PROMISING FORM

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 72, 27 April 1929, Page 13

PROMISING FORM

GOOD PERFORMANCES IN EARLY RUGBY. VISIT OF THE BRITISHERS

(Xotes by "Scrum.")

| Form tliat augurs well for the probj able standard oi grade llugby tliis year j v as shown in the opening cliampion-} ahip games last week-end. For tlie: j brst matches of the season players } | wero very iit and teams di>played (|iiito satisfactory combination. Piratos, last year's cliaiii[iioiis. gave l crliaps the liesl displav oi the day in j their matdies with T.C.O.B.. di-play- } ! mg a eoiiiiiicndiible sen-e oi' the value j oi teani work. Forwanls and Imeks | worked well together, pat tieitlarly in j the second spell. A very even set of forwards packed vell in botli the set and loose scrums, and dribbled well in tbe looso. Singlo | piayed a very solid game, and Iveeble, ! Smale and Adams were conspicuous in j the open. j After somoone had given a timely i word to thoso wlio had been upsotting j tliiugs in tlie first spell by lianging . ; on too long. the Black backs ]ilaye«l i j well together. Yates piayed soundly ! ,on botli attaek and defence at first , i live-eiglitlis and Furqnliar and Russell j i were dangerous on tlie wings. Xairn. ' a promoted junior, always got out oi 1 l tvouble at full back. Anstis and foutts | ittied to do too much on their own in j tlio first spell, and McDonald piayed j an oppori nuist's game. * easy win. II.S.O.B. had easy oppo.-ition in a i weakcncd Alarist teani, tliough it has j to be admitted that the Whites also lielded four players who will probably be only juniors. Although they won with case, tho Whites did not sliow tlie combination dtsplayed by Piratcs, and won more througli hrilliiint individualism, although their backing-up was very line, a, inan breaking away always being well supported. South, their captain and centre-rhree-qtiarter, was invaluable to them. B> his lightning elusiveness and ready opportunism he scored one try and ir.ade the openings for at least tliree others. If he can maintain tliis form South should be a. represontative certainty tliis year. Lambie. last year's junior half, stood up to the liard stuff well, and Bradley, tlie High Scliool lio.v, was sound at first fivc-eighth. He showed himself an accurate place kick. Clietwin scored two tries solely Oi rough pace, but on tlie other wing Appleby, a Christ College product, impressed once by tbe way he got into position whenever openings offcred. flolt, also a junior promotion, proved a sclfu.dulgent five-eigliths, and spoilt manv | movemonls bv his failure to food what was a very flect three-quarter line. Wlien tlie vetoran Nenl eomes into the full-back position, and Martin takes a place on the wing H.S.O.B. should have a good back line. Their forwards piayed witli more vigour tlian metbod, suggesting tliat tlie absence of All Black P.tcere. througli injurv lias deprived them of a. leader. Ftewart made a promising delmt as wingforwnrd. the other teams. Of tlie other sides Tech. piayed verv gallantly against Pirates, and were by no means disgraced. Their forward pack is again a light one, but nothing can be saicl against the way it works. Tlie back line executed few concerted movements, but tliere was some pretty handling bouts tliafc developed from open plav, with Elliot, Kelly, and Prebble usually participating. Elliot was the sheet anclier of the Greys. uoing much work 011 both attack and defencc, and Manning piayed soundly at full. Austin took on himself a roving comniission at half, Imt he would do well to loave tliat task to Wolls, who fills the liill very well from his wingu.g position. Marists ncver looked like beating H.S.O.B., but thev stuck to tbe job to tlie end. Wilson, the Xew Zcaland Maori rep. piayed well in tlie tiglit lor tliem, and showed pace for sucli a 'iig man in tbe loose. O'Brien was anoxlier cnnsistcnt toiler. Tbe IMarist- backs were seldom in tlie picture, although Dineon did some good work at full-back. Marists tackling was not verv effective, and tliere was not the dnsh in the forward play tliat Gemmell used to inspire last year. Tho Hawke's Bay represcntative liooker. it is snid. intends to play in liis old distriet. Wairoa, tliis year, along with his All Black names-sake. the britishers. * The announcement during the week

oi the provisional personnel of the British team that is to tour Australia and Xew Zealand next year lias quickoned tlie anticipatory enthusiasm with which that inipurtant Rugby invasiou •s b*iiig popularly rcgarded. Tlie tour will be tlio first by a Home K aiii sineo 19"S and iiulications suggest tliat it is going to rouse tlie 1'ugby teivour oi tliis country even more tinui did tlie 1921 fciiiringboks vi.-it. Tlie Brili.-bcrs will arrive in New Zealand in June of next year and will play 1-5 provincial matches and four tests. Tlie team that has been aniiounced includes nanies already well1j mvii to football fans, tlie veteran English captain Wakefield, and tlie S« otcli three-quarters, Smitli and MacPlierson, being men who liave been in uiternatiorial football for the pasb five yea rs. Xotieeahle ahsenteos from the players named are Stephenson the Irish thvee-qnarter. wlio impressed the 1924 All Blacks as the best back tli8,v met. Cuvc-Smith, tlie fontballing medico. ulio eaptained tlie 1924 English team in Africa and Young, the veteran F.nglRh half-back, who has represented tiie Old ( ountry for many years. The visitors will bo managed on tour bv Mr J. S. Baxter, a former presi(k'lit- of tlio Fuglish Rugby ITnion and one of tbe soleetors of the team. He is oxpeeted to prove very popular 111 ; tliis country. for he is ono of the least : ccnservative of the Home Rugby iciiders aml has all along been one of ihe few to admit that the Dominions have a just claim to representation 011 tlio internatioiial Rugliy Board. rugby parliament. The anntial meeting of delegates of ihe various unions of the Xow Zealand Rugby Union will be lield in Wellington 011 Mav 10, wlien Ihe Bay Union will be represented by Messrs J. AV . Xorrie, X. A. McKenzie and G. A. Maddison. Tlie meeting of tlie Rugby Parliament of tliis country is one of the most lmportant ovents of the year from the point of view of the government of the game and is invariably a gatliering at- which almost all unions are represented and at which almost all Rugby problems are discussed. Tliis year's conference will be especially nriteworthy through the fact that it is expcctccl to mark the inauguration of a ncw systcm of arranging repiesentative matches, providing for a regular sequence of inter-provincial tours, instead of the present cumbersimie systcm, with a famine of games lor one distriet one year and a feast of them for the same distriet the next year. The meeting will also dmcuss protests that have been received from many parts of tbe oountrv that the frequent tours by All Black sides to Australia are interfering undulv with club and representative football. A suggestion that tbe excbange of visits should be biennial will be discussed. lower grade rugby. Lower grade competition matches open in Napier and Hastings to-day subjeet to tlie boys being able to get back from the military camp at Waipukurau in tinie to take the field. An improvement in tlie grading has lcen made in Napier 'this year by the creation of an intermediate grade, which will absorb^ the stronger tliird grade teams and the weaker junior teams. Tliere will thus be junior, intermediate, thircl, i'ourtli and fiftli grade games in Napier, and junior, tliird and fdurth in Hastings. Tho Union enrourages tho lower graders by providing representative matches both at home and away. Messrs F. I'yne, of Napier, and R. M. Iiewitt. of Hastings, have been appointcd the junior representative selectors for the year after satisfactorily I uiscliarging tho duty for many years now. It is expocted that the annual gunie with Wairarapa will eventunte. Alr W. D. Corbett has been appointed tliird grade selector for Napier, by v. liom it is expected games will be piayed against Hastings once or twice during tbe year. Tho Union is again pursuing its roinmendable poliey of encouraging Ihe game as much as possiblo in the rchools hy .making grants of footbnlls to the schools. The Union now has under consideration the question of renewing the monetary grants to subl.n ions for the encouragement of scliool football.