Rugby

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1001, 18 June 1930, Page 8

Rugby

*&■—- The Game and its 1 Players*.— %

Dailey’s First Win When “Bill” Dailey, skipper of the Canterbury team to beat the British side last Saturday week, won the toss it was the first time he has done it this season. He must have been saving himself for the big match! A Dark Horse “Auckland critics, at the time the trial teams were selected, - expressed surprise at the inclusion of Lucas, contending that Alunro had far greater claims. Alunro apparently showed good form on Wednesday, yet the 1924 and 1928 All Black is considered by tho selectors the better of the two.” states a Southern scribe. Alunro is probably one*, of those promising young players we have yet to hear of. Beaten in the Scrums Although it won its game with Graf- i ton by a substantial margin on Saturday, Manukau was hopelessly beaten in the set scrums, despite the weight of its pack. Sheddan, behind the magpie scrum, got the ball out cleanly, more often than not, and passed out to his five-eighth line, but there the combination finished. the threequarters failing in nearly every case to get cleanly into action. Fumbled passes were chiefly responsible for the failures. How They Stand The following table shows the present positions of the senior teams: Points. Cli.

Unfortunate Decision An unfortunate mistaken decision by tin? referee on Saturday undoubtedly cost Varsity the game. The writer refers to the penalty kick in front of the posts awarded to Ponsonby. The kick was awarded for offside play by a Varsity forward, but if ever a case of being accidentally offside this was one. The player had the ball kicked right, at him; he could not avoid contact and his involuntary throwing up of his arms was the typical action of a player who is offside and knows it. The fair and proper decision in the circumstances should have been a scrum.

Field Goals Carter, that nippy City five-eighth, seems to have something of a penchant for field goals—or at least for attempting them. In Saturday’s game against College Rifles he scored City’s only points with a well-placed kick in lieu of sending the ball down the line, which was what everyone expected him to do. Heartened by this he had two more shots in the course of the game. The first of these was quite a mighty effort, but the second scarcely left the ground.

Manukau's Close Call Manukau’s game with Grafton on Saturday was much more closely fought than the scores would indicate. Although at one stage of the match tho Onehunga men had a 12 —0 lead, the flukey Grafton side came to with a great dash in the later stages and put on eight points. For a time Manukau was completely rattled and its combination fell to pieces, wild passing and kicking being a feature of the play. ID. Brimblo’s lucky try a few minutes before time clinched the victory for the West Coasters, however, although it appeared that a few minutes’ extra time might have told a different story. Lindsay in the Picture Tho sterling performance put up by Dave Lindsay playing fullback for Otago against the British team last Saturday again reminds one that here also is a fine centre-threequarter. He has a fair turn of speed, is of powerful physique, a great kick and there is probably no better tackier in Hew Zealand. Aucklanders will remember the fin© game he played in this position for Otago here some three years ago. The following year he was picked as a centre to go to South Africa, but on the tour he was used principally as a fullback, in which position, all the world knows, he pevformed valiant service. Alanv would have liked to have seen Lindsay tried oLit in the trials at centre. Good Senior B Men The Wellington Club’s senior team was unfortunate last year, owing* to its best players being transferred, in finishing at the bottom of the championship table. As a result it was relegated to senior B grade following the custom in Wellington. However, the tea*m is almost invincible in that grade this year, having four All Blacks who have stuck by their club. Lance Johnson is captain and Frank Kilby, D. Oliver and H. F. McLean are the other All Blacks. To date the team lias played eight games, won eight and has scored 264 points against eight. This is the first time in the club’s history of 60 years that it has not had a senior team in the competition. It should go up next year, however.

Where Are They?

“Is there no y supplant Porter

>ung: player who could Xo five-eighth who could take the place of Nicholls? Xo fullback as good as Xepia? No halfback as clever as Mill, who is brilliant on attack but not so brilliant on defence (writes a Dunedin critic? “The position is absurd. We have young promising backs all over the

Dominion, but the selectors stick to the veterans. The famous saying l that the next hardest thing to getting into an Australian cricket team is to get out of it again can well be applied to our New Zealand representative Rugby team s.

*Tn his attack upon the selectors, the Dunedin critic is a little unfair. If the Southern writer could produce half a dozen new All Black blacks all worthy of the honour the selectors would no doubt welcome them with open arms. The cold, hard fact is that at the present time New Zealand lias very few promising young backs. Nobody approves the system of life membership in representative teams, but if so-called veterans still prove conclusively that they are the best men available the positions should be theirs until such time as they are displaced by better men. With the representative games, trial games and interisland game there is ample opportunity for young players of promise to prove themselves. The All Black team is not a trying-out place. As a matter of fact, both Porter and Alill were seriously handicapped through the fact of being “veterans,” Porter particularly, after having been dropped from the final trial, winning his way into the team by merit of his outstanding performance against the British team at Wellington. Surely there is no better trial than this.

Twenty Points In By being defeated by Great Britain by 33 points to 9, Otago shares with j Manawhenua the unenviable -distinc- ; tion of having the highest margin of j points scored against a home side dur- j ing the present tour. The British team, naturally, was elated with the victory, but the result should not be taken too seriously as an indication of Britain’s chances in the first Test. Otago, this year, is only a shadow of its former strength and is probably one of the weakest of the major unions, and certainly only a shadow of the Otago team that defeated the Anglo-Welsh team of 1908 by 9to 6. On Saturday morning as many as twenty points were given in by some who were seeking more than a passing interest in the game, an estimate which, unfortunately for Otago, proved to be only too true. A Good Fullback Grammar Old Boys are still without tho services of A. AE Matheson, their ■——mi very reliable full-

\ ei v ifuauio xuuback, who received concussion while playing against Ponsonbv three Saturdays ago. Alatheson has played very good football this sea•ri in a u.-nno on the occasion of his last appearance. His enforced retirement is a

<-v. m. meuneson ureiiiciii ir~ severe loss to the side. Interesting Position The defeat of Technical Old Boys at tho hands of Grammar Old Boys on Saturday had an important bearing on the leadership in the senior competition. Technical has been dis- \ placed in favour of Ponsonby. and i Grammar comes next one point behind Technical. Tho position would have been still more interesting had Varsity succeeded in defeating Ponsonby last Saturday, and at one stage it looked quite a possibility. The position then would have been that Technical would have led with 14 points with Grammar and Ponsonby next with 13 points each. Varsity, with 12 points, would also have been lying handy. Next Saturday Technical will play Ponsonby ancl a, bright game in favour of Ponsonby should result. A Shallow Attack! Varsity’s back division's tactical error of shallow positional play on > attack against Ponsonby on Saturday was largely responsible for the failure of. many of its passing movements. In tho first spell particularly, when the Students’ hookers were heeling the ball back to Rae, the five-eighths, Jenkin and McKay were standing up almost level with the base of the scrum, thus not only cramping their own style, but also that of tho threequarters, leaving Ponies’ backs free man for man to counter tho movements. Deep formation for a fast attacking back line is just as essential as is shallowness of the opposing rearguard as a defensive measure. Had Varsity’s inside backs been playing deeper on Saturday, they would have been at top speed on receiving the ball and consequently AlcKay would have had more opportunities to use his thrusting run. N. Jenkin, at first five-eighths, was standing too far from Rae, allowing himself no opportunity of going with his half in varying movements on the “blind.” 1-Ie was also too l'ond of diving into the ruck. Checked as Varsity’s backs were by the quick tackling Ponies, it was surprising the stab-punt was not exploited; it might have been successful, seeing Fraser, Ponsonby’s fullback, was off colour.

BROWNLIES PLAYING AGAIN IN HAWKE’S BAY RUGBY WING FORWARD DISCOVERY Special to THE SUN NAPIER, Tuesday. Football in this land of frozen meat and wool in the past week or so has been remarkable for tlie number of first-class players who, at the beginning of tho season, stated that it was their intention to give the game best, and who now have found the urge too strong for them to refrain from taking the field again. No fewer than three internationals and one prominent provincial representative were in action on Saturday, their names being H. Strachan, Bert Grenside, and, last but not least, Cyril and Maurice Brownlie. Strachan, a last year’s representative hooker, and Grenside, the big winger who toured Africa with the All Blacks in 1928, were seen in action on Saturday, and showed that they had lost little of their former ability. However, there is some doubt as to whether Grenside will continue to play, as lie says that he has only turned out in order to assist his old club. Hastings, which is short of players owing to injuries. Efforts are being made to persuade him to see out the remainder of this season at least, and it remains to be seen if he will lend an attentive ear to these persuasions.

Both Msurice and Cyril Brownlie played for Wairoa Pirates on Saturday, and apparently their influence was so great that their side was able to account for the hitherto unbeaten Nuhaka team by 11 points to 3. Cyril was responsible for scoring a try, while brother Maurice kicked a penalty goal. Cyril has been picked to represent the Wairoa Sub-Union in a match against Poverty Bay next Saturday, but Maurice is unavailable for the match on account of the all-important fact that he is to celebrate his marriage within the next few days. Much has been written, and still more has been said, about the claims of the several players in the running for selection for the halfback position in the New Zealand, team to meet the British, and it came somewhat as a. sui prise to many when it was learnt llKit J. Mill, formerly of Hawke’s Bay but latterly of Wairarapa, was the favoured one. Had even the staunchest supporters of W. C. Dailey, the Canterbury half, been in Napier on the occasion when the Hawke’s Bay and \\ airarapa teams met in their annual fixture, they would have had to admit that, on that davs’ play at any rate, Mill was as good as he has thim- ‘ and tllat is sa s-ins someUNORTHODOX MOVEMENTS wo J uld S ne’,-h t ,n at K Mi , U - was marvellous to a charge Of A®, layinßr oneself open is no better word toitfwhen ref eSfn| hick C o/everv, £ , H ° WaS In thf and wfrh , t hll ? S * rom start to finish, and v lt.hout a doubt it was his unoithodox movements and their utter Wai X ra e rap e i neSS " hiCh ' von thf da?lor ’’U bas become possessed playe r who has been guilty of that unde 6 !-' _ un , lqu , e , Sil ? of hia ‘ n & his light be™ i,r, " S , e1 ’ , but now that it has . , J ought out of the shadow it is b e . h .?P e t 1 that it will continue to 'min brilliantly and to illuminate the. ", In esent, rather dimmed lustre of , province's Kusby triumph. That i‘.a\ or is i;. Dobson, who came to this

district at the very end of L. st season from Marlborough, and who tills season was played only when required to fill a gap by one of the clubs here. It was subsequently learned that Inst season he had been nominated for -Ml Black honours by the Marlborough j Union, and when the Bay team visited j Gisborne to play Poverty Bay, ho was j picked up at the last minute by Selector N. A. McKenzie to play in the wing- j forward position. So good was his display on that occasion that lie was again chosen to represent the province against Wairarapa, and he finished up the day with the honour of being the best forward on the field to his credit. Although on the rather light side, he made tip for that deficiency by the sliced which he used to great effect in the breaking up of countless Wairarapa attacks. Another virtue so seldom met with in wingforwards is that he is seldom guilty of off-side play, only one penalty being given against him in the course of the whole match for such a breach. In this respect he might earn the approbation of even Mr. James Baxter, manager of the British touring team, whose condenn nation of the wingforward has been so much in the public eye. WAIKATO RUGBY ON THE UP-GRADE AGAIN Special to TUB SUN HAMILTON, Tuesday. With the advance of the Kugby season, the capabilities of players in the Waikato district are becoming more clearly defined, and it is possible in a. measure to sift the wheat front the chaff. Probably the match against Auckland on June 3 gave Waikato a chance it never expected to display powers which have hitherto remained hidden. Auckland was obviously taken aback at the whirlwind tactics of the opposition. It is a great pity that Mitchell, the Hamilton half, is getting past, the zenith of his ability, for he will always bo hard to beat for sheer consistency. His goal-kicking is not dependable, but behind any scrum he is a tower of strength. It is doubtful whether Jack Tuck is up to the standard demanded when he went over the Tasman last year as an All Black. However, Tuck is fit and possesses great speed, and he deserves scrutiny at all events. “Johnny” Hooper, the Frankton skipper, a sound hooker and all-round man, and Wally Bonham, who has been head and shoulders above the rest in every match, are the only two Hamilton forwards the writer fancies for high honours. THOMAS IN FORM Hamilton cannot boost a really crackerjack fullback and it falls to Morrinsville to supply him in the person of Thomas, who gave a faultless exhibition in the representative game and is reported to be playing well with his club team. Thomas is considered by some competent critics to be a better fullback than Butler, the Aucklander, Ills timing is perfect and the defence rarely fails. Storey, the Matamata wingforward, who learned his football at King’s College, would be all that could be sired but for unsteadiness in any passing movements. His speciality is leading loose rushes and destroying attacking movements in the making. Much has been expected from W. H. Carlson, the ex-Wanganui representative, now located at Matamata, but the hopes of the most optimistic have not been fulfilled. His handling is often erratic and will not compensate for otherwise sound play.

NORTH AUCKLAND PREPARES FOR BRITISH TEAM’S VISIT LIKELY REP. PLAYERS Special to TIIE SUN WHANGAREI, Tuesday. The knowledge that the British Rugby team will visit Whangarei to play North Auckland has already set. football fans picking probable players from the northern unions. A fortnight ago the form shown this season by a number of players was touched on. These are regarded as “certainties’* for the northern representatives. The following are players who have shown form which should warrant their inclusion in the team: Guy Nicholls (City), brother of the famous All Black, though not up to New Zealand representative form, has played consistently for the past three or four seasons, and is looked upon as the “brains” of the City team. Doug. Hemi, another member of the City team, has shown himself to be a brilliant winger. Although he was not too sure of himself last season, he has developed a sure pair of hands, and is more than a possibility for the team. “Bunny” Abbot, Old Boys winger, although suffering from a sprained ankle for some time, is recovering now. Undoubtedly he will be one of the men to fill one of the threequarter positions in the coming match. FORWARDS PLENTIFUL

Forwards are plentiful this season and all are of a good calibre. Lionel, of Hikurangi, lias played great football this season, and it will occasion much surprise if he does not get a place : in the northern team. Maungakaramea has produced some good forwards in the past, and it can still boast of two really fine players. Mick and Pat Morrissey have proved themselves to be a pair of first-class hookers. George Kerr looks to have a mortgage on the fullback position unless the selectors unearth something remarkable further north. Kerr has all the qualifications of a good fullback; a good pair of hands, a terrific kick either foot, tons of speed, quickness to seize an opportunity when it presents itself and he is a sure tackier. Litt, of ’Karamea, will have to be considered. A few seasons back he represented the northern unions. He plays a great game on attack or defence, and has speed to burn. TAUPIRI SUB-UNION ORGANISATION OF DISTRICT From Our Own Correspondent TAUPIRI. Tuesday. Mr. F. Harris presided over a representative meeting o£ the Taupiri SubUnion Management Committee on Monday evening. Several important matters were under discussion. Among these was a proposal to adopt the Taranaki system in the Waikato Union. The chairman outlined the principle of the system, a full discussion fol’owing. Ultimately u was decided not to support the proposal, which, while

being beneficial for the best players in I the teams and for Rugby as a whole, i was not in the interests of club foot- I hall, the teams in the sub-union gen- i orally being not strong enough to j i Another important matter was that of school football. As the result of a circular letter to schools in the dis- , trict. suggestions came from several j headmasters. It was resolved to request j the headmaster of Taupiri School to ; convene a meeting of the headmasters : of the district, to discuss the proposal of forming a Primary Schools Rugby j Football Association. A cup would be Vrising out of the discussion on the Taranaki svstem. came a recommendation to the Waikato Union, that toward the end of the season, the union should arrange an inter-sub-union competition. There w'ould be set oil sub-unions involved. It was also decided to try to arrange with Morrinsville for a junior repre- 1 sentativo match on July 1". HURDLES CHAMPION AS WINGFORWARD Special to TUB Si X WELLINGTON. Tuesday. An interesting Kugby recruit in j Wellington this season is Roger Lander, Australian and New Zealand hurdles champion. Lander plays for the Marist team, which is at the head of the championship table. He lias probably set a record by coming from refereeing to play wing-forward. It may be said tli • of the most scrupulously fair wing-forwards in the country, and his tactics would not trouble Air. Baxetr in the least. When his team hooks the ball, which they do often enough. Lander moves out of the way to permit the opposing winger, if he is quick enough, to catch the Marist half in possession. E. T. C. Leys, the Wellington representative and All Black halfback, is reported to have finished his football career. Leys is still in the early twenties and has been very useful to 'Wellington. Last time the All Blacks visited Australia he was cabled for to reinforce the side, this choice having been made at instance of C. G. Porter, win- was very impressed by L»eys’s form in representative games and realised that the half had been unable to do himself justice in the trials owing to an injured knee. Incidentally, Leys’s club. University, after losing its half, who was taken to hopsital with internal injuries, has made a new record by being bottom of the championship table after winning the championship for two successive seasons. Until it met Petone (then leading for the championship) it had not won a match. Yet the University team included five Wellington representatives, three of whom had also been All Blacks.

Ponsonby P. TV. U. 7 — D. 1 A f s Pts 15 Technical O.B Grammar 0.15 University 8 1 7 1 G 3 5 3 1 103 50 3 23 50 104 70 14 3 3 10 Manu kau S 5 3 !»9 OS 10 Training- Col. S 3 5 SI 82 Marist 8 3 5 r>5* 3 04 City . . S 1 7 44 100 G raf ton 1 7 52 1 GO 51 314 College Rifles * s 3 7 T 2