ROBUST RUGBY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20033, 4 September 1939, Page 11

ROBUST RUGBY

WIN FOR THE SARACENS BURDEN OF THE YEARS WEIGHT IN THE SCRUMS VETERANS’ COMEBAOK Saracens .... 14pts. Barbarians ... 9 Emerging from retirement to aid the candidacy of the sports queen in the centennial fund campaign, veterans of the Rugby field of longgone seasons put. on the principal match at the Oval on Saturday, playing under the team-names of Saracens and Barbarians. The match resulted in a win for the Saracens, a side which included four All Blacks and several others whose best form, if produced to-day, would entitle them lo consideration by the New Zealand selector in preference to some of the leading players of the current season. They beat the Barbarians by 14 points to 9. The Barbarians comprised former Poverty Bay representatives, all but two of whom played for the district against Auckland in 192 Gon Eden Park, and on that occasion registered one of Poverty Bay’s most distinctive performances. The teams were:— Saracens.—Full-back, W. Blathwayt; urr ..e-quarters, J. Lockwood, H. Brown, and R. Phiilpotts; five-eighths, J. Griffiths and G. Gregory; half-back, l. D. Bramwell: forwards, F. McDonald, M. Davies, F. Bull, M. J. Brownlie, C. Waide, C. Brownlie, P. Barker, and A. Toye. Barbarians.—Full-back, A. Woods; three-quarters, H. Harris, F. Bennett, and G. Murland; five-eighths, W. Lang, lands and V. Caulton; half-back, Piki Smith; forwards, K. A. Woodward, E. R. Thomas, N. Tasker, A. McPhail, K. Spence, R. Harrison, and K. Walters. For the first half of the game play was fairly fast and furious. Most of the players had made serious efforts to reduce the burden of the years, and stripped in fair physical condition. A handful of the stars of otiler years, as a matter of fact, were of fairly recent discovery, and had' not been long out of regular playing form'. They exerted a substantial influence on the result, for in the later stages, when the older of the veterans were feeling the going noticeably, their ranks were riddled by dashing runs on the part of- such players as Griffiths, Brown and Toye. The best individual contribution to the scoring account, however, was made by C. Brownlie, who notched two tries for the Saracens. Outstanding Figures Taken all round, the match was well worth while from the point of view of the spectators, who included many drawn to the Oval for the first time in many seasons by the prospect of seeing their old heroes in playing kit again. It provided, too, the answer to the oft-repeated question: What happens to star athletes when they pass out of active competition? Outstanding figures on the field were Thomas and Murland, prominent players for Poverty Bay 10 years ago. The first score was a penalty goal, kicked by Caulton for the Barbarians, from a position about 35yds. from the uprights. C. Brownlie evened the score soon afterwards, when he backed up H. Brown in a fast run and

took a pass near the goal-line, to score a good try wide out. The same player scored another try just before halftime, getting a pass from Bramwell, and finishing off with a solid thrust for the line. The score at the first change-over was C —3 in favour of Saracens. Barbarians were pressing early in the second quarter, when Toye got the ball in the open field and ran from his 25-yd. line to midfield, where Brown and, Griffiths went off in a hurry to score again for Saracens. Woodward gained a try for Barbarians shortly before the interval, and the half-time score was 9—G against his side. Barbarians Draw Level Early in the third quarter H. Harris scored for Barbarians, bringing the scores level, at 9 —all. The first replacement of the game occurred at this stage, Murland injuring his leg in a characteristic run on the Barbarians’ wing, and Haisman going on in his place’. ; Bramwell was again instrumental in opening up the way for a Saracens’ try when he eluded the attentions of the opposing breakaways and ran past the scrum before sending a pass to Toye. The latter had too much dash for the tiring Barbarians' defence and scored in a handy position, Griffiths adding the extra points. The leaders were called on for some solid defensive work in the last quarter, when their opponents tried hard to break through for a try, but the game ended without further scoring, Saracens winning by 14 points to 9. Mr. K. R. Waite was the referee.