INTER-ISLAND MATCH. EASY WIN FOR THE SOUTHERN TEAM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 61

INTER-ISLAND MATCH. EASY WIN FOR THE SOUTHERN TEAM.

WELLINGTON, August 25. South Island beat the North to-cay by 19 points to 11, a result which was quite expected after the superiority in 6tyle exhibited by the Southcriw« in this first few minutes of the same. The winners played •with complete combination from the kickoff, while their opponents were as ragged • as possible. It was not till the sscond half that 'the latter pulled themselves together and got their rear division into sonve.thin? like the shape expected of them. Though i they had the wind against them, the Southerners piled up a ©core of 11 points to 3 in the first spell. In the second each team' added 8 points, but the winners always bad a. little bit more in hand than the others, and outplayed them at all points. The' day was fine, with a light wind from the north. The ground wa-3 in excellent condition, and the attendance numbered about 6000. The spectators were kept in j. ! pleasant simmer of expectation by tho open play -and lapid scoring, and greatly relished the free way in which the Southern men threw the ball about ar.d their bright and nippy passing. Their forwards aJso used their feat more than the others, and frc-qu-entlv put in a spell of useful dribbling. The victors had the. advantage of having J five Canterbury backs all used to one an- ; other's play, and these men gave a very fine •pxhi'bjtion of the value of combination. A , feature 5 of the game was the -nemarkablv ; fin** place kicking of Paton, Weeton. and O'Learv, who seemed to find no difficulty in kicking goals from any ang-'.e or <li<=tanee. Among those wese-nt were a number of Tn-arn-bers of the Government and the Sydney "University team, who arrived to-day. Mr M'Kenzie was the referee. Morse did not ■pay for the North Island, and the composition of th-* teams was : — North Island (Black). — Full back. Meuli (Wanganui) ; three -quarters — Cameron (Taranaki). M'Grecor and Wileon (Auckland) : five-eighths — MiWiinson (Wellington) and O'Learv (Auckland): half lack, Green (Wellington) ; forwards — Wilke* (Auckland). Ht>rrin? (Auckland). Residy (Wellington), Francis (Auckland). Ready (W«>llinj*ton). Tanya (Taranaki), Wat'dall (Auckland), and Bruce (Wellington) South Island (WhiM.— Full back, O'Brien (Marrbo-o-igh) ; three-quarters — Colvin (Buller). Fuller, and Fryer (Canr<?rbury): five-ei chilis. Gray and Weston (Canterbury); half back. T?urns (Canterbury) ,- forward? — Ridland (Southland), Corbect j Butter). Bdigh (West Coa=*). Paton and Patterson (Otago). Mite* (Southland). Sotheran (West Coast), and Rodders (South Canterbury). Francis won the toss, and played with tb« wiM in th© first spell. From the jump it •was evident that the Whites meant business, Sothe-ran heading a sweeping rush, which ended in. Colvin being pushed into touch.

. Immediately the ball was thrown in Fuller j got it on the opposite side of the ground, I and, running strongly, passed to Fryer, who I grounded the leather behind the posts. Weston easilj placed a goal, and thus within five minutes the South had escured a substantial lead. South Island 5 points. North Island Nil. Caroeron found an opening and rattled off down the side of the ground. He beat his men, but was collared or the line. Had the Kacks been smart they would still have scored, aa the ball was lying olose to the goal line after Came Ton dropped it. Fryer presently raced off again, and cleared everyone but the full back, who stopped him at the ccet of a temporary loss of breath by the collision. A rattlimg kick by Cameron, which bounced high and bothered O'Brien, transferred play to the other end, where O'Leary took a fine c-atch and had a fruitless kick at goal. Sorumming followed near the Southern- goal, but the Blacks backs had no cohesion, and made nothing of their chanoee. The North Inland had some luck with long kicks, several of which just dribbled out of bounds near the corner and raved them a lot of trouble. The next soore came from one of these, the ball rolling over the goal line. Fuller got bi3 hands on it, but lost it. Waddell and Herring were handy, and the former grabbed the chance at ono?. O'Leary had a difficult kick, and all but ehaved the post. South Island ... .. 5 points. North Island 3 points. Some smart interchanges followed, and the Whites then started a dribbling rush (Patterson being very prominent) which never ended till the ball came- into Fryer* I hands, and he dashed over. This was a ' beautiful piece of combined play by pretty nearly the whole side. Paton failed to improve- the score. South Island . ... 8 points. North Island 3 points. The Southerners continued to fling the ball about freely, earning hearty commendations by the contrast between their dashing: style and the cramped manoeuvres of their opponents. They showed great capacity for taking the ball at full speed, and several of them — notably Fuller and Fryerwere evidently playing at the top of their form. Th© next event was the awarding of a freo kick to the Southerners. Though it was a good 40 yard's from the goal, and against the wind, We^ton landed a grand goal. South Wand ..." ... 11 points. North Island 3 points. Just as the spell ended Colvin eecured the i ball on 'the fly and dashed with startling suddenness to tiHo line, where he passed to Burns, and the latter ran over. Unfortnnatelr. the hall was thrown forward, and a brilliant piece of play was nullified. With the wind in tbpir favour, the Southernei-s were expected to pile on a jrood score, but their onponent-s had evidently been putting their heads together during the interval, and the effect was seen in the improved methods they brought to bear and the much more solid 6upr>ort given by the backs to one another. The bolder front, they offered resulted in play being a little closer than in the first half, and not quite so pleasing to watoh. The j Blacks flattered their friends by being the first to score. Green charged the full back, blocked his kick, and had the ball bounced he would have 6cored there and then. Tt twisted about on the ground, however, and for a moment the South Island escaped. It was only for a moment, a« Francis and R^ady took the ball over at the corner, and . O'Leary kicked a great goal. South Island . . .11 points. North Island 8 points. Almost in the fame breath the Wliifes' flashed down the ground and scored a •similar try at the corresponding corner. From this Paton al=o kicked an equally fine goal. South Wand 16 points. North Island 8 points. Play went on merrily, both sides going at top speed. O'Leary helped his 6ido by kiekiner a penalty goal trom the twenty-five yards' line. •Sout-h WaiH 16 points. North I-land 11 points. The Whites put in the next ton minutos in front of t^ie Northern goal, but though they attacked persistently they could not brfii'k through. Tho B!ack« "ollavod splendidly, and finalh M'Gregor clcarcJ the fines and g<ve hi* men an excellent opening, whic-h they spoiled by indifferent parsing. Another scrum took place on tho Northern lino, and Patterson ec-ored, but no gca? was regi-stored. f<outh Is!ar..-1 19 points. North Island 11 point*. There was some more fine play after this, both siclos attacking briskly in turn. The Northerners made one great rally at the end. and seemed determined not to stop till they had scored, but once ajrn ; n the parsing failed. Man after man handled (ho ball for fhe minutes on end, but met of tho passes were never taken, and while themen were scrambling on tho around for tho ball the other p!a\ois ha<l timr* to swarm round them. The game thus ended as above, with a margin to the Southerners' which, good as it was. scarcely fairly r«proSAnt^d the superior briglitne^s and accuracy of fti?u- play. NOTES ON THE PLAY. (From Our Special C'orrepi'Ondf.st.) WELLINGTON, .Augn«t 25. The North Tsland team took tho field sfrong- favourites, and when Francis won the toss and chose to play with the wind and the sun at their back* it was generally thought by tho strong following of North Inlanders round the ringside that it was all over bar shout in<r. Tho fust five minutes of the game, however, altered their opinion. The South Island foiwaids settled into their 'york with vim and vipour, and one would have thought (hat jhoy had socially trained for tho match. There was not a dull moment m the contest, and the game was thrilling The fine combination of the southern forwards in tho close v. ork and in the loose dribbling 1 rusho c , and the clean handlinc, fine kicking-, and determined running of the backs nonplussed the northerners. It was a tteat, from a southerner's noi')t of view, to see Patterson (Otago), Corbett (Buller), and Ridland (Southland), and otheis of the Soi th Island forwards swooping down on the North Island the- ' eighths (Wilson and O'Leary), who played themsehes to a standstill to get the ball away to Cameron, the Taranaki flyer. The South were invariably on the attack, and kept the North constantly on the alert." i The South Island backs were getting every

r chance, and were making every post a winI, ning one in the first sj:ell in particular, and 0 in the later stages of the second spell. The 3. South Island front-rankers were hooking the s ball beautifilly, and Burns was getting it d away splendidly to his five-eighths. Weston and Gray played like machinery, and transferred splendidly to Fuller, the South Island centre, who played the best game on the ground. North Island, despite some his- * torie natres in the back and forward di\ is sions, were hustleJ and bustle'l sometimes c into chaos by the clever combined play of c the southern forwards As a guide to form c of the football of the two islands, I would r unhesitatingly say that on to-day's form A the South Island was degrees ahead of the J North. On the line-out and in the loose f the South could give the North points, y while there was no comparison between the 1 two back divisions Once or twice the !, North got the ball away to Cameron, a on the wing, but there was no ■} mistake in the tackling and Cameron could 5 not get through the impregnable defence, f Of individuals O'Brien (Marlborough) c played splendidly, fielding ~tlie"ball cleanly t and kicking powerfully and with excellent r judgment. The three-quarters played pert fectly. Colvin (West Coast) fielded the ] bali without a mistake, and ran deter3 minedly. Fuller was the pick of the line, . end when Otago comes to play Canterbury J they will have to reckon with Fuller, who t gets through three men's work. His attack is splendid. Fryer got few chances, bu; those be did g-et he made the most of. Weston and Gray combined without fault. There was a perfect understanding between 1 these players which was delightful to see. 1 Burns was quick as lightning, and the ball J was no sooner out of the scram than he * had it away to his five-eighth*. The com1 bination of tho forwards was remarkable 'f considering that they had not played to- - gather. The two Otaa-o ir.on (Patterson - and Paton) were prorTably the best forwards on the ground, Francis not exospted. Corbett (Westland) and Ridland (South3 land) we.re ako prominent in the loose . forward rushes, but the whole pack ap- . peared to play above themselves, f For the North Island Meuli was 6afe at . fuU back. The three-quarters, with the j exception of Cameron, were hopeless. . j Cameron was always dange.rous, but Mitp | chison was smothered before he could get £ away, and never got a chance. Wilson ard t O'Leary were impossible on attack, their j ideas of cutting in and beating a man , being crude. Green played splendidly at half, and it was not his fault that the backs played so badly. The North Island forwards could never get going. Their combination was poor, and they wore fre5 quently beaten on the line-out* and loose. C Francis was the best of a poor lot. : OTAGO JUNIORS v. WAIHEMO1 WAIKOUAITI. s The above teams m,e-t at Palmerston on ' Saturday. Drencning rain fell throughout the pirac, and th-e ground \vp.s in a \ wretched fctate, being soon converted into a 6ea of mud. Passing among the backe i 1 was, of courcc, out of the question, and j > play consiated ohiefly of loose scrambling j b rushes by the 'orwards and speculating | * kicks by the bacus. At th© conclusion of ' the game the players were indistinguisn- » able. J j From tHe kick-off the Blue forwards at- > tacked strongly, and the defence of thecountry team was sorely tried, till a freeI kick iol ; eved the pressure. Relief, howfc ever, was only momontary for a loo c cI scrambling ru.*h~ brought play back to the t Red's twenty-five, where Muirhead picked I up emartly and dashed for the line. He, I how3ver, slipped when near ths corner flag, and fro.-n the ensuing scrum the ball was carried over tho line and the country t<?jam forced. , Following up the kick-out, , Maxwell led a likely-looking rush in<;.o Blue teiritory, hut Clancy, the full back, cleared" 1 with a good line-kick. The ball now hovered iron) on© end of the field to the * other, and, considering the state of the ground, the pace was very solid. From dribbling rushes led by Boreham and Watson, the country team found relief by ; forcing. But the Blues were not to bo . denied, and from a loose ru-»h, in which i Edwards was prominent. Paul scored near the corner. Clancv failed with a difficult kick. Th's reverse livened up the country men considerably, and the Blues were twice forced down. Boreham started a 1 dribbling rush, but Diack picked up , 1 smartly, and set up a counter-attack, which * ended in Town«end being thrown out at the corner. Just before half-time Will, the ■ Blue's Fcrum half, hud a clear run in. but. lost a ee-rtain try by passing, and Townsentl saved with a long kick to touch. After the st>?ll the country forwards j 1 qu'dkly a^-^erted themselves, and play settled in Blue- territory. Near midfield Rrid tcok a _ma.rv<>llous catch, and making a fine run down the line. pa*s^d to Town- I solid. The latter, however, failed to hold [ the greasy ball, and from a scrum Wateon | [ broke away iind shifted play pact the halfway flag. Then followed tho finest run of the day. M'Tag-sjart. a *-pea*ly man. broke away from his own fwen'T-tive, and. run j nine: risjht round tlie opposition, had n j cle^tr field in front of him. when he slinpe<l | on tho treacherous ground. Fiom this on play ear.fc : fcte<l of a ee-ries o't looso^ scrambling rushes. Th tho o'osiiisr of tin* game the country"" J^frwarH-i si r o\e hard to equalise matters, l.ut their efforts weie unrewarded, <ii)d time was called soon after with the score — Juniors 3 ix>ints I Waiherno-Waikouaiti Nil. I For the winners, Edwards, Watson, j Boreham. and Abbott w»w th<» best of a I hard-working- »pt of .forwards, while amonp the backs Muirr.oad and Will did gooJ wotk Clancy's kicking to touch trained a ; lot of ground. On fche country side Max- ' well and Twiniiiir were alwa\s prominent amopsr (he foivard.«. Of the backs, Pag-an , was the star, his fielding and kicking beine features of the match Othor-, who put in serviceable work were R-pml and Town- I send. Mr H. White refereed well. j In the evening the visitors were o.ntor- j tamed at a smoke concert in the Waverly . Hotpl. Mr Clark. M.P for Chalmers, r>rosided, ami several toasts w*»re honoured, among which w«r<» "Tie Kinsr."' '"The Rugby Union," and " The Visitors." OTAGO v. NORTH OTAGO. (Fbou Our Own Correspondent.) OAMARU, August 26. Contrary to expectations. North Ota^o ' I beat the" Otacro Fifteen here to-day by 8 points to nil, and won on their merit 3. The fame of many of the metropolitan players had preceded them, but not one of them played up to his reputation. Tho . game was fast througrhout — too fast for the ' visiting forwards, who lagged visibly to- j

| ward the close, — and half-way through tti3 j second .half the visitors \>-eie a hopelessly beaten team Patterson and Pa,ton were on the ground returning frcm their victory in the inter-island matoh, but neither lined out with the Otago team. Half-way i through the first cpefl. howe\er, a visiting ! forward was incapacitated, and Patterson donned a jersey, much to the delight of , the spectator, -who expected great things of the New Zealand representative. Possibly the big mar was stale after his game lin Wellington ; at all events the expectai tions did not materialise. The first half : was evenly contested throughout, and it I was apparent that North Otago could at least hold their own Their backs made absolutely no mistakes in kicking or fielding, but were not venturesome in passing. Tae visiting backs, on the other hand, took all the chances in that respect, but without result, for M'Donaid and Eckhold were throwing the ball about in a very j haphazard manner, the former tossing it j down at his feet, an<J the latter lobbing it up to Dansey in a useless manner. The local hookers heat their opponents iv the scrum, but Skinner did a good deal of spoiling. At last, however, M'Callum, the local half, got the ball away, and after a pretty ) piece of passing, Scott crossed the line, but was unable to ground the ball. Thus the first spell ended with no scorcj though j Roes, with a pot at goal, just" misled the ! post Soon after resuming Ross kicked a goal I from a mark. Then the local backs, gaining confidence in- their attacking powers, began to pass, an<l on several occasions came near scoring. At the close of a for- . ward rush, headed oy Patterson. Otago wore awarded a free kick right in front. j but Dougherty failed dismally to equalise : the scores, and almost fmmediafely after- ] ward the North Ota-go rearguard, profiting by a bad mull, scored, and Ross cou verted, making the score : North Otago 8 points. Otago Nil. Thus the game concluded. Otago never flattered their supporters, and Dansey, the j only likely looking man on the side, was ' given no opportunities, because of the shocking quality of the passing. Of the men nearer the s.-ruin, Eckhold, true to style, kicked for the line, and kicked without length. He stopped rushes well, but was, on the whole, only very mediocre. M 'Donald and Dougherty were not so good. The forwards worked well, but were out of condition, and none can be eaid to have distinguished himself. The North Otago backs were remaakably good, and their line-kick-ing was unusually fine. M'Callum, at scrum half, played an excellent gime, while E. Curran was solid to defence a.nd strong in attack, scoring the one try of the day from a good pieoe of work. The North Otago forwards held their own in all <lepurtment*>, and it was generally conceded that the score at the close of the day in no way flattered the North Otago team, which was infinitely the better side on th© day's play. WANGANUI v. TARANAKI. NEW PLYMOUTH, August 26. ; The- return home and home match between Wangaroui and Taranaki was played at New Plymouth this afternoon in the presence of about 3000 spectators. Ths ground was inclined to be slippery. Trie weather was overcast and threatening, and | slight showers before the match made the ball greasy There was a smart fall of rain just before the game ended. The first score was made by Leahy for Winganui, who caught the defence napping. Stohr ecored next, notching the best, try of the day after a magnificent sprint. Just before half-time Murray got over for Wanganui after a short run along the line, Sheehan and Pini making .feeble attempts to stop him. In the second spell Mynott scored, having intercepted a Wanganui foot pass. With honours even the game was strenuous, Wangamii having the best of things. Eventually Abbott scored the j winnig points amidst great applause. The i game ended : Wanagnui 9 point . Taranaki ... .... 6 points. INTER-COLLEGE TOURNAMENT. WAXGANTI, Auguat 26. Th« inter-college football tournament was commenced this afternoon, when Wan1 ganui College defeated Christ's College by 32 points to 6. HASTINGS v. POVERTY BAY. NAPIER. August 24. Hastings defeated Poverty Bay by 11 I points to 6 to-day and won the Lane Shield. FOOTBALL IN CHRISTCHURCH. CHRISTCHURCH. August 28 | A football matrli was played at Lan- ! caster Park this afternoon between teams representing Town and Country. The v.-eather conditions were very unfavourable, and, ' with a greasy ball and a slippery ground, good football was out of the j question The game was very evenly conI tested, the count ry forward, showing up well The town backs had better lomhiii.ition than il.eir opponents, and this enabled them to win by 12 points to 6. BULLER v. NELSON. WESTPORT, August 28. Tho Buller v. Nelson football n.atch, | played at Cape Foul wind to-day, resulted . lin a win foi Buller by 8 points to 3. In j the fir<-t spell neat passing between R. i Ilansby and Kelly let the latter away and | he scored near the goal posts. M'Diarmid converting. Shortly after the resumption of play in tho sreon-d spoil Kellv , gained po->=ossion of tho leather and tiynn- | ferrcl to R. Han«b\. who fi>ii-.h"d a <ltihh- I ing run by scoring a. tiy which was not j converted. NcKon thon put more life > into thoir play, an-^, obtaining a free kick ' in Buller' s twenty -five, Saundcrs noatly ] plaeod a jroal. Tho game was hard but ■ not brilliant, the ground boinrr -'ipporv. | A feature of the piay was the line line kicking by Saunders, captain of ilie wsiting team. MATCHES IN AUCKLAND. AUCKLAND, August 28 Two inter-union matches were rkiyed here to<lay in \cry bad weather, rain > falling incvssantly throughout the pf.rnes. j The heavy rain of Thursday a-nd Friday ha-d made the grounds sodden, so that the playing area was quickly converted into a quagmire. The match betw.jen the Auckland B team and the Northern Wairoa Union representatives resulted in a win for the latter by 6 points to 3. For Wai- . roa. Mitchell scored a try and Smith I kicked a penalty goal. Revell scored for I Auckland. I

i The Auckland Junior representatives de^ f edited the Kaipara representatives by 37 points to nil. A feature of t;ie g.ime was the place-kicking of Taylor, who kicked four goals from six attempts ficm difficult angles— a great feat when tr<r sodden nature of the ball is considered. The Auckland score comprised nine tries, i five of which were converted. INSURANCE OFFICERS' MATCH. (Fbom Oub Own CV>2bespondent.) INVERCARGILL. August 26. The football match to-day between representatives of the Dunedin insurance offioea I and representatives of the Invercargill 1 offices resulted in a win for the Invercari gill Fifteen by 23 points to 5. INTER-COLLEGE TOURNAMENT. WANGANUI, August 28 The inter-college fcottall tournament was continued to-day, whon Wellingtoo beat Christchurch by 25 points to 5. HIGH SCHOOLS TOURNAMENT. NAPIER, August 26. The second match in the High Schools tournament was played at Hastings on Saturday, when Palmerston North defeated New Plymouth by 11 points to 5. ACTION AGAINST THE MAORI TEAM* SYDNEY,' August 29. The Rugby -League handed a cheque *o the sKeriff covering' "the amount in dispute pending the' court's decision. The Maoris were therefore released. August 30- _ A motion for a continuance of the injunction against certain members of the Maori football team was called- on to-day, and was dismissed, the plaintiff having had his claim satisfied. KANGAROOS v WALLABIES. SYDNEY, August 27. The Rugby League (Northern Union), by 20 votes to 3, sanctioned a match with the Wallabies, to take place on Saturday week. The names of the Wallabies who have signed the contract to play will not be known until after the Rugby Union competition matohes are concluded to-morrow. MAORIS DEFEAT NEW SOUTH WALES. SYDNEY, August 25. Th' 3 matoh between the Maoris and New South Wales was played to-day, and resulted in a win for the former by 12 points to B. The attendance numbered 3000. With a etromg wind against them, the Maoris had a stiff task in the first half, but bystubborn and clever play they established a' lead of 6 points to 5, Kopana and Pakere i each having an unconverted try as the outcome of fine passing rushes to his credit. In the second epell the visitors kept New South Wales on the defensive for the. greater part of the time, and Kopana and Wharepapa secured tries, the wind spoiling th« shots at goal. The home team gob their second try just on the call of time. MAORIS v. AUSTRALIA. SYDNEY, August 28. The Australian team (20. points) defeated the Maoris (13 points)!! The half-time soore was: Maoris, 8 points; Australia; 7 points. Prior to the snatch mne of. the Maoris were arrested under arr order of the court obtained by Mr Jack in connection with his claim, but matters were arranged enabling them to play. August 29Tub attendance vas about 10,000. Play 'in the first half was even. A few minutes from the start Australia was penalised. Powhiuwhin succeeded in putting the ball over the bur. Asher and Kopana each secured tries, but Powhiuwhiu's shots at were both failures. For Australia. Carpenter kicked a penalty goal, and Nicholson got a try, Butler converting. In (be second spell the play was exciting. The Australians, making the game fast, kept the visitors on the defensive. Carr. Butler, and Broomham successively crossed The' line, Butler converting the first two. The Maoris did not get a look in till just before the . call of time, when, comingstrong-, Hira secured a try, Taonui adding the extra points. At the close of the game the cup and trophy for the winners of the test matchet w on were presented to the Maoris.