The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER IS, 1911.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3325, 18 September 1911, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER IS, 1911.

Ranfurly Shield b< Match. t\

The chief topic in local athletic circles x >-day is bound to !' the match ber'ecn Poverty Bay and Auckland for the Ra.nfurly Shield on Saturday last. It will be seen: that Auckland won, by a comfortable margin, but Poverty Bay though beaten were certainly not disgraced. The team which represented Auckland, it must be borne in mind, had proved, itself to be by far the strongest ctcimbination. in the Dominioini this season. As a matter of fact, the Auckland representatives had just returned from a triumphant tour embracing matches against Taranalu, Wellington, Otagoi and Canterbury. Poverty Bay, however, did not meet t team that had been {knocked about in

the. course of. a strenluous campaign. Without much difficulty the Auc'kknd touring team;, we are told, had won. match after match all along the line. Surely that was a noteworthy record P It was indeed practically the same team that vanquished Taranaki that

Poverty Bay was 1 required to meet. Not only would, it be trained to the minute, but as the result of the tour it must have had a great deal of combination.. There can be no doubt also that ia addition, to the 1 circumstance that the Shield was at stake, Auckland, w view orf the,: r fine per form anc es in the South, would f-e-1 duty bound to give as good a showing as possible before a. large crowd of their own supporters. And what happened? Poverty Bay were leading by 4 points to 3 a.t the end of the first spell! Surely this is a sufficient answer to any “crmkeis” who may have doubted the wisdom of Poverty Bay issuing a challenge for the Shield? For seme reason or another, however, our local representatives -appear to. have become demoralised for a time in the course cf the second spell. Auckland, it may be sure, was not slow ro take advantage of the “rot” which set in. When we next glance at the score it stands: Auckland 24 points, Poverty Bay 4 points. r J.he deadly Auckland vanguard had been at work. Hereabouts, we feel, lies the lesson of the contest so f-ar%as Poverty Bay is concerned. If this district is to reach the top cf the Rugby tree we- must have- a heavier, stron.gr, and faster jet of representative forwards. Behind such a pack as Auckland was able o call to her aid 1 the Poverty Bay backs, we are assured, would have made things very much, more interesting—for Auckland—on. Saturday. As it was Poverty Bay, in the concluding stages of the battle, added two tries to their total, whilst the Auckland aggregate was enhanced by cnly one try, which, however, happened to be converted. We join in the congratulations which •are being showered' upon the local representatives, and trust that as a result of the shewing which they made, this district may be spurred to greater things in--regard to the national game of Rugby.