UNLUCKY YEAR FOR GLADSTONE

NZ Truth, Issue 1239, 29 August 1929, Page 16

UNLUCKY YEAR FOR GLADSTONE

Lose Trophy After

"13" Winters

(From "N.Z. Truth's", Wairarapa Rep.) 'On Saturday last Old Boys made

Rugby history in.VVairarapa when

they wrested, the Redmond Cup " from Gladstone's tenacious grip. DV the narrow margin of a- penalty ■'goal "the'y^ achieved a ; ' feat .which for, thirteen .j'ears every other 'club m Wairarapa has' tried' m vain to accomplish. . ' V •'■•."...■'•':- -.

Bad tactics m the earlier stages of the game lost Gladstone the .Cup, but even so they were decidedly -unlucky.

The ground was ankle-deep m mud, but despite, the treacherous going and slippery ball, Gladstone made 'the rhistake of per-, severing with their favorite style. of open play long after ;it was seen' that .it was. .a day for forwards rather than . for -backs. Successive bungled passing rushes .fail-, *>r1 +n rlrlvft' ihe.

eg .. to. anye tne. lesson home till the second spell was well under way. Thert Yates, with a magnificent kick, pu t Old Boys three points, in' the lead. Up till "this* tinie.* Gladstone had been pegging •"' along as though, they would have. . been well content with a' scoreless: draw. . From ,- .then on their,, play lacked none - of the . dash which'. y has. / been such a: iharked fea-

'■ture.,. ofytKeir de- ■ -. '•• •iShce'v of thie trophy. the style of play best suited toy ithef conditions, Vthe' yellow forwards 'took almost complete' control. V >.

'During the last twenty minutes, the Old Boys line underwent . a. continual battering," and that' itremained intact "was a 'great tribute to the wonderful .; defence shoj^iv by the back . division in' general, and : '6f Roach," Yates and Street in' particular.

m their last desperate flurry, Gladstone had numerous chances of equalising from penalty kicks, r but Frank' Booth's' boot seemed 'to haye- lost Its magic touch,- and McLeod and Guy Booth also failed to get direction with the greasy ball.

Gladstone had the better set of forwards and had they tightened up «lhe game from the start it is a certainty that they would .not now be lamenting the loss of the Redmond Cup.

The Old Boys backsishbwed a better

appreciation of the difficult conditions

than did their opponents, their kick

and follow up methods being far more effective.

While Gladstone were trying, m the first half, to get their, backs across the line, the Nunn brothers were' the chief danger point, and m conjunction with Bob Booth, at wing-forward, got m some nippy work. . y. . .