SCHOOL RUGBY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 603, 7 August 1933, Page 6

SCHOOL RUGBY

BRIGHT DISPLAY ROTORUA BOYS PLAY WELL TO BEAT TAKAPUNA THREE NIL GOOD OPEN GAME After a game in which the honours both fore and aft, were with the home side, Rotorua High School first XV. on Saturday defeated Takapuna Grammar by three points to nil. The ma'rgin in points was small, but on the day Rotorua deserved a better win. A light, but solid pack of hard grafting forwards demoralised the opposition and disorganised their inside back formation, while showing excellent combination from the base of the scrum outwards, Rotorua backs played an attractive and finished game. The game was good, open secondary school Rugby, devoid of unpleasant incidents and played in the best of spirits. The fact that Takapuna is Rotorua's oldest rival and that the last four encounters have resulted in drawn games, added further interest to the meeting and lent extra vigour to the lusty chorus on the side line.

The Game Early exchanges were even with both teams apparently a little nervous. Rotorua appeared to be waiting defensively for some of the scintillating brallianee they had been led to expect and Takapuna were seemingly unable to settle down. The first fireworks came when Barber secured in the loose and passed to Simpson and the Rotorua backs were away and a pretty piece of reverse passing between Steele, Matthews and Hinton had the Aucklanders rattled. Steele finally was grassed after a run that had the crowd on its toes and the cheer leaders giving tongue. Takapuna got some respite with fine line kicks by Bull and Bentley. Faulty clearing kicks by the Rotorua backs gave them further ground, but before long Rotorua were back to the charge again. A fast burst of reverse passing baffled the Takapuna defence and Steele was finally grassed near Takapuna's 25. Here an infringement gave Hinton a difficult chance to goal. The kick succeeded and Rotorua led by three points to nil, a state of affairs that did not go unappreciated by the cheer team on the

sidelme. Visitors Press • Takapuna came a bit more into the picture after this and their forwards figured in a threatening rush which Dawson cleared by a good kick. Matthews also figured in some good line kicking, but Takapuna had the best of these exchanges when Bull put a beauty near the corner flag. Takapuna fed the ball from the lineout, but their backs lacked penetration and sting. Rotorua edged out of trouble, but Wagstaffe cut in and was grassed within an ace of scoring. The Rotorua forwards had been packing desperately right from the start and again they dourly forged away from the danger zone. Shortly afterwards, the Takapuna backs figured in their first real passing rush, but the ball went across field to Stevenson who gave it a go, but was solidly tackled from behind. Rotorua received a free kick and resulting exchanges saw the local forwards ruck out the ball to send the backs away again for Cochrane to be forced out near halfway. Bright Passing A feature of the early scrums was that Takapuna hooked the ball and then lost possession, either. being pushed off the ball or their forwards collapsing on it. Rotorua backs came again with another beautiful rush, which started from near halfway. Matthews was brought down and the opposing fullback secured only to be caught in possession. There was an exciting rush over the line from which Rotorua appeared to score, but the referee's view was obstructed and he had no alternative but to give a 5yds scrum. The northern forwards managed to clear to their twenty-five line. Second Spell Rotorua returned to the attack after the interval, but the defence held. A period of solid rucking took place and some of the set scrums collapsed badly. The local backs were next in the picture when Matthews cut-in well and sent Cochrane away on the wing. Some reverse passing between these two followed, but Takapuna saved and after some more heavy forward work Tasker cut-in and sent the wing away but Cochrane came round and effected a good save. Shortly after this, Wagstaffe, the Takapuna half, was injured and had to be replaced. Dour forward work predominated for some time with play edging slowly towards the local twenty-five, but suddenly the Rotorua forwards rallied and came away with a loose rush that had the opposition momentarily demoralised. Bull was a safe last line of defence, however, and he kicked well. Hinton secured and cut-in- but .was grassed. A line-out at halfway gave the Rotorua backs another chance and Steele figured in a brilliant run. When he was forced out he passed infield, but there was no one to take it and Takapuna breathed again. Play Very Even Simpson was continually feeding tho local backs with crisp passes from the base of the scrum, but Takapuna had tightened up their defence and it held intact. A Takapuna forward caught offside, gave Hinton a hard chance to goal. The kick was only fair, but an exciting race over the line between Steele, Bull and Stevenson saw the latter boot hard for the dead-ball area and safety. A long spell of even play followed with matters a shade in favour of Takapuna, whose forwards were making the most of their weight. A fine movement occurred when Cochrane caught Bull in possession and forced him out. From the throw-in- Simpson set his backs moving with a beautiful pass, Matthews cut-in and after a thrilling run, was forced out near the corner flag. A splendid line kick brought much needed respite for the visitors. Matthews was caught in possession when he took a long kick from Bentley and Rotorua were in an awkward position. Overeagerness caused . the Takapuna ' half to pick the ball out .of the scrum, but the referee was

looking and Hinton put the ,penalty kick out at halfway. The Takapuna forwards were now showing more devil and Tapsell was tried out, but he cleared with a long kick to half-way. Rotorua backs went away again and Cochrane put in a good run, but Takapuna rallied and brought play back to halfway where, Hinton got offside. Emery essayed a difficult kick without success and Ro- , torua forced. Takapuna looked dangerous with some fast following up and finally found touch in Rotorua's twenty- : five. Rotorua were awarded a pe.n- : alty and Hinton relieved the pressure by finding touch at halfway. Bull stopped a dangerous Rotorua rush, and gained fully fifty yards with a beautiful line kick. Excitement ran high as with only a few mpments to go, Takapuna attacked desperately, but Cochrane intercepted and cleared with a gopd kick. Takapuna came again, but Cochrane stopped a dangerous rush by going in and tackling Bentley. Play ended shortly afterwards with Takapuna still on attack, but with the local forwards playing grimly. A noticeable and creditable feature of the game was the small amount of whistle or the necessity for it. Both teams did their best to play within the rules and in this respect carried out the best school traditions. The final score was Rotorua High High Schiol 3, Takapuna Grammar School nil. Dr. W. S. Wallis refereed.