MONOPOLY OF NORTH-SOUTH RUGBY GAME OPPOSED

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 75, 30 March 1939, Page 25

MONOPOLY OF NORTH-SOUTH RUGBY GAME OPPOSED

Strong comment on the Kew Zealapd Rugby Council's decision to play the North v. South Island Rugby match jit Wellington was made at the meeting of the Auckland Rugby Union management committee last night. The committee, after a discussion in -which some very frank comments were made at times, finally passed a motion endorsing the opinion expressed on Tuesday by the Canterbury Rugby Union that interisland matches should be played in rotation iu the iour mam centres. lhe matter was introduced by the chairman, Mr. A. Baker, who stated that , 118 ,T" 10n th , e . Canterbury Union was quite ugiit 111 making a protest. .."What is more," said Mr. Baker, although Canterbury complain that tiie match lias not been played 111 the South Island lor three years, 1 would like "to mention that the official North v. South 'in! i!w a » S "•?? beeu I ,la >'ed in Auckland since IJ—. lb ere was an unofficial trial match here 111 1934, but the official match A\as held at 13unedin at the end of that season Auckland is the largest city in . Zealand, and the Auckland L'nion is the argest union in .New Zealand, and our lollowers are entitled to see the.se games, which are next in importance to international games, more often than once 111 li years.'' Mr. J. Herrick pointed out that the w II- ft_'i match was being held iu Wellington this year as part of the series v„ «i mat ches for the selection of the All Black team to visit South Africa. He thought Auckland's protest would be more effective if it were directed against the principle of playing the match in Wellington all the time, rather than if it were a plea for the inter-island match to be held at Auckland this year. lhe Chairman: We do not especially want it this year, as we have already a heavy programme, but we would .be glad enough to accept it if it were offered to us. However, we are concerned, not -with our own rights, >but with the principle of letting the other main centres have a share of these matches. Mr. G. Orrell (deputy-chairman): We have let the thing slip long enough. It is time we took a stand. There appears to be a dictatorship ruling in Wellington with an iron hand. There is something wrong down there. They do not seem to be able to see beyond Athletic Park. In endorsing Canterbury's opinion concerning the advisability of allocating thejie matches in rotation, the union also decided to draw the Xew Zealand Union's attention to the fact that it is 17 years since the match was played in Aucklap'd.