BIG DAY TOMORROW

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 27, 31 July 1936, Page 11

BIG DAY TOMORROW

HAWKE'S BAY VISIT

MATCH WITH WELLINGTON

Not. for many years has there been such interest in an inter-provincial Rugby football match in Wellington as that aroused in the Hawke's Bay-Wellington representative match to be played .at Athletic Park tomorrow afternoon. One reason is that Hawke's Bay is credited widely with having come right back into its own again as a real force to be reckoned with on the Rugby field, and the view is certainly supported by the recent performances of the Hawke's Bay representatives. Big, powerful forwards have been one of the Bay's main assets, and the play of i those who are now representing Hawke's Bay has been developed as in the past. Wellington, too, has excellent material, back and forward, with the backing of considerable experience, and it is to be expected that the visitors tomorrow will find the opposition \ great deal stronger than that which they have met successfully in previous encounters this season.

[ Indications are that the event will be reminiscent of the memorable occa-1 ; sion when Hawke's Bay, in its Rugby , heyday, made a great invasion, bring- ; ing the Ranfurly Shield and taking it . away again. There is no Shield in dispute this time, but there is the very ' | interesting fact that both Hawke's Bay and Wellingtqn have engagements this season with the present Shield holders. The match tomorrow is to commence at 3 p.m. The charge for admission io the ground is Is (schoolboys 6d) Arrangements have been made for progress scores of the Ranfurly Shield match, Otago v. Southland, to be given during the progress of play at Athletic Park tomorrow. THE TEAMS. The final, selection of the Hawke's aay team for the match with Wellington was left until after yesterday's match with Waikato, in which Le Wuesnes inclusion meant the placing of Aldrich at centre-three-quarter. Hawke's Bay, it is expected will' line up against Wellington as follows:— Full-back, Hutchinson; three-quarters E. Apsey, A. Aldrich, and W. Johnson-' five-eighths, C. Le Quesne (captain) and L. Bradley; half-back, L. Clothier; backrow forward, H. Rolls; middle-row forwards, Hawea Mataira, S. Reid, W Miller, and O'Brien; front-row ' forwards, Hannigan, Dalton, and Jackson Emergencies: Backs, Moss and Grant; forwards, Wilson and Ireland. ■■- Wellington's team, which had its final practice last night, is as follows:—Fullback, H. R. Pollock (vice-captain)-three-quarters, L. H. Edwards, J. Fleming, and A. G. Hansen; five-eighths, J. L. Griffiths and H. L. Baldwin;, halfback, B. S. Sadler; back-row forward, A. H. Andrews; middle-row forwards J. Wells, M. W. Devine, F. H. Fraser Smith, and J. R. Lamason (captain)-front-row forwards, R. R. Hull, A. Lambourn, and F. C. Leahy. EmergenciesBacks, W. Crisp, J. Wareham, and E. W. Tindill; forwards, M. Wright, K. Guy, C. Pringle, and C. M. Ongley. PAST ENCOUNTERS. ' Of the 3B matches played between Hawke's Bay and Wellington, 24 have been won by Wellington, 11 by Hawke's Bay, and three have been drawn. Despite the disparity, however, Hawke's Bay have an advantage in points, having scored 457 to 348 in the long series. In the first thirty-five years of the contest, Hawke's Bay scored only one win, but since 1920 they have had an entirely different record, a tribute in itself to the soundness of the Bay forward team. Of the fifteen matches played since the war, the Bay has won ten, lost five, and drawn one. In 1926, Hawke's Bay scored its huge win of 58 to 8. Since then, five matches have been played at Wellington, each side winning two and drawing one. At Napier, however, the Bay has had the edge on Wellington and since the memorable match has won three of the four matches played. Wellington winning the other by 15 to 8. Wellington were defeated 'at Napier last season by 33 points to 19, the game marking the, end of Frank Kilby's career for Wellington, a career of great merit and lasting for 42 representative games for the province. Over the last few years the games have always been marked by a battle for supremacy between the Wellington backs and the Hawke's Bay forwards. As Wellington, tomorrow, has a strong forward team in the field, its. admittedly cleverer backs should be given more scoring opportunities.