FOOTBALL NOTES.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9817, 28 August 1897, Page 2

FOOTBALL NOTES.

[By Drop Kick.] "Weekly Press and Referee." The weather \va3 ■ again wet and showery in Christchurch on Saturday and but very little interest was taken in the trial match, most of the spectators at Lancaster Park preferring to watch the junior game which was being played on the adjoining ground.

There were again absentees from both of the sides chosen for the Rep. practice contest and the somewhat extraordinary sight of neither team havinga full-back was witnessed. During the first part of the contest the play was fairly even and it was some time before a ccore was obtained, but during the latter part the superior storing abilities of the A team enabled them to win comfortably. Orchard, who played wing three-quarter showed good form, scoring two tries, but the others did nothing worthy of special mention. On the whole the play lacked dash and it appeared to the onlooker as if the men were not exerting themselves as ( much as they might have. Neither Orchard nor Brooker will be able to go south with the, Canterbury team. The Canterbury Rugby Union have decided to give the members of both the senior and junior teams who won the seven a-°sidc competition gold, trophies in the shape of a football, suitably inscribed.

At last week's meeting of the committee of the Otago Rugby Union, the whole of the correspondence between the New Zealand Union and the Otago Union on the subject of the levy imposed by the former in 1895 and its "bearing upon the question of the payment of the expenses of the Otago representatives in the New Zealand team, was carefully considered, and, the feeling of the committee being that the letters from the New Zealand Union were couched in terms of such ambiguity as to leave a doubt as to the construction of them, it was resolved to return to the New Zealand Union the amount of the travelling expenses between Dunedin anil Wellington of the three Otago players in the New Zealand team.

A. E. Benjamin, the well-known Hokitika footballer, has been ti-ansferred to Greymouth. Before leaving the former town he was given a " farewell" at which the Mayor of Hokitika, on behalf of the footballers, presented the departing player with a set of gold sleeve links, scarf pin.and studs.

The Taranaki Rugby Union have decided to play Wellington at Wellington on Wednesday next, and Hawke'a Bay visit Taranaki on the following Saturday.

The Otago Rugby Union held their final trial match in Dunedin on Saturday, when the ground was soft and slippery, and the game resulted in a draw, each side gaining a try. Fell scored for the Blues and Hobson for the Colours.

By their wins over Taranaki and Wellington last week Auckland have demonstrated that they can raise a particularly strong team this season and it is to be regretted that the northerners were unable to travel further south than Wellington. The result vi Saturday's game must be very gratifying to the Aucklanders, as of the eight matches played the Empire City representatives have only been beaten twice, the previous moceea of

the Auckland men being gained in 1886, since which reason they have been beateu four times.

The Auckland special of this journal wires : —An Association team from here visits Wellington next month. The local club are now in communication with the Wellington Club anent tho matter.

A match was played at Birmingham on August 14th between the Manawatu nnd Oroua Unions, when the former won by 11 points (a goal from t try, a penalty goal and a try) to 8 (a goal from a try aud a try). For the winners JohnsEone, and Shannon secured tries, Hewitt converting one, and he also kicked the penalty goal. Corkery and Byrne scored for the losers, the latter placing a goal from his own try. It was intended to have the New South Wales representative team photographed before tho final game against New Zealand commenced, but Kenleu would not give his consent, and that was quite sufficient to block the arrangement. The reason was that it would give tho team bad luck. Tho Sydney Hiuil facetiously observes that it would be interesting to know what the result would have been had the photo been taken.

The final nvitch for the Sydney Cricket Ground trophies was played between the Rand wick and Pirates Clubs at Sydney on August 7th, when the former won by 6 points (2 tries) to 3 (a.try scored by Shivw). Commenting on the game a Sydney writer says :—The victors played a remarkably fine game. Their forwards excelled themselves, it being very evident by their cohesion in the pack and in the dribbling rushes that the visit, of the New Zealand team had already borne good fruit. The forwards one ami all played ably. The best all-round game of the day was played by Evans, as centre three-quarter. Duggan's full back work was also very fine; Winn, Miller, Barrie, and Galloway were all in good fettle. This is Mi- A. Bayly's last season of football, he tells mc, (says an Auckland writer). The Taranaki skippar has now been playing in senior football for twenty years, truly a long spell, and no one can blame him for decidiug to retire now. I wonder how many footballers have been, or will be, considered good enough to represent their colony after twenty years of play ! And yet Bayly was chosen for the Australian tour this season, and by his sterling play throughout the trip fully justified his selection. Bayly comes of* a football family, and his seven brothers have all been footballers, some of them of considerable note. As far back as 1078 he played for Wai tar a against New Plymouth, and the great " Joe " Warbriok played in the same team on that occasion. In 1885 Bayly represented Taranaki for the first time, and since then, year in and year out, he has played for that provinoe in every one of its representative matches, He lias left his mark on colonial football, and I doubt if suoli a record as his has ever been surpassed.