RUGBY IN CANTERBURY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 71, 23 March 1916, Page 7

RUGBY IN CANTERBURY.

,n — ; 101 el HO FLAT FOR ELIGIBLES. rt.l .. H AGE LEMTT OF TWENTY. Jlj WHAT THE SOLDIERS'THINK OF IT. (By Telegraph—Special to "Star." - ) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. At the annual meeting of the Canterbury Rugby Union the president suggested that Sergeant R. H. Livingstone should state the opinions of returned soldiers. Sergeant Livingstone said that so far as returned soldiers were concerned he did not speak with absolute authority, but he was a member of the j executive of the Returned Soldiers' As- " sociation, and he was in touch with most of the men. There were about , 3800 returned soldiers in the Dominion, of whom about 800 bad been discharged. It was estimated that between 2000 and n 2500 of the 3000 men on furlough would return to the front. There was no doubt that the sentiment of every man who had ibeen to the front was that when he was fit again it was his duty to return to the front. For two months • on Callipoli the Canterbury Infantry Battalion was 100 under strength. Men j discharged in Christchurch were estij mated to number between 40 and 50, { and from what he knew they would not Lget a team between them. If they were fit to play football they were fit to return to_the front. At' the landing at Gallipoli, 14 men drawn from most of the city clubs went into the hottest part of the line. To-day only one man of that 14 was at the front." The delegates would be proud to know that their Rugby training had made great men of these soldiers. To the meryat the front nothing had given greater'pleasure than to read of numbers of Rugby players who were enlisting. They " bucked up" when they read that football was declining because of tho men going on active service. It was decided to aiandon all senior grades, and adopt a new scheme, as r under: First grade for playere not over 120 years of age on January I, 1916: second grade for players not over 16 years of ago on January 1. 1916. Under exceptional circumstances, (physical or otherwise, the Permit Comimittee shall have the power to reclassify first grade playere to second grade, as it thinks fit.