Football.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3545, 11 July 1905, Page 2

Football.

OLD BOYS (6) v. AWAHOD (S)* A HARD FOUGHT GAM-E-By “True Sport.” .Saturday, July Bth, 1905, will'live long in the memory of those Foxtoia “ toebnll ” enthusiasts who took part in the proceedings of that day. Firstly, because perhaps the hardest contest pr placed there eventuated, and cpent'dly.'because the complimentary dinner Adored by Mr and Mrs Laipg t S&W* ™ °r. of the most ever held in thß .district.

■ THE There can be no do., that it was stubbornly cu * was,a battle royal. Every ma- n ™>»« field did his best, strained every with the one hope of “ victor) , Therefore, it cannot be Said judiciously that there wt'fe “ wasters ’’—players who preferred to Ibaf. Hard knocks were freely given and tafem it was only to be expected with both teams oat strictly for business. FortstDatel\> nothing serious happened, knock-outs were frequent. Pancror play was out ot the question entirely* As is well known, Avvahou suffered defeat by 6 points to 5— a small margin. In my ooiuion, the best team of the day did not win, and they owe them defeat to ctvef-eagernesss on the part of their players, who seemed to imagine they could personally break down an irresistible defence. '* Hang' ing on to the ball” is a practise which has lost many matches, and, in my opinion, Ipst another one on Saturday last. Soon after the commencement ot hostilities, the battle raged fiercely. Old Boys sending'forth a determined, challenge, with the result that were in the vicinity of the black goal line in a very few minutss. Jimmy Dunn eventually gained possession, and feigning to pass the leather out to his other backs, deluded the opposition, with the result that a clear opening was left tor him to “ cut iin ’ and he bolted safely over the goal-line. Booker failed dismally in his efforts to convert an easy kick. From kick-out. Awahou redoubled their efforts, ana commenced an attack up the field f which promised to be effective. Their forward and back passing rushes were full of merit, but the whole fact of the matter was—Barker’s defence was too solid. Momentarily, Old Boystookthe ball dawn to the black end, where they ini tilted p using rtt dies amongst their backs, and when two different scores seemed certain, Fred Shadbolt lived into the thick instead of passing out. Players must not imagine themselves super human. It was after this that Awahou began.to shine,-and they kept the blues particularly'busy. Their forwards—every one of them—shone m the open, whilst their backs, with one or two exceptions, were preparing in perfect style. Eventually, George R''bi ison, who was playing a sterling game both in defence and attack, took advantage of an opening on the blind ride, ami, snapping the ball from the scrum; beat Hooker badly, and s'reaked over the blue line in bold style. His brother Fred- kicked .a pretlv goal. Awahou were' now in the lead by 5 to .5, and they bid lair 10 add to their score. But fortune was against them, and no further score was added prior /to half-time. In the second half, both teams seemed afraid if one another; they would not make the play open, preferring to indulge in tier’ -1 line p'av and scrum work. In first 1 a’f, Aw .hrm were hooking beth t than Okl Boys, but neither set of for* .yards can be congratulated on the

manner in which they got the leather out to their backs. The ball hung in the pack somehow or other. For honking to be effective, it must pass through the pack -diaro and quick; practise this point J Young George Robinson was penalised tor snapping the leather out from an Awahm scrum and Old Boys gave Bert Shad bolt a kick at goal from a difficult angle. Bert proved equal to the occasion, and much to the delight of Old Boy supporters, landed a beautiful goal. The latter were now in the lead by one point—§ to 5. Then Awahbu strained every nerve doubly, and made things merry for their .opponent?! with the result that Old Boys were in

lire straits on numerous occasions.

They managed to survive the vigorous attacks, and they owe it not the least to bunching tactics on the line—an effective practice. Old Buys were in Awahon’s quarters when the whistle sounded “ time.”

For the winners, .Barker proved himself a marvel in defence. He had the bulk of the toil to do. Bert Shadbolt was next to him. This young, player is improving wonderfully. Both jimmy Dunn and Ball were good at times. The former’s try was p-etiy* Old Jimmy Desmond was the hardest toiler in the forjvards—in fact, Hie played one of his best game?. Syd Wright and Hooker were others whp worked as if they meant business, whilst Jack Lee and Marshall (who is shifted in all positions—a mistake! put in a lot of effective work.

For A wahou, Geo. Robinson shone both in attack and defence. He was the “star” in the black rearguard, ably seconded by Pressing; Charlie Robinson proved himself solid in defence, whilst Williamson is a splendid line-kick. He should improve greatly. Cook, at full, was weak, and little was seen of Fred Robinson, —though -a lot was heard from him—a bad fault, which you would do well to remedy *• Robbv " if yon intend to continue playing Rugby. Of the forwards Jimmy joe was the shining light. “ Let g<» that ball Jimmy, when you ought to,” are rny sentiments. Bob Jeffries was another good worker, while Spiers, W. Coley, and Williams were all noticeable in open work. W. Robinson toiled religiously on the wing, and I notice he got a lot oF effective touch-line work in on Saturday. Joe JilHt made a big mistake once when near the lin , trying to pick up a ball >yhen a score seemed certain. r ' ' ■ . ;

Mr Jack Manning refereed, whilst Messrs E. G. Sutherland and Nat Gould held the touch-line flags.