RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Shannon News, 3 May 1927, Page 3

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS. SENIOB. County 19 v. Wcraroa 3. Hui Mai 20 v. Shannon 12. Awahou 21 v. Otaki 3. JUNIOR.. Weraroa 6 v". Awahou 3. Miranui 17 v. Hui Mai 0. Foxton won from Wanderers by default. THIRD GRADE. Wanderers 35 v. Awahou 0. Paraparaumu 36 v. Kuku 6. Foxton 6 v. Shannon 5. Maori College won from Otaki by default. FOURTH CKADE. Awahou won from Levin D.M.b. / by default. COUNTY EASILY DEFEAT WERAROA. SUPERIOR BACK PLAY. County registered their second win on Saturday, when they comfortable , defeated Weraroa on the Levin Domai.i ' by nineteen points to three. I Fine weather prevailed, although a bitterly cold south-westerly breeze made conditions rather unpleasant for rhspectators, many of whom .drifted homewards before the final bell. The ground was in excellent order. County owe their win chiefly to ; superior backline, that functioned' well, when given possession of the ball in » I favoured position. However, they wet.: j to a very large extent assisted by weak tackling on. the part of the Weraroa to sicks. • There were intervals during the game when the County forwards gave glimp ses of play approaching brilliancy, am: then they would fade right away agam ana .at no were they actually .in the ascendancy, In. fact for three part.= < of the game the Weraroa forward; more than held their own. I As an attacking unit, the Weraroa backs were never in the picture, prim. arily due to Phillips' persistency witl the short punt;' instead of passing, an'; not oiice during the whole game did th.< ball reach the wings through combined . effort. THE PLAY. Bond won the toss and accepted th' advantage of the sun and wind. Thr teams lined out as follows: — Countv (Blue).—Backs: Webber White, J. McDonald, Gleeson, Warren T. Parata and Chisholm. Forwards: E. Ransfield, Robinson, Palmer, Bond. Greig,'Dunn, C. MeLeavey, and R. Me Donald. Weraroa (White and Black),—Backs: Bull, St. Clair, .Smith, Todd, Wereta Phillips and Vincent. Forwards:' Broughton, Nahona, R. St. Clair, Cole : . Henderson, Edlin, Horn and Skelton. Referee: Mr K. Davis. Weraroa attacked from the outset but from the first serum on County'>■ 25, the Blue" forwards swept downfieJri until Dunn obstructed Bull, and tin penalty sent them back to their own territory...= Receiving from the line-ou' ' : D. McDonald high-punted down th • centre, the Blue backs indulging in :; couple of neat passing rushes, that cu; iminated in Robinson .getting offside Phillips returning play to half-way with a good line-kick. Away swept the County .backs from the ensuing line out, but a transfer from Parata to J. McDonald went astray, and the Weraro: forwards worked up-field with the ha'.' at their feet. * Then followed a spell o! tight forward play, with Weraroa mon than holding their own until thv bal came out into the open, when Warrei. nipped in on a pass from Vincent ti Wareta, and returned play to neutraterritory. A penalty to the Blues, enabled then to gain further ground, and their for ' wards, in mass formation, got to witlin striking distance, only to see a pa.-s----from Warren, who had cut in effective l'y, go - astray, allowing Weraroa t' clear. Smith improved the posit io: somewhat and the opposing packs ii; dulged in a stubborn battle near Coun , ty's 25, the outcome of which, was ; ,• penalty awarded to Weraroa, but Phil lips' kick at goal ju3t "fell short. Clever play by Chisholm, who wa playing an excellent game, gave Par;; ta an opportunity, and receiving th. ball neatly from his half, he dodget his way down the centre, but lost co? trol when a score looked likely, ant Bull, assisted by Phillips, effected : clever clearance,.saving their side fron an awkward predicament. Combinin; well, St. Clair, Nahona, and Broughto. headed the white forwards in an irre j sistabie rush that gained abo-.n _4< yards, and culminated in Phillips miss j ing with another penalty. The County backs now dominater the position for some time,'ably assisteby good- work on the part of Bond am Ransfield who served them well fron the line-outs, enabling them to display several nice passing bouts that kep Weraroa fighting hard to avert a score which looked almost a certainty, as a mistake by Bull, saw Chisholm snap the ball up and race in under the post* only to be held up by Smith and St. Clair, right on the line. COUNTY OPEN THE SCORING. Then followed a series of assaults by the Blue forwards, but they could not penetrate, and were being" gradually pushed out by the opposing pack when Chisholm, gaining from a scrum, shot around on the blind side, was tackled by Horn, who, however, let his man go, and the'County half, making full use of his freedom worked into position, passed the ball infield to Robinson, who was lying handy, and all that playei had to do was to fall over and scora. J. McDonald failed with the kick. COUNTY 3, WERAROA 0. This reverse appeared to have a de- ' generating effect on Weraroa's play, . and County, realising their grip on the game, immediately set out to increase •, their laad, and were not long in gaining their objective. From a line-out in Weraroa's territory, R. McDonald gained, and cutting out Warren, sent a long pass to Para ta, who in turn gave J. McDonald possession. The latter player, cracking on the pace swerved his way elusively ■ through the remaining Weraroa backs, -' and ran round under.the posts. Gleeson ' ; had ao trouble, with the kick, and halt''''(il^r'---■■■■■',-::. v.. / ■

■time-sounded, as the ball sailed over the bar! County 8, Weraroa 0. SOME QUICK SCORING. :,• County immediately took up the attack when the final spell commenced, and rushed play to Weraroa's end, the game having hardly re-started, when from a scrum close to the line, the ball 1 ravelled from Chisliblui along to J. ■McDouald, who ignored a couple of feeble tackles and dived,,, over'near the pot-is. Gleeson converted.. COUNTY" 13, WERAROA 0.

Almost from the kick-off Robinson initiated another Blue passing rush, the ball travelling from ; maliu to man until White was forced out'"n%ar the corner.

The Weraroa forwards cleared from the line-out but it afforded them little 1 relief,,,as County seemed to carry too many'guns, and the blue backs, adopting a nice open game, enabled JV McDonald to snap up a low pass in brilliant fashion, and race over under the posts for his third try. Gleeson'missed an easy sKt. ' ; '' ! COUNTY 16, WERAROA 0;

Ihe game belonged to County practically all the way at this stage,'" and Weraroa played like a beaten team until, after a long spell on defence, „.,a good individual effort by. Smith appeared to give them renewed vigour, thca 1 ,, forwards transferring activities to'. County's end. However, little iuck attended their labour, for in the face of a dangerous rush by the White forwards, Warren was awarded a mark from a ball that had obviously bounced off the ground, at a time when the attackers appealed likely to score. Nothing daunted, Weraroa pegged away,' and at last their persistency gained its reward for from a penalty, Phillips .piloted the ball between, the posts with a well-judged kick. COUNTY 16, WERAROA 3.

When play resumed, County forced the issue, Weraroa's task becoming hopeless, as the Blues swarmed near -ihc-ir line, and before many minutes went by they added another try to thei? total. From a,loose forward scramble near Weraroa's posts, the ball . was booted across field for McDonald to gather in, draw an opponent, and send Gleeson over wide out. Warren niissed the .kick, and the game ended shortly afterwards without fuither incident, with thei score 19-3 in County's favour. AWAHOU 21 v OTAKI 3 Played on the racecourse at Foxton en Saturday the Awahou-Otaki gair.e attracted a large and appreciative crowd of spectators. Awahou winning by 21 points to 3. " ■• ■' From the kick-off Awahou (red) had Otaki (green) on the defensive. The greens marked. Hakaraia (Awahjou) taking the ball cleanly' kicked too fa-, enabling Otaki to force. The Otakihookers were getting the ball from nearly every scrum, and from a scrum in mid-field the, ball shot 'out to the green half. , Fuller (Awahou) inter-' eepting beautifully to pass to Hakaraia wtyo made a run to the opposing 25, passed to Reid to O'Reilly who unfoitunately knocked on a few...-. yards* f] om the posts. Otaki < defended strenuously and from a, line out; the green, forwards broke away.with the ball at their feet. Robinson' however, was handy and kicked into touch.. A passing bout by Reid, Fuller and Taylor put Awahou on the attack but Otaki forced. Harrison secured from the kick and started a good run, the ball going through the hands, of nearly alt the backs, Pine, Hindu, Fuller, Westwood, Huff. After a stern battle on the line Awahou hooked the ball for Hakaraia to work the blind side cleverly. Taylor's kick just missed. —Awahou 3, Otaki 0. Hakaraia secured in mid-field to pass to Fuller, Reid Westwood, Huff, the ball going out almost on the line. Otaki cleared to halfway. , Taylor was given a penalty in a good position a 'few yards from half way . and a well judged kick made the score 6—o. From the kick Awahou attacked igain and from a scrum worked the >lind side successfully. Taylor missed l>y inches.—Awahou 9, Otaki 0. The .visitors'were all out to scor? when Tahiwl S3cured to kick well upfielch Johns followed fast to pass to Hakaraia (Otaki) who got over. Ta- • hiwi missed with the kick. Awahou* 9—3. : From the kick Pine (Awahou) seeur ed and made the best solo effort of. the clay running over half the length of thy field through nearly alll the opposing I earn, but Otaki cleared. Awahou were, not to be denied and from. a penalty Hindu cut in to pass to Taylor to MacDonald who got over in the cornei Taylor's kick again missed. —Awahou. 12, Otaki 3. O'Reilly was prominent in a solo effort, placing Awahou on the attack. The ball came out to Taylor who dropped a pretty field goal. 16—9. Hakaraia kicked high and Krivishanko and Creswell followed up to centre. Westward secured to pass to Hindu who got over in the corner. Taylor again piloted the ball between the posts, making the score Awahou 21, Otaki 3. Mr. J. Smith ably controlled a very fast ••game. JUNIORS MIRANUI DEFEAT HUI MAI. The above fixture was played on the Shannon Domain on Saturday. The Hui Mai team playing with only thirteen men throughout were at a big disadvantage, but nevertheless it was not until the last twenty minutes of the came that Miranui were able to put the issue beyond doubt. ..The display given by both teams was very poor, particularly that of Miranui in the early part. In the first spell Vertergon scored for Miranui. The second half opened with Miranui attacking, but the Hui Mai's defence was good, the loeai men being forced on four occasions ii quick succession before scoring the seconl try, which was registered by Mabey. Hui Mai made vain efforts to equalise matters, but itowaids the eiid they cracked, up :and Jamieson . and ■Kingi scored , tries ' at ■" close intervals for Miranui. The final result was—

Miranui 17, Hui Mai nil. Mr R. Sands had charge of the game. POSITION OF TEAMS.

HOROWHENUA DISTRICT COUNCIL. The management committee of the Horowhenua Rugby District Council met in Welliam's tea-rooms, Levin, Friday, there being present: Messrs J. J. ,o'Connor (president)- -tT.WV Robinson (Awahou), -W. Neville (Foxton"), S. Austin (Foxton), W. Joyce (Weraroa), J. W. Robson (Miranui), M. Ryder (Wanderers), W. N. Anderson (County), H. McDonald, (Schools), J. Casey (secretary), and J. W. Rinirner (t reasirer). *■<'■'•■■,. 'The Town Clerk of Otaki wrote noti fyirig the Council that a resolution had been passed giving it sole; control of the Domain for the season for the sum of £8 on the understanding that Hockey Clubs are to be charged no fee for the use of the ground and are not en-: titled to charge for admission. —Ac oepted. Mr. D. Minogue. secretary Of r the Huia Football Club, Rangiotu, wrote asking that certain men residing within the boundary of the Horowhenua Union's district be allowed to play with that club in the Te Kawau Sut-. Union. —It was decided not to accede to the request. Otaki Maori College: Club forwarded fees for the third grade team. They offered the Council unrestricted use of the College field for the season.—The secretary reported that a letter of thanks had been sent to the club. Mr. R. Hornblow, secretary of the Foxton club, Wrote stating that at.-a'; meeting of his committee it.was decided to inform the Council that No. 2 ground on the Racecourse was not fit to play on, and the Club was not prepared to allow any of its teams to play on the ground until it was put in order. — It was reported that arrangements had been made to have the ground, put in order. • Mr. A. Wallace, secretary of the Paekakariki United Club, wrote informing the Council that; ■' he had 'secured a playing area belonging to Mr. A. E. Smith.—Received. The North Otago Union wrote asking for support of its application, to the N.Z.R.U. to raise its status, to that of a union.—Referred to the Combined Union. - Mr T. J. Mabey,., secretary of the "Miranui club) applied for the withdrawal of that club from the competition owing to its inability to raise a senior team; also applying for a Tefund of £1 Is. affiliation fee:—The withdrawal was approved. » Mr. Casey moved that the affiliation fee be not refunded. - ■ It was explained that Miranui had lost players to another club, and Mr. Rotinson stated that this club had been a "trier" and it seemed hard to penalise it. ■•: '• The Chairman said that a serious question was opened up \ The Council might be refunding" affiliation fees all the season. ';■! The motion was carried. A request was received from the Foxton 'club for the refund of £2 2s. insurance fee, as it was not putting a senior team in the competition. —The refund was agreed to. An application by the Weraroa club for the transfer of W. . Greig from County was granted. ! A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the Mayor of Levin (Mr. T. Hobson) for a donation of £2 2s to the Council. It was resolved that all doctors in the district be supplied with season tickets. . , , ;- ': •; Arrangements for the Pakeha-Maori match, to be played at Otaki, probably' between the first and second rounds, were discussed, and it was decided to communicate with Mr. Baird, of Shannon, with a view to securing ances to pick up players by running from Shannon to Foxton, Levin and Manakau (if necessary), and proceeding to Otaki, returning by the same route. The secretary stated that the starring times of games at Levin and Otaki on Saturday last were late —about aquarter past three. Attention to this matter was, required; also to the need for members to come oh the field properly attired., ■ ■ \ A large increase in the gate takings in the district on the opening day this season was reported by Mr Casey, who stated that the total was £23 as compared with £l4 on the opening day last year.

On the motion of Mr Neville, seconded by Mr Robinson, it was decided that all junior matches be played in 45minute spells. Two rounds will be played in the junior competition.

■ Si • o '3 c CO .s <3 03 ft ■ 1 ft o *-< '© .ft .ft Q County 2 2 0 0 40 6 4 Hui Mai 1 1 0 0 20, 12 - Awahou 2 1 1 0 9 6 2 Weraroa.. 2 1 1 0 6 19 2 Shannon 2 0 1 1 15 23 1 W'derers 1 0 0 1 3 3 1 Otaki ■'--■ 2 0 2 0 6 32 0