A. DRAWN GAME

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 161, 26 July 1937, Page 9

A. DRAWN GAME

Scoring all their points in the first 15 minutes of a hard-fought> •match, Takapau worked hard to hold Porangahau to a draw. Both sides were' all out from the start, and no quarter was nsked or given. An otherwise bright game Was marred' by the iailure of the hookers on both sides to send the ball out cleanly, and by many stops iu the second half on account ; of. minor injuries. The teams were: — > Takapau : R. Halliday, L. Grierson, L. Cowan, R. Thompson, A. Aldrich, R. Aldrich, D. Heperi, M. Maaka, W. Johnston (capt), W. Bell,' R. Edgecombe, R. Reid, J. Hkrrison, L. Thompson, C. Tliomsen. • Porangahau: J. Bassett,; A. Kuru," R, .Ross,. W. Scott, H'. , Petuha. G. Kuru (capt), O. Moana, j. Pahi, . D.Tible, C. Sciascia, H. Cook, D. McDonald, L. Ropiba, W- Hokianga and D, Gollan . • In the first spell Ta*kapau had the double advantage of a light wind aDd the very slight slope of the ground.They set out from the kick-off to capitalise these circumstances, and 'Within five minutes of the start their backs had participated in a couple of concerted moves that put them within easy striking distance oi; the Porangahau goal-line, where a determined thrust b'y Heperi and lt. Aldrich saw the latter score, for Halliday to convert. Not 10 minutes had passed before R. Thompson, who played. a useful game on the wing, had short-punted, followed up. fast, and again scored for Takapau. This time the try was not eonverted. Almost throughout the first half of the game Takapau were on top territorially, with the backs throwing the ball about in a brigiht, opon display. The Aldrich3 brothers played well in the five-eighths line, and were given plenty of the ball by Heperi, but wtre apt to be a little too self-roliant, so that their three-quarters, of whom Thompson wa« outstanding, lacked scoring opportunities. But for wild passing, and a tendency towarcls individualism. Takapau probably would have won. With a lead of 8—0 at halftime they had a grand opportuuity. Porangahau, however, proved to be a team of rugged fighters, and gnmly stuck to their guns, liammeriug away at the opposing defence almost all through the second half, and clapping on a final burst of speed to even the scores within a few minutes of the linish. They appeared to be lighter m the forward division, and were rot able to get a fair share of the ball iti the scrums, but they folloWed up well and, in the second half) maiiagied to feed the backs pretty consistently from rocks and line-outs. Ross, at celltre, led the Porangahau attack, and rectrived strong suppcrt from A. Kuru, the winger, who crossed the Takapau line for the first time about 20 minutes from the end of the match. Basfett alsd played a sound game, and showed himself to be a full-back in whom his team-matds could place the utmost c«>ntidence. Taking a new lease on life towards the end of the game, the Porangahau forwards dominated the pllty, ' and after a series of scrambles iiear the line, Joe Pahi equalised the score with a penalty goal. 'There was no further score, and the uiatch ended -S-all. Mr W. J, Phillips was the refere«.