FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 160, 8 July 1899, Page 4 (Supplement)

FOOTBALL.

A move is on foot to send a New Zealand Rugby Football team to the Old Country at the end of next season, the team having gained the sanction of the New Zealand Union. They will play a match in Wellington then go on to Sydney, where a couple of contests are to be decided. The team will tour Great Britain and also play in Paris. On the journey back to Maoriland matches will be played at the Cape, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington.

The New Zealand Rugby Union would earn the gratitude of all footballers if it gave consideration to the forming of an Accident Insurance Fund for the benefit of footballers injured upon the field. Every club and County in England insures its players in some way or another. Full particulars as to the insuring- of players are given in the Wellington Annual), and a perusal of these is recommended to footballers and the Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union.

It is curious that the following ruling passed last November by the English Itugby Union is not in force in this colony or in Australia, "That the kicker cannot place the ball upon the ground in instructing the //lacer, nor touch it after the placer has put. it down. If the kicker does so the kick is forfeited." The above ruling relates to tries, marks, and free kicks, and is a reading on the words, "May touch and arrange.". The ruling was sent to New South Wales where it was not followed, and this roused the ire of the Rev. M. Mullineux, who has probably had it observed by this time. The Wellington Referees' Association have just decided to bring the ruling into force.

Newton meet North Shore in the second round for the Senior Cup next Saturday. In view of Newton's defeat last week at the hands of City the Shore team will probably start favourites.

D. McGill, the Petone (Wellington) player, has been suspended for life and warned off all grounds for using indecent language to the referee in a Cup match last Saturday. The punishment is very severe, but will no doubt serve its purpose as a warning to others. For the sake of the gamesuch an offence is not to be tolerated. Judging from the utterances of Mr W G_ Garrard, of Christchurch R.U., on his return from Sydney, the prospects of a visit from the English football team seem very rosy. This is good news, indeed. . • At a recent meeting of the Canterbury Rugby Union Committee, two Merivale juniors were suspended for six weeks for rough play. It was decided, "That the teams in question be •'severely cautioned, and warned that any future reports from referees as to either of the teams playing roughly will entail disqualification." Mr W. G. Garrard says, "The Englishmen are surprised at the proficiency of the Australians. They did not expect to find them nearly so good. The praises of the Maorilanders were being* continually sung to them. The cry 'Wait till you get tp New Zealand' became monotonous. They were immensely impressed with Ward, the dashing little Southland half-back, and when Mr Garrard informed them that there were better men than Ward in New Zealand, one burly English player said, 'Lads, we must go to that country.' " "Footballer" writes: —"Sir,—Kindly allow me space in your paper to make a few remarks re the next NewtonNorth Shore match. I see by the papers the Rugby Union have arranged for this match to be played at Potter's Paddock. . This is I don't think fair to the other clubs, for I think Newton will have a big advantage on the other, clubs by playing on Potter's Paddock ground. All the other clubs have journeyed to North Shore to play that team on their own ground and I think Newton ought to do the same. I suppose it is the gate money the Union is thinking about? If this match must be played at Potter's Paddock, then I think as City defeated Newton, the City-North Shore match ought to be played at Potter's Paddock also. This match will prove just as interesting as the Newton-North Shore match."

In the Cup matches in Christchurch the lady spectators, besides being admitted to the ground free, are treated to afternoon tea every Saturday by the Rugby Union. The attendance of ladies at Lancaster Park of a Saturday generally numbers over six hundred. It is said, however, that the question of demanding an admission fee for ladies will soon be taken into serious consideration. The Rev. Mullineux was to have preached at' St. James' Church, Sydney, on the Sunday before leaving for Queensland, but owing to a relaxed throat was unable to leave his bed. In anticipation of hearing him in the afternoon at a service "for men only," a crowded congregation of men assembled^ The Rev. Mr Carr-Smith. minister of the church, after apologizing for Mr Mullineux's absence, said that the sight in the church was certainly strange to him. The church had never to complain of a poor congregation, but that congregation generally consisted of two. thirds of the other sex. To see the church filled

with men was a strange sight; but then he was not the captain of an English football team. The English Rugby Union have decided that it is the duty of the touchjudges to report to the referee any rough play. Mr C. F. Bickford, president of the Auckland Football Association, is at present in Sydney. He hopes to be able to arrange for a Sydney team to visit Auckland, and for a return visit by the New Zealanders. He expects that such intercolonial matches will greatly increase the interest in the game of football as played under British Association rules. Mr Bickford has had an interview with Mr Logan, the hon. secretary to the Sydney Association.

On one, occasion during the international match on June 24 an Australian threw the ball in from touch, notwithstanding that the English captain claimed the ball. The claim was disallowed by the referee, and the ball thrown in at some distance from the spot where the touch-judge had put up his flag. After the throw-in the touch-judge, Mr B. I. Swannell, continued to hold up his flag, and Mr Garrard, the referee, when appealed to refused to have the ball brought back, and said that he overruled, the touch judge's decision. There is no question that the referee has power to over-rule a touch-judge's decision, but when he does so he must be quite certain that he himself is in the right. He should only exercise such a power when the touch-judge has shown himself to be manifestly unfair or incompetent. Mr Garrard (according to a Sydney paper) seemed somyvhat excited during the first half of the game. On another occasion Mr Mullineux appealed to him to stop one of the Australian forwards from putting his arm in such a position in the scrums that when he raised his elbow he struck the English forwards in the face. Some of the latter state that they still have bruises from this cause. Mr Garrard said that he had no power to stop-that'sort of thing. Of course as referee he, had power to order any man off the ground. But probably what he meant was that he did not think the matter serious enough to take notice of, or else that it was impossible for him to identify with certainty the offender in the scrum. Concerning the England v Australia match on June 24, the Sydney "Referee" critic writes:—"The victory by 13 points to 3 reads very decisive, but I thought there was scarcely such a difference between the teams on the play. The Australians, beyond all doubt, played the finer game, their forwards working1 harder, and showing more dash and cleverness generally than the opposing pack, who were played almost to a standstill toward the finish. Mr Garrard, however, thinks there was quite 10 points between the teams on the day.

Both back divisions failed to make the most of their openings. The Blues were the worst in this respect, clue chiefly to Evans hanging on a shade too much, and Row failing to take his passes. The Australian captain, once when going at his top pace, received the ball from Evans near goal, and had he taken it the impetus of his run must have carried him across the line. The English backs seemed to pass just a trifle too much when near the line; once ,at all events, a g-ood, hard dash by one of the three-quarters instead of a pass out to a marked comrade might have been successful "

"It was a fine game all round, especially for the spectators. Not quite so fast nor so brilliant as the New South Wales game, yet, pregnant with incidents that excite, it was more stirring, there being throughout the entire contest only two spells of play which allowed the spectators time to think. In the first half the Australians played slightly the stronger game, the forwards proving the sounder lot in the scrum, dnd the cleverer on the line; whilst in the loose there was not much difference between the two packs."

The introduction of passing into the Rugby game is thus described by Arthur Budd in an article on the Past and Present Rugby game:—"lt was about 1877 that there stepped upon the scene the most important actor in the drama of evolution. I need hardly say I refer to passing, which has brought about a complete metamorphosis in the method of play, but ,1 would call attention to the fact that it originated amongst the forwards, and was, to begin with, entirely confined to them. Such a thing as passing among the backs Was never seen in those days. The credit of the innovation belongs to the Blackheath Club, who under the captaincy of Lennard Stokes with a very fast set of forwards wonderfully proficient in hand passing, won 68 out of 83 matches, losing only six matches in five seasons from 1876 to 1881, and totalled 178 goals and 136 tries as against 9 goals and 11 tries. In 1881 A. Rotherham went up W Oxford, and though it has often been argued-that J. Payne was the fons et origo of the art of a halfback feeding his three-quarters, there can be no question that Alan Rotherham, with Grant Asher, his confrere. at Oxford, was the man who elaborated it and brought it to perfection. He undoubtedly set the pattern, which all his successors strove to copy, and even to-day is held lip as having provided the standard, which all should seek to imitate. This second development in the phase of passing worked, I need hardly say. a very great change in the character of the game."