In a game that was full of interest and excitement at the Race Course yesterday afternoon a better balanced Tung Wen "A" XV had by far the better of a Club "A" side and defeated their hosts by the large margin of seventeen points (one goal, one penalty goal and three tries) to five (one goal). The Japanese put into the field the majority of the players who are likely to represent the college in the 1941-1942 season and the team as a whole turned in a very fine-performance. Many of the players were inexperienced but it speaks volumes for the coaching of the Tung Wen players when it is said that their handling and passing was almost up to the standard of the first fifteen. Through-cut the encounter the Japanese showed their superiority in their play out-ide the scrum and while their forwards were rarely inferior to their hosts, their backs were definitely superior to their opponents.
The Club tackling was never good and too many high tackles resulted in the Japanese engineering huge holes in a very poor defence. Wheeler, Boyd and Chapman put in a lot of herd work in the pack for the losers but their good work was offset by the poor defensive measures of the outsides all of whom, apart from Knight, were inclined to go too high and buy dummies.
The Club caused a surprise in the first five minutes when Knight scored under the posts for Chadwick to kick a goal after Edwards had done well in outwitting the Japanese defence h his kicking ahead. Boyd, who is likely to be one of the best forwards in Shanghai when he makes up his mind not to get offside so often, was responsible for the try as he made the opening that Edwards and Knight carried on to fruition, The Japanese came back with a bang however and in the ninth minute Kageyama secured a bouncing ball efter Inoue had taken a penalty from the thirty yards mark and scored under the posts. The resulting kick hit the post and failed. The Japanese maintained their relentless pressure until the interval and a minute before half-time Uchiyama secured on the right wing and went over after a twenty yards' run. Chadwick being at fault with a poor tackle. The kick failed.
After the interval the Japanese had by far the better of the play, their smart handling and generally better idea of the game causing the Club defence to be continually at sixes and evens. In the first minute Suzuki scored from under the posts following a penalty awarded against the Club for off-side while in the sixth minute Baba scored far out following a nice movement among the Tung Wen Backs.
There after the Japanese were always dangerous and they came close o scoring on several occasions but inability to finish off their movements proved disastrous. Chadwick came close for the Club twice with a drop end a penalty but on the whole the Japanese were by far more lively than their bigger opponents and they made the most of their opportunities to go through the Club defence. Uchiyama scored the final try which Suzuki converted when the former dummied his way through a bewildered defence io place the ball under the posts after a delightful run of ds. Thereafter the Japanese maintained their attack but no further scoring was seen.
Tung Wen yama, Oshita, Kageyama, Baba; Inoue, Huraya; Maki, Matsuzuki, Kondo, Hin Nakamura, Okomoto- Uchibori, Suzuki. Edwards, Knight, Club Bloomfield; Wilson, Hodgman, Ennifer, Chapman, Seaby, de Franck, Wheeler Snd Boyd. Referee: Mr. Hickson.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.