Big Rugby Looming

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 113, 3 August 1927, Page 7

Big Rugby Looming

Representative Programme

South Canterbury Next Saturday

THE lure of big Rugby is in the air. With a sense of pleasant anticipation, Aucklanders can now sit back to enjoy the performances of high-class representative teams. Next Saturday the fare will be Auckland v. South Canterbury, and three weeks later Auckland will meet Hawke’s Bay.

FOR the corning matches, which should produce spectacular football, keen Rugby followers will hope devoutly for fair weather. In a city not noted for dry winters, this season has been most objectionably damp. The number of days when grounds were reasonably dry can, at the moment, be counted on the fingers of one hand. Better things are hoped for in the future. Wet Weather Rugby Footballers are a hardy breed, generally ready to go out in any weather. Their forbearance, however, has been rather strained by recent conditions. In mud to the boot-tops, the players at the Show Grounds and North Shore —these were two of the worst instances —played Rugby under the worst circumstances. So handicapped, they played it surprisingly well, but must have doubted afterwards if any form of satisfaction compensated for the physical discomfort involved. Berridge Safe A. Berridge, reappearing in the Ponsonby back-line hist Saturday, dis- I played remarkably clean handling. He did not once fail to field the greasy ball. L- Hook (Ponsonby) and A. Singleton (Grammar) were the only players who could rival his accuracy. Berridge has been one of the outstanding successes of the current season. At the start Cammick, his club mate, was more prominent, but Cammick’s lack of weight has not helped him, and he does not appear to have maintained his top form. Grammar’s Satisfaction Its defeat of Ponsonby in last Saturdays mire will allow Grammar to feel that the senior competition was not without its grain of satisfaction. On the day the Grammar team was clearly superior, the raking forward rushes made the Ponsonby defence look shadowy at times —and on the run of the play the score might have been in double figures, instead of only 3 to 0. Sartorial Disasters The match was responsible for several sartorial disasters, two jerseys and a pair of pants being requisitioned during the proceedings. All garments were so saturated that they wer§ of no value in protecting from the cold, and one semi-disrobed forward would have gone on playing without his jersey If referee Sutherland had not firmly Insisted that another jersey be found. , City and Manukau City and Manukau, in the B grade, turned on a match that was full of purple patches, City going under for the first time this season. A draw with Waitemata is the only other setback the team has suffered. Possessing many promising performers, City is still well ahead of its rivals. In Saturday’s struggle the referee sent off two men from each side, one of them being L. Cornaga jjg (City), who dropkicked the first field goal seen at Eden Park this season. Reps, in Action Three senior representative teams will be in action on Saturday, one against Thames, another against South Auckland, and the third against South Canterbury. The South Canterbury game will be the main attraction at Eden Park, with the South Auckland match as a curtain-raiser, and the other team travelling to Thames. Good teams have been chosen for the South Auckland and Thames matches. The A team, to meet South Canterbury, will be much the same as that which has played in earlier games. Butler’s Omission Butler’s omission from the 22 selected ! for training has caused surprise. The University fullback seems to have been treated inconsiderately. He was a last-minute standby for the Thames match, and was wanted—but not notified—for the Maori match. Subsequently he played finely a t Whangatei, but has now been dropped, though among the provisional representative backs there is not one who has played regularly as a fullback. * * * Changes in Team The selector employs peculiar methods. Keegan, a University frontranker, is another man who has been discarded without a trial. Ruru and Matheson have been dropped from the backs. Woods, the Ponsonby winger, comes in entirely on his merits, but bright is a doubtful acquisition. The introduction of B grade forwards ,in Fletcher (Waitemata) and Fell (City) is commendable, but why others should be dropped for them, without trial, is mystifying. Hinton, who has displayed only average form, and is

certainly not the pick of the Varsity pack, is lucky to retain his place. A Wellington Surprise One of the biggest surprises in Wellington football on Saturday was the defeat of Mar-

ist by Wellington to the tune of 19 points to 3. The biggest share in the victory went to Kilby, last year’s South Island rep. half, who, with a greasy ball, on a wet and muddy ground, converted two out of the three tries scored, and kicked two

penalty goals. The only kick he missed was one from the corner flag. The All Whites Wanganui Collegiate School, which met King’s College last Wednesday, is one of the several New Zealand school teams which turn out in all-white uniforms. Last season the Wanganui School possessed a fine set of forwards, but this season it is relying more on fast and accurate backs. J. Donald, an Aucklander, has proved himself a good scoring wing. In the Wanganui pack last season were W. E. Henley, now at Otago University, and A. Williams, who is at Cambridge University. Both are exceptionally fine forwards, and should win their Varsity Rugby colours. * * * South Canterbury Match In the first matches of the tour the South Canterbury team was defeated by Wellington and Wanganui. Far the best footballer the

district has produced is R. F. Stewart, one of the best forwards of the 1924 team. He, unfortunately, is not touring; nor is Mahan, another leading player. D. Fairbrother, however, is well known, as is A. Lawson, who was a member of the 1925 All

Blacks in New South Wales. He R. F. Stewart was not conspicuously successful, and seems to have lost form this season, as lie*was only picked as emergency for the touring South Canterbury team. « * * Taranaki Traditions The Taranaki forward tradition is still so much alive that the men from the cow country were able to take the honours in the “conditional” shield game against Hawke’s Bay last Wednesday. The match was drawn, but Bay critics agree that their team was inferior on the day. Ward and Walter are a pair of magnificent Taranaki forwards, but Kivell, a 1925 All Black, was unable to play. The Taranaki halfback was Lynskey, who bears a name well-known in Taranaki Rugby.

Yates Comes Back When Nepia was at his prime Norman McKenzie had a great spare fullback in G. Yates, whose powerful kicking was a factor in Hawke’s Bay’s win over Wellington, when the Bay lifted the shield in 1922. After playing second fiddle to Nepia for two or three years, Yates retired, but he has now been persuaded to come out again, and appears to be as sound as ever. Hawke’s Bay has found his services valuable in the recent matches. Burly Maoris IT Wanoa is in the Auckland representatives for the Manawhenua match, which takes place on August 20 (Hawke’s Bay match a week later)

he will probably meet an old schoolmate in Hakaraia. a ponderous native built on the same lines as himself. Both have played for Te Aute College, and Wanoa is one of the best forwards in Auckland, and a great player on a wet ground. He is in the B representatives for Saturday.

Brownlie’s Unlucky Day “Taranaki had mastered the art of tackling M. Brownlie,” says a Hawke’s Bay paper, and proceeds to catalogue the injuries suffered by the Bay idol. An car was torn, nose battered, eye lacerated, and ankle badly bruised. Alas, poor Maurice!

W. Barclay has played wing-forward in recent shield matches. Thus a Southern writer: Baa, Baa, Barclay, Have you any home? No sir, no sir. Hence this Pome