HUI MAI v. WERAROA.

Shannon News, 1 May 1928, Page 3

HUI MAI v. WERAROA.

This game was played on the Levin Park Domain in the presence of a much larger attendance than was.in evidence at the opening match of the season on the previous Saturday. , The teams were as follows: Weraroa (black and white).—Fullback, Graham; three-quarters, J.Broughton, Gray, Smith; five-eighths, Phillips and Warren (captain); half, Vincent; forwards, R. Broughton, McLennan, Nahona, Palmer, Cole, Edlin, Skilton and Kilsby. „ ' Hui Mai (green and white)—lull back, Meta Johnston; three-quarters, Bryant, Ransfield and Tahiwi; fiveeighths, Gleeson and Wallace; half, Roha; forwards, Bevan (wing), George, Henderson, Tana, Rhodes, Wehipeihana, Grey and Gardner. Misty rain prevailed throughout the contest, and as there was a growth of young grass ? the ground was fairly "slippery and players generally found it difficult to judge their balance when attempting to take the ball. The game throughout was fast, and something like the maximum in a Rugby encounter must have been travelled by the respective teams as they alternately swept up and down the field. It was a fairly even match, with the initiative somewhat on the side of Weraroa in the first spell. They were ! a light team as compared with the greens, and towards the.end of the game their l efforts were somewhat worn down; but they had displayed considerable speed, and altogether made a good showing. Hui Mai's backs were wide awake, but circumstances were against effective handling of the ball, and forward tactics were mainly relied. upon. & . The visiting side kicked off from the west, with the advantage of a slight breeze. They fol'owed up rapidly, but the Weraroa backs put in some good work with the aid of the touch-line and the pack -were soon threatening Hui Mai's borne quarters. Bryant relieved, but the blacks were immediately on the attack again with the ball at the toe. After a spell of fooee work, in which Weraroa made several attempts to get over, the ball was worked back by the greens' forwards towards half-way, where solid resistance was, met in the blacks' front ranks. Ransfield was conspicuous in gathering up and punting when the visitors' line was next in danger. At this stage Graham, of Weraroa, was laid out by a knock in the stomach, but recovered after the game had been stopped for a few minutes. Bevan made a nice save, after which a stern struggle took place for possession of the ball, which traveled into Weraroa's territory. Pmy surged back and forth across the half-way line until the leather was booted well down towards the Hui Mai line. After a gcrum the greens gained an advantage through a Weraroa player mishandling the ball. A kick that nrght have been meant for the goal brought the visiting forwards into a handy position for launching an attack, and after a serum Weraroa had to force down. Frequent knocks-on and muliings ox the ball were noticeable on both' sides. A dribbling rush was essayed by Hui Mai, but it ended; prematurely;. Weraroa were next seen in a dribbling rush, which took them, to the neighbourhood of their opponents Mine, but the ball was kicked out at, the side. Subsequently a forward rush by Weraroa was stemmed by Bryant. Play again threatened the Hui Mai line; their backs instituted a passing lush, but it ended near half-way, and the home earn returned to the attack. Good footwork infield led to the greens swarming over the half-way line and sending the ball well ahead of them—too far ahead, in fact, for it travelled into the scoring area with nobody handy enough to take advantage of it before Weraroa forced. A period of exchanges followed;, the ball was fumbled in the ■bands of visiting players, and the home team again secured an advantage and with Graham's help as a kicker found themselves at the corner. When the ball came out of the ruck, R. Broughton marked at about 40 yards from the goal,, in a favourable position, but Warren's kick fell short. Some tight play ensued in the visitors' area, which was relieved by a free kick awarded for obstruction. It was not long before Weraroa were again attacking. There were two line-outs and a aerum, from none of which Weraroa were able to gain th&ir objective, although they started a creditable-looking passing rush. J. Broughton headed an attack, which ended in a scrum near

the Hui Mai line. The home team being awarded a free kick, Phillips had a shot at goal, but it went wide. R. Broughton shortly got possesion, but his attempt to score ended in a scramble over the line, with no benefit to Weraroa. Half-time sounded shorjjy afterwards, with no score.

In the second spell, Weraroa were soon on the attack. Meta obtained possession and put in a tricky run which shifted operations to the opposite 25. A spirited run by the Weraroa backs returned,play to a place near their opponents' goal. After some indecisive play, Tahiwi relieved. Weraroa sent the ball high and followed up, to make another attack on the line, but the ball was kicked out to touch. Gleeson found the boundary at quarterway. Tahiwi, with a smart run, took the ball on to half-way. From a line-' out Weraroa sent the ball.into the scoring area, but none of their players got close enough to touch down, Hui Mai forcing. Following a scrum the visitors got possession and took play well up the field. The ball went over and Weraroa were quick to force. Meta displayed a great turn of speed in a subsequent attack, which ended in a scramble on the 25, where the ball was forced out. After several loose rushes up and down the field, Hui Mai became concentrated, dribbling the ball from half-way and finally shooting it over at the corner, where Gleeson grounded it. Meta made aii excellent attempt at the goal, just missing from a bad angle. . Hui Mai 3, Weraroa 0. Weraroa went to the attack, and had Hui Mai penned up for a while. A free kick for Weraroa was taken by Graham in a fairly good position, but it fell- shore. Eventually the greens, with the aid of a mark by George, were giv#n a run, but two of their men had a nasty experience through colliding heavily. Gleeson strained a leg, but was able to resume play in a little while. Henderson was not so fortunate; he was temporarily knocked out through striking the ground with his head, and had to retiie. Weraroa invaded by means of a passing rush, but George saved fchq situation with a smart run. Hui Mai worked their way well up, and for a time looked dangerous. Several long kicks followed on both sides, after which the game ended with Hui Mai attacking and the scores: Hui Mai 3, Weraroa 0. Mr Sands was referee..