St Michaels University School - Black Red and Blue Yearbook (Victoria, British Columbia Canada)

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COLTS AND '135' RUGBY On October 27th the School 135 lbs.1 was at Home to 'Shawni- gan'. Our team was composed largely of last season,s players at this weight. but we still only averaged 121 lbs. per man and the blow of losing Savale within a quarter of an hour virtually lost us the game. The ground was very hard and the pace consequently fast. The loss of the best tackler on the field made it impossible for us to hold our opponents. Failure at half back to get the line going lost us many scoring chances. though we were infinitely better in the back field. At half time we were leading 5-3. through a quick follow up by NIcLeod I. who converted his own try. Little then took over at scrum half and we began to fight back territorially. Johaneson and Coleman worked hard but lacked the weight to carry them over. Skinner, on the wing. proved dangerous whenever he managed to get the ball. A very late try. against the run of the play. gave Shawnigan victory. At Shawnigan. on November 13th. the Colts f12O lbsm showed themselves an extremely promising side and gained a fully-deserved victory in very wet conditions. If conditions had been the guide this game would' have been purely a forward one. but Little, playing a real Captain's part at scrum half, saw to it that the ball got away quickly and cleanly to Pollard II. who settled immediately into what would appear to be his natural position. Our very sure handling of the greasy ball added to Shawnigan's discomfort. and. after a strong start. their line cracked and allowed Price over for Grosskleg to convert from a not too easy angle. Philipsen dislocated a thumb but was very nearly over before leaving the field for good. Then Coleman. though he had been wandering out of position. was in the right place to gather a rolling ball. score and convert. Some uncertain tackling allowed a Shawnigan score and half time arrived 13-3 in our favour. Cn the resumption Clough and Plant I scored quickly and there came a second Shawnigan try. Before the final whistle Little. Pol- lard II and Johaneson ia menace to the opposing halves through his quick breakingu produced some clever passing, and Little and Pollard were both successful. Prominent also were Sanders. who had been well up with the ball throughout the game. and Kissinger. who had hooked efficiently, The score at the end was 22-6. ln the return match iNovember Qelthw against Shawnigan the Colts got away to a shaky start. Realization of their weakness pro- duced some defensive efforts. but a kicking policy meant that many scoring chances went begging. Pollard Il was unaccountably slow at stand off half and was passing before drawing his man. Ross II eventually demonstrated the virtue of straight running. and it was he who opened our account by evading many would-be tacklers and making a well-judged dive for the line. There was insufficient binding when heeling the ball. and though Little got it away smartly the line was not driving through. as the centres were trying to beat their men on the inside Coleman being the chief culpritv. However, Sanders. 24

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POLLARDe-An improved forward. Very slow in the loose. where he has not yet learnt to use his weight to advantage. Yery prominent in the line-out. where his height and excellent hands were well used, A good kick. ROSE-An excellent second row forward. Good in the tight, and though some- what slow in the loose played spirited and determined football. Effective in defence. An honest worker who invariably gave of his best and played the game in the proper spirit. DEARING-Played in the second row and did quite well in the tight. Too slow in the loose, and lacked experience and a sound knowledge of the game. CROFTON-A greatly improved forward especially in the loose, where he was always close to the ball and very robust and determined. Useful in the line-out but rather awkward in the tight. FINDLAY-Lacked experience and a sound knowledge of the game but de- veloped into a fairly useful forward. Defended quite well, but his handling and kicking were weak. DALZIEL-An excellent forward. Handled and kicked badly, but was a tire- less worker in the loose and a magnificent tackle. Played all out from start to finish and was an outstanding member of the side. W.R.G.W. 23

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johaneson and Kissinger were working hard in the pack and we eventually emerged victorious by six points to nil. Cn December ltli the Colts lost to St. George's at Vancouver by I2 points to three. The game was comparatively uninteresting and was marred by spoiling tactics on both sides. lN'e unfortunately tried to meet strength with strength. but their scrum was better than ours. lasted the pace and deserved to earn victory. Inexperience caused Ross II to part with the ball on two occasions when further penetration would likely have brought scores. Pollard H was very slow and was not proving a good kick at stand off half. lncidcntally. he preferred to pass before drawing his man. Little. with the forwards. worked hard all the time and Sanders was prominent. Coleman did much intelligent defensive covering. while Johaneson broke quickly and was a good spoiler. Three tries and a penalty were the St. Gcorge's share. while Little forced his way over for our solitary try. Coleman failing narrowly to convert from a difficult angle. An under 16 match v. Esquimalt High. on january 19th. turned out to be a very scrappy meeting. with plenty of heavy tackling-not always low. Neither side looked a scoring team. but our players. with their wider experience. managed to carry us to victory. For us this was the first game played under the new rules and. since our opponents too lacked knowledge. chiefly of the advantage rule. much hesitant play ensued. Had we opened up the score might have been doubled. As it was-Fisher was fearless. and brought off some fair saving tackles: Cotton was quite a success at stand off half. and Swangard was well up with the play all the time. In a return game. on january 26th. Esquimalt showed great improvement. They ran with determination and. on the play. deserved to win. Our tackling was high and our passing very inaccurate. Little and Johaneson were comparatively good in defence. but Cotton only ran at half speed and Fisher dropped many passes. Rooney I tried very hard on the wing and tackled soundly. but the high packing of the forwards produced sluggish heeling and we were deservedly beaten 5-0. On january 29th the Colts had an easy 429-Ui win over Shawni- gan. and then came their last game. against St. George's at home. The match had been postponed two weeks and by that time the School team had been badly riddled by the prevailing 'flu. Five of the backs and two of the forwards were unable to turn out. and it is greatly to the credit of the '105 lb., replacements that we were able to do so well and by no means to disgrace ourselves. In any case it served a useful purpose that the newcomers should be blooded', under very adverse conditions which included hail and sleet. liVe had come to expect whole-hearted efforts from Little both personally and as Captain. and it was his drive and spirit that nearly 25