RUGBY RUMINATIONS

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 179, 30 August 1929, Page 12

RUGBY RUMINATIONS

CHAMPIONSHIR TITLES FOR YEAR JWON. ^ DEFEAT IN WAIROA

(Notes by "Scrum.'-')

Playing regularly in a climate that has a huge majority of fine days and on grounds that are usually hard and fast, Hawke's Bay players usually fail tc show their best form when they have to operate if the day is wet and the going is lieavy. This was ill istrated again in Wairoa last Saturday, when Poverty Bay beat Hawke's Bay on a groilnd that was a sea of mud by eight points to tbree The Po"erty Bay men liandled •■be wet ball like champions and Caultuu was in rare kicking form; hoisting; two goals from long range with a ball nke lead. Altogelher, the visitors adapted 'hemselves mucn better to tlie prevailing conditiotis than- the homesters did, and were a little unfortunate not to vin by more. On a dry gro-und a match oetween the two sides wotild pove a great tussle. The lesult vas surprising to Bay fans, who looked to the match witlj opLimism. In addition it was somewhat unique, for it is the first time Pover+y Bay has beaten the full strength of Hawke's Bay on a home ground smce pre-war, days. The weather condit-ions adversely cffected the attendancp, and after its experience with this game it is not 1'kely that the Hawke's Bay Union will repeat 'ts experiment of playing major rep. games away from headquartcrs. A dub game in Napier would have drawn a bigger atten-lance than was on the Uambton Sbuare ground last Saturday. FOOTBALL1NG FAMILIES. Footballing families of renown have been few anJ fa.r between in New Zeaiand, the Brownlies and the Nicholls being practicatiy the only cases of recent years where members of one ilk have ascended to the top flight. Just now, however, more than one family is playing a big part in different gi'ades of Hawke's Bay Rugby. In the Tairiwhiti district teanr, drawn from Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay Maori's, „o play at Wellington on September 11 for the Prince of Wales Cup four Gem-" rnells and two Smiths are included, all toming from Wairoa. In Napier the Keeble clan has a unique record, the eldest boy having represented Hawke's Bay in the senior grade this year. while a younger ediiion has worn ihe provincial jcrsey in junior fixtures, while a still younger lad is one of the primary school representatives. All are forwards. Le Quesne, the Napier High School i'ull-back, bears a weJl-linown football name, lor his elder ^rother is a Waiiarapa represnntative forward, while his father was full-back for Hawke's Bay for many years during the ninet'es. Ruru, the Te Aute three-quarter, is the youngest of a line of footballing Dofhefs, one of whom has represented Auckland, and another Poverty Bay, while Steere, the Hawke's Bay lock, has a brother who is a prominent figure in a county team in England. ♦ 'Ji CHAMPIONSHIPS WON. Ghampionshi,' titles for the year in the various grades have now been determined, H.S.O.B.'s win over M.A.C. iast Saturday giving them the Lane Cup for the senior grade knock-out competition. H.S.ChB. also tvon the cup in 1L:25. T.C.O.B. won the junior grade championship by beating Hastings, this r-eing tlie first occasion that the lads in grey have ascended to such high honours. T.C.O.B. have also won the third grade, wblch they won in 1924 and again last year. The fourth grade cup has gone to Technical College A. This is the first time the collegians have annexed this particular cup, though they liave been on top in the fifth grade on about half a dozen ocCasbrns since the war. ^H.S.O.B, seniors «nre the present liolderg of the Hawke's Bay Challenge Shield, for the champion club 6f Hawke's Bay, having stalled off a chal ienge from Hastings, winners of the senior championship, two weeks ago. Challenges have been received, however, from Waipukurau champions of | the Central Hawke's Bay area, and ] Waipapa, winners of the Wairoa sec- i tion. i

These games are now in the course of arrangement. Hastings have already v on the senior championship, but the Maddison Silver FootbaH still has to be finalised, a relay race remaining to be ruii to determine wliether Napier H.S.O.B. or Cfeltic shall hold the trophy. OLD BOYS WIN AGAIN. By defeating M.A.C. in the final game of the knock-out competition, H.S.O,. took the Lane Cup for the iear, after beating_ Pirates and Hastings in turn. ■ Last week's game was played on a mud-covcred ground and the players did reallv well at times in the matter of handling the ball. Once, .for instance, Old Boys. whose handling is usuallv not of the Aurest sent the breasy Jeather' through eight pajrs of hands before the movement resulted m a try, Tlie feature of the game was Gillespie's performance of scoring "three tries for Old Boys, after notching two Ihe week before against Hastings. The new man has been going the rounds of the positions for Old Boys, and was second five-eighths on Saturday. His second trv was a creditable effort, for, after handling the ball as it passed along the line, he doubled round and appeared outsirift the winger to take the final pass and go over unI'pposed. Once upon^a time it was an essential part of an inside back's play that he should move round behind his other backs to pick up a dropped pass or tackle an interceptorj and, if neither of these things came aoout, to run round outside his wing to make an extra man. Nowadays, however, tlie ruse is seldom worked, even the High School backs, who are generally better drilled as tacticians than most players, failing to exploit it. GAME IN SUB-UNIONS. Earlv in th9 year Napier-fiastings beat Central Hawke's Bay in Napier by seven points to six. Last Saturday, at Waipukurau, the men from down the line wiped off the deficit, beating ivapier-Hastjngs. in a . great game by 14 points to 13. On the same day and ground the Napier primary school representatives won the Ross Shield for the year by defeatinfT Central Hawke's Bay with' ease. The result wa*s mainly due to the prolific scoring of Comer, Grant and Keeble, a handy trio who play in grade games for Pirates flfths. Central Hawke's Bay and Dannevirke, the two unbeaten sub-unions, will meet in Waipukurau to-day. Central Hawke's Bay Rugby made a distmct advance in class last year and has maintained its progress. Two shields will be at s^ake — the Sub-Union Shield, which is rft present lield by Central Hawke's Bay, and the Andrews' Shield, a new trophv presented by the late Mr Andrews, of Dannevirke, for competition arnongst Dannevirke, Central Hawke's Bay and East Coast. Next Saturday a Napier-Hastings team is due to go to Wairoa and play Wairoa in return for the visit paid to Napier by the rivers iders earlier in the year. The Hawke's Bav Dnion is also negotiatiug for a return junior representiitive fixhuro at Masterton- on September 14 The match is being jplayed at the suggest'on of Mr R. M.' Hewjtt, one of the junior selecrs, who, at the .ast meeting of the Rugby TJnion, insinuated that $ie union had not much sympathv with junior football. Thia however. was denied by several other Members. GENERAL NOTES. Falwasser, formerly of Hawke's Bay. is still playmg Rgbv in Auckland, and scored ohree tries recently for Auckland against Thames. • Huxtable, the former Hawke's Bay winger, played for Wellington, against Bush in Pahiatua last Wednesday, with Coman and ' Broderick, who are • Iso well known here/ Hawke's Bay's next representative match will be against Otago in Napier next Wednesday, followed by ihe game with Southland the following Saturday.