KEYED TO IT

NZ Truth, Issue 1174, 31 May 1928, Page 14

KEYED TO IT

They Said It With Training vjtProm "N.Z. Truth's" Dunedin Rep.) ■ ';W \ix the pink of condition, and as ■iy keen as the disciples of the < Baron ';"'' de Beefe, the Southern senior fifteen all but put it over Varsity A.. . last Saturday and proved that the students are not an impregnable ■"■' force. \ ' WITH the exception of a couple of ■i™- players, the southern team is comprised of youngsters, mostly members of the St. Clair Surf Club. Training is their forte and they took the fleld on Saturday m rare physical condition, vastly superior to that of the students, several of whom 1 took the count on very slight bumps. Southern is the club which contributed' Steve. Casey to the 1905 New Zealand - team and the good work is being, carried :on by ■ Billy Bain; . the Otago and South Island rep. m whose , capable hands the dwellers from "The Flat" are making rapid progress. Southern's performance was all the more meritorious by reason of the fact that they were without the services of Petersen, their best back, who is likely to be out for a- while with-an injured shoulder. "". "' ' ... ■•■..... This . game. . proved s that;: the • Varsity A fifteen "&re .'riot an ; unbeatable combination and indications are that when they are opposed by a team of winning forwards, with finished backs to turn the advantages into ; account, the Varsity flag will slide down the staff. .; ifW OF YOUTH The ycfluthful Southern forwards played' a great game against the blue pack; and while their backs tried their beßt to carry on once they gained possession, they were hardly up to the standard; ;;■ • . ■•:?••: Varsity, had the .assistance of- Morete and Dunned who played their first game the previous Saturday for the Bs pack, while Braridanovitch replaced Matheflori. , ' •Conditions -were (ideal, and those patrons who got to the park early m anticipation of watching a slaughter of the: innocents were rudely disappointed. . • • v Early m the piece, Morete was penalized and Wilson put Southern three points up. > , The leaders kept up the attack and for the remainder of the spell Varsity did little 'else but defend. 1 Southern's tackling, smothering and, breaking away from scrummages with the ball at toe, nonplussed the Varsity backs and it was only Stevenson's remark-, able defence that saved them from : going under. - The blue rearguard, without their usual possession of the ball, at times presented a sorry spectacle.' Holden made one or two great efforts to wipe off the deficiency, but he ■ appeared to lose confidence m Nicholson and went a lot on his own. "Tubby" looked more battle -worn at the conclusion of this game than he has m any o^her match this season. Varsity lost Webb, their flying wing-' v'eiV shortly before the interval, and he ' Svas replaced by Hanna'n. ' Brandanovitch was .moved mto first five-eighths m the second spell, and it made a little improvement to the students' attack, but before the superb ■ tackling and spoiling ; tactics of the Southern forwards, they could make little headway. ■. The students drew level early m the second bout, when Bolton, Southern's full-back, misflelded the ball and. Han - nan made an opening for Abel to score m the corner. Varsity immediately followed this up by a spectacular passing movement m which Holden scored. ,/.,.' FROTHY SMALL BEER "'- Apart from these two movements, Varsity were pretty small beer, and Sbiithern deserved at least to halve the game. It was a striking example of what fitness . and enthusiasm means to a young side and no doubt the students /will benefit from the lesson. ■•: The Southern backs "require a lot ' more experience, but this effort would ',; encourage them. Little. H. Todd, be- ;:• hind the scrum/ , was , as lively as a ?; kitten and frequently fooled the Varl sity forwards, . v '{• •?, ' The Southern pack , did not contain ■| any "shiriers,"y each member giving his ;full measure of support. C. Lewis was -outstanding as : rover and left Morete ;■■ up m the air on many occasions. . .' ' The more Holden plays this season, the more forcibly he endorses the opinion that he is an unlucky man riot to ; be kicking a ball around the veldt this winter. . " . . ,',[ He stands out prbminently above the !; Otago half-backs,' and no doubt will get his opportunity , when, the Wara- :'■■ tahs.,cpme across later m the year. ] / Stevenson is another who is playing . tip to the good form which earned him : a silver fern m 1926J ■; The Varsity pack were again a. beat;.en quantity and they" badly want; a ;' leader. ; ... ■ '' ■ '."■';'' .'-' } ". ; The sooner they get Malcolm, a Bood footballer, up from the Bs i the better it will be for them. • In' the second game, at. Carisbrobk, ' Kaikorai 'beat p.irates>.by the unex■f'pected margin of 29 toi9, though the ;• play was more even than . the scores ■.indicate, the hillsiders running up a 'j ■: good score m. the last 'quarter, when ! the Pirates forwards petered out. Kaikorai's backs were. tb,e more* finished combination and appreciated the return of Bottlfag: to tils, place behind the scrum.:. , >f Laing recovered his form, and while :-■ Btill taking a good bit on hipself, .'made some great openings. ' ' ! A penalty to each side occurred ;: early m the, piece and then Laing made ■■;'" a brilliant thrust through the Pirates' backs and the ball passed along , -the backs to Brown, ; who scored^ Laing followed this up by -breaking ■ through with the ball at toe. and ininitiating a rush from which Dave Mc- ;; .'.' ( Meeking scored, and then he forced ■ : his way over for another try. ;;'/■ His form throughout was . good. !"r Boss also took a prominent part m ;"i many of Kaikorai's scoring move- ' v inents, though, he was more . orthodox -than usual.; ; , ■"..'.■■■. : !. V Another good game was credited to H' Boy Callandar, whose kicking could --''hardly be' improved upon.. He is always 'a dangerous ■riiah' with his boot anyvWhere near , the 25 and also pota goals ■'. with a frequency which is disconcerting to the other side. * • Charlie 1 Sonntag was again the head ;■ man m -th^ Kaikorai pack and got ?;.- > most support from Harris, McHardy *and Glengarry. , -'V m the matches played on suburban : grounds, Zingari's fortunes continued Vat a discount and they went under m a patchy game to Alhambra, a clever V. blind-side try worked by Davfs and ,; Wilson m the second spell being the -only, score. .••;• Varsity B had a margin* of nine points m their favor over Dunedin, f' but the latter's form was a vast im- .: provem^Tit .on their recent displays, -their defence being much sounder than 1b has been previously. Union defeated Taieri at Mosgiel by 10 to 9, all the scoring being done m the second spell. Union gained two "^converted tries by Matheson and '*,;' Cameron, Churchill converting both, '■' while [Fjlndlay kicked two penalties I'zpr^ 3Ra.ibrivWia .Grieve' scored a' try.