Bush's captaincy played big part in Auckland's win over Southland - rugby- 1936.....

Auckland's D. Solomon breaks clear and about to pass to A. Beyer, Auckland full back.

The week after Southland had taken the trip north to play against Otago for the Ranfurly Shield, returning home with a loss,  they faced who were on tour.  The Auckland touring team defeated Southland 19-16 in a bright display of open and fast rugby.
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Southland had every chance to win, in fact Auckland's tries came directly from mistakes made by the Southland backs.
In the second half the Southland forwards were all over Auckland but they could not capitalise and were unlucky the result was not a draw.
The teams were:
Southland:  M. Hamilton, Alex Sutherland, R. Sharp, N. A. Mitchell, C. Calder, A. W. Wesney, J. Mattingly, W. Sherriff, C. Soper, L. V. George, R. Ward, S. Purdue, N. R. Irwin, T. Metcalf, Andrew Sutherland.
Auckland:  A. Beyer, A. Fletcher, R.G. Bush, K. Byerley, L. Curtayne, D. Solomon, 
E. Moyle, J. Bond, W. E. Hadley, C. S. Pepper, Drake, August, Cooper, Butler, F. Solomon, Frankham.
A crowd of 4,000 attended the game with A. Adams (West Coast) and W. J. Pearson (Dunedin), the South Island and New Zealand selectors, amongst the crowd.
Mitchell opened the scoring with a great side line run - converted by Wesney.
Southland were the dominant team, until Mitchell went from the field with an injury and the team was down to 14 players.  His opposite managed to score a try against the run of play before the replacement came on.
Bush was the best all round back on the field and his generalship played a big part in Auckland's win.
K. Byerley was the  best of the wings and for a young player he shaped very well, and the only mistake that could be tacked on him, was his failure to tackle Mitchell in the first minutes of the game.
Frankham who came on for E. Moyle at half back, looked like a first class player, he was not well served by J. Purdue at the base of the scrum.  Beyer at full back and Curtayne at first five eight were both sound.
Alex Sutherland for Southland showed plenty of dash and resourcefulness. C. Calder handled well and linked up with Wesney better than expected.
M. Hamilton at full back kicked well but was indecisive at times which led to Auckland scoring a try.
The run of play......
J. Purdue worked the short side for Mitchell, who was held up, but managed to break free, dummied and got past two defenders.  Beyer dived at Mitchells legs and broke his run three yards from the line but managed to get over the line. Try.
Wesney converted.
Drake sent out a wild pass, collected by Sharp, ran 20 yards, altercation with Mitchell, who left the field.  Bush kicked a judicious short ball bouncing favourably for Byerley who raced over unapposed.  Try.
Hamilton fumbled a ground kick, was swamped by Auckland forwards, August gathered up spilt ball and fell over under the posts. Try.  Bush goaled.


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Alex Sutherland (Southland) tries to toe the ball ahead.  Right - M. Hamilton (Southland) full back goes down to stop an Auckland rush.  Andrew Sutherland (Southland) in support.