FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 240, 7 October 1916, Page 16

FOOTBALL.

HUGBY.

At a recent meeting of the Board of Governors of the Otago Boys' and Girls High Schools * motion was brought forward to heal the breach tnat has existed between the Otago Boye , High School and the Waitaki College for *ix years. Dr. Fulton moved—"That the Board regret that Waitaki High School, one of the great schools of the Dominion, and the High Schools' nearest neighbour, was not represented in the recent football tournament, and wish to knew whether the rector can suggest a means of settlement of the apparent difference between the two schools. The Board feel that the present is a most opportune time for the echools to sink their differences, and to hold out the hand of friendship to each other, many Old Boys of both echools having laid down their lives side by side for King and Empire in the great struggle which at present convulses .the civilised world; and that the matter be referred to a committee of the whole Board, and the rector asked to meet the committee to confer on the subject." The motion wm carried. As illustrating how Otago footballers responded to the call for men, three of the principal clubs were this season unable io enter any sort of team in the senior competition. These clubs were Dunedin, Kaikorai, and Zingari, who, in the prewar days, had footballers and to spare. The Otago Rugby season recently concluded with another of those military matches which have been the popular attraction with public and players (wye a Dunedin writer). The Otago team met a team of Anzacs at Carisbrook, but the soldiers were no match for tjhe civilians, who won by 29 points to 6. The match was-in aid of the Anzae Club, which will benefit to the extent of about £20.

Continuing, the writer says: "The season just concluded has scarcely fulfilled the expectations of the admirers of Rugby, in that while there have been many good exhibitions of the game, there have been too many in which, playing under war conditions, men were inclined to be a law unto themselves, with the result that some matches were more or lees of a farce. It is impossible to judge of the standard of play, a* teams, by virtue of circumstances, were contsantly changing. Junior players were thus afforded opportunities, and several made I good in senior company. These will be heard of when Rugby is reorganised at the conclusion of the war. Of individual >players, Harris, the 'Varsity three-quar-ter, was the best back, as he was the most successful scoring man of all the senior players. 'Varsity as a truth had a fine back division and good forwards, but owing to three senior teams being selected out of the University, the best team was never available in the senior competition, otherwise th* royal blues, instead of being runners-up, would have falls to the Union for the first time in been this year's premiers, an honour that its history. The best pack of forwards in the competition was the Union, which was immensely strengthened by the inclusion of Petersen, .a 14st Auckland rep., and Sandy Paterson, the Otago and New Zealand representative, who joined the .maroons at the beginning of the season."