ROUGH PLAY CRITICISED

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30395, 20 March 1964, Page 13

ROUGH PLAY CRITICISED

“Stamp It Out” Appeal (N.Z. Press Association) HAMILTON, Mar. 19. Rough play and the taking of the union’s equipment by players were criticised by Mr C. G. Wallace at the Waikato Rugby Union’s annual meeting at Hamilton last night. He was having what he termed his “last niggle” before standing down after five years as president. Mr Wallace said he had been told he too often dwelt on the topic of rough play.

He would have been prepared to l?t in drop if it had not been for what he saw last season in a match between one of Waikato’s sub-unions and a snb-union from a neighbouring province.

Some of the incidents were among the worst he had ever seen.

“One player was ‘done over’ for a considerable time,” said Mr Wallace. Referees could not see everything; nor could officials and other spectators. But officials could see things which happened where the referees could not spot them. He appealed to administrators to do what they could toward stamping out rough play. “It is no good speeding up the game if we are still going to have players battered,” he said.