FOOTBALL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 283, 27 May 1912, Page 8

FOOTBALL

WELLINGTON GAMES. .■ ,J3y 'Telegraph—Press Association. j i Wellington, Last Night, j! There was splendid weather for out- : door sports yesterday. The senior Rugby games resulted as follows:—! Oriental beat Athletic by 4 points to : nil, Petone beat Victoria College by 44 points to nil, Melrose beat St. James by 9 points to 3, Wellington beat Southern by 5 points to 3. WANGANUI v. TARANAKI. Wanganui, Last Night. The following have been selected to represent Wanganui against Taranaki on June 3, at Wanganui:—Coutts, L. Meuli, Tilyard, Anderson, Collier, F. Meuli, Atkins, W. Dustin, Leahy, Cuningham, Takarangi, Tansey, Batley, Lynch, and Caldwell. ROVERS G v. FITZROY 6. This match, played on the Western Park on Saturday, did not attract many spectators, but those who did attend found much to interest them, as the play was fast and open and contained many exciting passages. The Fitzroy team has much improved since its initial match, and Rovers, who were playing a man short, had all their time cut out in preventing the heavier team from adding to their score. Fitzroy had all the better of the first spell, when they played with the ?un in their eyes, but in the second s,, 11 matters were much more even. of the Fitzroy forwards are Inclined to put in too much boot, and one or two were rather lucky to escape the referee's eye. Rovers had the best of the opening, and from a mark right in front of the goal Webster had a shot, but failed to negotiate the uprights. Fitzroy shook things up, and Bellringer and Koupu heading a forward rush saw play in Rovers' 25. Here Koru essayed to pot a goal, but the ball did not rise and Newell forced. From the kick-off Grant Brothers secured and set up a passing rush, but the collaring of the native backs was very effective. I Give and take play ensued until a bad pass by a native back gave lan Grant an opening, but he was unlucky enough to over-run the ball. The Blues now threw the ball about, the leather passing through several hands, and kept Rovers on the defence, but Newell proved equal to the occasion, and a nippy run by lan Grant, aided by a useful kick by Thompson, removed play to neutral territory. Young Skipper obtained possession, and with a dodgy run beat several opponents, but, touching the referee, a scrum resulted. From this, Bpllringer, Munga, Koupu and J. Skipper broke away and carried the ball over the line, where Newell forced. Thompson again saved with a beautiful kick, but off-side play by Brown nullified ;the effect. A little later over-eagerness on the part of a native player gave a nice opening, but Webster and Grant were unable to get up in time, and Tutai saved on the line, almost breaking his collarbone in the effort. The Blues came again, and a' clever mark by Grant relieved an awkward situation. From a scrambling rush Koupu got over, scoring first Mood, though he appeared to bo off-side. Kahu failed to convert. Thompson, Mulloy, Ellis and Quilliam headed a Rover forward rush, but Tonga returned well, and , faulty play by Newell nearly let tlie Blues increase their score. A* force resulted. The next few moments were devoted to an. interchange of kicks, until Kahu secured and put in a tricky run, I in which he jumped over several opponents, being ultimately grassed by Thompson. Grant, Thompson, and Web--1 ster executed some pretty passing, but the collaring was deadly, and naif-time saw Rovers still three points to the bad.' The score was equalised within two 1 minutes of resumption, as a forward rush headed by Mulloy, Ellis, Martin and Thompson culminated in a scrum near Fitzroy's line. From this the latter obtained a free kick, and lan Grant securing put in a strong dodgy run, and beating the opposition scored. Webster again failed to kick a goal. From the kick-off J. Skipper gathered up the ball and reached his opponents' territory before he was pulled to earth by Reid, and a long luck by Newell put the ball out at half-way. Offside play gave Ell'* two shots at goal, but both were feeb' \ attempts. Give and take play followed, the Blues collaring with such vim as to neutralise the Rovers' passing rushes, though Grant had hard luck in slipping on one occasion. Rovers, however, were having the advantage and forced their opponents on two occasions. From a centre kick by Thompson Skipper secured and carried the ball well down the, field. Fast play, however, brought it back, and a high kick over the line by Eric Grant, well followed up, saw lan Grant robbed of a try by the bounce of the ball, a force resulting. Grant also got slightly hurt in the mix-up. A powerful forward rush by the Blues brought the ball back to Rovers' territory, where an infringement gave Rovers relief, and touch was found at the 25. Bellringer was too anxious, and throwing the ball in before the teams had lined up gave Grant an opening, from which a score nearly resulted, but Tutai snved. Reid then got his backs moving, and Thompson. Webster; and Grant (2) threw the leather about, hut to no advantage, arid a hard kick enabled Fitzroy to force. Carroll next put in a nice run. only to be downed by Thompson, and a counter Rover movement was only checked by Martin marking under the posts. A glaring piece of offside play by Bellringer gave Thompson a shot, and, making no mistake, Rovers' total I was raised to six. With eleven minutes to go the Blues forced matters, and Skipper, with a strong run, beat several opponents, who went too high for him. He, however, lost the hall and Bellringer with a nice kick found touch at the corner. From a scrum immediately after Bellringer got over equalising the score . just on time. The try was not converted. Mr. J. Johnson was referee. STAR 8 v. OKATO 3.

. Star notched another victory on Saturday, defeating Okato after the hardest match they have played in New Plymouth this season. As in previous matches their forwards proved a tower of strength, and their backs, though they were not seen to advantage in the first spell, engineered some nice

passing rushes in the second. Okato's forwards are a very heavy lot, and gave the' Star vanguard all they could do to hold them, but their backs were, on the whole, disappointing. At the -commencement of tlie iramc, McAllum. secured and passed out, but the rush straggled across the field, gaining little ground. Another rush which followed soon after was also spoilt, Packard passing wildly. Okato forwards were ihav[ing the best of the game, continually breaking through the scrums and forcing Star hack. Star forwards made several ineffectual attempts to gain ground. Charters, whose dribbling was a treat to watch, several times broke away, but was unsupported. A free kick for offside play relieved Star at an opportune moment, but from a line-out Malone secured and passed to Rua, who nearly scored in the corner. Star were now being penned under their goal line, their forwards seeming to be entirely at a loss. Hawkins, who played wing forward, was badly missed from his proper place in the pack. The game was not open enough, though certainly the Star i-acks did nothing brilliant when they did get the ball. The play at this stage was uninteresting, Okato keeping Star penned. A forward ru3h headed by Hawkins looked dangerous, but offside play spoilt the opportunity, and j Okato were back again. Charters, hall at toe, continually broke a%vay, but I otherwise the. Star forwards were too , well held to do much, the Okato forwards carrying all before them. Julian finally secured and scored in the corner by good following up. Star backs initiated one rush from an opening made by Gleeson at half, but little ground was gained, and the first spell ended: Okato 3, Star 0.

In the second spell Star livened up, and from a mark Hawkins made a fine attempt at goal. Star backs initiated a passing rush, but a likely opportunity was lost, McAllum sending a bad pass to Dewar, and Okato took play back to half-way, where McAllum stopped an Okato rush with a good mark. Star now came on at a great rate, and their backs were not to be denied, and after throwing the ball about freely McAllum scored after a tine run. Hawkins made no mistake with the kick. The game then became very willing. Star opened up considerably and their forwards showed to better advantage. The Blacks came down with rush after rush, and McAllum marked under Okato's goal, but Hawkins could not get the hall over. It was now Okato's turn to be confined to their own territory, and Gleeson, at half, secured and pased to Greatbatch, who transferred to Goudie, the latter scoring in the corner. Hawkins failed with the kick. Star kept Okato pressed till Carey relieved with a spendid kick, which McAllum, however, returned, and Star were back again. Okato forwards, headed by Andrews, broke away, taking the leather right under Stars' goal, where a scrum ensued, from which the Black vanguard, headed by Hawkins and Dewar, broke away with a dangerous rush. •Give and take play followed. Okato made a futile attempt at a pot. the ball falling short, and Greatbatch relieved. Alternate rushes by each side [now provided plenty of interest. From a scrum at half-way Greatbatch secured and broke away, supported by McAllum and Packard. He passed to Packard, but the latter, who had a clear run, slipped and fell, and the opportunity was lost. Okato forwards now looked dangerous, and Pike, at full-back, hard pressed, passed wildly, and the ball was snapped up by an Okato player, who broke through the Star vanguard, but was grassed by Greatbatch before he could get into his stride. The whistle sounding found the score unaltered. Mr. 0. West was referee.

The Waimate Rugby football team will play a representative Taranaki fifteen at New Plymouth on Thursday, June 6, during the Winter Show week.