FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 142, 17 June 1899, Page 4 (Supplement)

FOOTBALL.

The English footballers play their match against New South Wales to-day. This was to have been the first match of the tour, according to the programme drawn up before their arrival, but the cable tells up they commenced the tour on Wednesday with a match at Goulburn against the Central Southern Union. The Englishmen won by 11 points to 3, and though the match was not a particularly good exhibition the visitors showed promise of being a formidable team. The English team could have had very little time for training on shore, for they could only have reached Sydney a'day or two before the match. The referee in this opening match was evidently not nearly strict enough about offside play, for we are told that the local five-eighths and half-back were allowed to play offsicfe, while the visitors infringed with impunity off-side rule by not giving the stipulated 10 yards before collaring. Unless the refereeing is better in the big matches in which the team take part, they will be robbed of half their interest. Only one player is mentioned individually for good play in the cabled report of the game, and that is Mullineaux, whose passing at half-back is described as beautiful. Mullineaux is, of course, the organiser of the present English team;'he is said to be one ot the smallest first-class half-backs in England. The tour of the Englishmen will be followed with interest on this side of the Tasmau Sea. The team to represent Australia (New South Wales and Queensland) against the Englishmen will be selected by three selectors; two rom New South Wales and one from Queensland. That is for the match that is to be played »* kydney £or the Brisbane fixture two om Queensland and one from New South Wales will select the teamTh ( . result of last Saturday s tup m 2LIZt Newton and North Shore still running 'neck and neck w .th . wider gap than before between them and [he rest of the field. (Walton and tv were placed on level terms, but Ponsonby and Suburbs would seem to be dropping out of the running. As Sr Barielf they have never been ,n it from the start. The real fight evidently lies between the two leaders, and the backers of each are very confident of their fancy s ultimate success It looks as though both teams will go through the first round without a defeat, for unless the unexpected happens, Newton will score a win to-day and they stand out he following Saturday, the last of the round; while Shore have a bye to-day and next week met Ponsonby, whom the? ought to beat. Recent arrivals from New Zealand have not been'long in making an impression in Sydney football, to judge from press comments on their play. P. Laws, the ex-Purnellite, played his first game in Sydney bust Saturday week as centre three-quarter for Mai\rickville. The 'Iteferee' football scribe says of him: 'Laws is a realisable player in the position. In attack, I should say he is, if not superior, at least not inferior to any of his contemporary centre men. lie handled the ball almost perfectly, taking all sorts of passes without a mistake, and giving them equally well.' The form shown by Jacobs, the ex-Tara-naki player, as wing three-quarter on the. same, Saturday, is spoken of aa 'very fine,' and he is said to have made a great impression. And of J. Sampson, another of Pamell's best men last year, it is stated that he and Hardcastle (also from New Zealand) were the best players on the field in the Sydney-Buccaneer match. The New South Wales team that played against the Queensland representatives last Saturday contained three ex-New Zealanders:—T. Pauling, the best forward in the last New Zealand team, P. Ward and Davis, players from the South Island. I believe Ward has been playing very well this season as five-eighths for Man-rick-ville. Davis is a forward, playing in the front rank in the scrums.

This year, Canterbury looks like placing in the field an exceptionally strong forward team, says a Christchurch scribe. The backs, however, judging by the form shown so far in club matches, have every appearance of being weak. If Balch and A. Forbes could get regular work they would be of immense value; but where a decent half-back is coming from I oan't say, as those at present playing are poor, even for club football. In one of the junior fixtures at Potter's Paddock last Saturday, one team, after waiting the stipulated time for their opponents to turn up, kicked off and claimed the match by default. The other team arrived on the ground three or four minutes later, but the first team refused to play. In doing so they were quite in their rights of course,, and their opponents were certainly at fault in being so late; but it would have been more sportsmanlike to have relinquished the claim for a win by default and played the match out.

The fact of Ponsonby ll's longstanding record of victories being broke by two successive defeats points to a weakness in this once-powerful junior combination. The weakness I believe lies in the back division, from which Ponsonby have lost several useful men since the beginning of the season.

The Wellington forward M'Anally, captain of the Poneke senior team, who was injured while playing against the Athletic team:, does not, intend playing again this season. M'Anally represented Wellington against Auckland last season.

' Welshmen have but a poor opinion (says 'Athletic News') of the team

selected to visit Australia. The picking of individual stars from here and there, and dumping them iuto a team, finds no favour in Wales, where combination is considered the keystone of success. Gwyn Nicholls is recognised as the finest three-quarter of the four countries, but Huzzey, or some other Welsh vying player, should have been selected with him so as to bring out the beauties of combination. Earl Beauchamp (New South Wales' new Governor) has accepted the position of patron of the New South Wales Rugby Football Union. His Excellency has stated his intention of beini^ present at the matches to be played against the Englishmen on June 17, 20, and 24

The bronze figure of Mercury skimming over the globe, which now surmounts the new premises of 'The Age' and 'The Leader,' has sorely exercised the minds of those habitues of The Block whose forte is not mythology (says 'Javelin' in the Melbourne 'Leader'). On Saturday morning it arrested the attention of a passer by on the north side of the street, who, pointing it out to his friend, remarked, 'By Jove, 'The Age' is boom-

ing football properly, and early enough this season.' His evident opinion was that the well modelled figure of Jupiter's athletic looking son was intended for Fred. M'Ginis 'on the ball.'

The Wellington 'Post' reports that Tom Ellison met with a severe burning accident at his house on Thursday evening. Some beeswax and turpentine, which his wife had been heating over the kitchen fire, ignited. Mr Ellison took hold of the vessel, and was rushing into the scullery with it when he tripped and fell, with the result that the burning mixture ran all over the floor, and before he could rise set his clothes alight. He was very badly burned about the face and body, and has been confined to bed.

A meeting of the W relsh Union was to be held on April 27, to consider, inter .alia, the following amendment to the laws of the game:—That in future a try shall equal three points, a converted goal (a goal kicked from a try) 5 points, any other goal' two points, thus making all goals of equal value.

The game of fbotball has triumphantly survived all the many attacks of humanitarians who would legislate against the game as a dangerous and demoralising pastime. One of these attacks was the well-known story of the Frenchman who, watching his first football match in England, exclaimed 'C'est la guerre, mais cc nest pas magnitique.' And it was only the other day that a local newspaper revived the old chestnut of the smart newspaper man who was asked how he would fill his paper now that the Bulgarian astrocities had ceased. His reply was: 'The football season is just about to begin.' Somewhere in the early eighties a New Zealand bank gave notice that any of its employees who were incapacitated from work whilst playing at football would be dismissed from the service. But this is ancient history, which (remarks an exchange) can only be thoroughly appreciated by recalling to mind the ethics of the' game in those days. In those good old times the football ground was the chosen spot for paying oflfold scores. In a packed serum mage heavy boots applied to the opposing shins would generally clear the way for the attacking arm., and the fastest, runner could be brought to earth by an adroit trip. All these playful methods are now things of the past. Science has taken their place; and the referee, a modern innovation, rules as a veritable autocrat over the game. Unnecessarily rough play is punished by the referee by instant dismissal front the field, and the culprit will b e fortunate if he is allowed to play again during the season.