RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 268, 26 August 1930, Page 2

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

INTERCOLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT. NELSON WINS FOR FIRST TIME. CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. The final round of matches in the annual inter-collegiate Rugby football tournament was played yesterday. In the previous round, Wellington College defeated Wanganui Collegiate School by 13 points to 6, whilst Christ’s college and Nelson College drew 6-6 As Nelson had never yet won the tournament, this meant that they and Wellington qualified for the final, which proved a victory .for Nelson by 11 points to 5, after a very dogged struggle. The match between Wanganui and Christ’s College was a bright exhibition and resulted in a draw, 14-14. For many years, the inter-collegiate tourney was confined to Wellington, Wanganui and Christ’s, but in 1925 Nelson were admitted to the tournament. This is the first occasion that Nelson have won. Since tliei four schools have been competing the competition has been won as follows: 1925 Wellington (at Wellington). 1926 Wanganui (at Christchurch). 1927 Wanganui (at Wanganui). 1928 Christ’s College (at Nelson). 1929 Wellington (at Wellington). 1930 Nelson (at Christchurch). Next year the tournament is to take place at Wanganui. SECONDARY SCHOOLS’ TOURNEY. OTAGO BEAT CHRISTCHURCH. INVERCARGILL, August 25. The annual South Island Secondary Schools’ Rugby tournament commenced here to-day in brilliant sunshine before a large attendance. ' In the first match Otago defeated Christchurch, 14-3. after a disappointing display by both teams.

OBSTRUCTION BY BRITISH TEAM. MR W. F. HORNIG’S OPINION. WELLINGTON, August 25. An explanation was made by Mr W. F. Hornig at the annual smoke concert of the Petone Rugby Football Club on Saturday evening of the “obstruction tactics” of the British Rugby team in its matches in New Zealand. Mr Hornig w T as lately a member of the Management Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union and manager of the All Black team which toured South Africa. Referring to the fact that the tour of the British team had been a great success and that the visiting team had played a standard of football that could well be imitated by the clubs, he said: “We have seen and heard a lot about tactics. I saw the first match the British team played in the Dominion, against Wanganui, and I thought it was obstructing in a way that was rather foreign to us. After seeing the team play two other games I was a bit dubious. After the third game I was talking to a friend who had seen Rugby played in England, Scotland, Ireland and France, and he told me the thing that struck him at Home was the amount of obstruction going on. “After the first Test another man, who had just returned from Home, said he saw the obstruction referred to. I came to the conclusion then and I am certain that any obstruction by the British team was not deliberate, but was their ordinary style of game. W r c considered it was unfair; they did not. They considered our wingforward illegal; we did not. “After all,” concluded Mr Hornig, “why should we get hot under the collar about all these arguments on tactics? It’s only a game after all.”