The Alleynian, December 1920
 

Football.


Dulwich v. St. Paul’s.

Played away. Result:—Dulwich, 6 goals, 4 tries; St. Paul’s, 2 tries.

There had been rain all the morning, but at a quarter to three the sun shone brightly, and we had the luck to start playing with our backs to it. St. Paul’s kicked off. Hill returning well: and from a scrum near half-way Addison got the ball and nipped through on the blind side. His cross-kick on reaching the back had so much more kick than cross about it that St. Paul’s were able to touch down. This occurred two minutes after the start, and it was evident to the discerning eye even at this early point of the game that, if we could get the ball out, we were pretty sure to run up a good score.

For some minutes the game remained near half-way, until the St. Paul’s forwards started a rush which nearly reached our line, where Joubert, picking up neatly, made a brilliant run right through to the back. Scrums followed in the St. Paul’s twenty-five, Thomas and Roberts doing good work. Hill made a good save, and a movement among our three-quarters on the left took Horsford almost to the line. From a scrum inside the twenty-five, Thomas set the three-quarters going: and after Mills and Cazalet had handled, Horsford galloped in behind the posts. Time, 2.58. Joubert, no doubt with the best motives, foozled the kick. Dulwich, 3 points.

A kick for off-side to St. Paul’s put them in our twenty-five soon after the re-start; and their forwards, rushing well, reached our line. Horsford, however, broke through to near half-way, where Addison made a splendid tackle. Meston showed up in the loose, but some wild passing among our outsides forced Joubert to touch down. Another free kick against us for foot-up found touch in our twenty-five, and they pressed until Faletti relieved with a long punt; after which our forwards, headed by Bryant and Campbell, reached half-way. Addison broke up another Pauline movement with a great tackle, which led to scrummaging in our thirty-five. Here Cazalet got the ball from Mills, and passed at exactly the right moment to Horsford, who, with a splendid burst of speed, outpaced his wing and the back and scored between the posts. Joubert again failed to add what are slangily termed the major points, the result being, as we need scarcely inform mathematicians among our readers, that we were now 6 points up. Time, 3.9.

Two forward rushes, one by St. Paul’s, the other by Smith, Goodwin, and Hill, kept things moving until, from a scrum in our thirty-five, the St. Paul’s outsides reached our line. Here Joubert picked up and broke through splendidly to half-way, where he kicked. Addison, following up, tackled the back, and there were scrums in their twenty-five. Addison got off, but stepped into touch: and a long punt by the St. Paul’s back found touch at half-way. Then Cazalet, who was playing a great game, made a beautiful individual effort, cutting clean through to the back. He might have scored himself, but by passing to Hill, who had backed up, he made the try a certainty. Hill got the ball in a clear field near the twenty-five line, and ran in. Joubert converted. Time, 3.16. Dulwich, 11 points.

We might have got another try shortly after this, when Addison, after a clever run, cross-kicked, and Kendle gathered. It looked as though Kendle would have scored if he had gone on himself, but he was working on the right lines in passing to Smith. Smith, however, was too near the back to get away, and was tackled. Another forward rush, with Goodwin and Meston conspicuous, led to St. Paul’s touching down. The ball came back to half-way, where Addison made a fine run and would certainly have scored but for putting an inch of boot in touch just when he was almost through. Half-time came with our forwards pressing.

As has been our invariable custom this year, we showed much-improved form immediately after half-time. Our forwards are willing performers, but they seem to need about thirty-five minutes to settle down. Roberts started us off well with a good run into the St. Paul’s twenty-five. Their forwards rushed to forty yards, and then Thomas had the ball out to Faletti, who punted neatly over the back’s head. Horsford sprinted strongly and gathered well, and, just keeping clear of touch, got in behind the posts. An excellent bit of work. Time, 3.31. Joubert converted. Dulwich, 16.

Our forwards were now well together, and rushed the St. Paul’s thirty-yard line. The St. Paul’s forwards, wheeling the scrum, got away right down the field; and it was here that Joubert definitely established himself as one of the great figures of the age. Your ordinary full back, with a platoon of hefty athletes charging down on him with the ball at their toes, would have considered that all that was demanded of him was to precipitate himself on the egg and remain there till kicked off by willing boots. A decent save would have met the situation capitally. Joubert scorned such tame measures. He picked the ball neatly off the toe of the leading forward, swerved sharply, and began to thread his way through. At least seven men might have tackled him, but he dodged them all, and wound up one of the best individual efforts we have ever seen by crossing the line and scoring. It was as good a run as a historic one made by C. N. Lowe years ago on the same ground. The kick failed. Time, 3.36. Dulwich, 19 points.

Two minutes later, after an exchange of kicks, Addison picked up in our twenty-five and scored with a genuine Addisonian run which left the defence nowhere. He just touched the ground in odd spots here and there along the touch-line, and finished up behind the posts. Time, 3.38. Joubert converted. Dulwich, 24.

Thomas, who was showing a good deal of espieglerie and je-ne-sais-quoi about this time, almost got through with a dribble; and Addison was tackled near the line after taking a good pass from Faletti. St. Paul’s got back to our twenty-five, but near our line Addison took another pass from Faletti, and this time ran the whole length of the ground and scored again. Joubert converted. Time, 3.47. Dulwich, 29.

A certain monotony had now crept into the game, but this was relieved in the next five minutes by some excellent work by the St. Paul’s forwards, who, though now one short owing to an injury to one of their men, had never stopped playing up. They were rewarded by scoring two capital tries within two minutes of each other, both by forward rushes. Each, we thought, might have been stopped by our forwards, if they had come round, but they seemed to have eased off for the moment. To the second of these tries some shocking work by our outsides contributed largely. It was probably the result of the success we had had through chucking the ball about that led first Thomas and then Mills to attempt passes from impossible positions. The ball trickled along the ground, and the St. Paul’s forwards dribbled it over the line. The kicks failed in both cases. Time, 3.52. Dulwich, 29; St. Paul’s, 6.

The St. Paul’s rally never looked like lasting, and directly after their second try the game became one-sided again. Hill opened with a good dribble: and, after the St. Paul’s forwards had been let through to our twenty-five by one more wild pass, Joubert picked up and did his second big individual performance, running clean through and scoring in the corner. Time, 3.55. The kick failed. Dulwich, 32; St. Paul’s, 6.

Smith and Bryant were conspicuous in the loose directly after this, the latter making a long dribble and the former, after dribbling on, picking-up and reaching the line, where he was just brought down before he could score. A free kick to us in their twenty-five went wide, and they touched down. From the drop-out Cazalet got the ball near the left touch-line, and cutting round to the right made a nice opening for Addison. Addison reached the back, and repassed to Cazalet, who ran in. A very neat piece of work. Time, 4 o’clock. Joubert converted. Dulwich, 37; St. Paul’s, 6.

With five minutes to go, St. Paul’s played up hard, and reached our line. Meston did some good work here, and presently our outsides were off again, Addison running through to the St. Paul’s twenty-five. Here the ball came out to Cazalet, who, when within five yards of the line, whipped out a well-judged pass to Horsford, who stepped over for his fourth try. Joubert converted, and the whistle blew for no-side. Dulwich, 42; St. Paul’s, 6.

P. G. Wodehouse.