FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1920, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAME, TO-DAY'S FIXTURES, The following are the fixtures for to-day; — CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL. Hawera v. Clifton, at Hawera, Mr. B. Petty. SENIOR. Tukapa v. Okato, at Okato, Mr. D. Johnson. THIRD GRADE. Lepperton v. High School A, at New Plymouth, Mr. W. JiiK'h; Star v. Okato, at Okato, Mr. Larson; Rahotu v. Old Boys, at New Plymouth, Mr. T, Clare. FOURTH GRADE. High School C v. Star, at 2 p.m., Mr. Conoell; High School D v. Technical College at 1.30 p.m., Mr. Day. FIXTURES FOR NEXT WEEK. THURSDAY COMPETITION. SECOND GRADE. Midhirat v. Inglewood, at Midhlrst. SATURDAY COMPETITION. THIRD GRADE. Tukapa v. Rahotu; Clifton v. High School A at Waltara; Star v. Old Boys; High School B v. Okato, at New Plymouth; Lepperton, a bye.

FOURTH GRADE. High School D v. Star; High School C v. Technical College.

REPRESENTATIVE FIXTURES. RESULTS TO DATE. Taranaki (11) v. Wanganul (8). Wellington (20) Taranaki (9). Taranaki' (G) v. Wanganui (0). Taranaki v. South Auckland, a draw. Auckland (9) v. Taranaki (3). Hawke's Bay (8) v. Taranaki (6). Taranaki (14) v. Manawatu (9), B. REPS; Taranaki (12) v. Wairoa Sub-Union (8). FIXTURES ARRANGED. Aug. 11.—v. Hawke's Bay, at Napier (probable) » Aug. 14.—v. Wairarapa, at Carterton. Aug. 18. —v. Manawatu, at Palmerston North. Aug. 21.—v. Wellington, at Wellington. Sept. 2 —v. Auckland, at New Plymouth. THE CUP FINAL. To-day will see the curtain rung down on the senior cup competition in Taranaki, the final between Clifton, winner of the Northern Division, nnd Hawera, wlnnev of the Southern end. taking place at Hawera this afternoon. Of late years, Clifton lias taken an important part, in the decision of the championship,- having been in the final or semi-final on several occasions, hut. the doughty mien of the River Port have just 'failed when it come to the final to bring the Cup up north. This year, however, their enthusiasms art* sanguine of success, and will not. hear of their team being defeated. Members of the club also, while quietly confident of success, are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that desired end. During the past week the»have been engaged In s.eady practice, the whole fifteen having assembled in Waltara. daily for the express purpose, and they intend to do all possible in the field to-day to maintain their unbeaten record, realising as they do that they are up against doughty opponents. The Hawera team too, is aiso confident of success. During the season the club has had to put up some big fights against their opponents, and the various members aro in good form, and determined to put up a big fight to retain the Shield, which they annexed in the final fought out with Stratford last year. The match which will be controlled by Mr. B. Petty, will commence at 245 p.m., and •no doubt a number of enthusiasts from this end will journey to Hawera to witness it. The teaims tre as follows:

CLIFTON. Full-back, S. George; three-quarters, Penniall, G. Taylor, * Goodwin; five-eighths, Coutts, Colnian; half, IC. George; wing forward, J. Taylor; forwards, Cain, P. Fuller, Graham, P. Hicks, McDcvitt, Soffo, Skelton. lIAWERA.

Pull-back, L. Wills; three-fiuartere, H. Wilkinson, J. Robertson, 11. tfreig; five-eighths, W. Kyau, S. Cameron r half, C. Thurston; wing forward, L. Hunt; forwards, N. Paterson, It. Fogarty, H. Day, A. Murphy, A. Spratt O. Murphy, 1). Lavery. Emergency: T. McLaren. THE B YEAM. The" Taranaki B team which played Wairoa Sub-Union at Patea on Saturday, gave a surprisingly good exhibition, considering that the players were quite unfamiliar wltlj each other's play, and, indeed, unfamiliar with each other in many cases until the morning of the match, They entered into the game with a refreshing keenness, both backs ani forwards being out to prove their worth. The footwork of the forwards was' particularly good. Taylor, Spratt (who has recovered from the accident he met with at Patea), and Hum being a splendid trio in this Tespect. Th? backs also did well, going down to the rtahos in great style, whilst their passing was jbove tbo average of that seen at' representative matches lately. „ Walsh, at flve-eigjfhs, though new to the position, dtd well, as did also McKay. Of the three-quarters, WUUnson was the pick, scoring a couple of the tries. Anderson, at full-back, gave n splA ; . did exhibition, in contrast to his vis a-\is. .

For Wairoa, Godfrey and Crompton were >ho pick of the forwards, whilst of the backs, Tangipou, at half, was solid in defence, ar.d got the' ball away well. MoKenna, a!, fiveeighths, hardly showed his best form, this being his first gatme since his injury at Hawera last month. Southcombe and Sullivan were the* pick of the three-quarters.

THE MANAWATU MATCH. Tito Taranaki representatives who have performed so disappointingly of Inte, secured a Pierltorlous win against Manawatu on Thursday, at Stratford. As usual, .Taranaki did not wake up till tho game had been in progress some time, and It looked as if the visitors would hare an easy win, but later, tho Taranaki pack particularly, played a slashing game, and got tho upper hand of their opponents, who, however, kept them extended till the end. The backs did not perform, up to rep. form. There was little combination, but this is not surprising, as owing to 'he exigencies of, the situation, the selector has had to try practically a fresh set of backs. They, however, present possibilities, and with experience, should give a good account themselves. Lynskey, at half, went down solidly, but does not shoot the leather cui smartly, having too great a tendency to crowd into the scrum.

Walsh and Hickey wero playing together, ns five-eighths, the former is very promising, whilst the latter did scone good worjc both in attack and defence, but must learn lo feed his three-quarters. Of the three-quarters, Robertson, at centre, was the pick. Ho is a-great line kick, and is equally good in defenco or attack. His try was a beauty. Wilkinson showed his pace at times, but did not get too many opportunities. R. Hooker, on the other wing, also shaped nicely, and with experience will develop into a good player. Anderson acquitted himself fairly well for his first rep. match at full-back, his pace getting him out of trouble on several occasions.

. Of the forwards, none played tetter than Masters, Fognrty, King nnd Kirell. Jlunt did some good work, hut spoilt it by kicking too hard. Malone, at wing forward, played well, but got off-side at times. Tim Manawalu pack were much lighter thru Taranaki, and stood \\\y well. Dustln, Prown, and Ripgs being prominent in attack. Alai;e. at half, went down in great style lo ihe hefty forward rushes, and also set Ills backs in inot.'Djj repeatedly, but their passing did not. gain much ground, generally being ucnus the field. in ilie flve-eigths, Ryan and Ingham, the team possessors a elerer pair. Ryan, who captainrd the -All Black soldier team in Kngland, being a tower of strength to his team. Of the three-quarters, Ferguson proved very dangerous in attack, being a very speedy customer, quick to seize an opening. This led to his scoring two splendid tries. THE REPRESENTATIVE TEAM. The selector has had considerable trouble in selecting a teawi io make the Hawke's Bay, Wellington trip next week, as so many men are unable to get away owing to injuries or other causes, and quite a number of new men have thus been given opportunities of securing their rrp. caps. Among theso are ft Taylor (Clifton) whom many thought should have Wen in the team previously, and McKay OVaiwate). Three Wairoa, players are also included. The team is practically a South Taranaki one. Taylor being the only ivp of the Northern Division Saturday competition, and Klvell and Masters (Stratford) of thp Thursday competition. One would have liked to have seen R. Oliver, the flva-eleth. IndlmiAd I