PETONE DEFEATED

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10295, 2 June 1919, Page 7

PETONE DEFEATED

athletic prove a sound team.

Although the Rugby matches at Athletic Park on Saturday attracted a gooU deal of attention, the game at Petonu between the local fifteen and Athletic was. the centre of the greatest interest. Supporters of both - sides were equally confident, and a hard tussle was eagerly looked for.' Consequently a largo number of enthusiasts journeyed out from town, and the Petone supporters rallied as they. always do. As anticipated. the game was keenly fought, and the result—a substantial win for Athletic—adds greatly to the interest in the competition. At Athletic Park, Poneko easily defeated Wellington, and a drawn game—three all—was the result of the trial of strength between University and Oriental. Details of the play follow; ATHLETIC v. PETONE.

, ,^ ar Se of spectators gathered at the Petone oval on Saturday afternoon to witness the match between the local teaiu and Athletic. The weather was perfect for goo'd football. (The surtace of the turf was damp, but not bolding to the feet, and a keen air-im-parted zest and vigour to the players. Spells of 45 minutes each wore played, and in particular a mistake was made. The gome was not started to time, and as a consequence it was concluded practically in the dark. , The winning points were obtained in the last ten minutes, and while credit must be given to the victorious side, it is only natural that the contest was not viewed w-ith complete satisfaction by the teams or by the public when the final stages had to be fought out in the moonlight. It was a splendid game, however, and on the day the better team won, but the real .margin of points between them is very much smaller than the scores indicate. Athletic had the heavier 1 forwards, and their back division passed well and showed a considerable amount of combination. The light Petone forwards were in great condition. They , ran up and down the field like racehorses, while the; backs supported them at every opportunity. The tackling on each side was sound, but in-line-kicking E. Roberts proved superior to the other backs. _ Athletic' kicked oft with the sun In their faces. The hall went over Petone’s goal-line, but Pole disdained to force it down and kicked into touch a few yards up the line. Prom' a scrum Petone commenced a forward movement, but failure to secure the. ball by a man on the wing enabled Ryan to dash away along the line and score a try within five minutes of the commencement of the game. ' The kick at goal did not eventuate as the would-be kicker touched the ball, on two occasions. Athletic 3, Petoue 0. Ryan on the side of the scrum was doing great work and repeatedly broke away with the hall at toe. Patone was mainlv defending, when a mark by Comer afforded relief. Several free kicks were ordered to Athletic through a Petone forward lifting his foot in the scrums and from one of them E. Roberts kicked at goal without success. Another attack by Athletic followed, then the Petone forwards, putting dash and vim into their nlay. rushed the ball to half-way. where Hamilton got a kick in. Ho followed up fast, secured the ball again and missed crossing the lino by two feet. Athletic cleared, but the respite was only momentary. A run by Corner nut them on the defensive again and from a penalty kick Hamilton made a good attempt at goal. A pretty piece of back play in which Green, Pole, Cov ijer. and W. Thomas took part was responded to bv an effort by Cunninghame. B. Roberts and Chesterman, the latter being well tackled by Corner. The local team continued to attack for a while, but the sure tackling of the opposition backs prevented their line from being crossed. Strange to say the Petone forwards were securing the ball in the scrums more often than Athletic, but the passing 'amongst the hacks could have been; cleaner. . Bowers made a creditable lonehand effort down the line, then Athletic forwards nut their weight in and rushed the ball ,to half-way. Here, from a scrum. _L. Roberts got the ball smartly away to B. Roberts, who sent it on to McCabe. The latter set off at ton speed, eluded three Petone backs and scored a very fine try. E. Roberts missed a fairlv easy kick at goal. Athletic 6. Petone 0. The dark and light blues were soon pounding at Petone's lino again, and L. Roberts obtained a mark in a good position.' B. Roberts took the kick, but was not successful. Headed by Parker, Bowers and Dickens. Petone invaded Athletic territory. where Green made a dash for the goal line. Ho was thrown into touch at the comer post. Prom the line-out Green, who was playing cleverly, behind the forwards, got the ball smartly away, but a bad pass to Corner prevented an almost certain try from being obtained. Potono was at this stage doing most of the ‘attacking, and while Petone forwards infringed the rules by lifting their feet in the scrums, two Athletic players were continually playing off-side round the sorums. The refereeing ‘ was strict and impartial, but the referee was being beaten on the silly side- He secured the principal offender at last however and penalised the team- on several occasions. Prom one of these infringements Ambler made a good, though unsuccessful, kick at goal, and just before the whistle sounded for half-time “Kruger' l Parker got knocked out during an attack, and was carried off the field. *

The second half of the name opened with n determined attack by the Petone fortvarda, ''Kruger'' Parker’s place having been taken by his brother Arthur. Some give and take kicking followed, and off-side play by an Athletic forward gave Petone an opening to register a score. Ambler took the kick without result, end shortly afterwards the same player kicked a beautiful goal from a mark obtained near the centre of the field. Aihletio C. Petone 3. The local men attacked with vim, and Corner ' reached the corner post before he was pushed Into touch. Athletic took a turn at invasion. Shanahan relieved by a nice run, when from a line out Cunninghame passed back to K. Eoberts, who made an opening for McCabe to carry on the movement. Heley was entrusted with the finishing touches, but he was nicely grassed by Hill at fullback. B. Eoberts had another shot at goal from an infringement kick, but with no success, then a. concerted rush by Petone forward compelled Athletic to force down In order to save a try being recorded against them. Xi. and B. Huberts, McCabe, and Cheaterman were associated In a passing bout which resulted in a lot of territory being gained, and 1 1. Eoberts kicked at goal from' a free-kiok. The ball fell abort. Athletic .showed to advantage, and Petone were kept hemmed down in their 25. Snappy passing and short sprints were frequent by Athletic backs, but the defence was sound. Prom an opening made by Green. Petone made things merry, and after being held up on Athletic line. on two occasions Corner secured from a mm, passed to Hamilton who scored. Ambler made no mistake with the kick. Petone S, Athletic 6. The crowd were worked to a high pitch of excitement. The teams deserved the praise received from the on-; lookers for the game was full, of interest. Open and fast to a degree with the scene over changing, the teams fought for, mast err to the delight of the spectators! A dribbling rush with ■/!,bvo and P. Thomas in the load ended in Athletic hewing forced down. This was followed by a kick at goal by Ambler without the scorn being altered. Then a combined attack hv Petone backs and forwards. The ball

went over the line, was secured by _a Petone player, but it was grounded in touch-in-goal. A kick at goal by Ambler was successful in so far that the ball hit the cross-bar and went oyer, but an opponent had touched it during its flight. Darkness was setting in fast, and it tecame difficult to follow the play or single out individual players. Presently .Athletic were seen to be dashing dgwn the field and the rush was stopped by Corner near Petone’s goal line. Cunnmghame grabbed the ball from Corner s hands and was over in a twinkling. Ryan missed with the kick. Athletic 9, '' Immediately afterwards, during the progress of a scrum, a Petone player was ln ” capacitated temporarily. The local men appeared to stop their efforts for the moment, and the ball coming into the hands of McCabe he potted an excellent goal. Athletic 13; Petone 8. The attack con-tinued,-and owing'to the had light ice Petone backs were Unable to gather the ball in. Corner and Hall missed it, and Church secured and scored. Helcy enhanced xhe points with the kick and a "well-contested game ended; ■ Atluetio 18, Petone 8. • Mr B. Tregcar was the referee.

PONEKE OUTCLASSES WELLINGTON Poneke again proVed a solid combination by defeating Wellington by 21 to ml. The game was very one-sided, and the clever Poneke backs proved too much for Wellington. In tho first half -Filya rd scored two tries aiid converted one. troy and Oalcinai each scored! a try, and Algar potted a goal. In the second half Slater brought the score up to 31 by'scoring two tries. . ■Mr G. Wale was the referee. HUTT DEFEAT COLLEGE. Rugby enthusiasts whp journed to Athletic Park on Saturday were well rewarded for their trouble, for the principal game w-as full, of interest from beginning to end. Wellington College w&re known to bo a particularly strong side, and the most sanguine Hutt supporters , were prepared for a hard battle. Many Rugby matches have been spoiled by the prevalence of .brawn over, skill, but such a charge could not be levelled against either of Saturday's competitors. While it must be said in justice to College that Hutt'- had ‘the balance of weight in the scrum it was apparent that both teams were : anxious to play real Rugby—fast, open, and spectacular. At the start Hutt pressed hard, and their weight proved a tough proposition for the College defence. The latter held their end up well for a time,-but they oould not ward off a willing sortie, which ended in Benge touching down for Hutt. Grierson made no mistake with the kick. The initial reverse acted like, a tonic on the Collegians, and it was not long before Gibson and Niool scored tries for the "blacks.” The gome became ’ very fast and open, but Hutt held the advantage and left the field nf half time with the score 13—ff in favour of -Hutt. A try was scored and converted by Slater, and Sullivan also scored a try. College exerted themselves in the second spell, and had the best of matter for a long time. Edwards and Smith scored further tries for College, the latter, being converted by Nicholls. It looked as though College would win, blit in the last few minutes Hutt excelled themselves. They attacked ’ resolutely, with the result that they added eight to their score before the final' bell. J. Osborne and Hazelwood scored tries, the - second of which "was converted . by 1 Griertom... Hutt thus;won a really good gaihe by points to 14. Mr R. Fordyce was the. referee. "■ JUNIOR GAMES. Hutt 21, Wellington College 14. Berhampore 17, Harist Old Boys 8. Petone 6, University 0. THIRD .CLASS. . ’ ' Old Boyfli'd,: Aohnsonyillp SI I "?;,'.'. Athletic 34, Petone :’0;, 1 ,: Railway 6j Oriental 1 3. Berhampore 12, ■ Porirua 5. St. Patrick’s College 13, University ■A B.' V , FOURTH CLASS. . , Mascot 16, Petone 0. Oriental A 20, Old Boys 3. ■ Y.M.C.A. 13, Oriental B O. Berhampore, 13, Wellington College. 6. FIFTH GLASS. . 7 Wellington College 80, Solwjn “0. ■ Wellington College, A 12. St Patriot's College 6. • Oriental B 11, Berhampore 6. Athletic 9, Petone 6. . SIXTH CLASS. St. Patrick's College A 11, , Wellington. College A 3. Wellington'College'B defeated St. Patrick’s College B. . .