RUGBY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 408, 17 July 1928, Page 11

RUGBY

SOUTH AUCKLAND The scores in the Pukekohe-Waiuku 1 h give a fair indication of the crits of the two fifteens. The gam« ovided the spectators with some good football The visitors from Waiuku ho wed a marked improvement on the Previous Saturday, when they met vanukau on their own ground and defeated badly. Both teams battled hard, but only one or e rould be registered for each side, Ke* McNaughton securing Waiuku’s three points and Cooke obtaining Pukekohe’s quota. The South Auckland team will make its debut against Auckland B on Saturday next. The fifteen has been carefully chosen, and should make a creditable showing. Combination may prove an obstacle, as there are few of the team who have played together previously. One of the 1926 Maori Ail Blacks, Xikora, will be playing at fullback, while Barclay, the “skipper” of the same native team, is to be centrethreequarter. Freeman, an ex-Varsity man, and Matheson, formerly of ari Auckland club, fill tho other places in the threequarter line. J. Wood, the well-known Pukekohe exponent of the code, and Peters, a Maori, Franklin’s star back, are chosen as five-eightlis. Kobinson, Manukau’s scrum-half and captain of the Hunua Club, will be behind the scrum. Franklin will be represented by Baker, who has been selected as wingforward. The hookers are Fulton, Pukekohe, and Wootten, Bombay, both clean heelers. Morrow', an ex-Mata-rnata rep., and Short, who played for Ponsonby last season, are the back row men. The supports are Keary, captain of the Waiuku fifteen, and an ex-city player of not 3, and Bell, the outstanding Franklin forward. The scrum will be locked by Harvey, of Waiuku, a player of no small staturg. The emergencies are Findlay son and Cossey, stars of the Waikare and Manukau teams respectively. The forward reserves includ€> J. R. Massey, a former member of King’s College ilrst fifteen, and McNaughton, of Waiuku. Saturday saw the South Auckland inter-sub-union competitions advanced a further stage. A coincidence was that the two senior, and the one junior game, each resulted in a draw. At Pukekohe, Waiuku and Pukekohe drew with a score of 3-all, while at Papakura the Manukau and the Franklin fifteens each compiled lb points. The junior competition opened at Tuakau, where a drawn game was played by Franklin and Pukekohe, the score being three-all. “A tip-top match!” was the general consensus of opinion regarding the Manukau-Franklin senior fixture. The Manukau forwards proved harder than anticipated, and the packmen acquitted themselves in a creditable fashion. Of the visiting team, Bell and the Dromgool brothers were the outstanding forwards. Baker, the wing-forward also played well. The backs, although not above reproach, were good. On the day’s performance, Clarke and Wilson were Manukau’s best backs, while Short was the outstanding forward, with F. Heard, wing-forward, very prominent. PUKEKOHE The Pukekohe Sub-union’s Pollock Cup competition was continued on Saturday by players who were not participating in representative games Ramblers beat White Star, 5-3, Page scoring and Fausett converting for thi' winners, and McCormick kicking a penalty for the Stars. Patumahoe defaulted to Power Board, and the playoff is between Ramblers and Power Board. HAMILTON Alarist fell easy victims to City in the senior contest for the Sage Cup on Saturday. Both in defence and attack the City men were on the alert and took toll heavily with Clemett’s two tries, Allen and Schultz one each and a convertion by Going. In the second half the Marist pack crumpled completely and only staved off substantial defeat by sound kicking at the laght moment. The final score was 1 -3. The senior game between Technical Old Boys and Frankton was more interesting and kept excitement at a high pitch. The ball was difficult to handle in the opening stages through heavy rain. The defeat of Frankton by 7 points to 6 provided a surprise for the fans. Scorers for Frankton were:—Skelton and A. L. Park an unconverted try each, while Technical’s score comprised a goal-kick from St. George’s boot and a try by Bowler. MORRINSVILLE Although four of the best players tvere away with the Waikato touring team on Saturday, the Morrinsville l nion went on with the final of the Marshall Cup competition. Kereone had a runaway victory over Terriers. What is expected to be the match of the season will be played at Morrinsyme next Saturday, when Morrinsville '* l^ ers ) and Matamata will meet in a Finlay Cup game. Matamata are reputed to be stronger this season, and as Morrinsville have several of tu Glr best men on the injured list, tnere is a possibility of the trophy again changing hands. Since last season the Waikato Union has decreed inat the holders shall not have the right r° re '?ballenge during the season. So ar this season Morrinsville have upnem challenges by the Waipa and Cambridge representatives. n the senior match against Kereo on Saturday, K. Campbell, ne Morrinsville wing-threequarter, grained some leg ligaments. ITe may e out of next Saturday’s big game. MATAMATA \'»°od game was witnessed between - utamata and Cambridge for the Boy'ce bv P ? n Saturday, Cambridge winning points to three. Matamata thi.v below form, but at no time did t * S "P W the combination of the visic * " B °y ce Cup was given for amongst the junior repreentatives of Waikato by Boyce Bros., r^\™ d * e some four years ago. K nt , nd^ e were the original holders. t u , os * Jt to Matamata, who have held roplly for the best part of three hav« *s' During that period there ,f en annual challenges from PuSn ridgC ’ M °rrinsville, Waipa and teams. on JL reS , Ults of the senior club games th 6 t^ Urday Practically eliminate all ion the exception of Waltheir at f rere - Owing to a replay derpa k , st match having been orteam< y ***? Waikato Union the two t'virp Rationed will have to meet charon? . win will give Walton the a nni2+ OI i? wher eas Patetere, being draw tn be b ir »d. require a win and a A Ti *° ain the honours, the S PTU I tUne befell Kaungaiti, one of Petitinn° r teams in the Matamata coin - Which*?’ on Saturday. Raungaiti, had a h • com P ose<: l entirely of Maoris, and arranged a match with the *ontlf- A lari?e mixed party made lorrv and on the return the Av aitoa aP \? Zed be tween Waihou and of thr* ni Mrs * Wharawara, wife of one ber of * r , ayers ’ was killed, and a memies. e Party received minor injur-

horthland. tativ© *t? y ° f Rugby represen - th« -S? Journeyed to Kaeo and 23 ♦ ft ?? grarwa representatives by upon the l ° wv, The match was Played tne Whangaroa Union’s new

ground on the Waiare Road, the gate receipts of £2O being a record. The game was of an open nature, Whangaroa getting the ball in the scrums during the first quarter. The Bay was successful during the remainder of the game, Spring setting his backs going frequently. They treated the spectators to some magnificent bouts of passing. The visiting forwards were not so good in the loose. For the winners, Paki Matene’s long kicking was most effective in finding the line. He kicked two penalty goals, one hitting the bo.r and rolling over to score, and goalmg a try with Repia, who scored two tries, C. Brown, W. Davies, Amos, and Spring, all played well. Cherrington (two tries) played a good game at rover. King, Cook, R. Edmonds, Whittaker, were the pick of the forwards. For the losers, B. Moselen (two tries) and B. Warnington played good games, but Warnington would have done better work in his old position as rover instead of five-eighth. R. Moselen, as rover, was too quick round the scrum, and was penalised accordingly, thus allowing the visitors to collect two penalty goals. The three Herberts were the best of the forwards. Morgan kicked a penalty goal. Mr. Grant (Mangonui) ably refered. 3? AERO A With the defeat of Piako by Paeroa and the defeat of Plains by Waihi, the result at the end of the first round of tlie 1< rank Poland Cup leaves Paeroa, Hauraki Plains and Waihi with honours even. The Thames Valley Junior Sharebrokers’ Cup competition has been won by Waihi, with Paeroa runners-up. The competition was limited to one round. In the Paeroa Rugby Union competition the finals in the senior and junior grades—Suburbs v. West in each case —is being held up owing to the heavy representative programme. The following will represent Paeroa in the matches versus Tauranga, at Tauranga, on Saturday: Seniors.—Rare, McQuarters, Lockett, Smart, Mcßae (captain), Masters, Neild, Hamilton, Morrow, South by, Frost, Fitch, Poland, Johnson, Watene. Emergencies: Boyer, Taylor, Moloney, backs; Duncan, Neil, Tahu, forwards. Juniors.—Rackham, Potter, Poland, Rare, Mead, Morrison, Tremain, Taylor, Flatt, Smith, Carrick, Ashcroft, Slyfield (captain), Robinson, Killgour. Emergencies: Hale, Masters, Handley, Pennell. THAMES Thames Rugby players visited Tauranga in force last Saturday, four teams making the journey. Some 330 supporters accompanied the teams on the day excursion by rail, and had six hours in the picturesque seaport town. The Thames-Tauranga representative game was won.by the better team. Tauranga played crisper and brighter

football than its opponents. Each side scored a try apiece, and, Tauranga converting, won the match by two points. Thames was severely handicapped by the loss of its fullback, “Ned” Winder, who retired early in the second quarter with an injured knee. The junior rep. game between fifteens of the same unions was won by Thames by 9 points to 0. The high schools of Thames and Tauranga also tried conclusions, and the game ended in a draw —3 points each. The Thames primary schools elect were soundly trounced by the Tauranga scholars, the score being 23 to 0. B. Harrison, the Thames centrethreequarter, is playing good football and his try on Saturday was a fine effort. He is sound on defence, and always there to receive his pass. Leo. White, the threequarter winger, is the most promising back in the Thames district. This lad is as plucky as the best, and would tackle a railway engine. At Tauranga lie played a fine game, and the way he pretended he had bought the “dummie” was heady. It saved a try. T. Dufty played his usual safe game at five-eighth. His line-kicking and defensive work are his strong points, but he is always there to take a hand in attack. F. Moran, the other winger, never seems to get a chance. He is starved for the ball, and yet he is the most dangerous scorer the Thames team possesses. Feed Moran and tries will come. The Thames halves feed their backs only from the scrum, and never throw the ball out in the loose. A good half is badly needed. A. Lomas is back into form again, and always bears his full share of the forward work. He is playing up to the standard that gained his All Black jersey. J. Strange is the bustling-get-there type of a forward, and is always where the ball is. He would gain a place in any rep team, and is a hard man to stop when near the line. “Darkie” Abraham battles his way through the thickest scramble. He works hard in the “tight,” and is conspicuous in the loose. M. Hayward played a great game on Saturday. He is back to form, and was in the thick of the fray all the time. W. Percy, W. Pollock and “Darkie” Smith are grafters from start to finish.. They can always be depended upon t.o do their full share of the hard work that comes to a forward. TAUMARUNUI. Playing at Taumarunui on Saturday, Manunui Seniors defeated Taumarunui Seniors by 9 to 6. The Athletic v. Tokaanua match was cancelled owing to impassable roads. The Retaruke Sub-Union (unregistered) has included the Raurimu Club under its banner, and a. representative match with Raetihi will be played in the near future. HAURAKI PLAINS Waihi had its first win on the Hauraki Plains in the many years of the Frank Poland Memorial Cup competition, and Hauraki Plains lost its first match of the season when the two teams met at Ngatea on Saturday last. Both teams were weaker than usual, but the game was a fine exhibition. In the first half it appeared that Plains would run over the visitors, for a score was secured by Dobbs in the first few moments, and the Plains team was on the attack most of the time. A score by Williams and a goal from a mark by Catlin gave Plains a lead of nine points. Thinking the game was safe, Plains eased up and a passing rush enabled Garvie to score for Waihi. Berryman converted. In the second half Waihi was the better team, particularly in the backs. Plains forced several times, and twice

J had to kick the ball to the dead ball line. Waihi backs scored from a fine passing rush and soon after added the ! winning points with a free-kick. TE AWAMUTU The senior game. United v. Te Awamutu, played at Albert Park on Saturday, attracted a fair amount of interest. Te Awamutu was without the services of four of its best players, but despite this fact the team made a good game of it, the forwards especially so. United’s chance lay in getting the ball out to its backs, and some good passing was witnessed. United won by 11 points to 0. BAY OF ISLANDS. The junior fixtures were concluded on Saturday, when Kaikohe visited Kawakawa and beat them by three points to nil, D. Morrish scoring the winning try. The Kaikohe team now hold the Edgar Smith Memorial Shield. The Okaihau team journeyed to Oliaeawai to sustain its challenge for the Pearson Cup, and was beaten by nine points to three. The Oliaeawai third grade team travelled to Kaikohe to contest for the Eisenhut Cup, and was beaten by ten points to nil. DARGAVILLE Local Rugby competitions were continued on Saturday under perfect weather conditions at Rugby Park, Dargaville. Pukehuia seniors defeated Tangowaliine by six points to nil. Dargaville seniors had an easy victory over Southern at Te Kopuru, winning by 15 points to 0. By its latest victory Pukehuia still maintains the lead for championship honours. Dargaville is four points behind, with one game to go. Pukehuia’s “hat trick” —Southern, Dargaville and Tangowahine defeated in succession. The combination of both teams, in the Pukehuia-Tangowahine match, was poor, which tended to make the play far below senior standard. J. Sowter and Wade were the best of Puke’s backs, and both showed up in much good work. The forwards were a fairly even lot. For Tangowahine, Simonson was the outstanding back, and his fine tactics had the opposition thinking. Martin also played well in the backs, while M. Rika and Oldfield were the best of the forwards. OHAKUNE The senior fixture at the showgrounds on Saturday was between United and Junction. There was a fair attendance of spectators for such a stormy day. Junction turned out in the. first half with only 13 men, with tho result that United found several loopholes in the defence and put up a good score. In the second half, however, Junction fielded a full team, and play altered considerably, Junction having the better part of the play. LEAGUE * HAMILTON Hamilton accounted for Taupiri to the tune of 15 points to 12 in the big League game at Hinemoa Park on Saturday. The game was rather dull, the work of the local backs being far below standard. Everest enabled Hines to score the first try for Hamilton. Hill converted. Cronin for Taupiri turned the tables shortly afterwards. Other Taupiri scorers were Sherlock and Jackways. Hogg dived over for Hamilton. Throughout the game Hill, the local player, distinguished himself with fine kicking. His goal-kick near the end was one of the prettiest seen for a long while at local League headquarters. HUNTLY. No excuses can be advanced for Huntly in being defeated in its match with Ngaruawahia, for the latter was the better team on the day, and their success can be attributed to good hooking, and the backs throwing the ball about. It certainly was a delightful match to watch, and a brilliant display of the code. Mr. Arthur Harlock refereed, and had a busy afternoon for tho oval traversed quickly all over the ground on Saturday last. Tittleton played a great game for the winners at fullback, while Williams and Hail were very solid, and these three materially assisted the riversiders to victory. Daley played a hard game, and Menzies was out on his own in front, and it was he, by his good play in “landing the goods” fVom the Huntly hookers, that enabled the backs to get busy. Whenever the Huntly men got the ball, Smith was quickly pounced on, and he got few opportunities to let Rayner. Paki. and Co. away. The Huntly backs, however, were nothing to write home about on the day. “Brownie” Paki was a tower of strength, however, and kept his end up among the rear division. Jones played well, too, but Timms was the “kingpin” of the front rankers with Mason. The former was the best forward on the ground, and is probably the most consistent* forward playing the code in the province to-day. The margin of points was small, 5 points to 3 —a try for Huntly, and a try and a penalty goal by Ngaruawahia (Dwen and Hall). Huntly League juniors upended Ngaruawahia by 11 points to 3 in a game that at times was not strictly League code. Attrill, Knight and Whorskey were the scorers, Knight converting one, while A. Smith scored for the losers. The latter’s fullback. Hill, saved the situation often, and he was their best back. Wallbank was also reliable, while of the forwards Hamblin was a solid toiler and Smith perhaps the best, fo,r he was in everything. The winners’ backs were a pretty even lot. Whorskey doing his work like a tradesman, but Knight is inclined to be selfish. Knapper, McNeil and Bozzad in that order were the best of the vanguard. SOCCER HAMILTON Local Soccer fans were provided with some snappy performances in the round ball game at Seddon Park on Saturday. Pukemiro journeyed south and beat their old rivals, Wanderers, by 3 points to 2. The game was fairly even, although the visitors’ kicking gained advantages by its accuracy. OKAIHAU. The second Soccer match to be played in the district eventuated on Saturday last, when, at Okaihau, the home side beat Waimate North, 7 —l. Beare. Marshall, Caldwell, and Magee goaled for the victors. J. Ross pinyed the best game on the field. HUNTLY Huntly defeated Glen Massey by 5 points to 8 on Saturday. For the winners Arthur Hall was perhaps the pick of the forwards, who were a very even lot, with none outstanding. Hall also netted a brace, Liddle, Deakin and Kmmerson one each, making the tally five. J. Hedley received a nasty knock on the ankle and was practically a cripple for the best part of the play. The Rev. Hindmarsh, in goal, gave a finished dispVy, the fullbacks being also steady with Hunter the best of the halves. The Railways v. Pukemiro match was scheduled for Saturday last at Pukemiro, and the home team was on the ground ready but the transport men failed to appear for the second time. If the Railways did not intend playing, as a matter of courtesy their opponents might have been advised to that effect. The referee has to travel from Huntly to Pukemiro, while residents of Pukemiro have to walk two miles over the famous “Gentle Annie” Hill to reach the ground, Supporters