FOOTBALL,

NOTES BY FORWARD.

Of the various matches playod on Saturday afternoon, tho one between tho Montecillo and High School First Fiftcenu attracted moot at tention. The High Sahool having made siuh a good fight of it apftiußt; tin Piratra a few Saturdays bofovo, foolballors ware naourally cnriouH to sea tho stylo of play (ha boyi would show ngainsfc Moni'-ecillo. To moat people (ho pame was rather diunj pointing, 'hough 10 do tho Bchoril justipo thoy fought a hiwd, up hill psuno vory jiUukily from (ho t'fmmecc^inent It wiiß eurprieiug to Re« I hem frequently Jjr.Jd ir.g f heir own in (!n parked ncruirmaj»ep. but in th'i 100-o ones lliry R.neraliy %f,nt. nl] to [dp.ces Ia th j fiif^fc hpelt tb<>y did not have co couch the worst uf tho g.ime, but after halftime thoy were gradual. y worn down by the

fast Montecillo forwards One rhtng that tmrprisod mo \viw the high cotlrM'insf "f fhe b.iyj Thi.« in not iißually n fault with boy-t, but ifc wm o*l S<stu ? 'day. No«l scored twice, and from one of tho trio--, Skifreh placed a snlondid g.it! T'^o M^ntpcillo teratn tiiU3 won iba ma'cb b: 7 poisiU to nil

Oa the CiJedonnii gmunde tho match bs-rw-'ori the Pirafccn *.nd 7A<w,n Y.:n\, Fifteens required in a wia f<J r i.'m iovmzv l .y r. goal r,nd a try to nothing. I h,v, .:« v:A ,ncn the m^tch r^pocti,d in any cf Iho papers. Moore, oi Oamaru, played for tha ZiDgari. He has a good reputkUon but diit not do much in this match.

The Dunedin Second had an enjoyable trip on Saturday to Mo-giel, whera they inflicted a signal deifaat on tho T<Hi>ri Second. Thoir total score was 1 pjoal and U trios, or 11 points to nothing. Taieri started with 13 men, but scon tilled up their ranks. Dunedin had all tho best of it in the firat spoil, gutting over their opponent' 3 line throe times. In tha second spell tha Taieri man showed up well, and panned thnir opponents in dangerous quarters till Cook, Slobr, M'Lymoni;, Burn, and Asquith came to the rescue, and tho firstnamed gained a try, from which Montgomery placed a splendid goal Cutten, M'Lymont, and Cook gained tha tries for Dunedin. For tho Taiori Smoaton, Smith, Wyllies, and the Allans did Home very hard work.

In the match, Kaikorai First v. Monfcpcillo Second, each side secured a disputed try, the umpires disagreeing. Kaikorai also gained an unmistakable try, but no goal was kicked from it.

The Union men drove out to tho Taieri and defeated the local club to the tuno of 8 points to nothing. Tries were obtained by Golding And Parsons, and Bee potted a goal while the Taieri men woro standing around him under the impresnion that the ball had been called back, Tha Taieri men played without Alex. Allan, who, I understand, does not intend to play any more this season. Loudon, one of the now almost defunct Green Ibland Club, played with tha Taieri. Several Green Islanders have cast ia their lot with tho T^ieri Club this season.

Of tha other matches, that between the Union Second and Alhambra was won by the Ltter by one point. Trfo rising unbeaten clubs — t.be Pacifio and Richmond — met for the lirsti time, and after a desneratn siruggle, th 3 match ended ia a diaw. The Ztngari beend were beaten by the Pir;i<as Siooiid. The luck h-js gone luvtd w:!h \h-i Z rigari Club this year, for both fiUuena have suffoied defeat in every match.

The Dunedin Club had a holiday in conae quoiice of their match with G-reju L-laud being •' declared off." This Saturday they will probably meet tho Taieri at Mo^giel. The Blu'js should win this match.

The only other fixture of importance is Union v. High School. Thia match will be played oxl the Uaiou ground, and should prove rather an interesting contest, I shall be disappointed if the Union man do nob win somewhat easily.

The following weak a team from Oamaru will travel South and play the Dunodin Club on the Caledonian ground. Aiter tbat the rotuin ma"che<3 will be oomf/ienced. The Dun odin and Moatecillo Clubs meeting on the 27th June.

The Committed of tha Wellington Rugby CJai'm have selected the following 20 from which the team to represent Wellington vtx tho Southern hiip in July will be ehosun :— Barks— A, Thorncm, J. Kilner, J. Pony (Masterfon), H. Roborts, Fdirbrothev, Merltit, Hirachberg, A. W. Thonuon (F-ildinf.-) ; forwards CarriDbell, Cooper, King, William*, Browa, Webb, Shaw, Uibbeß, Holmea, Puarre, Ellison, and Hylaud. The representatives are to play a) Danediu and CJhrißtchurcb, but it is not yet known hero at which place the first match will ba played. There aro .several well-knoTrn players in the above list, and I expect Wellington will again put a vary strong team m the field.

Ttie Christchurch men havo started their Rughy Uaion m-Uchos already. Thoro was a 3codmu jteron Saturday, but the play was not of a superior character. Urigg waa Dot present, „nd M'Leaa hurt his leg soon after the kick-off, aad retired, so that \ ho remaining backs bad a large amount ot work thrown upon thorn. Francis and 'at bias each potted a "w.l iv the first spoil, but the southerners erained four trios 10 the northerners' two, and Blaochard kicked a goal from one of thorn, which placed their score considerably abaad. Moorhoune, saya tho Times, exhibited much ioapjovement as quarter, aed if he could only be induced to wear some soit of shoes which would enable him to keep hiti feet, he might take a recognißad place amount back players, AUardyce played well, but v/aa not properly backed up, or his side would have scored more.

Tho only othor match of importance at Chrietchurch was Christ's College v. North Canterbury. Tho College somewhat easily defeated a light woigbt team of the North Canterbury Club, by 2.9 points to nil. Hargreaves wns the principal scorer for the College, he obtaining no less than soven tries The forwards were far superior to the North Canterbury's in dribblinj?.

They take more interest ia football in Auckland than we do in Dunedin when they can get 1500 people to turn out to an ordinary club mafch. This was the attendance al the Ponaonby v. Newton mutch the other day. The game was very close. In the scrummages Newton wore superior in weight, but Ponsonby. playiiig tht ir usual loose game, the forwards' invariably brought it through on the wings, and within the first ten minutes tho amber and blacko woro compelled to force in self-defence. Upon tha pooocd occasion, Ponsonby drove the ball over iho line, and Newton, by more good luck than play, stopped them scoring. In fact, all through the game their finfi forward play was considerab'y discounted by (ha mistakes ot thoir backs. For a long time tho ball hovered about Newton's side of the middle flag, wheye Btuce made somo very effective drib^leg, bringing the ball through splendidly upon one occasion, while he was well backed up by Young and Daniels. Arneil at the threequarter waa in fine form, kicking into touch with groat judgment. R. Whilcside took a flying shot at the bar, but tha ball wont high to the right and Arneil charging down splendidly pounced upon tho ball on one of tho top-dreeaing heaps, amid great excitement. Tho place kick takfin by Arneil, although a pood kick, went to the right, and the scrro\va3: Ponsonby, 2 points 5 Newfcon, nil. Whitoside was not in form, but he made one or two good runs and parsed with excopiionally good judgment.

Gordon boat North Shoro by a try to nil Wob tor, of Intorprovincial fame, captained the iosin?, team.

A writer in a Victorian paper, referring to tho interest atiadiios Jo fuUbnll, aayp, that from tbo kicktff uith which the spaaon is opened un'il returning spring oornpg round that portion ot (he puliho who support football hava their in* erfiM. strung to .t tension which throughout the Bf nson never yolayes. Ceit'iin it is, and each recuirhjß season domonstiat^s the fact, that of all Australian sports or pastimes football is, in this colony at any rate, far and away

the most popular ; for, whilst our leading cricket clubs can seldom attract (even by clf-iring free admission) more than a small straggling attendance, tho votaiies of football will follow their favouiite champions from suburb to suburb week after week in thousaudc, and cheerfully pay for the privilege of wntohing the play

Rugby football is well patronised in Yorkshire. Tho opening round of the County Challenge Cup was witnessed in the aggregate by about 100,000 persons, At Bradford alone the attendance numbered nearly 20,000. No fower than 960 playerß were engaged in the various ties.

A " Montecillo " Cltib started tbis soasou at ARhburton.

The Surrey Cricket Clnb's receipts for last Beas'in amounted to £11,000. Of thia £1152 was from football.

An enormous crowd assembled at Melbourne on the Queen's Birthday to witness the match batwopn Geelong and Hotham "Follower," in the Leader, writes of it as follows : " When the Chevalier Blondin was in Melbourne ha was credited with having expressed ,an opinion that the people of this city were mad. " The king of the air" and "hero of Niagara," it will be remembered, was forced to this conclusion by viewipg from his aerial "rope walk" excited thoueands on the East Melbourne ground intent upon a game of football while be, " the only athlete who never had a rival," was capering on his rope to balf empty benches. To what depth of utter hopelessness, I wonder, would the dauntlesa Frenchman have pronounced us to have sunk bad he bean on the Jolimont ground on the Queen's Birthday? The ecene was certainly unprecedented, the crowd twice as numerous as any that Blondin ever saw assembled there, and the applause ten times as loud and hearty. A better match has never been played, and the Hotham playera are to be congratulated upon being the first to inflict a reverse this season on the everconquqring Geelong team, The champions scored amidst roars of applause in the first 10 minutea, and shortly afterwards a still more stentorian demonstration announced that Neely, of Hotham, had equalised matters, whilst hundreds of visitors who had journeyed from Geelong to be present at the match cheered the acquisition of another goal by their champions. Th? rapidly increasing excitement reached foyer heat as Hotham secured their second and third goak, thus having one to the good at half time. Tho visitors came at it again like refreshed giants after the interval, and again quickly equalised matters ; and Hotham having once more fo\g^d one goal ahead, Geelong, amidat excitement that was r-ontively painful, again bilancod the account in less than five minutes. It remained, however, for Tankard to administer th& coup de grace, by kicking the fifth and winning goal. '

The old Melbourne Club has gone completely into the shide. Weak aftsi? week sees them defeated. They had to succumb the other week to tho Balhimt Imperial — a socond-rate club, who beat them by six goals to two,