A POOR EXCUSE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 56, 13 April 1914, Page 2

A POOR EXCUSE.

RUGBY AND AMERICAN FOOTBALL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA'S POSITION. iWhen Mr J. G. Schaeffer, football eoaeh at the University of California, declared that English Rugby football is too rough, and presents a greater chance "of injury than the American inter-collegiate game (vide a cablegram published in THE SUN on Saturday), he placed himself in direct opposition to the experience of many years. And when he said that Rugby football is likely to be wiped out of American colleges within five years he merely indicated what he devoutly hopes will come to pass, and not what he can earnestly believe will happen. As a matter of fact, Schaeffer is biassed, because the growth of Rugby football in the State of California threatens his personal financial interests.

The announcement that the University of California has decided to abandon Rugby football and to return to the old American inter-collegiate game need not cause any perturbation among Rugby football enthusiasts. The British game will benefit, if jthe University of California goes back to its old love, because the spirit of the game is of vastly more importance than territorial increase. In the University of California the spirit of Rugby is ranked a bad second to the winning of matches. In that, and in the coaching question, lie the keynotes to the announcement that the University of California will g?ve up Rugby. THE FOOTBALL MACHINE. America has many fine sportsmen, and a larger • sense of sportsmanship than many Britishers credit her with. But it cannot be gainsaid that in rather too many cases in the United States the end. is epnsidered greater than the means. This is. particularly so iii football, and it is this which had caused: ■the present ■ position in Californian Bugby. So mueli .rivalry between the colleges was ■,manifested in inter-col-legiate football that what passed for a game beeamev virtually a business, in which all the I finer spirit of sport and all individual pleasure in play were relentlessly ground: out in the making of a machine of brawn and musele that could beat the' othfer machines built up in opposing colleges. Instead of a game, inter-collegiate foptball was —and still is, 'in the Eastern States—a mimic warfare, in which the players had to wear heavily-padded clothing as a measure of protection. It Claimed a long list of slain and maimed?—much longer than any other form of football can show, despite Mr J. <5. Schaeffer's assertion. S*;ch machines necessitated an army of expert builders and attendants, in the form of coaches and trainers, and these men received big In intercollegiate football the coach was an autocrat—a highly-paid ' and relentless tyrant—and the players were his humble subjects, so that he reaped both kudos and cash. THE COMING OF RUGBY.

At length the brutality of intercollegiate football and its crushing of the spirit of sport made some of the heads of colleges rather uneasy. Therefore, the introduction of Rugby football to the State of California found some of the college authorities ready to support a really sporting game. Threatened with the loss or the decline of their positions; the coaches of the college teams fought hard against Rugby. But the game grew in popularity, despite their opposition, and some of them — among whom was §ehaeffer—found it wiser to pretehd to welcome the new game —new, that is, to America. The fears of the coaches were soon for the university students found that Rugby did not demand anything approaching the relentless training and the tyranny of tLe coaches of the intercollegiate code. The students also found that Rugby allowed far more individuality, that in it a player must be a unit with power of initiative as well as a part of a machine. The greater liberty which they found in Rugby led to their loosening the shackles laid upon them by the coaches. There was not the need in game for such a large army of tutors and trainers as iii the playing of inter collegiate football, and so the number of coaches was reduced and salaries were lessened. Furthermore, even t-lie positions of those coaches who Svere 1 retained were threatened, for th'e "colleges began to look abroad, to countries where Rugby was of much older standing, for men to teach them the art of the game.

Still, some of the coaches retained a good ileal of their influence, for the traditions and the atmosphere of the inter-collegiate game were still strong in California. The old college rivalry was still too keen in some places for the baneful spirit had dominated the old game to die out. Some of the Californian colleges a'n<£ high /schools, while recognising the benefits of Rugby,, declined to take up the newer code, because other colleges and schools which liad taken to Rugby before them ha J attained some proficiency in it, and they did not like pitting themselves against their more experienced rivals, with the probability of, defeat before them, until they themselves had mastered the game. It is a childish reason for refusing to turn to the better game!, but that is the reason which has gone 011 record in America. Where such a spirit nourished, the influence of the former inter-collegiate football coaches flourished. SURPRISES FOR SCIIAEFFER.

Now, the University of California hap not displayed much regard for propagating Rugby football outside its own limits. Not no long ago it was at variance with the other Rugby bodies in the S&ate. But it remained the premier Rugby 'varsity in America until a few months ago, when Stanford, whi«h had been beaten by California year after year, turned the tables. That wa« a rude shock to Sehaeffcr. There was another -unpleasantsurprise for him a«<jl for the other American coaches. They

had impressed Californians with the idea that their players had learned all that there Avas to learn about Rugby, that there was no conceivable play still to be learned- —and they were even talking of improving the Rugby code! But then came along a band of New Zea-. landers, who lived as normal beings and: played, football as a. sport only, anil the New Zealanders showed the Californ-; ian coaches that they had not halflearned the art of Rugby. .Incidentally, they galloped all over the American notions of training for football. Here, then, is the position. The American football coaches—the professionals —want the old inter-collegiate game because it yields them more money and kudos —especially money. The tour of the All-Blacks' lias discredited the claim of the professional coaches that they had taught Calif or-: nians all that was to be learned about Rugby. The University of California has been beaten by Stanford University, and it wants to salve its feelings by kicking Rugby overboard. Schaeffer wants an excuse for persuading the students of the University of California; to go back to their old game and reinstate him in his old position, and the best excuse he can muster is that Rugby : is too rough! Yet in the period pf 19011913 there were 234 dearths and 2601 injuries of a serious nature in the inter-: collegiate game! . A pitiful excuse, is it not? In such eircumstances," with such a spirit prevailing in the. University of California, it is better for Rugby football that the University' should take itself back - to the intercollegiate football, which is football in name only.

A. L. C,