THE CANTAB CRUSADERS

NZ Truth, Issue 1238, 22 August 1929, Page 16

THE CANTAB CRUSADERS

Shield Aspirants A 1 Strong Body i (From "N.Z. Truth's" Christchurcl Rep.) In. view of the forthcoming match against Wairarapa for the Ranfurly Shield, interest m Rugby m ' Canterbury at the present time is j- at its peak. TWENTY men . to tour north have • been selected officially. That it is 1 impossible to please everyone has beer t evidenced by the fact that everybody j has been selecting different teams. The selectors seem to have done . their job well, and it now only remains for the players themselves to show i that the selectors' faith m them has [ been justified. , With the purpose of getting the besl , team available a trial match between the , Possible and the Probable reps., was played on Saturday.

' The match was too one-sided to be interesting as a ! match — Probables [ won by 50 points to B—but8 — but it served a good purpose m giving fans a line 1 on the form of the players. » Dalley, who has not yet recovered from injuries re- . ceived m Australia, did not- turn out. Olliver was unable to play on Saturday, but will be available for the tour.

G. Innes played m place of Olliver and proved an efficient link between Herb. Lilburne and Carllon. He capped tho good form he has shown throughout the year by playing a great game, and the selectors could not help but pick him. -' L.ilburne showed glimpses of that ability which- Jim McLeod, manager, of the All Black side which have lately returned from Australian spoke so highly of. Syd. Carlcton was nursing himself. Jack Harris made no mistakes at fullback, and once again proved that he is the only man for the position m Canterbury. Tommy Mullan, who played half-back for the Probables, is a sound club player, but it is doubtful if he comes up to interpro § vincial standard. He is to go on tour with the team, and will be the first string half if Dallcy is not right before the side leaves. George Hart, Bill Merritt and Jack Steel are three fast men, and each should give a good account of himself m any match. Although he was playing bad football for the greater part of the season, Steel, m his last ■ few games, has shown a return to form. Loveridge showed little opposition to Merritt, who beat him badly at times. Taken all round, Merritt played a great game. George Hart was never found wanting, and did more than his fair share of work. He is always prepared to "give it a go" and he scored a great try on Saturday. A pleasing feature of the match was the solid work of the forwards. They all packed tightly m the scrum, and stayed there until the ball came out. Burrows, who hooked m South Africa, has not lost the art. With Cotterill, the pair secured the ball from a fair percentage of scrums. In the second spell the selectors gave J. Kirkland a chance at raking, spelling Burrows. Tho Merivalc forward showed that he was little inferior to the All Black at hooking, and more than his equal m tho loose. ' These forwards are to go on tour, and with George Scrimshaw, Jack Manchester, C. Anderson, W. Thompson, T. Manning, Toby Boblnson and A, Carson, the selectors have a good set to work on. There are no better forwards m Canterbury than those selected, and though they may be un-

able to beat the big men from Wairarapa,. they will keep them subdued. George Scrimshaw played a game similar to those which made an All Black of him a few years ago. He was all over the paddock, and seemed always to be where he was wanted most. The fact that he scored four of Probables' tries is proof of his übiquity.

The best scrum forward on the ground was the Country player, Thompson. He was m every forward movement and got right into the tight stuff. The forwards are a fast even lot and are all grafters. Toby Robinson, Manchester and Anderson, perhaps, were a little better on Saturday's play than the others. If Canterbury do not win. the Ranfurly Shield it will not be the fault of the selectors. itii i iiiti 1 1 1 ii lit it 1 1 1 1111 ■ij nt 1 1 1 ■ 1 1 1 1 1 id 11 1 1 1 1 ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 ii ■ 1 11111 it it 1 1 mi 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 itt i b 1 1 1 1 11