FOOTBALL.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18457, 11 August 1925, Page 9

FOOTBALL.

RUGBY.

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE. MR S. F. WILSON'S ADDRESS. Some impressions of the Imperial Rugby conference, which was held in London last Decemi>er, acct io -svh:ch ho u-bs -j. «':?Ie~at? from the Nen- Zea'.ar-.d Union, were the subject of an address given lefrre ir.ctabere or the Canterbury 'Referees' .Ssscc ; a;i-;n la't night by Mr S. F. "Wilson, -resident of the Canterbury Jiu-*by ' Mr J. J?. Peako was in the chair; English Conservatism. Mr Wilson sa.'d th:t in forming coac'uPiorm as to t!io work done at the '•on'erence, it should net be forgotten thr.t s-wral of ihoss legislat.ng fir Rugby to-day had been associated with (ho game t ■.euty-iive or twenty-six years ago. when, ;'ne split took place a* a result of vhirh the Northern \ nion code came into These rneu had laboured hsri to keep the g.ime clean. and consequently they were inclined to be conservative io-day. At the outset, continued Mr Wilson, the expected discussion or. the question of paying touring players 4s a dar did not take ukco, aa the International Board had met first and struck it eff the order paper, ruling that it did net -come within the &cpa of the conference. As to the question of what constituted a tackle, no decision was come to, the matter being left to the variovs unions with a view to their simplifving the rule dealing with tackling. Mr" Wilson suggested that thiswas a, matter that could with advantage be disousred by the Referees' Association in Chrietclrurch. Value of Scores. A long discussion took place on the respective values of scores. The remit from New Zealand recommended that a try count 4. points, a goal 6 points, a goal from a mark 3 points, r.o other goal counting more than three points. It was fairly generally agreed that a goal from a. mark should not count more than a tryAs a matter of fact, said Mr Wilson, the All Blacks were frequently booed in some of their matches when they claimed marks, although in Wales the mark was used a great deaL With respect to terms in England and in Njrtv Zealand, .Mr Wilson paid that after potted goals had been difcu6Bed for somo time, the chairman (Mr Rowland Hill) remarked : "But you haven't mentioned the dropped goal yet." The chairman h"d not understood the term, explained Mr Wilson. Eventually there was a 50-50 division as to whether a potted goal should count four points or three. After a discussion had taken place on th-i throw in from five yards on tho line-out, during which it was admitted that the rule would make for the betterment of the game, it was decided that it would not be quite fair to a defending tide to adopt tho rule. However, there, was no question hut that the rule- would ultimately como -nto force. It was agreed to add the word "deliberately" to the rule to penalise a player not throwing in the full distance of five yards, which meant practically to rule what was covered by the present laws of the game. The conference would not agree to the application of the advantage rule on the line-cut. 'nor would it agree to a knock-on not being oounted if the player concerned the ball.

Kicking into Touch. With regard to the kicking into touch rule, as r,layed in tho Dominion, Mr Wilson said it was owing to the opposition of one member of the English Kuaby Union that the rule waa not adopted. However, he thought that there was a probability that it would bo played toy Wales, at least in some of the minor matches, provided, of course, that permission to do so -was ■forthcoming' from the Welsh Rugby Union. By the cables that' had recently • appeared, it would seem that in. Franc© the rule was to be adopted next year- " A remit that.all scrums be taken not less than five yards from the line was lost on the ground that such hj, rule would not be fair to a defending side. A remit that half-time should not exceed . ten minutes was lost. In fact, the remit was not understood, as it was the custom of teams in Britain rot to leave the field at all' at the interval. The players stood where they were chewing< oranges,- and #ien turned round to commence playing again. The conference turned down the remit which provided for tho .replacing of injured plajere, and personally ho was inclined' to agree with the decision, more particularly regarding replacement after half-time. During the discussion it was pointed out that it would be easier for a. home team to replace its men than a travelling side, with a result ..that the latter would, always be at a disadvantage. Representation on Board.

After referring to other matters which had been'discussed, Mr Wilson said that objection had heen raised by South Africa to France being represented at the conference and. consequently no representative from that country was .present., "With.. such a view Mr Wilson was in accord, believing that as Kugby was a British' game, it was desirable to keep it in British hands,, the more so since the code was played in France, Germany, Spain, Roumania, and other foreign countries.' Had France been the only outside country concerned,:he would have been in favour of her representation at the conference, but not in the circumstances he had mentioned. New Zealand had asked) for representation of the Dominions; on. the: Board, but such was not allowed for the reason that they were already affiliated with tho English Union, in consequence of which that body's representation had been increased beyond that of "Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. A suggestion was made at the conference that to get over the difficulty an Imperial Advisory Board be set up with representatives on it from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and the British Dominions concerned, and although it had been decided that no questions should be voted on at the conference, this question was put to tho conference and carried unanimously. The aim of the Board was to advise the Foard of Control on matters touching on the laws of the. game, tours and.other questions. It appeared certain that the Board would be set up before the All Blacks left the Old Country on their return, but unfortunately the opposition which was offered) to ,the proposal after the conference had finished held it up, but Mr "Wilson felt certain that eventually such a Board would come into existence. Vancouver had adopted the New j Zealand rules, and as that country had some good players, it seemed certain that some good games oould be had this side of the world without going further afield. Referring to referees associations in Britain Mr "Wilson said that they did good work and he. advised those . present to follow the example given by an English association by getting members to write papers on questions affecting the rules, which could then be discussed. At the conclusion of his address Mr Wil.<m wea accorded a vote of thanks, and the chairman assured him that his suggestion regarding the writing of papers would be taken into consideration.

OLD BOYS V. THE REST. The following will represent the City Clubs against Old Boys on Saturday next:—u. Green ('Varsity). V. Beaumont (Albion), K. Evans (Merivale), J. McCabe (Merivale) J. Paviie (Liuwood), V. Alexander ( \arsity), R." Hooper (Merivale), J. Turpin (Linwood), C. Greatbatch (Linwood), F Partndgo (Merivale). G. Yming {.North Canterbury), H. B. Godfrey (Christchurch >. E. (Merivale 1. J. Rowlands (North Canterbury), .7 T. Burrows ('Varsity). Emergencies: A. Miller (Linwood). T. F. Mul>« (Chr.strhurch). F. M. Cowlishav.- (Christchurch), G. Browr. (Merivale). N. Wylie (Albion), W . Fnser (Linwood). The team will train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30. . The following players will assist Old Bovs- Melvin C~hiistchurrh), J.Brorlie ( Varsity). M. T. Maosregor (Christchurch), and K.'Uart (Morivaie).' SENIOR B V. PENINSULA. V le-m will be chosen from the followin- to "n'Miit the Senior B against Peninen\ S'lV'.'nion at Aica-oa on Saturday r.ext: O .Chriftrtaorch), J Kyfe (Christ■hnrrV/ » K. Ritchie (Menva'e). h. t> fflt TMilieu 1) ('. A. Cox (Chvistcliurch), f *l?afe'hy A Wilson (Rio- .„\ t T-io'l fCh•• s'.<-hwr.* -.). 11. S. lea-it 4«„ ps N- Farrant (Christ.f,hN ! T Cs Technical). D. Maxwell fvt'i,-. D, McCrostie (Christchurch). J. ■'(r-hr.ican. J. Johnstone (Meri-v-lilel "\V M To Awarau ( M . arsity), 1,. Lews (Chrisk-hurch), B. Finnesan (Christchurch) R. Beaumont ("Varsity), L. inert f Merivale) S. Kaxworthy (Kiccarton). _ _ The above plavers will meet .for • training on Tuesday and Thursday evening at 7.30 on the training ground. ELLESMERE SUB-UNION. On Saturday Dunaandel seniors defeated United, by 16"points to 0. Referee, Mr J. S. Simpson. United juniors defeated Dunsandel by lo points to 0. Referee, Mr S. Tweedy. By defeating United, Dunsandel have won the senior competition. Out of 12 matches played they have won 8, lost 3, and drawn 1. College are the runners-up. The junior competition has been won by United, who have won all their matches. In the second round of the competition the United line was not crossed. ASHBURTON SUB-UNION. At the weekly meeting of the Ashburton Countv Rugbv Sub-Union, held last evening, there "were present Messrs TV. F. Watters (president), H. J. Chapman, R. H. Biggar L. Grieve, A. Thomson, J. C. C. McLachlan, J. Smith, A. E. "Clarke, M. Timmings, F. Pritchard, A. Lane, H. Sarney, M. C. Segers, R. H. Lny, W. R. Tucker, and A. A. Fooks. The Old Boysßakaia third grade match next Saturday was set down to be played at Rakaia on account of Old Boys having defaulted in the second round. The Canterbury Union advised having forwarded to the New- Zealand Union Ashburton's request for some financial assistance in the event of a country team touring the West Coast next season. A recommendation for Its favourable consideration was enclosed. Each team defaulting last Saturday was fined 10s. * COLLEGIATE TOURNEY. (press association telegram.) WELLINGTON, August 10. On the form shown in the intercollegiate tourney it was generally considered that Wanganui would win the final and that Christ's College (Christchurch) would prove too good for Nelson. Just the opposite happened. Wellington, proved Superior to Wanganui, defeating them just on the call of time by 17 points to 13, and Nelson defeated Christ's College by 3 points to nil.

RUMOUR ABOUT NEPIA. (PEESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) AUCKLAND, August 10. The "Star" reports that G. Nepia, the AH Black full-back, has been granted a clearance by the New Zealand League Council to enable him to play for the Hull Club. England. This statement was denied to-night by Mr J. Carlaw, chairman of the League Council, who said the position is that an application for the transfer of Nepia was received from the secretary of the English League on behalf of the Hull Club. It was decided that there was no occasion for the application, as a clearance for any Rugby player was not necessary. No communication had been received from Nepin. LEAGUE. WEST COAST CENTRE. (SPECIAL TO "TIIE PRESS.") GRE YMOUTH, August 10. The fortnightly meeting of the West Coast Rugby League was held to-night, Mr A. H. McKane presiding. A' vote of sympathy with the secretary (Mr C. F. Saunders) jn his recent bereavement was carried. The chairman reported that a set of representative jerseys* had been ordered for til© school grade, A letter from, the Auckland League confirmed the date, .September 9th, for its fixture at Greymouth. Kunanga's challenge for the Jrvin© Shield was declared ,in order.

The Marist Club was asked to make enquiries regarding the amount of insurance due 'to a member who' played in the interIsland niatch

■Wo action was taken in th e .-as* of a player who had been ordered off, who eent on explanation and apologised. ' It was decided "to advise tho Canterbury Centre that the League was in favour of adhering to August 22nd for its representative mutches against Canterbury. ' The Hornby Club, wrote confirming August 22nd ao the date of the visit of ils fifth grado team. A letter was received from the Petone Club offering to send its senior team to the Coas_t It was decided to grant the application for matches and to play the visitors against the two leading senior teatns in September. It was also agreed to give Petorio 50 per cent, of the gross takings. A letter was. received from the Oreymoutb. Club pretesting against the method of selection of representative teams. It was decided to hold over until next meeting the application for matches from the Clnistchurch Marist Club for its fourth grade team. Tho Grey Club was granted an advance of £lc to assist with the expense cf sending its third grade team to Christchurch. Mr J. Thomas was appointed to the Emergency Committee. Two reinstatements from Rugby Union were granted and 17 registration? of new. players and six transfers approved. It was decided to caution a Rover player for rough play. Clubs were asked io appoint representatives and nominate players from whom to select a representative fourth grade team on Saturday. Mr A. McLuskie wa3 appointed Jianager of the junior representative team and Mr C. Hall was appointed mantger of the senior team. The Emergency Committee could appoint a substitute in tho event of his not 'being available. C. McElwee wa« appointed captain of the seniors and P. Doogan of the juniors. It was decided to recommend to tho Finance Committee the payment of fares of players in the junior play-off. The following fixtures were apnroved : Senior—Msrist v. Inangnhu.i, at Blackball Juniors—Maris* v. Blackball, at Omoto. Third Grade—Marist v k Greymyth. Fourth Grade—Greymouth v. RunangaMarist v. Brunner. ' Schools—Brunner v. N"rahere-N T elson Creek, nt Nelson Creek; Blackball v. Runanga, at Dunollie.

ASSOCIATION. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. Tho Management Committee of the Canterbury Football Association met last night. Present—Messrs K. English (chairman), W. H. Benson, "W. D. Ramsay, C. Keech, G. R. Towart, F. O. Bentley, W. Wardell, R. "Wood," A. E. Sharman. A. Baasett, R. B. Bunt (secretary), and Dr. J. D. ilirks. Mr J. H. ioster, referee, wrote that the result of the St. Albans v. Thistle junior match on May 23rd resulted in a win lor St. Albans by three goals to two. The secretary stated that this letter had been sent in to decide a misunderstanding as to the pesition of the '.earns in the junior comi-etitien. This information altered the position of the teams in the competition. The secretary, New Zealand Football Aseociation, wrote that it was considered desirable that the North v. South, match should be an annual fixture, and asking that the names of players eligible and willing to play should bo forwarded. The match would, 'be played aj. Christchurch or Wellington some time in September. It was decided that Mr Ramsay should select players for the match, the secretary to write to each player and ascertain, if they would be willing to play in the match. The secretary reported that Mr L. O. Atkinson, aeratary of the New Zealand As—option, had called on him last Saturday

and they had discussed matters relating to the dispute between the Canterbury Association and the Auckland Association regarding tho guarantee money. After discussi.-xpr tho facts, Mr Atkinson' stated thai he would "ring- tho matter before tho Council. Something definite would be heard soon. The Otago Association wrote giving particulars of the secondary school team to. play in tho Skerrett Cup competition. The secretary reported that it would not he possible to get a Christchurch secondare school team to train for this cup. Ho had communicated with the rector ol St Bede's College and the headmaster of St. Andrew's College, but neither was able to iissist. Th? Boys' High School hoya were about to start on their vacation. It was decided to.accept, with frratitude and thanks, the offer by the Linv.-ood Rugby Club to present the Association with a photograph of the Association representative teazn of 1690. Mr A. J, Shaw, Cobden, wrote that two teams, one • under 16 years, and the other under 13 years, would visit Christ-church, arriving on August 18th, and returning on the 22nd. The teams would he representative ones picked from all the school teams taking part in the competition. The letter was received.

H«ppeeting the St. Allans' protest a?a ; nst the decision in the St. Albars v. Lyttelton 'natch, it was reported that the reprps-nta-fives of the Lyttelton team were unable to attend.

It was decided to ask the Lyttelton representatives and the referee and linesmen, if unable to attend nest Monday, to send m reports on the complaints wade by St. Albans.

. In respect of tho North v. South match, it was decided to Tecommend that it be Played in Christchurch some time during next mcrith. It wag decided to accept th-s dato suggested by the Otago Association for the PeW Dawson Cup match—September 12th, at Dtmedin. SATURDAY'S MATCHES. Following are the matches, grounds-, and referees for next Saturday:— , English Cap, Second Round— Sunnyside v. a*iapoi, English Park; Mr Mitchell. - t **eae Championship, A Division—Nomads

v. Lyttelton, Lyttelton, Mr Davc-y; Thistle v. Hangera, Sunnyside, Mr Campbell. Leagua Chamßicnship, B Division—Linwood v. St. Albans-, North Park (2), Mr H. Smythe; Villa r. Technical, Ensor's road (North), llr Stout; "Western v. Adding ton. Linwood Park (Friendly), Mr E. Knights. Juniors—St. Albans v. "Western, North Park (3>, Mr Bennett; Thistle v. Hangers, St. Albans Pmk • (Friendly). Mr Perryman: Y.M.C.A. v. Lyttelton, North Park (4). Mr Foster. Third Grade—St. Albans v. Liriwocd, North Park 0), Mr Coton; Technical v. Marists, Ensor'3 road (East), Mi: Yates; Sumner a byo. Fourth tirade—Sprerdon v. Marista. Spreydon Domain, Mr Greeniees; St. Allans v. Technical, Elisor's road, 1.15 p.m., Mr F. Dick. „ ~ Fifth Grade—Western v. Y.M.C.A., Aorth Park (1), 1.15 p.m., Mr Cullan; Spreydon v. Marists, North Park, 1.13 p.m., Mr "Wardell; Technical a bye. __ Sixth Gradt—Marists v. We=ter:n north Park (4), 1.15 p.m., Mr Coton; St. Michaels v. Technical, Spreydon, 1.15 p.m., Mr Greenlees.