OTAGO v. VINCENT COUNTY. NARROW WIN FOR THE VISITORS. (From Our Own Reporter.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 62

OTAGO v. VINCENT COUNTY. NARROW WIN FOR THE VISITORS. (From Our Own Reporter.)

CLYDE, August 28. . The Otago tjeam on tour played its second match at Clyde to-day, when it met the Vincent County representatives. The Otago team was the same as that which defeated Maniototo, excepting that Mitchell and Clarke bcth stood down owing to mild injuries, but before the game had progressed far the Alh am bra forward was called upon to take tho place of Thomson, who had to retire owing to a slight injury to his ankle. The Vincent team was as follows: — Full back, Williams (Clyde); three-quarters — Richardson (Alexandra), Cahill (Cromwell. Jolly (Cromwell) ; five-eighths, Varcoe (Cromwell) and Crombie (Lowburn); half, Armstrong (Clyde) ; forwards— Davidson (Clyde), Partridge (Alexandra), Tizard (Cromwell). Williams (Alexandra), Partridge (Lowburni, Mackenzie (Cromwell), Toms (Bannoekburn), and Crawford (Clyde). The Otagc team set to work from the kick-off, and the Vincent team \yas forced within a minute or two of starting. Play hung in rridfield for some time, until Graham broke away from the side of a scrum, but Jolly put in a safe return to near Otago's twenty five. A smothering rush by the Vincent vanguard followed, with Crawford in the lead, but M'Dougall saved- splendidly. A long drive by Varcoe fiom a mark by Crawford went over Otaffn'a axial line, and Scotfc forced. Crawford headed another rush to the Blues' territory. Williams put in a nice eayin,; kick, and play was returned to mid-field. H. . Paten returned a Vincent kick with interest, but Jolly warded off the dangerous attack. The Blues pressed again, but Marston terminated the attack by attempting to pot. A splendid mark by O'Sullivan, and then some passing by the Blues' backs threatened Vincent's line. Harley unfortunately passed forward at a critical moment, and O'Sullivan, who had sot over without trouble, was called back. Otago continued to press, but Cahill marked, and changed the scene. Varcoe put Otatro still further on the defensive, but the Blues' vanguard determinedly drove back the Greens. At this stage Thomson -vas forced to retire, and Mitchell took his place. On resuming, Crawford and Davidson brought off a fine turning move, and the Greens swept down on Otago's line. Scott was not equal to the occasion, and Maiston recovered possession of the bail jw,t in time. V«.rcoe made a dash for the line \vithout success. Then, from a .serum, followed by some vigorous loose work, Crawford scored amidst great -enthusiasm. R. Williams failed with the shot at goal. Vincent County, 3 points; Otago. nil The Greens continued to press warmly, and a kick by Davidson along the ground was just secui-ed by Scott in time to force. An attempt by R. Paton and O'Sullivan to oust the enemy did not pxtend far, but Williams kicked and found toar.-'-i at -.niikllo distance. Graham and If. Paton fieuVed in further attacking work, and then the Otago backs swung into motion, but the running wos too straight -icross tl*e field, and a kick by M'lJo'igall saw Vir.cent forced. The Ote^o forwards pressed vigorously once aprain, and the Gresns infringed in front of tJipii- own goal-posts. R. Paton's kick was charjred down. Vincent were forced two or tbree miutes later from a long drive by Scott. O'Sullivan, by fast foilowing>up. chained down the return from his own kick, and matters looked dangerous for Vincent The Blues were penalised ft,r offside ulay, :«n«l the Greens cleared. Crawford bioke out on a dangerous rush, which O'Suilnan sfopupd effectively. The *a«ie plover and Watt followed with furthei qfood work, but Varcoe's kickinp and fielding- were too certain. The Otago back* were but rarply findinsr the line Crawford and Partridge headed a hot rush to the Blup*' territory, but O'Sullivan «av«»l sj-lendidly. and then Hailey. with a beautiful kick, found touch right down at the c-orti>;r. Vincent had an anxious moment, and matters looked even worse when Richardson, in nttemptins" to clear, kicked r'ght into the hands of M'Doug-all, who, however, lailpd <o make much of his opportunity The Blues' backs attacked, but the running was .aiyain straight across th tt fipld, and Jolly brought about a sudden and comnl'ite change by centring hard down the field. Scott saved with nothing to spare, and half-time wa.= called. In the second spell a Jong drive by Varcoe found touch about the corner flag, and Otago were immediately placed on the defensive. Mitchell ar.d Williams broke up the attack, and the Blues swept play into opposition quarters. M'Dougall and Harley pushed the advantage ntill further, but the former failed to accept an indifferent pass in a good position. The attack was renewed, but Varcoe kicked well down the field. Scott returned, but the ball was in safe hands when it, went to Jolly, and the Blues were again in their own twenty -five; M'Dougall, however, t?ot in a long kick, which beat Jolly to the line. Otago had another opportunity to place a goal at close quarters, but H Pa.ton made nothing of it. Vincent followed on this with a smothering rush. Maraton saved, and then the Green backs made a brief showing. Thp succeeding play favoured the Blues, and a passin-g bo-ut ended on the touchline, Marston iust failed to place a goal. Otago continued to press, and Graham brous-ht off some fine dribbling -work through the opposition ranks, but offside play marred the effort. Scott Failed with a shot at goal, and a minute later Mitchell and E Paton led the Blues to the opposition territory. Mackenzie effected a counter-movs, and Scott's return was somewhat poor. The Blues recovered themselves admirably, aivj Harry Paton found touch near the corner flag. Davidson changed the scene of operations to half-distance, but Ivimey and R. Paton returned hy solid work. The hack division took up the running, and after all liad handled it, Marston crossed the lino and touched do>vn. but was ruled out. A line-out favoured Otas:o. The ball w«it to Sutherland, and he whipped it out o\ei the

] heads of the five-eighths to Harley, who [ cut in and passed to O'Sullivan, who was too speedy for his opponents, and, racing round, touched down under the pests. Marston's kick was charged down. Vincent, 3 I points ; Otago, 3 points. An interchange of long drives saw Otego forced. The ! Otago forwards were now playing havoc ! -with their opponents, and, breaking i through their ranks in a eolid phalanx, i swept into the Vincent quarters. Paton i essayed to pot a goal from a mark by i Sutherland, and came very near it. An- ■' otheT attempt by the same player to place I a goal failed badly. The Blues were holding their own easily, and an opportunity to score came when Tizard was penalised for lying on tihe ball right in front of the J goal-posts. Ivimey took the kick and made Ino mistake with it. Otago, 6 points ; Yin- ! cent, 3 points. Vincent made a desperate ' attempt to equalise matters, but their j efforts were unavailing. Two attempts to j pot goals came to naught, and the game ended : Otago h- », 6 points. Vincent 3 points. The game from start to finish was of a strenuous order. Both teams were very much in earnest, and neither Let down for a moment. The opening spell favoured Vincent in the matter of scoring, but Otago threw away several chances. The kicking of the Blues' backs during this part of the contest wa3 surprising. Time after i time they failed to find the Kne when it I was needed badly, and' the Vincent team j were quick to make the most of it, the I home backs being able to get in long returns, which found the line to a nicety. "With this state of affairs ruling, the Blues were easily kept well at bay. The second ] -spell brought an improvement. The Blues | evidently recognised that they were up against a good side, and set to work to break down the county's defence in a manner that had to bring its reward. The forwards played a ©mashing game, and in the last 20 minutes were putting up a great fight. When the ball came to the backs they shaped well, but the Vincent defence was very solid, and it was a difficult matter to find a loophole in it. On half-a-dozen occasions members of the Blues' team had easy shots at goal, but the kicking was execrable. If it had been in any way good it would have given Otago a fair number of additional points. On the day's play the victory to Otago was well deserved. The Vincent backs resorted mainly to line kicking throughout, and made but little attempt Ito open out fche game by passing. Certainly j their line-kicking was very fine, and of i great service to them. The Otago backs | put up a very fair showing, considering the strength of the opposition, but their play was not faultless. The passing was I frequently too straight across the field, and brought them no advantage. From the spectators' point of view, of ! whom there wwe a large number present, the game was very interesting, and at times most exciting. The Otago forwards put up a fine game and were too solid for the local pack. Mitchell and R. Paton headed some havocplaying rushes, while Harry Paton, Ivimey, and Graham were always in the van. Sutherland, captain of the team during the tour, did not get many chances behind | the scrum, the Vincent wing-forwards I coining round very suddenly. On the defence he was very solid. O'Sullivan was t&e best of -the other backs, his fielding and kicking being very sure. j Among the Vincent forwards, Crawford i played a great game, Davidson, Williams, i and Tizard also put in consistently good i work. The backs' part in the game, for j the most part, consisted of line-kicking. I Varooe was a never-ending source of i trouble in this respect, while Jolly was I not far behind him. j Mr W. F. Abel acted as referee and I had a very busy time of it, but carried ; out his duties faithfully and well. TUAPEKA COUNTY DEFEATED. ROXBURGH, August 30. i The Otago team on tour Dlsved ds I third match at Roxburgh to-<lay, whe-n it met the Tuapekia County representatives. The weather was beautifully fine, and there I was a fairly large attendance. The teams were as fellow: — Otago.— Scott, Marston. Harley, O'S-.illi- ! ran, M'Dougall, Sutherland, Wilson, Pollock, Leibh, H. Paton, Graham, R. Paton, Clarke, Watt, and Ivimey. '• Tuapeka .County. — A. Orr, A. M'Phoreon, J. Kirkwocd, D. Kirkwood. J. Du-nlav, i J. George, R. Marshall, H. Whelan. H. Fisher, R. Smith, Moore, Toms, Tamblyn, I S. Whelan, J. Perrow. [ Tuapeka won tbe toss, and Otago opened I play against a. fairly strong vi md. The ' Otago backs showed up at the start, but | George interrupted rhe ball, and found I touch at Otago's t\wnt>-five. The Blues i cleared from offside nlav. and M'Dougall | found Hho hn? near th" 1 County tw«nrv-fiv<\ Orr returned with a long kick, and the ' Tuapeka forward?, following up smartly, placed the Blue; on the defensive. An , infringement nullifird the effort, but the | forward? repe-atfxl the movement a minute | later. Marshall sr^eurrd tbp ball fiom a I sorum, airjd sent it out to D. Kirkwood, i who score.3. J- Kirkwocd failed to con- ■ vert. Tuapeka County ... . 3 points. Otago . . - ... Nil. ] The Blues' vanguard responded with some I good work, but weio over-running the ball too nnuch. M'Phcrson put in a kick which beat Scott, and the County forwards swept , down on th? Bkve-' line, hut O'Sullivan stopped tho rush. He was penalised, however, for lying on the ball, and Fisher had i a fruitless shot at goal. Tuapeka held J their own for Mime minutes, but after that I the Blues' la-ng-uard b»cam.e aggressive. Trsa Olago forward* oierran tho ball again, I and Tuapeka carried play into their opponents' territory, but wild passing stayed their progress. Otisro then mad<' a few likely ruches, hut th." defence \\a,3 too sound Ivimey made two attempts to open out ths gani-e. but they did r.ot extend I very far. After a fair display of passing I Harley was thrown into touch ne^r tho OOmer. After fcb~ horns team had staved i off two attack/ ihe ball was kicked across ! the local line, Ivimey just failing to touch ' down, and Tuapeka forcing. From a hne■out at half-war <he ball was thrown to Leith, who triokc-d ihe ma^n who marked I him and raced down tho lirx\ Clarke supported him, and, receiving the ball fiora i Leith, scored. P.nney failed to convert. Tuapeka . . 3 points. ! Otajio . 3 points. , I M'Dmicall ■ I i , mi • ,„ i■ a- \u> I, 1 and altLj .j'i '.':, i_. -v.d \,,'.d} tl.e Blue:

came to the attack again. .H. Paton opened out the game, and a passing bout ended in Marston scoring at the corner. H. Paton failed with tihe shot at goal. Otago .... .. , n b points. Tuapeka .*. 3 points. Half-time then sounded. On changing ends Otago held the upper hand for about five minutes. Whelan then brought about a reversal of the positions. Solid work by the Otago vangtmrd effected a clearance, and then Orr stemmed two rushes Otago attacked again, but the handling of the ball was faulty, and Tuapeka cleared. Then the Colouts attacked, but the visiting forwards quickly altered the position, and the County team was forced twice in quick succession. A long ' kick by Wilson and fast following v«p by Ivimey was too much for Tuapeka, and after a brief display of passing- Marston scored at the corner. H. Paton's kick was ! resultless. Otago „-.. ... 9 points. Tuapeka ... . . 3 points. A minute after resuming Perrow intercepted a pass, and kicked nard to Otago's line, but Harley saved by marking. The visitors attacked once more, and after the home team had forced down Graham headed a strong rush to local territory, but the kicking was too vigorous, and the County again forced easily. The same thing happened a minute Liter. Soon after the kickofF 11. Pa.ton had a fruitless shot at -goal. The same player then shot a-way from a throw-out about half-way, and after cover- j ing some yards passed "the ball. Ivimey | picked up cleberly, and broke through the opposition, scoring under the posts amidst j applause Ivimey also converted. | Otogo .. . 14 points. Tuapeka 3 points The concluding incident was a brief show- ! ing by the local backs at the passing game ~thj first during the day. It terminated with a wild pass by J. Kirkwood, and Otago had no trouble in dealing. The game then closed, the final scoie3 being : ] Otago 14 points. ; Tuapeka 3 points. The game was by no means invigorating, and although Otago won comfortably their exhibition was not what it should have been. There were two or three flashes of fine play, but on the whole the game dragft-sd. The back play lacked the attractiveness and dash that were such pleasant features of the game against Maniototo and, in a less degree, against Vincent. The best of the play came from the forwards, but it wa« only in the second half that they showed anything like their true form. In the oi ening spell the ball came out very slowly from the scrum, and as often as not hung there, while on the line-out Tuapeka were having a very perceptible advantage. Furthermore, the Otago forwards were overrunning the ball -\ery badly. In the second spell the pack livened up. considerably, and some of the individual rushe3 were very fine, the best being- that by H. Patou and Ivimey, whijh culminated in the latter scoring The Tuapeka forwaids were a fairly good lot, and pretty fast on attack. The local backs showed up only in kicking, and at times it was very much better than that of their opponents. They attempts the passing game but once, and that one attempt showed their discretion in leaving it alone. Amontr the visiting forwards, Ivimey. Paton (2). Graham, and Clarke put in good individual work. M'Dougall put in tho nicest play amons; the backs, -although Sutherland brought off two or three good moves. O'Sullivan wa* starved on the wuisr. The County forwards were pretty ever,, but Perrow, Toms, and Smith were about the pick. The back play did not disclose anything particularly bright. Mr R. Adamson, at one time a Kaikorai player, was referee, and gave the greatest satisfaction.