OUT DOOR SPORTS

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 152, 11 August 1883, Page 16

OUT DOOR SPORTS

NOTICES. Secretaries of all kinds of Clubs for the promoi\M\Qj out-door sports tcitl confer a favour by communicat%ng any items of interest connected with their sport, game, or pastime ; more especially with respoct to coming events. ' Short, :sTcetches of sporting or pleasure excursions «£R be iseloovM, and questions on aU matters connected with sports will be gladly answered. All communications must be addressed to The Editor. ANSWERS TO COBEESPONDENTS. <Qcery asks : What should bo done -with the ball when it goes out into " touch in goal ?" — Kick off from within the "25 " flags ; the " behind " only counts as a force-down, and the same rule applies. — Shortland (Thames) plays All-comers next Saturday. $JH — The secretary of the Thames Football Club ias been instructed to write to the Auckland Clubs inviting tkem down. —Darby Ryan was terribly wanted on Saturday to do those place - kicks. Why wasn't Webster tried ? He used to be facile princeps at it. —The match, Thames Football Club against Kerikeri Football (natives), resulted, after a hard fought? game, in a win for the T. F. C. by two points, the scores being Thames 9 against Kerikeri -rrThere must hare been between three and four thousand people on the ground at Saturday's match, and yet the gross gates only amounted to £48 odd. No rangers, and rail fences with gaps in them, given aa the reason. The grown man who, to save a shilling, would sneak in that style, must have a heart like a mouse. — The Thames natives are taking great interest in football, and by next season, when they will have learnt more about the rules of the game, they will be able to put a team in the field that will be hard to beat ; as it is, they make a very creditable stand. i The Pickoring-Hulston match, so long talked of, has at length been definitely arranged. I have beard no particulars, but will endeavour to give them next week. lam informed, however, from . Lead-quarters on Hulston's side, that his party are willing and anxious to make thejfiak.6 or bet to the extent of A'soo. . Big talk 1- "what do you think? .. — Showing the healths Interest taken in the approaching . tour of^jrt* footballers, by every Auckland man, wha^fll situated, the following telegram has beejM^H^f rom Mr E. Mitch elson, M.H.R., at pre^^HHaWellington ; — " See that our iootbalkflHHV plenty of exercise and training, jy^j^^HHpre quire to 1 strain every nerve and mgMgHß^^at Wellington team. Tin's team^^HHHjHp^v^bo is phiyin^ y, arc — ifi-^nß^Bj^Hm, nn«! %vii! light a desperate b.iltie witlEHHßmn." —A' special general niesluig of the PorHonb y Howing Club was held at the Club room, Poikonb v Club Hotel, on Monday night. Mi- IBruce Morpeth, captain, occupied thu chair. After v good deal of discussion on various uiattftr >, ll wu» deckled that the ccommitt -t oe of tlio Club do attend to the matter of putting the boats in order as soon as possible, the weather now being quite I suitable for practice rowing. It was also resolved that a committee be formed with the vie« of getting up a concert .in aid of the Club fulids; date of concert and all .particulars to be left in the hands of committee. Mr Morpeth proposed the following as the concert committee, Messrs J. E. Cook, T. Lowrie, Captain Farquhar, D. j Watson, and E. N. R. Forder. The Secretary ' reported that all but four members had paid their subscriptions for the current season, a fact that says mucb for the energy and attention of Mr A. H. Jones, sec. and treasurer. — A very exciting football match was played on Saturday last between the Grammar School and Victoria (North Shore) Eootball Clubs, resulting <* in a victory for the latter by one goal and one try (/points) , to two prys (4 points) . It is much j .to be regretted that the ruling of the umpires ■were not more readily coincided in, as it would ; •aye a great deal of time which is wasted in disputing various points. The play on both sides was very good, but the Victoria forwards would improve their chance of victory if they played a lesß selfish game, and more into each other's hands. Little Kees showed up remarkably well, dribbling and tackling with skill and science. Taiwhai made several grand . rushes, repeatedly getting j past the Victoria forwards ; Lush, Meldrum and Steel also did good service for the school. Those particularly deserving of mention on the Victoria side were Murray and Swinnerton for their dashing forward play ; Diddams, for his good all round play (use a little more head, Harry,) ; and Spraggon, for his smart runs, and the undisputed goal which he kicked faom the try secured by Somerfield. Brett and Farquhar were not up to their uanal mark, nevertheless, they worked hard. Let us hope that when the deciding game is played, the ground will bo properly marked out. — A pigeon match took place at Messrs T. and J. Kelly's farm (better known as the Bachelors' ' House), Mount Albert, at 2 o'clock on Saturday last. TbeWerther being fine, added a great deal ■ to the day V'sjtorfc; There were 40 or 50 spectators on the ground, besides those who took part in the match", whose names were: Messrs Potter, Donovan, Smith, Turk, Simpson, Witheridge, and James. Each man had seven birds. Mr Potter had very bad luck, all his birds flying straight away- Mr Simpson did not come up to expectations. Mr James shot splendidly, killing six birds out of seven, and getting second place. Mr Witheridge also shot well, making the prettiest shot of the day, and getting third -place; 'Mr Donovas| c , the winner, shot well, but had; the, match • If^tec,. in his favour, all of his birds 7 0,ne f ,flyi^^pfther almost straight over his bfead, qr to, ;nis liifc or right. The fol- ) lowing 'were^tbe Bcoreß,^#|)pnAv^n J ,10,; • Ja.m.esjJ 8 j Withoridge, 7;,PM|r, 3.,; Sunpsoi^j^ikh^ 0 j Turk, 4. Dono||n thus winning by two

points. After the match, there being three birds left, a sweepstake was got up in which Simpson and James tied, and there being no more birds they decided to run 100 yds., in which James won by six or seven yards. After the match most of the spectators and competitors adjourned to the residence of Messrs J. and T. Kelly, where they spent a very pleasant hour or two, several of the company rendering songs and recitations. I hear there is another match on the tapis, open to all comers. Particulars of the match can be obtained from either Mr G-. Potter, Mount Albert, or to Mr Chas. Phillips, of Phillips & Sons, Queen-street. - The football match on Saturday, between the selected Fifteen from Tauranga and Katikati, and a representative Fifteen of Auckland, was of a- most interesting character, and was not by any means the soft thing for Auckland that some people seemed to consider it beforehand. Though Auckland won the match, it was only by desperately hard play. Two out of the three tries were got by forwards, the back players being so carefully watched by the visitors. At 3.10 Joe Warbrick kicked off for Tauranga, Henderson having won the toss, and electing to keep the sun at his back, as at that time it was throwing a strong glare in the faces of those defending the southern goal. Warbrick hit the leather such a lick that he kicked it fair over the goal bar, and the ball had to come back. The second attempt was quickly returned by Dave Berry (playing in place of Ryan, who, not having fully recovered the use of his leg, was advised to stand out and rest). The forwards got well under this kick, and a determined 'rush, in which Henderson and Arneil were conspicuous, carried the leather in dangerous proximity to Tauranga's goal-line. Here Tauranga made a desperate stand, playing with great dash, and defending every inch of ground manfully. Whiteside got away twice, but was each time brought down. The scrimmage formed after the second of these was broken through by a strong effort oa the part of the blue-and-whites, and the captain (Mr Henderson), taking the ball on the hop, dashed his weight at the backs and fell in full possession of the ball, scoring first try. The place was entrusted to Leckie, who made a fair kick at it, but not strong enough, the ball falling short, when R. Biggs, following it well up, was withlif an ace of scoring again, had not J^ Wai-brick come to the rescue just in th&-jqtt£f time. However, the navy -blues -could not get the leather clear, so W. Warbrick ran back and touched down, amid • groims froni the crowd. (I forgot to mention that just before the try was got, Jordan made h desperately long shot at Auckland's goal, the ball seeming to rise for quite a space of time ; but it fell just under the bar, only about a foot short. It was a really game kick, and deserved better luck.) I left the ball in Tauranga's goal, and will continue : — J. Warbrick again kicked out, Andy Stewart returning it up the touch-line. A bit of hard struggling on the part of O'Connor, Spencer, Biggs and Henderson tool: the bull ink Tauranga's ""5," -«rhere Whiu^eV •.;<.;. it, .-md, i^km^ t:v, '^VulA-e dash, =l»r:-w l.h.Ulf a|. full ! L.Dglh, sinrl i-Un-'ieJ ifel" L.-i: : duisc!. hoj..n.ig it \lhu!:v '<; ; : buy.d a goo'l i\,:; : i.-10-ir inside I hi.' I ]<■>.■. it was <i.>;.'.' ni ivy verj ti-et, ."r. r ! -^-i i" 1 ---.! I i;jptjrie>-fe<'i Hujej 1 * r-"av urn .-^-v. ■..■)•.•:'. V^hiioI -mC.-'s yi>'l o\" lt H.OT*** f...*?" :-\:h " AH rwM : ! f'oh,"' whoii Wurbriek r!;i.-i}:o.' ncrosn, oud, coolly ! kicking tij« bivll i"Vi!-.'i umir;? YTirileside's hand, I fell o;- it, and claimed the touch as Tauranga'?. One umpire (Mr Cotter) saw the whole thing, and gave it " Auckland's ball." . Mr Macky (umpire for Tauranga) honestly stated that he did not see it owing to the encroachment by the spectators ; and Mr Robinson (the referee) was too far away to be able to decide. In such a case the try should have gone with the decision of the one umpire who saw it, bucked up by the unanimous opinion of a lot of non-contestants. But Mr Henderson declined to insist upon it. Now, while admitting the desirability of showing a friendly and lenient spirit to visitors, and all that sort of thing, 1 would strongly advise our captain not to carry this spirit too far. A try at the commencement of a match may not seem much, but it is an almighty lot at the finish. I fancy I see at Otago or Wellington captain gracefully declining to accept a hard-earned score that his own umpire distinctly rules in correct, and that the others confess ignorance of. There is such a thing as being too chivalrous. Ends were changed after this event, and Whiteside and Davy — who were all the time working into each other's hands splendidly— got good runs, aad passed grandly to ,each other, till Davy, being " slung," threw to Bob, who dodged once, and then dropped an unmistakable goal. But the previous "pass" to the one which gave Whiteaide possession — i.e., his to Davy — was a pass on, and not back, and the umpires were calling 11 Have her back," so a second time poor Bob had hard luck. He made up for it, however, shortly afterwards, getting a grand run along the touch-line, by sheer speed leaving J. Warbrick, Jordan, and Bnodgrass, one at a time, just behind him, and, running fairly round behind the goal, he touched down. Arneil was given this easy chance, but, though he kicked coolly and hard enough, he contrived to " screw " the ball a bit, and did not add to the score. Two tries — one easy as falling off a log, and the other not harder than getting on again — and two regular players (both good kicks) mull 'em. Bak ! Tauranga was now playing up like one man, and rushed the leather fairly up into Auckland's " 25." Here the full-back— A. Stewart— chimed in, and came clear through forwards, half-backs, and three-quarters, till W. Warbrick butted him in the "stumjax" with his head, and, in the language of the great John L. Sullivan, " knocked him out." But his plucky run (pity he is as plow as a Grafton Road 'bus) had averted the danger, and Webster got hold of tfie ball shortly after, made a good short run, and passed to Arneil, who ran to within eight yards of Tauranga's line, where hie was jammed, and turned to " pass," but no one' had backed up, and he had to struggle on into Jordan's arms. Hack off, and the ball comes out to W. Warbrick, who, f'rise in his generation, ran back a spcond time, nd touched her down. It is no breach of rules o do so, but itj don't look a, bit pretty— if you "ask meysnej ihweop^T-^. .ceases to be allowed, the ;bet]jer: &r jijie game »f Rugby^tball. Ends ware again changed, and Tauranga offered a most

determined resistance to the rushes of Auckland's forwards and the runs of Whiteside, Davy, O'Connor, and Webster, and, not content with defence, Tucker, Percy, Tanner, and Joe Warbrick "carried the war into Africa," and repeatedly placed Auckland's goal in danger. Whiteside and Davy were too fast, however, and when on one occasion Jordan made a grand run clear through the homo team, having only A. Stewart to pass, and ho waa right across at the other corner, and would never have headed Jordan, Davy came from thirty yards or so behind him, and, picking him up every stride, collared from behind, and dragged him into touch. It was a grand exhibition of " foot," and won loud applause. During the last spell Biggs, following well up, claimed a try, but for some reason — I could not ascertain what — it was disallowed, and the ball again kicked out. Arneil now showed some grand dribbling, and carried the leather back into Ta&ranga's "25," where Carter secured it, and dashed off at top Bpeed for "touch." He was grabbed by both the Warbricks, but did his " little wriggle round," and got clear, racing fair behind goal and touched down. The "place" was entrusted to Whiteside this time, who, however, only kicked a " poster." How are these things thus ? Shortly after, "No side" was called when the ball was jammed right down on Tauranga's line ; the game thus ending in Auckland's favour by ! three tries (6 points) to nil. That Auckland's play was not up to interprovincial form cannot be gainsaid. It may be that they looked upon the country team as small potatos, and did not play as well as they would have done against a team they were afraid of. Again, J. Warbrick shepherded our runners so successfully as to prevent alone a number of certain tries had almost any other man been there ; while W. Warbrick " rabbited " very successfully ! catching Whiteside in this manner nearly every time he met him. Candidly, without their captain (the elder Warbrick), 1 have little hesitation in saying that our score would have been more than treble That will show how he worked. He is the surest and most reckless tackier I ever saw, the way he dashes at jt-nfriher, being enough to make one's blood ?tiri cold, ami- he nails him every time. He -rksTsed big Tim O'Connor on one occasion, till he judged he was Rear enough, and then " dived " at his legs from behind, bringing the long forward an awful cropper. One great point in favour of the visitors was the pluck a;nd dash they displayed right up to the end. Of £he Auckland players who did play up to maffagtittpn, Harry Davy shone the most, in my "lifl^HK^ showed speed like a horse, and dodgeoHHMp^;?- Whiteside and Jack Websterfclrayfuveli^^he latter fending splendidly ; bulgue alt*/ ruii a )}eap too much for a f-back, an:! ¥a^ eoliured severai^mes dangerously near his ov> n goal line. lia-vefjßH was as cool as a cucumb?" as iuil-bHek, anxP kicked with great judyirentj hh i&nfrere, A. Stewart, also "howiiig k ■■} form. Forward, S-oorgu Cii-'ti'r piiiyjci v game, being see. iiiing] v v biq [bit o\; -.<. A r i >i!> : dribbled splendidly, ■ '.rid run .". hci hn ■•(ii a i0 .j show — the only time :■>. >'Y>rw ani should ri. ... Biggs was always after r.no buii ; in fact ho unsn. hit :oo eager sometimes. :!••-! hcai'k'd it. D v i- lie is a very good consistent ijiiryrr, urn."; :t mco cl; ib'.li-r. worthy a place in an •It!- KlfUTcl i'.i'ieen. Tlm> captain (Henderson) pl-.jv.. h .--.telling forward game, and was always on the ball. lam not alone in the opinion that he is showing better form this year than he ever did in his life 'nefore. Spencer played hard, but tries to pick iip too often when a dribble would be much more likely to come off ; still, he is just the sort of boy we want at Dunedin to hold up the centre while the halfs get a show. O'Consor I am rather disappointed with ; he has not continued to improve as he promised to do. When he used to go in heart and soul for middle man in scrummages, he was a tower of strength to his side ; but now he hangs on the wings far too much, and seems to get distressed earlier than he did formerly. His place is right in the centre of the " scrum," and I trust >he won't forget it. Croiton did a lot of collaring and some honest " drib.," but he appeared a bit soft yet. Lecky ] ditto. I did not single out any new talent among ■ the visitors which would be good enough to put ! out any of our own "probables." i