury, at Christchurch. Hawke’s Bay v. Auckland (Shield match), at Napier. New South Wales y. Poverty Bay, at Gisborne. September 15—Hawke’s Bay B v. Nelson, at Nelson. September 16—Otago v. Wairarapa, at Masterton. 'Wanganui v. Southland, at gillHawke's Bay v. Horowhcnua, at. Levin. New South Wales v. King CountryWaikato. September 19—AVaikato v. Thames A alley. AVangaimi v. Otago, at Dunedin. Golden Bay v. AVairarapa, at. AlotuHawk'e's Bity v. AVellington (Shield match). ;d‘AVellington. New South Wales v. New Zealand, at Auckland. \ Septrjnbor 22—Hawke’s Bay v. Bush Districts. September 23—Now South AY ales v. North Auckland, at AVhahgarei. September 24—Hawke’s Bay v. Buller, at: AWstport. September 26—AVellington v. Auckland, •— nt Auckland. AVnnganili v. Canterbury, at Christchurch; Bay of Plenty v. Taranaki. AVellington B v. ITorowheuua-Maua-watu. at AVellington. Hawke's Bay v. AVest Coast, at Greymouth. September 30—AVanganui w. AA’ellington, at AVellington. Taranaki v. Bay of Plenty, at Hawera. October I—North Auckland v. Taranaki. October 3—Auckland v. Taranaki, at Auckland. AVanganui v. South Canterbury, at Timaru. Bay of Plenty v. Wanganui, at Gisborne. October 10—Ray of Plenty v. Auckland, at Auckland. October 19—Auckland v. Poverty Bay, at Gisborn e. King Country v. Auckland. Taranaki v. Auckland. At tlie close, of the informal conference, it was agreed that Mr, J. Prendeville (AVe l lington) should collaborate w'dh Mr. S. AVilson (Canterbury) with a view to devising a scheme whereby the clashing and overlapping of fixtures could be avoided for the future.

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY TEAM

The Sydney University team will arrive in New Zealand on May 19, and play seven matches, one match against each of the four universities (Victoria College, Auckland, Otago and Canterbury), and three test matches against teams selected from the combined universities.

P. Pts. Pts. Ch. W. L. D. For. Ag. Pts. Petone 2 2 0 0 40 12 4 Berham'pore 2 2 0 0 45 9 4 ’Varsity 2 2 0 0 19 8 4 Poneke 2 1 0 1 44 22 3 Mari st 2 0 0 2 6 ,6 2 Wellington 1 1 0 18 25 2 Hutt 2 0 1 1 3 8 1 Oriental ..... 2 0 2 0 16 56 0 Athletic 2 0 2 0 12 21 0 Old Boys .... 1 0 1 0 5 11 0 Selwyn 1 0 1 0 0 30 0