ISPELLING the illusion that only the wet ground and a "forwards" game would enable them to win their first big match of the season, the Shanghai Rugby Union Football Club Ist XV opened up the game in the second half of their match with the Royal Welch Fusitiers yesterday to turn the tide of attack and go on to win by a goal (5*points) to a try (3 points) after being down by a try up to the last ten minutes.
Not that the forwards were one whit behind the outsides in earning the victory, but the ground was not Wet enough to earn success by keeping the bell in the tight, and wheeling and taking it with the pack as tried in the first half did not prove wholly successful. It may also have been the determined resistance put up by the Welch forwards~who played an equally good game as the Club pack—which led to the change of tactics in the sec-and half, While the change of tactics may be seid to have brought about the Club victory, the forwards were more in the limelight than the outsides. and despite the success of the last ten minutes, considerable improvement will be needed to bring the three-quarter line up to the standard as previously attained by Ist XV's of the Club.
Welch Miss Chanees The Welch were unlucky not to have scored more often in the first half. as they had considerably more territorial advantage, and on one Occasion at least, only A. G. White's good tackling saved the Club from having a bigger score put up against them, When the advantage gradually changed, and play slowly moved from an even basis to favour the Club as it did towards the end, the local team was better able to seize upon the opportunities offered them.
The Club forwards were again able io confirm the good things predicted of them, but yesterday they met with some very stubborn resistance from their opposite numbers in the Welch pack. In contrast to their undoubted superiority of the previous week, the local forwards were shoved as well as they could shove. The hooking was very evenly split, and Burford could only get his fair share of the ball from, the set serums.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.