FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 27 August 1907, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

MARLBOROI'GII v. GOLDEN BAY. Per Press Association. Nelson, August 26. The football match, Golden Bay versus Marlborough representatives, was played at Takaka ♦o-uay, when the former won by fifteen points to five. The Goiden Bay forwards carried the scrums, and smothered the visiting backs.

TARANAKI v. WELLINGTON TIIE WELLINGTON TEAM. Per Press Association.

Wellington, August 20. The following is the senior representative football team to represent Wellington against Taranaki next Saturday at Wellington: Fullback, G. -Spencer; three quarters, ,1. Ryan, Mitchinson, Anderson; five-eighths, Clean- and Wallace; lulf, Roberts; wins forward, King; forwards, Jord'.n, Ready, Osnorne, Wilson, Rush, Caleinai, J. Spencer.

Writes our Opunnke correspondent:— "At a meeting of the Opunnke Football Club on Saturday night it was resolved to approve of the proposal of the Rugby Union to create a Western Division. It was also decided io call a meeting of delegates of the home union clubs and others interested to arrange about district boundaries, etc. Messrs. O'Meara and Ross wire appointed to represent the Opunake Club.

It is expected tint TTardgraves will be available as Taranaki full-back in the Wellington match. "II Taranaki had lost the Auckland match, instead of lluking' a win by o to 3," asserted a prominent local footballer yesterday, "we would have boju swearing about our beaten pack of forwards. They know nothing. They can't hook the ball. They can't pack a scrum. They wait until the other pack is down solid, and then they're beaten." He paused for breath, and went on: "When the selectors picked the New Zealand team for England, and when the Auckland man picked this year's rep. team, what did they do first ■>. I'll tell you. First of all, they got some good 'hookers.' Then they looked for a good 'lock' man, and that's why old man Cunningham went home. He knew the 'lock' game. Taranaki selectors don't do that. They've got a rule of their own. Our pack was beaten here. It was beaten at Wanganui. I tell you the front of the pack, the 'hookers,' are no good. Our forwards as a whole know nothing." Our reporter, who was listen- , ing, can't remember any more of the discussion.

The football writer of tile Auckland Herald makes the following remarks in his criticism of last Thursday's Auek-land-l'aranaki battle: '"The voung, dashing Auckland forwards played a very line game, and fciis was one of llie features of the; match, the other being the brilliant kicking of Hardgwivcs.who showed such line all-round football when playing fullback for Tarana&i in Auckland last season. The Auckland backs did not show out and failed to take advantage of the openings made by the forwards, otherwise the result "might have been different. On the other hand, the Tarar.aki lucks, whose brilliancy the colony knows., had the brunt of file defence thrown upon them, and they acquitted themselves more than creditably, their versatility enabling them to often turn attack into defence. From what we saw of Hardgraves in Auckland last season and the form he has shown this year it is hard to understand why he has not figured as the colony's representative full back. Aucklanders saw a good deal of the cream of interprovincial football last season, and JTardgreaves proved himself easily the best of fullback*. Auckland and Taranaki have now played 2(1 games, of which Auckland has proved victorious on. six occasions, while three games have been drawn, In two of which there was no score, while each scored three points on the third occasion. BuT this season Taranaki had a Hardgreaves and Auckland had no Duffy, which made the difference between defeat and another draw.