RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 144, 19 June 1926, Page 25

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

NOTES ON THE GAME.

The New Zealand Rugby Union has decided t o grant the West Coast Rugby Union up to £50 in the event of a loss l on their tour to South Canterbury. ' The final accounts for the visit of the | British Rugby team to South Africa in i 1924 showed a profit of £43. Tliis figure does not, of course, represent in any degree the profits which were made by' the tour, the various unions and clubs baring all received very useful windfalls. I "Herbie" Kingi, the brilliant Maori | halfback, who played for Wanganui in Christchurch last year, is going strong | these days in Taihape. Kingi is a clever little player and he was the hero of a humorous incident at Christ- ! church. Kingi had apparently been I knocked out, lying inert on the I ground, the referee whistling for the j ambulance. His comrades crowded round and the artful little dodger told them in Maori that "he was all right, but wanted a breather!" Having noticed that the action of the New Zealand Rugby Union in assisting to establish the Rugby game in Victoria has been adversely criticised, Mr. H. | Bosward, a prominent New South Wales' official, writes to Mr. T. A. Fletcher/ who went to Melbourne on behalf of the N.Z.R.U., as follows: "The prospects, over there (in Victoria) are fairly bright. I Adelaide (South Australia) University! is also taking up the Rugby game, bo ! that at last "-ere is a prospect o* inter- ' Varsity games between New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South i Australia. Your visit was worth while." At least one North Island referee is a man of resource, and proved his wisdom in one of the junior games. A serum was in progress on tlie goal line when a hand crept down cautiously towards the ball and then edged towards the desired line. There were so many legs and bodies that the offender could not bo Been, or otherwise identified, but the referee did not hesitate* a moment. Gripping the wandering/ hand, he blew his whistle, waited for the scrum to untangle itself, identified the offender and awarded the resulting penalty. "Mill's consistent passing from the scrum would have paved the way for a worse five-eighths than Nicholls, though on the lattePs play, a worse five-eighths would be hard to find," says a Southern writer, commenting on the inter'l match. "The Wellington man seldom in his football <sareer played .o se game. He was hanging on, aud f quently was smothered, and often by cross-running he cut out Cooke completely. When Cooke came into the movement it usually developed into an attacking thrust for the first time. He was at his best, and presented his side with three tries."

During the course of the Hastings M.8.0.8. senior football match at Napier recently, one of the players sustained a cut through being struck with a nail projecting through the sprigs' of his opponent's boot, the sprigs having worn down to such an extent that the nails holding them were projecting through. The referee, Mr. 'C. Lonergan, immediately ordered an inspection of boots. The matter was brought up at the weekly meeting of the Hawke's Bay Rugby Referees' Association, when it was decided to draw the attention of players to the necessity of having the sprigs of their boots overhauled. It is easy to be wise after the event, but in the light of what subsequently happened, it does seem a pity that Hook, the Ponsonby fullback, was not nominated for the North Island team. The lack of good scoring threequarters in Auckland was no doubt one of the reasons which influenced the Auckland selectors in playing Hook on the wing in the recent representative game, with last year's custordian, Goodacre, as last line of defence. But on the brilliant form Hook has been showing this season, it is safe to say that this young player would have acquitted himself well, if he had been chosen for the inter-island game. The desire of the Maori Rugby team to visit this country during their visit to France next season has been accompanied by a request for a £500 guarantee from any county or club accepting the challenge (says the Manchester "Athletic News") a# Yorkshire have offered a £250 guarantee with 10 per cent of the gate money over £250; Lancashire, with a similar offer before them, have resolved to defer a decision. Until the Maoris have proved their worth it might seem a little speculative to ensure a comparatively large sum, but in view of the popularity of the game, the novelty of such a visit, and the profits every club made when the New Zealanders were here, there would appear to be very little real risk of money being lost by a bold policy. Thus a "Bulletin" writer: I have a vivid recollection of a juvenile football club that once flourished in Auckland under the poetic but misleading name. (at least the noun was misleading) of th© "Wild Roses." The Wild Roses issued a challenge to St. Stephen's native school, Parnell, the age limit of the players to be 14 years. Young Henare at 14 years is apt to weigh 14 stone, and a gigantic opposition took the field against the challengers, who were of normal size; morover, it had rained for a week and the field was nearly a foot under water. As the hefty Maori boys charged, the Wild Roses were submerged in the depths. At halftime the spectators could not recognise the Wild Roses except by their size; a little later the Rosas were unable to re : cognise each other. The score was a Rugby school record, which probably stands to this day—l7B to nil! After the match the headmaster of the native school t-olicited the pleasure of the visitors' company at afternoon tea, but after one horrified look at the Wild Roses he revoked his decision and remarked frigidly that buns would be served in the quadrangle. RUGBY. Whistle. A kick. A rush, a scramble, a 'scrum. The forwards are busy already, the halves hover round, , . , , The three-quarters stand in backwards diverging lines, . ' a Eagerly bent, atoe, with elbows back, v And hands that grasp at a ball, tremDlini" to start, , ..-'_•_. _■< * While the solid backs vigilant stray, about And the crowd gives out a steady resolute roa _ a, Like the roar of a sea; a scrum, a whistle, a scrum; ' •>-.. .__.•'«._ A burst, a whistle, a scrum, a kick into touch: All in the middle of the field. . —J. C. SQTjrRE.