FOOTBALL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1169, 4 September 1882, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

A Match was played at Mastertoul on Saturday last between a fifteen picked from the Masterton Club and a combined team of Wairarapa i MaorisV' Considerable interest was taken in this match, as it was the first' inwhichthe Wairarapa Maoris have taken the fieldtigaihsUheir,white .brethren. >wt On stripping,!.it: Was evident that I the 1 iMaoriHwerefarhe'avier,thantheitiopp6nentß, and tlii Ji together .with the foot-that several yery good players were included injtne" team, .while theMaatertoniteamwM'by no means- a first-class one, made the issue seem' L very doubtfuLi: .... »,;-.,-.; ~-i,,-v?,; | 3 j Play commenced at abouU.3o, the Maoris "■ kicking t; off. Masterton'jl although playing one man:short, at. ; ,oncerushed ; ;itildown H 6' their opponouts' end of tho field,; -whei*; 1 after some: good scrimmaging,! Aojera toucfei' idown..in.,?elf:de!'ence.., r Bringing-it out--" the-Maoris made a. vigorous attempt to' return the compliment, Ifetuere and Faulkner' making some splendid ; .runs. l:i Jhe ball, howeYer,!wa? rnshed,do\vn,by the[Magterton men,* who ,l\ad, scored,' another; forcedp\vn■ ;at,t)ie,end of,the;,spell.',,. i', ';,.,' •• ] ■'■■'" 6i Injhe; second spell ,the Natives, relying on thoir superior' strength and weight, kept'' the ball jnscrimmage,as much as L possible. ,i i??W(,vcri igppd .running, '. 1 .dpu.ijiy.lptn side's, Hawke anil,,Wenliam, and Phillip "and' "fillers beijlg'.'parjticularly, nocjceable, .Yery., little"]'advantage; |waß'' .gained by .either silo.,;' i!; >, m- ~• -," '! The Maoris started'the second twenty' minutes with a determined ,rush | .(get''ing within a few yards,of,Mas'teriWs'gaol line! Some very, good scrimmaging took place here, and, Ellcrs made a good run in, i but' ,was called'back.'. The Masterton'men then gradually forced their opponents, back,! and. got the ball in the middle of the field, where W. Perry mado a clear run through! tho .Maori backs and .obtained the'firßt try for Masterton, from which McKenzie kicked an easy goal. 'Tho'Maoris worked very •pluckily after this,.and' at the end of the spell were within' a few yards of the Masterton line. ' , ' ' '.'■

.In the last spell tho play was very rough on both sides, and some good runs were ( made by ( McKenzie andNgatuero. 'When the ball was. about half-way, Morison left tho' aboriginals in the field and journeyed to their goal line, falling over it and scoring' a try. McKenzie took ; the kick, and, although at a very difficult angle, placed the" ball very nicely' between the posts. The Masterton men were placed at, a great .disadvantage in this spell by the. loss of A. Welch, who'retired hurt; but they played with great determination, when time was called were in close proximity to' tlio Native territory .-Game, Masterton 2 goals to nil, '■■■•■■ , •..:

- 'I he match wa3 played in a thorough friendly spirit throughout, the umpire only being appealed to once during the game. The Natives played a hard game, Ellefs, Ngatuere,' Faulkner, and Phillip making some smart runs; while their good forward play and superior weight gave'them a great advantage in lioth loose* and packed scrimmages. The Mastertoh men, however, worked better together, and played a dashing game. Their forward play was very 1 ' good. W. ( Harvey arid McLachlan especially being always on fclje" ball. The back play' of Hawke, \\. Perry; and' Wenham was also very good. We were glad to~see-A. Smith in the field again, and we noticed that although somewhat out of form he played a good g.me, and contributed materially to the success of the Masterton fifteen. Messrs Webster and DcCastro .acted as umpires, and Mr R._ Hatch officiated as timekeeper," The Natives, we predict, will before the" season is over make things very unpleasant for any team opposed to them. Thoy are a splendid body of men, and by no means devoid of pluck; and if, as'wir Maori correspondent informs us, tliey spend their timo playing football instead of tilling the soil, they should be able to turn out teams of men who will, by their proficiency in the game, compensate for want of knowledge on matters agricultural.