University Will Try For Two Senior Rugby Teams

Press, Volume C, Issue 29466, 18 March 1961, Page 5

University Will Try For Two Senior Rugby Teams

THE decision of the University Rugby Club to again make strong representations for a University B team in the senior competition and the report that Lincoln College is also trying to enter a side in the Christchurch competition could mean that this year the senior competition will have some new blood. There are certain to be objections from other clubs to the move by University and Lincoln College but it is to be hoped that the Rugby Union will not dismiss any claims lightly. for club Rugby is definitely in need of rejuvenation. Although the record of Canterbury Rugby teams over the last few years has been an excellent one there is no doubt that in the same time the standard of local club Rugby has dropped. Spectator interest has also reached the stage where now a crowd of 4000 is all that can be expected for games between leading side? such as Christchurch, University and Linwood, whereas even four years ago attendances of seven and eight thousand were not uncommon. For this lack of interest in senior Rugby there are two reasons—the poor standard of the bottom four teams and the over-emphasis placed on representative Rugby. The Canterbury team now plays more games than there are in the senior competition. No Doubt - There is no doubt that Sunnyside-Spreydon, Belfast and New’ Brighton are not up to senior standard. Except for 1959. when it was in the top six teams; SunnysideSpreydon has always been near the bottom of the competition in recent years. Belfast and New Brighton have an even less impressive record. Lincoln College, and a University B team could bring some much-needed interest back into the senior competition. Even if it was decided it was not practical to drop established senior teams there is no reason why the senior

grade could not be brought up to a strength of 14 teams Lincoln College has so dominated its competition in the Ellesmere sub-union that wins by 40 points are more the rule than the exception. In recent years it has provided players of the calibre of J. Hot op, W. J. Whineray, J. Buxton, and K. R Trema in for Canterbury and New Zealand teams, and this year it will again have a powerful team that would be certain to finish in the top six in the Christchurch competition. Three Times A University B side would also be well up to senior strength for in the last four iyears the University senior reserve A team has won the senior reserve competition three times. If there had been a proper promotion-relegation rule operating between the senior and senior reserve grades then there would be two University teams in-the senior competitions now. The splitting of the strength of the University club could also be a good thing for local Rugby In the last five years the club has won the senior grade four times, the senior reserve three times the junior

grade three times and the under 20 grade three times With more than 3700 students attending Canterbury University and larger rolls expected University could have a stranglehold on all open grades in the future. This would be no good at all for Canterbury Rugby. Not Correct It is not correct to say that because Canterbury is a strong province therefore the club standard must be high -it is a fallacious reasoning. The bottom four teams rarely provide players for the representative side which is usually filled by players from four or five clubs. This decreasing interest in club Rugby is not only evident to Christchurch. There arc the same problems in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin But their efforts have been made to create more interest in the respective competitions. This season Canterbury again will have a full representative programme. Surely the efforts of the Rugby Union in arranging an attractive and full provincial programme could also extend to club Rugby