SEVEN-A-SIDE RUGBY TOURNEY

Shannon News, 7 June 1927, Page 3

SEVEN-A-SIDE RUGBY TOURNEY

ANNUAL FIXTURE. . The annual seven-a-side tournament -under-' the auspices of the Mauawatu Rugby Council was staged at the Palmerston North Showgrounds on Friday, when ideal conditions for play prevailed There was a large crowd of specators who could find no fault with the arrangements .but were disappointed with the number of defaults which were recorded in the senior and junior grades, particularly the former where in the first round four teams failed to put in an appearance,. This is accounted for in the reluctance of some of the clubs to over-work the players by asking them to play two days in succession.

So far as the play was concerned it was up to the usual standard in several of the games but in others it was far below par. The outstanding feature of the day was naturally the passing which provided good open games. Not one Palmerston North team came -out a winner, all the trophies going to outsiders, the winners being as below, the 1926 holders being in parentheses: — Senior.—Feilding Old Boys (Kia Toa) with Old Boys as runners-up. Junior.—Miranui (Hutt) with High School as runners-up. Third'grade.—Feilding High School (Oriental) with Paraparaumu-as run-ners-up. -..,; Primary schools.—Rongotea (Manchester St.) with.Lytton Street as run-ners-up. • The Shannon Football Club were represented by A and B teams in the senior competition and by junior and third grade teams. Two teams from the Miranui Club took part in the junior grade, the Club's A team winning the competition. All the Shannon teams succeumbed either in the first or second rounds. In the first round of the junior grade Miranui A diw a bye. They won by default from Hutt in the second round, defeating Feilding A by 5 to 4 in the next round and Masterton by 11 to 8 in the semi final. In the final, they met High School A and the two teams provided a good exhibition, both adopting the open game, but the Schoolboys did not show the'same initiative as they had in*the preliminary rounds. The play rushed up and down until Miranui as the result of a struggle on the line, gained three points through F. Vertongen scoring a somewhat lucky try. Picard had no difficulty in adding the extra two points. This reverse set the schoolboys going and repeated attacks were made. Finally Bryden scored a good try after a passing'rush but the extra points were not added. The pace began to tell on both teams and the dying stages of the game saw both sides too tired, the laurel resting with the flaxmillers by sto 3. •' -'- ' ;' • .