the rain sodden pitch at the Canidrome on Sunday morning, the Fourth U.S. Marines sprang their second surprise of the} season when they defeated the visiting Japanese Imperial Railways Rugger XV by a goal and two trys (11 points) to a penalty goal (3 points) victory for the Marines who immediately adapted their play to the condi tic of the day, whereas the Japanese, revealing glimpses of brilliance in their attempts at thodox handling movements, persisted in attempting (o get the! hall back when they sli ald have resorted {o punting the ball ahead and making use of forward rushes, such as were successfully ex-plaited by the Marines.
A large crowd turned out to watch the first match of the series to be played by the Japanese, the covered stands at the] Canidrome providing suitable accommodation in view of weather} conditions, The steady drizzle over the previous week had made the pitch very sodden, and the conditions were definitely against handling or going through movements, as the ball was very slippery} and the ground gave the worst possible foothold.
Full credit must go to the Marines for their performance. After the lesson they received from Shanghai the previous week, they showed how quickly they could learn, and their kicking ahead, following up, and of the ball, were outstandingly" good.
Ili a similar manner, their teekling trid marking of the Japanese threes was excellent, the visitors being given very little scope, for they were pounced upon whenever they attempted to. brooke away.
undoubtedly weather conditions played a large part in the Japanese Aefeat, They showed in their few successful handling movements that they are very fast and capable ood things on diy ground. "Unfortunately, instead of emulating the! Marines In their adoption of the forwards game, the Japanese persisted Jin getting the ball back to the threes and, despite the wonderful -hecling a pack, composed at times of only five men, they found the handicap]
the slippery boll, which slowed lup their passing, too much to enable hem to get away before their threes were stopped by their opposite num= ers. inthe Marines earn.
"The match was closely fought, with the Marines meriting thir victory as they held a slight advantage prac
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