SEASON’S LAST REP. MATCH.

Shannon News, 5 October 1926, Page 3

SEASON’S LAST REP. MATCH.

HAWKES BAY B. BEATEN. AN UNINTERESTING GAME. On Saturday, before a record attendance, Horowhenua played their imal representative game of season, and were successful in maintaining their unbeatcn record bv defeating Hawkes Bay B. team bv 8 points to 3, The game play- ( ed by Horowhenua was hardly up to the standard set earlier in. the season ( which was no doubt due to the unusu- ■ ' allv prolonged football season-.. Owing J to "the steady rain of the previous day , and night the ground was on the heavy { side and intermittent showers 1 made 1 the ball somewhat, difficult to handle. ) In the first spell Horowhenua kept up an incessant attack, but owing to deadly tackling bv the visitors, and also a lack of finish in some of their movements they only managed to notch five points. In this they .were somewhat unlucky, for on one occasion 1. Mellon- ■ aid scored what appeared to be a fair try while Gleeson, after beating the defence, was glaringly obstructed when about to fall on the ball. In the final - spell the Bay forwards, playing much » better than their opponents, forced the issue practically throughout, but received little support from their back line, as a consequence' of which thenefforts were unavailing.. Horowhenua were badly beaten in the scrums, but when they did gain possession the men . behind kicked much too frequently and rather undermined the impression crpated earl v in the game when they gave ■an excellent display of combined'passing work. ; The teams lined out as follows: TI-AWKES BAY (Black and White). (Full Back) Glenn. (Three Quarters) 1 . Tait Boutli Lawton (Five Eighths). Anstis • Te Ngaio (Half Back Edwards. (Wing forward) Bridgeman. __ Wynn (eapt.) ' Munro ilassett King Tankard Taggart Pearson HOROWHENUA (Red and Blue). (Full Back) f; Ryder , (Three-quarters) Roberts Hunt M. McDonald (Five-eighths) Warren Winiata '■*. ‘ (Half Back) T. McDonald. ' (Wing forward) Jacob (capt.) ~ . , Mailii >’ Greig - ■ Tana Gleeson ' , Moynihan Bond. Toliu Mr T. Parata controlled the game. ' THE GAME. There was little advantage gained in winning the toss, which was in Horowlieiiua’s . favour and their forwards, with Tohu in the van, set oft vrith a rattle. Beu,th temporarily held them up, but as Glenn fumbled, things did not look promising for Hawkes Bay, but over-eagerness cost the Reds a penalty, and the visitors cleared to midfield.". The Horowhemiavbacks became .prominent in a beautiful passing rush, every man handling with precision. until'Warren, receiving a reverse pass from' M. McDonald, was hauled down just short of the line. , I rom a scrum that followed the defendeis hooked the ball cleanly , and Edwards found touch with'a timely kick. The Reds were quickly back on. the attack, 1 for Roberts, gaining possession on the left wing, unexpectedly ran across field and initiated a pretty movement on the opposite side. Beating several Bay men he sent on to M. McDonald, ■ who passed infield, to Jacob, to Mailii, who made, strenuous efforts to go over, but was well held up. , HOROWHENUA SCORE 'EARLY. 1 A desperate, struggle ensued as the opposing pack swarmed round, but Tana, who was early on the scene, gathered the leather in and, using his ‘ weight to good purpose, foi'ced hiinslf .across for the opening try. Jacoo bad no difficulty in adding the extra points. „ _ n • . Horowhenua 5, Hawkes Lay 0,. Horowhenua remained in the ascendancy, and were giving a fine display or the open passiiig game,, but appeared h littio too and frequent lnxiingc meats allowed the visitors to relieve in quick succession. The Hawkes Bay the pressure with a. ■ couple of penalties 1 forwards now gave a taste. of theii quality, and pushd past half a\ ay for the first, time. Wynn, Hassett and Munro combined effectively in a nice dribbling rush that penetrated to within a few yards of Horowhenua *s line. The visitors were seen to advantage in several scrums formed at this spot, and from one of these Edwards tried to cut through, but was well smothered by Gleeson. In the ensuing mele, Munro was caught offside and Jacob , relieved the pressure.

11AWKES BAY SCORE PROM penalty.

The Bay hacks now took a hand. Receiving from a line-out, the hall came to Anstis who punted over the headc of the men opposite him, and matters did not look at all promising for Horowhenua as Jacob was caught in possession. The latter player, realising the danger, unfortunately hung on too • long, and was penalised right in front of Horowheiiua’s goal, and Edwaido 1 kicked an easy penalty. Horowhenua 5, Hawkes Eay3. play now settled down in midfield for some moments until a, clever solo 1 effort by Gleeson allowed H° r owheima to renew the attack F ™-| n JL t S s on Bav’s 25, T. McDonald sent ins baclSine away, but Warren tailed to accept his pass and the magpie io wards retaliated to haif-way. The , followed a period of loose play tral territory, until T. McDonald smothered Beutli, who gained possession, and booted down toward the visitois line. Smart following-up by Hunt saw Glenn in difficulties, and from a loose scramble Bond missed a certain try as attempt to go across, and Bay forced.. Hav had hardly re-started when Glee-, son-dribbled clean through the defence, and ovr the line, but was badly tripped when about to score, and Glenn k°Horowhenna now had decidedly the

best of matters, and hammered away at their opponents’ line, but deadly tackling by the visitors enabled them to keep their citadel intact. A movemebt between T. McDonald and Rob-, erts on the blind side looked promising, but the latter slipped in trying to evade the Hawkes Bay full-backs tackle. Play remained near the visitors line, but scrum after scrum saw the atJ lackers beaten for the ball just when possession would mean so much to them, and the defenders, realising their advantage, kept play tight., enabling Te Ngaio to eventually lift the pres- : sure by finding touch well out. Nothing daunted, the Red forwards came- ] back to the attack, and, at last, gave iT. McDonald possession. That player } cleverly worked the blind side, drev his man, and sent M. McDonald away. When faced by Glenn, McDonald shortpunted over his head, but a race foi the ball that, had gone over the line, saw Glenn just gete there in the nick of time, and boot over the dead-ball line. . . The visiting forwards now asserted themselves, and rushed play into Horowheiiua’s territory, and their backs necarne associated in a couple of movements that; were ineffective as Anstis and Beuth were inclined to get ahead of their passes. Taking advantage of one of these mistakes, Jacob, supported by Moynihan, gained a lot of ground with an excellent dribbling rush, but just as things looked interesting Lawton came across from his wing and saved well. Roberts was then prominent with some clever play, that removed activities back on to Hawkes Bay’s line, and from an exciting scramble T. McDonald, with two men hanging to him, threw himself over, but the referee ordered a dropout. An infringement by the Bay forwards saw Jacob narrowly miss with a penalty shot, and the same,player, a few moments later, nearly scored after a determined run, but was well tackled by Glenn, who was lajd out in the process, and half time came with Horowheuua still hammering away at their opponents’ line. UOROWHENU • KEPT DEFENDING. When the final spell started the Bay forwards adopted a new role, and, combining: well together,, soon had llorowhenua defending hard. From a scrum, Edwards shot the ball out to Te Ngaio, ivho tried to cut in past Winiata. but fvas well-upended, and a- battle between the opposing backs ensued for some 1 moments on Horowhenua’s 25. The visitors; headed by Munro, worked closer and Ryder was .forced into' touch in a dangrous position. Wini- ( nta marked from the line-out, but failed to find the line. Anstis, however, fumbled badly, and Hunt, who had followed through smartly, removed play to mid-field. The respite was only temporary, for Hawkes Bay were immediately back near the danger zone, and from a scrum Edwards slipped, round on the blind side and only missed a try by inches. Play came into the open, but Winiata, in i endeavouring to relieve, miskicked, and Beuth accepted an easy mark right in front of the goal. It looked like a gift of three points to the visitors, but Beuth did not prove' equal to the occasion, and badly missed with a poor attempt. At this stage the visiting forwards wore more than holding their own, and Tankard, Wynn and King set up a dangerous rush that nearly spelt disaster for Horowhenua, but Ryder marked brilliantly and found touch well out. Getting possession from the lineout, Roberts cleverly evaded a couple q? tacklers, and raced down th line. He punted over Beuth’s head, aiid was not allowed to press home the advantage gained through obstruction bv the Bay three-quarter. The same player was again conspicuous with a neat run, and cutting' infield he sent Hunt and McDonald racing down the right wing, but Glenn again proved bis worth as a .'tackier, and brought McDonald to eaith'in approved style. Play now seesawed up and down, until fumbling by the Red backs allowed the Haw lies Bay forwards- to sweep through with an overwhelming rush that carried playover the Reds’ line, but Jacob arrived iu the nick of time and forced.

A SUDDEN REVERSE. Then the spectators were treated to the greatest thrill of the match. The visitors were going hammer and tongs on HoroAvlien.ua’s line, when an immediate change came. Jacob shot the ball out to Wiuiata, who booted over the heads of the attacking Bay backs, Glenn fumbled and Lawton also failed to gather in cleanly. lit the twinkling of an eye, Jacob, Maihi and Moynihan had arrived at the spot and, getting the ball aivay from Lawton, who made strenuous efforts to stop them, Moyiiilian passed to Maihi, who raced from half-way with Anstis in hot pursuit.’, With a clear field ahead, - the Shannon forward just had enough speed spectacular try at th corner. .'The angle was’too much for Hunt. Horowhenua 8, Hawkes Bay 3.

Lawton’s effort ended uufortuuately

for him, as he badly .strained a ligament in the knee,, and was carried off, being replaced on the wing; by Elliott. This reverse was rather unexpected by the visitors, and excitement became more intense as they renewed their efforts to save the game. Their f'or-wards-s played determinedly and assumed the ascendancy, but faulty handling by the men behind them, particularly Beuth, nullified their good work. Jacob turned defence into attack by a long kick down the centre. Elliott failed to find touch, and Hunt, accepting the ball in his stride, raced clear, but Tait was too speedy for him, and averted what looked like a. possible try. Then Roberts, fielding a long kick by Glenn, dodged a couple of tackle/? and sent, on to Hunt, who cross-kicked to his waiting forwards, and au exciting dive for the ball in'ijpvkes Bay’s 25 saw Gleeson shoot aftv, but was not and Bay relieved. Both teams were now quickly tiring, particularly Horowheiiua, whose backs were using the line at every opportunity. Consqucntly, play .became rather uninteresting. After a series of loose exchanges in mid-field, Edwards and Tait were associated in a movement from the blind side of a scrum, but Rvder Droved equal to the occasion and found touch at his 25. Jacob further improved from the line-out and then Roberts, Maihi and Gleeson were conspicuous with an excellent piece, of play down the centre, and it appeared

as if a last minute try would come the way of Horowhenua, but Bridgemai gained control of the ball and removed play to mid-field, just as the final bell souhded.

ENTERTAINING IHAWKES BAV REPS. TWO ENJOYABLE FUNCTIONS. According to Messrs 11. E. Seed ana R. M. Hewitt, managers of the ll a u kes Bay football team, time has not hung heavily, since they arrived in Levin on Tliursdav afternoon. On Friday they were taken ■to the -Central Development and Weraroa Boys’ Training Farm- and on Saturday evening they were entertained at a smoke concert held in their liQnour. About 120 players and football supporters were present at the latter function, held m the Concert Chamber, and presided over by Mr J. J.. O’Connor, chairman ot tlje Horowhenua Rugby District Council. ‘‘The Ranfurly Shield holders was the first toast honoured after that of the loyal toast, “llawkes Bay,’ sai l the Mayor, Mr Hobson, “was fanious at the present time as holders ot the Ranfurly Shield, Many times their citadel had been threatened within the past four years, but they had withstood all onslaughts. He-traced the history'of the Hawkes Bay Union, relating how the personnel of the controlling body in Hawkes Bay had been such a factor in its progress. ■ ■ Mr VI. E. Seed, replying on beliait ot the Bay team, sajd that a few years ago the Hawkes Bay Union was as poor as' a church mouse, but the success of the Shield team had been the turning point in the history of Hawkes Bay football, and they were now able to foster the game in the other centres. It was many years since a Bay team had paid a visit to Levin, but the speaker hoped the present visit would serve to open the way,to a series of visits. (Hear, hear 1 ). _ I. ,v The chief endeavour of his Union at the present time was to stimulate -football in the smaller unions, and if that had been achieved in Horcnvhenua he was well satisfied. Among the toasts given were the following: “Players of both teams,” pro posed°by the chairman, and replied to by Messrs Wynn (Hawkes Bay) and Jacob (Horowhenua):, “Horowhenua Rim by District Council coupled with the name of Mr Procter,” proposed by Messrs Seed and-Hewitt; “The Referees. • ■.

Then came the most p qmlav toast of the evening—that of Mr Martin Wini.ata, whose work as selector lias this year produced such fine results. Of him Mr J. Casey said he ' was Horo whenua’s Norman McKenzie, who required no praise from the _ .speaker’s lips to recommend him to footballers. Mr Winiata’s football career had been a brilliant one and lie possessed the rare quality of being to*draw men to,him, as evidenced by the fact that lie secured different genth men living in the outlying districts,' to bring in the rep. players for practice purpose j thereby contributing, in no small wav to the" team’s success. Practically Hie with j what different results 1 The amount'of time given up by Mr Winiatn and the sacrifices umde by his wife in order that lie. might fulfil his duties as selector, prompted th-.- executive and plavers to present them with an oax trav and a silver tea service, gifts which indicated the appreciation felt by those who had seen the benefit of his work.

Amid loud cheering Mr Winiata accepted the, gifts and made response on behalf of himself and Mrs Winiata. '

The Mayor handed Jacob, skipper of the Wanderers’ football team, the senior Championship Shield, while F. Phillips, representing the Weraroa | Juniors, received the Licensed- Victual- 1 lers’ Cup and the canoe as winners of the knock-out competition. Mr J. Marsh was handed the Procter Cup to be handed to the Levin D.ILS. Fourths. Three cheers were called by Mr O’Connor for “Opr Sporting Mayor,” which were given with goodwill. AT THE WINIATA HOMESTEAD. “Ngatokowaru House,” the Winiata homestead at Hokio, has beep the rendezvous of many footballers in bv-gone years, and many a man has pleasant recollections of* the open-handed hospitality received there. With a full knowledge of this the executive council of Horowheiiua sought the help of the Winiata family in entertaining the Hawkes Bay and Horowheiiua rep. teams. Accordingly, Mrs Jacob and, with her, Mesdames T. Winiata, M. Winiata, W. Winiata.. L. Ingram, J. J. O’Connor, L. Dixon, Toha and Miss Ingram, set to work and the result was that the two teams, with about 70 other guests, sat down to dinner at the meeting-house on Sunday. Mr' M. Winiata, who extended a welcome to the visitors, said that the Hawkes Bay team was the premier team of New Zealand,’and also the world—the kings of Rugby football, to extend a welcome to them, meant much. lloio wheuua felt as proud of Hawkes Bay as did Hawkes Bay supporters themselves,- as their team was the greatest provincial team the world had evei seen. Football itself was one of the greatest and finest sports known, throughout the country. On behalf ot the Winiata family he was proud to extend a welcome to all .the visitors. The guests, by way of response heartily sang “For they are jolly good fellows.” , On behalf -of the native race Mr Hone McMillan said he was proud to be associated with football and footballers, and glad that such a cordial friendship existed between Maori and pakeha in this district. Mr H. Nicholson said he was glad to see such a crowd there. There had been a time where there was hardly a European, face to be seen. In 1885 for every European there were at least 100 Maoris. In those days between the Qliau and Manawatu rivers there were but three white families. At that time Rugby was unthought and unheard of in this district, and Hawkes Bay was an unknown quantity in the football l world.. He could quite safely endorse ■ wliat Mr Winiata had said in relation i to the present Ranfurly Shield holders ■ being the premier provincial team at : the present time. (Hear, hear)* l Mr J. J. O’Connor replied on behalf

of the visitors. He wished.tlie Wimata faiuilv to know that the Jlorowhenua Rughv District Council thanked them from “'the bottom of their hearts for the way in which they had assisted the Council to entertain the visitors. Mr 11. E. Seed, joint manager of the Hawkes Bay team, aptly responded. During the time his team had stayed in Levin they had been almost overwhelmed with hospitality. Never before, and he had travelled with teams from- Auckland to the Bluff, had he Known such liberal treatment: and he would like to thauk the ladies, particularly, for the way in which they had worked in order to make the function a success. He joined his expression of gratitude in the names of the Wimata. family and the Ilorowh nua Rugby District. Council for the manner m which they had entertained the team. ‘•The Ladies” was a popular toast, and one proposed by Mr E. Robinson. He did so with much pleasure, "here hud been a lot. said about footballers—their merits and general attributes--but his subject was to be a good deal more important. Were it not for them the many little entertainments arrang ed for the benefit of footballers could not have been carried to a successful conclusion. A good many of them did work on their husband's farms m order that the latter might play football That, and many other sacrifices were made by the ladies in order that the good of Rugby might be played. (Apthey are jolly good fellows” was sung with a right good will. Mr B. A. Hewitt; joint manager of the Hawkes Bay team, responded on behalf of Hawkes Bay _ supplementing the remarks of the previous speaker in a highly amusing way. Mr «L W. Rinimer responded on behalf of the ladies, and in so doing, said lie was pleased to respond to a toast, that had been so heartily drunk. The ladies thmselves considered they had hardly a more pleasing thing in life than the entertainment of iootbalieis ami their supporters; Every lady in the Winiata homestead was a toiler m the service of thfeir visitors, and e\ei pleased to be such. (Hear, hear). He expressed the sincere gratification the ladies felt at the way in which Hawkes Bav had come down to Horowhenua to help it on. It was a fine thing that the Hawkes Bay Union—the premier union to-day—should come down and assist the minor unions. (Hear, hear). Among those who have assisted m the entertainment of the Hawkes Bay team during the week-end, the following are deserving of mention: Mr Jas. Curran (Shannon), Miss Olive■ Clarke, Messrs J. o•Donohue, and C. McLeavey, Mrs D. Tatana, Messrs Jacob, Les McDonald, 11. J. Jones, like, Rewi Moynihan, R, M. Hewitt (Hawkes Bay), and the Jazzmanian Orchestra, all of whom added much towards the success achieved.