RUGBY IN ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 63

RUGBY IN ENGLAND.

COLONIAL TACTICS DISCUSSED. (Feoii Oub Own Correspondent ) LONDON, November 27. The criticism of the tactics of the Australian amateurs, who for a few weeks were placed upon an exalted pedestal of virtue, iias become so acute that the captain (Dr Mo ran) has made a general reply to the press. He says: "One does not attempt to justify those particular incidents that must and do occur in the heat of every game, and for which the active participants are as a rule most genuinely sorry. But what public attention has been focussed on it by the criticism of men who, sitting in the pavilion, split hairs about a game which they never played. And so the spectator ha* unconsciously sought out these common and everyday incidents with which to substantiate an opinion which had previously existed half -formed in hiß mind. *" For example, in the Cambridge match, when one of our players illegally held a man in the open, there was a shout of protest from the crowd. Yet when Cambridge played Blackheath the previous Saturday, and a similar breach was committed by a Cambridge back, no one cried out ' Play the game,' and the incident was quite rightly forgotten. The fact that we have been penalised so frequently has supplied some food for comment. It is immediately argued by those who can see no illega'ity that th-sro must have- been some dirty trick or come unsportsmanlike scheme. So here again they assume a^, truth, and pro\e it by the assumption! " Let u& refer to the gentlemen who, above all others, are justified in passing an opinion — those who have referred. It will be found that Mr Jcr.es gave half his penalties against us at Oxford because of our picking up in the loose serums. Now, herein lies a little difference between the reading of rules here and in our own country. " At Home we find, like the South Africans, that dribbling on hard grounds is a difficult matter, so our forwards continually pick up in the loose. We are never pulled up out there for picking up in the loose rucks as we were penalised on Wednesday last, and according to our rules we wer« righi. But we were playing on English soil, under an English releiee l and so Mr Jones correctly penalised us. " There was nothing unsportsmanlike in the act ; it was our misfortune that the breach brought about the same penalty as is given against a more unsporting one. In a. similar way our back-row forwards came in for some abuse during the first match. Custom, has legalised at Home the swinging out of ths back row to protect the half, provided he remains attached to the scrum. It is no particular vice, a haokrow forward, but a plan of defence adopted openly by all our clubs. Your referees disapproved it, and we omitted it from our play. We have never once played, nor do we- approve of playing 'a winger.' ' ' We have been penalised for ' f oot-up ' in the ecrum. It will be admitted that our success in obtaining possession has been fairly pronounced. That success is due in part to our compact and well-balanoed scrum formation, with no shirker, and in part also to the cleverness of specialists in the front row position. These latter are very quick-eyed, and if sometimes they anticipate the ball and are justly penalised. it is no more a sin against the bpirit of football than is an ordinary knock-on. Ingenious minds none the lees have suggested the use of methods less creditable. I say emphatically that I ha\e never -=een them. " What do the referess think of us? After our first n.ateh in Devon Mr Williams, whose opinion is wcrth assured m© it was a pleasure to referee for a team that pla-oyd -°o fairly. Mr Schofield (of the Welsh Rugby Union) • was quite satisfied with our methods in. the Gloucestershire game. Against Glamorgan, v. © had' Mr Jo.^es, aixl after the match he pointed out to me the obstruction at ths hose of the pc 'rum, yet had no other oomplaiinte. Wo found him the strictest referee in the Kingdom, and yet, if you inquire, you will find we have had him four times in all. ha\e a-sked for him on other occasions, and we hop 9 to make uee of his good service- many times more. "At Xeath Mr Johns paid to me, 'I can find absolutely nothing wror.g with your method*: they ays- abovf suspicion.' Mr Potter IrwinV opinion-* of our pay against Irv* Uiiitiri S^'-vioes would please any team The T"nir?d ScrviV-eo ar Portsmouth pro* .e-d v* close, and at me hmo led by three points. Purely if tl:c>-e were inherent any bad traits eueh an occasion should brirg them forth. Yet their captain and men were delighted with tho struggle, and Dr Grog, the Scottish International, who played at half for them, came to see us off in the train to expre-.^ his admiration. ' I ha-«-e never played .ngaineb p. more sporting side,' he sa.'d in his own emphatic "way. An injured shoulder kept mo in Lordon while tfoa team toured up north, so that the opinion of the referees in those parts I cannot quote. But I venture to re-mark that the I-ond-on team-? we opposed found ue a pleasant side to battle aga.:iist. "Ths sudden discovery of our shortcomings quite staggered us, for naturally the opinions expressed voluntarily by those most oqmpotf-nt to jirlsre had ]od us into tho vanity of thinking- that if f>: time-, our fxhiLitions of football w-crc uneven aiid inecneifctent, yet our spcriinp: \va« consistently j*ood. And if 'inci-dente' ha\e occurred, I fear they will continue to occur in any team until angelic men mcci in some Rugby t T topia. "This Rugby fame is a stre-R-ous struggle between physical §ia.nls, and we must net refor to per.rle lau-V--- for a decision on what constitutes roujrVi play. Our esters always did thiuk it rough thr-t horivd man upset us so liulsly in rho <l&vs vAvn ihov oa-m-e to wa*ch ivs at pliy O-nr t?ok!i,ng Kip be^n alwav.% haxel — it won tb^> match at Oxford, — an-d has no (io-i'nf p.iii>od ilis disaprnoval of ine-n wl~o I:>\- r.ryer plavoj. The plave>\ hovo\cr, v.'o oujes to a robust taol?l<? fI ouM lav a ';^ hi-> ier-.a V and 'eavo ir t-> l/.ccir.' 1 m"'. 1 . m!'h in di>u.v» For liini • . r -i ~* ore <" L '^~ °"' """, bix! I Leiieve. tls» y^-r-i .k <lr''' -." Tn reply. Mr II;>!:-..-'n Fi rut c ' '- - •' Ops ixC-er nroiij- ? -id" of i:!if«.i>- \ b" f'.r the more <-.nl.--> of dr. np «o , «-ic!i ; r r ■». fi->n<- are evoi v, ndo it. ore in •=<>•• -t tha.i in -"zr ■ —-c i , rl-.-it r 1 r-r^ '"mM i ""■ i and s'<4?! p\?%.r.g R^l.y fr Ol » •>'! v.ho

in no way inspired or imbued with th^ traditional spirit, the hereditary sporting instinct, of the game. Every player cannot, of course, approach the Rugby Corinth through the portals of a public school or university. Hence the principle that conscience is above the referee and its voice shriller than any whistle is never instilled into many players. That is their misfor- ; tune, but in some cases at least it is also their fault. It i 3 to be feared that in j dealing with the question of unfair play ! many writers fall into two errors. One section fails to make allowance for the difference between our idea of how Rugby ' should be played and the colonial idea. I Another section confounds the particular act | with the spirit that prompts the act. j " Judged by this standard, the New Zea- '• landers were an unfair side, because the | ruling motives of their game were ' play ; to win ' and ' play to the referee.' The i Australians, judged by two recent displays, seemed to be governed by the same motive, though it is highly probable that custom and the national idea have so blunted their moral sense that they are sublimely unconsoious of their delinquencies, and are sincerely surprised when accused of unfair practice. "It is to the 'greed of victory,' conjoined with an equally insatiable appetite for personal glory, that unfair play must be attributed. Justice^, in the application of principles to circumstances, and the fact that the Australasian player suffers alike from the lack of a conscientious education • and the debasiag effect of an unconscion- | able system of tuition, musi make one lenient toward his failings, which are not those of Nature, but have been acquired in a bad school. Leaving the moral for the material aspect of unfair play, it may be pointed _ out that obstruction, passive and active, is the chief failing of Australasian ! •ides. Scientific obstruction has won many matches, and is the most difficult of all ' forms of unfair play to check and punish simply because the referee cannot, as a rule, watch both ball and men; to detect obstruction one must watch the men and ignore the ball. The New ' Zealanders were the greatest masters of the art of scientific and effective obstruction in the history of the game. Their system almost defied detec- i tion. except in the case of the wing for- j wara. The Australians are clumsy imita- i tors of the New Zealanders, and hence they j are detected and condemned. Even the I centres cannot obstiuot the opposing threequai ters with a view to maTking the way to the line clear for their wings with the same artful concealment. In this connection one can never forget that MacGregor, one of the New Zealand three-quarters, in a lecture on ' How to Play,' delivered at Bristol, made the startling statement : 'We played under orders to lie on the ball- near our own line and in the coiner, and to risk the probable penalty to save the possible try.' The Australians may yet retrieve their reputation as a fair side, lost in the two games in which they should have ' been most jeakki3 of their good name, but i the fact that they played Middleton in the I very first match following his 'ordering j off ' cannot be construed a^, a hopeful sign ' of Iheir intentions or as a proof of dls- ' cipline." Mr G. H. Harne*t, who managed the l Anglo-Welsh team, #ives it &a his (tedded j opinion i.hat not ciuy is Rug-by football | not deteriorating in England, but that to- I day it occupies a stronger position than J it ha« ever dome. v ' Tweiitv years ago," he said, "it wm difficult to find a olub j capable of running two tea.ms. But what do you find to-<la.y? Many clubs that, in the holiday season, put out at lei/it five fifteens, all of which are- capable of doing them crednt. And with regard to th© players, it is my firm belief that the last three years have brought about great improvement in every direction, whether you consider the forwards, the three-quarters," or the half-backs. We may not. peashaps, have j the great players of a few years back, but | we see in every great match ample- proof j that ihe a\era#3 standard of play lias very ornisiderably improved." He found one explanation of the fact that the All Blacks, the Springboks, and r.oH' the Wallabies, have in succession beaten the best teams England can put on tho field in flic great facilities that exist in the colonies for training. "Is it anywonder," he a^ked. '" that young colcnials ! aro kc-s-ner upon tLe game tiia-n Englishmen? What opportunity-, for example, liais j the average Londoner for football training? i Where can he obtain it from one match to a-. other? He has litcLe or no chance of practice, and, except when ho i= actually playhig in his club pramo*. lie larely toe«.s cr handle* a bal.l. With tlis colonial, and especially the Now Zealander. it is different. Foct.bail is K3 gospel, his religion. He is biorght up to it as a child. Ho w&b&s with a football in hn cradle, so to spea.k. and hit leisure, a-s ha grow«» oLter. « spent upo-i the training fiokl. What eiee> is ho to do? I Andfo it is not to be wondexod at rhat h^ is ] particularly keen upon the game, and that • he attains to great skill. And, gencra'ly jpeakiner, the c.'irrate is cf gicat a **.'*= tanoe to h?m, \vhile the liveliness of Rugby fcotball specially appeals to hi-5 nature. " Turninsr for a moment to ths visit of the English team to Au-sti&iia and Now Zealand. Mr Ha mete pointed out that one draw load*, was the fact, that thay had to ppeiid the greater part of rhoir tirno in tratel'iiig. i " We i-f-ent hundred-; of hours on t'«» steamboats and in 'express' name, which ' aie nn.<-h slower than our ov.n," he nCdcl. J ■" \.hii-2 tcaTi^ which_ conic to EngianJ tiatel I •about to th-Eir various rra.rche-5 vr.th csnP, j comfort, w A rapidity. In New Zealij-d it »<)■• no rnu-ual riling iVir us to tra\«J two ' nays b--[oi-p we reached our rn^tc h-to.-m, ! ar.J not infrequently wo v, -?re quite a'- fay j remo\f>d from the succeeding 0110. Ti at j serf cf thing v not conducive to your b?st ' fco.bpll But. in spit,} cf it a!!, <A the 28 ji'.'itchc ue played v.o won 18. 01-a long <'r<tH.n, and ti,« rest ic->t— surely a oapit;il locord. New Ze-alan-d, k L- tru°, wen tv a of the tluee te»t rr.atcl.-e- rvlayctl there, but in Queensland we won lorh t]i° lr?t frame?, and in S\di'"v tv,o ovt of t' "«? I thcu.lt.l no: like to let" an cppoituaity c j ibi^ p.-s vill'our •-ivii.i 0! 10 word of i>;ii-.? fc • tK">ir iiul r " - "r\-ii hc-piuiiitv. Thoy treo-tsd i-- ;•.! likj <\~,\u\ prii'-c" 1 -" "" Diitzo Ti ill conip-. to h'zhr ond <-lirfh< i " ;n^ who'^ \i' --"'tpj on m a U.oroucr 'ly coo 1i il 'eaf-. H(> i-av-- — • Nov. riie oif!,',u'f," •).•:■» i"--n Eiis/luli Kurfi>\— - ih? <, v uc ,it t .c 'li-.ns of iiLich Touch Jud^e' \ ij.-'.i.i)- — ".I.'! Ru'^h; , a^ payed 111 Airua, TCcm /.■ . "\\ 1 O! A.-.; ?i a. <k, 5 lot ho in . . j. >' ■ 'Ih y „i? r 1 ? -I.U.C o\t. ,'..he.-e '< < -'v rl.eir n"> i< i c.at'ou h\ yhr.'ji" and ,"• . „ ; y -iih. • in diff'-'reai j»laco=. • ■ c.lonv.! c t'e v.'.its this ccuntrj- it

is subject to an English interpretation of the rules, aud is at a consequent disadvantage. The statistics of penalties awarded against the Australian team are ample proof of this. ' Touch Judge ' calmly pro- i poses to increase enormously the disadvantage under which visiting teams labour, and gees on to bleat about the ' purity ' and I ' morality ' of his sport and the ' insolence ' of these Australians. | *' Let ' Touch Judge 'be honest with him- ! self, and consider -whether he would make this brazen proposal if the Australians had met with the reverses he prophesied for them. Then let him exercise his imaginaI tion and think whether the feeble, spineless English Rugby sides might not with I advantage substitute a little horse-senee for i tbe canons, traditions, and morality which I are the subject of his everlasting mouth--1 ings. After all, the first teat of a sportsman jis a simple one. Does he bow to the supreme rule that governs all competitive sport — ' What the umpire says, goes ' ? No colonial athlete or team of sportsmen has ever been guilty of a breach of the first cardinal principle of sport. * Touch Judge,' however, goes very near it when he proposes to aiter the present rules of Rugby because under them an English side has been able to beat a colonial one in three long 1 tours. He reminds me of the bitterly unjust gibe of one Richard Harding Davis, a.n American novelist, who wrote : ' The Englishman is the finest sportsman in. the ■world — when he is winning.' . - " After all, it is mainly lack of unaginaj tion that is responsible for- the bitter crii ticism that is showered upon successful sportsman in this country. I suppose 'Touch Judge,' while aware of the value of 'traditions' here, cannot conceive that they are Avorse than so much lumber in places such as Australia and New Zea- ! land Should he ever go out there and be compelled to lay them aside, Jie will better i appreciate the difficulty the visiting colonial has in putting them on. Traditions go with a, top-hat and apats. The colonial who refuses to put them on here is penalised, and must pay the penalty. The Englishman in a new country who refuses to take them off is equally .penalised. But over there we do not call him no j sportsman, even when he talks about his grandfathers shooting-box and wears i leather gaiters lor mustering oattle-whieh Ii s a clelr infringement of all the canon*. < morality, and traditions of that pastime, to say nothing of its purity."