INTERPROVINCIAL FOOTBALL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 217, 4 September 1876, Page 2

INTERPROVINCIAL FOOTBALL

The match between Canterbury and Nelson commended in the. Botanical "Reserve "this ■ afternoon at three o'clock.^ TheCahterbarymen having arrived on Saturday night have had ample time to get rid of the effects of their passage from Auckland, which was very rough all the way, so much so that the steamer was unable to communicate with the shore at New Plymouth, and appeared oh the ground as fresh and ■■ lively as our. own team. The names of the players are as follows:— Canterbury : Messrs J. Anderson (aiptain), J. R. Evans, H: -W.Moore, J. Barker, D. Potts, H. Potts, G. Potts, G. H. Lee, T. W. Stringer, E. Cotterill, H. M'Cardell, H. M. Ollivier, E. Chapman, W. Millton, J. Million, and R. Hamilton, Umpire :Mr W F. Neilson. r ..... . Nelson : Firth (captain), Rev. J. P; I .empthorne, Warnock, Nicholson, Gully, H. Hodgson, C. Hodgson, Wells, Barnett, Galbraith, Sheppard, Askeiv, B addeley, Sharp, H. Burnett. Umpire: F.. Wither. - ; On the two teams meeting on the ground, it was evident that the Canterbury men had by far the^bestof it as regarded weight. Nevertheless, Nelson appeared to be in no way discouraged, and commenced with three hearty cheers for their opponents, which were joined in by the lookers on. Canterbury responded in the same way, and then the game commenced, Nelson having won the toss electing to play with the sun and wind at their backs. The ball was put . into play by a good straight kick from Anderson, the Canterbury captain, and was unpleasantly near the Nelson goal for several minutes, when by dint of sheer hard work and smart play it was taken a small distance away, but not very far. Very shortly it was brought back, and a force down opened the Canterbury score with half a point. Still the ball kept hanging about the goal when T. Nicholson got a fair kick at it, and drove it nearly three quarters of the way to the Csnterbury goal, but there was a Canterbury man in waiting (we regret that we are unable to give his name;, who sent it flying back again with an equally fine kick, And now things looked badly for Nelson. In less than three minutes two tries were secured by G: Potts, Moore on each occasion kicking the ball, fortunately f or^our local team, without obtaining a goal. These two tries added six to the score, and shortly after another half point was scored, making the total 7. Now fortune seemed to smile a little more favorably on the Nelson men as they contrived to get the ball down near their opponents goal, where they kept it for nearly ten minutes, the play being all the time most exciting. But though Canterbury could not get it away they were able to keep the other side from rising, and after a while begun to work their way back, and were gradually approaching the opposite end when time was called. Score: Canterbury 7, Nelson 0. After a five minutes spell, play was resumed, the goals being changed. For some time the game proceeded very evenly, there being- perpetual scrimmages about the centre' of the ground, but at last two of the Canterbury men ran the ball down before them by some really splendid play, and in spite of determined opposition worked it behind the Nelson goal line. Then ensued the liveliest play of the, game, the kicking and running on both sides being remarkably good, although the hall during most of the time had a tendency to the Nelson end, when at . last Nicholson got hold ot it, and by the finest run of the match,' carried it more than half way up the ground, when he was collared and thrown. During this half hour another try was secured by M'Cardell, and the ball wios again kicked by More, but again it passed outside the posts. When time was once more called at ten minutes past four, when our reporter left the ground, the score stood thus :— Canterbury, 12, Nelson, 0. From the first it was evident that i the local team was tremendously overly weighted; and this waa more plainly perceptible iv every scrimmage, when the struggling mass of humanity invariably moved slowly but surely away from the Canterbury and towards the Nelson goal. The Canterbury men are without doubt the finest team that has been seen in Nelson, aud although our men played with great pluck and determination against what were literally such heavy odds, it was of no use whatever, for .their opponents were altogether too strong for them. The rules, too, were somewhat different to those which are usually observed here, which at times tended to Baulk the Nelsonians considerably. Up to the time at which we left the ground the game had been played with the greatest good humor, not a single dispute having arisen. The .two teams will dine together at the Nelson Hotel, after which our visitors will sail in the Hawea for Wellington, where they play to-morrow. At the close of the game the score was Canterbury, 30_; Nelson, 0. -