COMMENTS ON THE PLAY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 177, 28 June 1937, Page 5

COMMENTS ON THE PLAY.

FEILDING v. OLD BOYS. AVith a faster sot of backs, and the forwards breaking through well, Bedding held the territorial advantage for the greater portion of their match with Okl Boys. From the scrums the visitors had a feast of the hall, hut AA'aldin, at first five-eighths, was caught in possession on a number of occasions. The Feiklintr rearguard attack departed from orthodox methods on only a few occasions and the spectators failed to see any brilliant exposition of cutting in with hacking up to split the defence open. Instead’, the hall usually travelled along the line and, with the Old Boys backs coming up to meet the attack, many times only a relatively small extent of territory was gained.

Thomas came through to the Feilding backs well when they secured the ball and he frequently proved very troublesome. In addition, Betteridge was usually fairly sound, so kicking the ball through did not add to the effectiveness of the F’eilding attack. In the line-outs the Old Boys backs secured a greater share of the ball. Buick and Bradley had little opportunity of showing their paces. Throughout the match Old Boys failed to settle down to any prolonged period of hard play, whereas the Feilding forwards always gave the impression of ploying rignt out to win. From the scrums their side-row men were quickly away. ’Hie Old Boys backs on numerous occasions were called on to deal with loose rushes which proved very troublesome.

The match lacked highlights. The spectators found their greatest interest in the speedy interchange of position of attacker and defender, but such situations were too few and,-taken on the territorial showing, the visiting side deserved their win. That amounted to only the margin of a converted try. AA’OODA’ILLE’S ILL-LUCK. LEADING PLAYERS INJURED. St. Patrick’s did not require to play the really brilliant football of which they are capable to defeat AYoodville; in fact, had they risen to their best form it would have been a cricket score. The team from through the Gorge were badly handicapped through being without three of their best players, who had been injured, and it was only by their sheer sporting determination that the engagement was kept. In a friendly fixture at the Papatawa school jubilee the previous day E. Halpin was carried off with what appeared to be a broken log.® J. McKinlay sustained a severe knee injury which may put him out of action for the season, and AV. Burlace was less seriously injured. The club is not well stocked with reserves, and some difficulty was found in enlisting recruits, this explaining why the game on Saturday commenced sonic 20 minutes late. H became very obvious in the first few minutes that it was going to be a ease of what margin St. Patrick’s would win by, and when the greens realised the situation they played with morn abandon than would otherwise have been the case.

Early in the second spell AA’oodville played at a further disadvantage through I. Booth, one of their best backs, having to retire injured, and the game was completed with 14 men.

St. Patrick’s, of course, were on top in all departments and, securing the ball from every scrum; the halfback, Edlin, made the best possible use of the opportunities thus provided. He and the Gillespie brothers stood out in the backs, while Powell. E." F’ell and Fowler (the last-named playing his first game of tiie season) were the best forwards.