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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0126.PDF
There was one respect in which the play of both sides gave great satisfaction, and that was the tackling. It was hard, low, and sure ; and the forwards, particularly the Navy forwards, took their full share of it. This in itself made good three-quarter play difficult. Over and over again the centre three-quarters found it impossible to make headway, and so the ball merely travelled across the field with a back- wards inclination, until it came to the opposite touchline. Massey for the Air Force, and Lee for the Navy, on several occasions made gallant efforts to run straight, but usually they were not backed up and, when parting with the ball became a necessity, found no friend at hand to relieve them of the precious burden. There were bright exceptions, however, of which by far the most brilliant was the one Air Force try seven minutes after the start. Then, for once, the Air Force combination worked like the valves of a Rolls- Royce engine, and led us to expect that we were going to witness a glorious Air Force victory. The game was so fast, and incident succeeded incident with such lightning rapidity, that a chronological history of it is not an easy task. After the two teams had been presented to Prince George, the Navy kicked off towards the north goal at 3 p.m. Sladen attempted a break-through for the Navy. FEBRUARY 24, 1927 On changing over, the Navy went off with a rush. On< movement was stopped when Kennedy was forced inti touch, but there was a series of scrums on the Air Forct line, which ended in the Air Force touching down. Tlu relief thus gained was nullified by another punt into Sellar' hands. There was some scrambling play in the Air Force 25 and finally Lee after a fine jinking run scored far out oi the left. Luddington failed with the kick, and so the score- were now equal at 3 points all. Play continued for a time in the Air Force half of the ground, but it was pretty equal, and not much was to be made of the territorial argument. Then the Air Force forwards put in one of the best bits of combined footwork which was seen that day. But the play ranged to and fro. Hale-Munro cleared several times in good style, and Massey had a determined run in which he got up and went on after being fairly grassed by a low tackle. But with 20 minutes still to go, Hale-Munro was rather badly injured in the back when stopping a Navy rush. He was carried off and laid on the straw at the side, while Chick took his place at full back. After five minutes, Hale-Munro returned, and promptly put in a useful kick, though limping very badly. About this time the Navy might have been very dangerous m m [" FLIGHT " Phjtograph R.A.F. v. Navy : The R.A.F. fail to convert their one try. w. * but a rush by the Air Force forwards, in which O'Malley put in a useful dribble, took the ball back to the Navy's 25. A scrum was formed on the west side of the ground, and Russell, getting the ball from the heel, whipped out a pass to Bryson on the Air Force right wing. Bryson went hard down the touchline, and when he had drawn the defence he passed inwards to Hodder. The latter in his turn drew the defence and then returned with beautiful judgment and accuracy to Bryson. The wing man now found his path open and dropped over the line for the first try. It was as beautiful a piece of combined work as has ever been seen. Maxwell failed with the kick. A good deal of up-and-down play followed, in which the Navy kept the ball mostly in Air Force territory, and Wood, who was playing with plaster and a scrum-cap on his head, had several runs and showed that he needed sound tackling. He always got it. Husson, the Navy scrum half, got kicked on the head, which did not make his passing any less wild than it was before. Russell then opened-up a movement to the left which looked promising, but Massey's pass to Harvey was not a good one, and the latter dropped it. The Air Force forwards then set up an attack, but a free kick to the Navy changed the complexion of affairs, while two minutes later a Navy attack was likewise nullified by a free kick to the Air Force. Then came a series of scrums on the Air Force line, and when a punt ought to have brought relief it dropped straight into Sellar's hands, with the result that the Air Force line was harder beset than before. At last Russell got the ball out to Bryson, who tried a punt across, with the natural and inevitable result that the Navy resumed their attack. But the Air Force defence was adequate, and the half-time whistle brought them welcome relief. Air Force 3 points Navy Nil. had not the passing among their outsides been so execrable. Lee showed great ability in gathering the most impossible passes, but the Air Force tackling was too sound to permit such feats to become really dangerous. Harvey, about this time, received a number of passes from Russell, and strove hard to make good use of them. But Luddington always seemed to reach him about the same time as the ball : and when that Master Armourer has plastered himself firmly round the centre of an opponent's anatomy, the said opponent always finds progress extremely difficult. Massey was guilty of another kick into Sellar's hands with the usual consequences, but a minute later distinguished himself by a good run down the centre all on his lonesome. But the Navy forwards were now asserting superiority, and were rushing with some effect. O'Malley tried to clear with a kick, but drove ^ the ball into his opponents instead of over them. The Navy dribbled over the line, and then, of course, Hale-Mum >'s lameness was most unfortunate. Crick won the race for "Jit ball and got the touch down, with Harry up to make assurance doubly sure. The try was gained well in the centre, and Sellar placed the goal with accuracy. Navy Air Force 8 points. 3 points. Four more minutes of play remained, in which the Force made heroic efforts to equalize. They were helped two free kicks, but faulty passing among their outades sp whatever chances they might have had. So ended a rattling good game, in which players spectators were kept on the tenterhooks of excitement f the kick-off to the final whistle. F. A. DE V. 1 by •ill ml 106
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