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The Spike or Victoria College Review, June 1907

Men's Hockey Match

Men's Hockey Match.

"Let's set our men in order, and issue forth
And bid them battle straight."

—Henry VI.

This gallant struggle was to have taken place at 2.30 p. m. in a field adjoining tennis courts. By that hour the "green" stalwards were ready and displaying their agility in every direction. Some even did their futile best to move ball about on the "field," but it had so obviously been set aside for hay, and showed such promise of a good yield withal, that those whose agricultural instincts were not totally merged in the excitement o the moment respected the owner's evident intentions, and the sanctity of his property, by refraining from trespass. About 3.30 p. m. some of the Auckland appeared, by 4 p. m. Beere and their skipper had arranged for the game to proceed on an adjacent cricket ground, and by 4.30 p. m. posts were erected and the ground marked out sufficiently to make a start—in fact quite an air of bustle pervaded the whole proceedings. Victoria College ranks included several "patriarchs" some of whom are rumoured to have stripped for the last time. If this be so, then it was fitting that after so many stricken fields their hockey careers should at least be ended with success.

The game itself was not a high-class exhibition, as was only to be expected in a first match of the season. During the first spell the green forwards maintained a vigorous bombardment of the Auckland goal, but only two of the many artillerists page 23 found the posts—de la Mare and Prouse. Auckland opened the second spell with a score, Webster being the recording angel, but thereafter a general tired feeling began to creep over the game, relieved towards whistle by Dixon, who "bashed" our third goal through the posts with great accuracy and manifest enthusiasm. Tinley and Speight were probably the best of our opponents, while of our own men the ubiquitous Frog was—just ubiquitous, and gave a fine all-round exhibition of center-half-full-back-forward play.