Bright in Patches

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 715, 15 July 1929, Page 6

Bright in Patches

PONSONBY BACKS BEAT MANUKAU

Handled Better in Mud

ALTHOUGH at times the spectators were inclined to regard it more in the light of comedy than serious football the Manukau-Ponsonby Kugby game at Eden Park on Saturday was not entirely devoid of thrills. Hard, slogging forward play was occasionally relieved by bright Hashes of back play which, under the conditions, was quite commendable. No. 1 ground, which had already been well churned up during the progress of the curtain-raiser, was almost a sea of mud. The wet patch in front of the main stand, always a bad spot, was literally a quagmire, and unfortunately for the players it was in that locality that play mostly hovered.

The games had not progressed very far before it became an exceedingly difficult matter to distinguish the jerseys of either side. The players were covered with mud and frequent use bad to be made of a basin of water on the sideline for the purpose of removing the mud from the eyes of halfblinded players. Fortunately the rain which was falling heavily at the start of the game cleared off half-way through the first spell, but by that time the players and referee were thoroughly saturated. Manukau was not up to its usual strength, Falwasser and Brimble being Falwasser, who had decided not to proceed to England for the purpose of jbining up with an English League team, and who had returned from Wellington that morning, was uninterested spectator. Permission was sought for him to play in the match, but the Emergency Committee who considered the question decided that it had no authority to deal with the matter, which no doubt will be decided by the executive this week. Even with a weakened team it was thought that under the conditions that prevailed Manukau would have a sporting chance of beating Ponsonbv. At half-time Ponsonby had scored only one try, and about that there was an element of doubt, R. Hook having knocked the corner flag over as he dived across. But from then on the Ponsonby backs demonstrated their superiority. The handling of their back line was much better, and the speedy wings, R. Hook and McLeod, showed that even in the mud they w>re not unduly hampered. With conditions as they were R. Hook handled remarkably well, his picking up being consistently clean. Lucas was another who experienced little difficulty with the greasy hall, and he suited his play to the conditions with good judgment.. Although it was a forwards* day it was the threequarter line that scored Ponsonby’s 13 points, each notching a try. McLeod’s try, which necessitated his running from over half-way, was a very fine effort in the mud. SOLOMON SHINES Other honours in the back division go to Fraser, who proved a reliable custodian; Cammick, who paved the way for most of Ponsonby’s back movements, and McManus, who got through a great deal of heavy work behind the pack. Solomon was the shining light in the forwards, and he was well supported by Righton and Bunting. In a reorganised back division Turei came up into the Manukau five-eighths line, and although a little too deliberate for this position, on the day he gave a good display, his defensive work being particularly sound. Linden was the pick of the threequarter line, playing his characteristically solid game and tackling very effectively, and Byres, at halfback, was the best of the inside men. McGuire. French and Kahu were the pick of a hard-working pack. Mr. F. Sutherland was the referee.

DRIBBLING THAT COUNTS

VARSITY OVERWHELMS GRAFTON Bustling away from scrum and lineout, breaking through the ruck, ball at toe, Varsity forwards slithered through the slush to pile up 36 points against Grafton on No. 3 ground at Eden Park on Saturday. The driving rainstorm of the preceding three hours had abated, and, as if in ironical protest against the conditions, the glare of fitful gleams of sunshine. on pools of water dotting the ground, almost blinded the players at times. The Varsity players surprised with their wet-day tactics, proving that their forwards are equally at home in the slush as are the backs on a dry ground. It was generally expected that conditions would help Grafton, but the students set a solid pace, dribbling and consistently following up, and never let up until the final whistle, 10 minutes short of full time. Both teams had had enough and Grafton recognised that their task was hopeless.

The Magpies were well beaten in a naturally scrambling game by a superior forward combination, who made speed and good dribbling its match-winning force. Keene, the Varsity rover, was easily the best forward on the ground. lie revelled in the mud. and invariably was in the van. coming through tno ruck or breaking from the line-out. dribbling in great style. He was the soul of the Varsity attack and, although he scored only one try, he paved the way for several oLiters. He also showed up prominently on defence at times. Jenkin and Linton, who scored two tries by consistent following up. were the best of the others.

Bush’s exhibition of goal-kicking was phenomenal. His boot contributed 15 points in penalties and conversions, of Varsity’s total. In the first spell he piloted the sodden, greasy leather over the bar with uncanny accuracy from all sorts of angles. In the second term, however, he missed two attempts to convert. His exposition at fullback handling and kickin was very sound. The students’ backs had little to do on attack, except cover the forwards. Once or twice they swung into action, handling the slippery ball splendidly, though the attacks were fruitless. How Minns, wing threequarter. managed to keep his togs their original colour was a matter for much speculation. He was generally in the centre of trouble, but seemed to be luckier lhan his muddied team-mates.

Grafton strove hard to kee*p down Varsity’s mounting score, but was completely outclassed in the forwards. The Magpies took the field short-

handed, but later had their full quota splashing through the water. Finlayson and Keary were always prominent in the pack, both in the loose and line-out, but lacked support from the other forwards. McKay, at the base of the scrum, gave a game exhibition in face of a superior forward pack, bearing the brunt of the defensive work. Liddle, likewise, did more than his share of saving.

GRAMMAR TRIED HARD

BUT COULDN’T BEAT RIFLES In a game that was hard fought all through Grammar failed to down College Rifles. Toward the end the whites were pressing hard, but solid defence enabled Rifles to break even. Play was naturally confined more or less to forward slogging, and neither set of backs had much say in things, though it was from the backs that each side got its score. Rifles showed itself in good earnest at the start, S. S. Wilson nearly dodging his way over. The movement proved unfortunate, however, for a sudden reversal saw the ball entering a scrum right down at Rifles’ line, from which it travelled out to J. Wilson, who got across in the corner. The kick failed and when half time arrived the score was unaltered. Rifles’ three points came in the third quarter from a penalty before the posts.

S. S. Wilson was best of the Rifles’ backs, playing his usual good game, while Gillespie was safe at fullback whenever there was anything much to do. McGregor, too, was one of the brighter members of the blue rear division. Kirk late in the game received a nasty nock on the nose and had to go off, but his side being shorthanded he pluckily returned. The forwards withstood well a rather heavy Grammar pack, Noakes and Nicholson doing good work. Dodds, excellent at rover, showed up time and again, but the leader of the Rifles foreguard was Stewart, whose scrumming was great and line-out play good. His snowy head was to be seen leading all Rifles* forward rushes. Menzies and S. 'Wilson were the best Grammar backs, Menzies being unlucky on one occasion to get over the line and be brought back for a knock on. Fullback Goodacre, five-eighths Olsen and Gardiner were good, and Corner displayed his usual talent behind the scrum. , L. Knight and Skelton led a pack that had the hotter of most exchanges, while Robertson and Pollock did all that was required of them. Scoring summary;—Grammar three points (unconverted try by J. Wilson). College Rifles, three points (penalty goal kicked by S. S. Wilson).

FIVE POINTS ALL

CITY AND MARIST DRAW On a ground that was even worse than Eden Park No. 1, Marist and City hold an interesting aquatic carnival, which resulted in a draw. The game was played on Eden Park No. 2, which was in many places covered with water. As could only be ■expected, the play was uninteresting, and two well-matched packs paddled about gamely while the backs skidded perilously in trying to run with or after the ball. Marist backs were perhaps the more enterprising, and held the advantage until the last quarter, when the Citv pack repeatedly drove a way to the Tykes’ line. The defence held, however, and the whistle went with Marist the more tired of two exhausted teams. Ono feature of the game was that both tries were converted by kicks that were out of the ordinary. Berridge kicked a goal from wide-out that, even on a fine day, would have been remarkable, but under the conditions was really marvellous. Stuart’s kick for Marist was from a much easier position, but was more of a freak. The ball struck tile upright, there was a moment of doubt, then it slithered round the inside, to drop with a dull plop to the mud below. Marist backs who shone out in the unusual conditions were Smith, Stoupe, Stuart, and Walsh. Hadley was a tiger in the pack, and the mud did not seem to worry him. Cotter and Locke supported him. The best back on the field was Berridge, who directed the City efforts. Karl Ifwerson was absent, and N. Ifwerson filled his place, but not with such conspicuous brilliance. Lockie was sound behind the scrum, and l,i* t.lewood gave a fine display on the wing. Blakey had a busy afternoon at fullback, and stopped rushes well. Mr. J. G. Gasparich was referee.

SENIOR B

MARATHON’S DECISIVE WIN Dribbling, punting and following up were the only possible tactics in the pouring rain, in which Marathon defeated Suburbs by 20 points to 5 on Eden Park on Saturday. The game was very ragged in the forwards. Marathon having the advantage in the speed of its backs, who turned the factor to scoring account. The .Marathon backs developed some good passing movements during the game, the threequarters, Stewart and Sinclair, handling the slippery ball exceptionally well, and figuring prominently in the scoring list with two tries each. Wales, at five-eighths, was prominent in making openings for his threequarters and performed well on defence. Savoury and Elliott were the best of the forwards. Suburbs’ forwards were a hardworking lot. but lacked the combination and speed of the opposing team. They developed one nice movement, which ended in McLeod scoring, Nealy converting with a splendid kick.