FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 148, 25 June 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

FOOTBALL.

After fclic lapse of a great many seasons, Auckland's bannor has beon lowered in fcho football field, and bliafc by a team hailing from a province littlo thought of up till now. Very little interest was taken in the match Taranaki v. Auckland, and most people looked upon the result as a forogono conclusion. Still, a great many shook their heads ; the team that donned the blue and white bars was not such a very .strong one, and the redoubtable Whiteside was absent from its ranks. Well, to cut a long story short, the Taranaici men came, they played, thoy conquered, aud have now returned delighted to their homes. The game was a very good one, and a great deal might be said about good and bad play on both sides. Taranaki had the best of the first spell, and continually kept the ball in the Auckland'^ territory, but the local kiekists reversed matters in the last half hour, and only once did the leather stay for any length of time in Auckland's twenty-five. The Taranaki backs are a fine sot of players, their only fault perhaps being that tney tackled rather high ; but then they were so fast and smart that the Auckland Slayers gained but little by a few misses, lempton, Bayly, aud Stpohr are a very fast trio, playing with plenty of dash and always getting their kick. Bayly several times shone in that particular line. Rodgers at centre-half proved a veritable stumbling block to the blue aud white forwards, stopping their rushes splendidly, and running, or rather, I should suy, dashing through them repeatedly. The two winginon were very smart, picking up clean, following up fast, and passing well, but they could not dribble, and were rather prone to the fault of all wingiuen—-they played offside too much. The- Taranaki forwards had the advantage of our men in weight, and they put their heads low in the scrums, and so got tho full benefit of it. They wore rather fond, however, of handling a dead ball, using the liands to knock forward, and keeping.on the wrong side of thoserum when they came through; but they showed our men a splondid oxanjple in their following up and collaring. Auckland has very seldom before put a weaker representative team into the field than they did on Tuesday, and the Selection Committee might have very materially strengthened it, but unfortunately the weather prevented tho Probables and l'oasiblcs mooting, and tho scratch team had to do. Braund at fullback made one or two mistakes in taking the ball, but his collaring was good. The try by which tho Aucklandor.s were defeated was'got through nofault of his, for ho collared Hempton a couple of yards from tho line when ho had passed Madigan and Brown, but Hempton's weight brought tho two to the ground, and he was just able to touch tho ball down out of Braund's reach, Snow collared well and at times was good in his kicking, but he is altogether too slow and cannot pick up clean. Tom Brown did not come off nearly as well aw was expected. He seldom or never misspd his kick, but in collaring he was noticeably weak. Madigan did not have many shows, the opposing halves being too quick, but once ho was almost in, being collared on the line. Ho would have done far better if he had passed out more. Wynyard did not by any means come up to expectation. * Now and then he made a good run, bub his collaring was wretohed. He generally went for his man too fast, and overshot the mark, while his punting did not suit either; still, in one respect he snowed up well, and that was in his passing in the second spell, and once he had hard lines in not getting in. Albie Braund without doubt played the best gamo among the backs. He was always in tho thick of it, stopped Rushes pluckily, passed unselfishly and collared well, while once or twice he made serviceable runs. He reached the full back.on one occasion, and if any one had been backing him up Auckland must have scored. Among tho forwards Marshall, Murphy and Lecky played the best gaiue. They were generally on the ball, and did a tremendous amount of work. Jack Lecky made a splendid run in the first spell, dodging in flue style, while in the second ho dribbled from his own " twenty-five " up to past half-way, and then spoiled all chance of scoring by trjdng to pick up when he had only tho full back to pass. Lindsay showed far bettor form than he has done this season, and altogether played a sterling game. Otway, Poland and Spencer did not shine much, but they grafted hard the whole game through. Arneil was Al on the wing, but Elayed throughout with hard luck. When c did cob a dribble on he was never backed up. The Auckland forwards seemed to have forgotten how to do it. Instead of th combined, rushes we aye used to expecting from our representatives, it was usually tho individual player that did the work. Again, the scrums were seldom or never packed as scrums ought to be packed. Two, three, two, heads low aud straight through — that is how it ought to have been, instead of seven forvyards in a half-moon getting pushed all over the field, as thoy were in the first spell. I must sa-y they did slightly better after half-time. Murray did not by any means piny a bad game, but he was not up to representative form, and Wooller would have given far greater satisfaction in his place, especially against a team weak in dribbling, and then Arneil would have had some chance of being backed up by a player who knew his play. Taking the Auckland team as a whole, there was a lack of combination visible, and except on a few occasions, their play was what I might characterise as " dead alive," —that is, comparing with past teams. Tiiis might be att«J»atod to the heavy state of the ground, fi«M* the superior weight of their opponents. Auckland has, however, been beaten on thflir own ground fairly and honestly by a splendicl fifteen, and we must grin and bear it as best Aye can, trusting that we may have the chance before the season closes of turning the tables under the shadows of Mount Egmont. • j A great many questions have been ask,ed and (301110 nasty things said about R.: .Whiteside refusing to play for Auckland. I may as well, therefore, give the full facts of tho case. Whiteside has no wish: to bo paid, nor has he any desire to have himself insured against accident. He says if he. was afraid of being hurt he would nob play at all. What troubles him is that: the Union have not, in his opinion, don© the right thing by him. He never

asked for any recompense for his services against Wellington last season, but having made up his mind to go South, as he had. no work here, one of the Union Committee brought him £5, and told him if he stayed he would have the same for every representative match he played in. As the New South Wales team was on its way here then, he stayed and played in the three matches, but did nob receive a penny. He only wishes to have these arrears cleared up, for he told the Union last year that he would not think of playing while they were having him in that style. I dislike the idea of paying footballers at all, bub I am of opinion that if the committee last year gave Whibeside to understand that he would be remunerated for his play, the present committee are bound to see fair play done to him. It would be a good plan, then, to adopt the English rules in reference to professionalism, and we would have no more bother. I am sure all Aucklanders were sorry to see him absent from the "Reps.' on Tuesday, and I have no doubt that if he had played the result would have been different. What will we do against Otago and Canterbury without him ? With great regret I have to record tho disbandment of the Waitemata I. I expected them to do better than they have done, and little thought they would collapse so soon. The greater number of the players have joined the Alberts. Stone will play for Grafton, while Grey will don the black and play behind the scrum for Gordon. I. would suggest to the Union the desirability of replacing the present single wirefence round the ground at Potter's Paddock by a post and rail fence three or three and ahalf feet high. With two interprovincial matches coming on— not to mention Cup struggles —it will bo cheaper in the end. The Olago Union have not decided as to when they will send a team North yet. They have, however, informed the Canterbury Union that tho annual match between tho two provinces will be played an they return, most probably in September, so they evidently intend to send the team late in tho season.

Tho Wellington Rugby Union Committee have passed a rule empowing the referee to order off the field any player who disputes the decision of an umpire. This rule has been agreed upon in consequence of the growing practice of not only questioning decisions, but passing insulting remarks to umpires. In Melbourne all the players now have a number sewn on their backs so that the spectators by referring to a small card can tell the name of the various men.