Delegates reject 10-a-side Rugby

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32861, 9 March 1972, Page 16

Delegates reject 10-a-side Rugby

Club delegates voted for the abandonment of the scheme to introduce 10-a-side Rugby on an experimental basis this season—a recommendation from the New Zealand Rugby Union—at the Canterbury Junior Advisory Board’s annual meeting last evening.

After the vice-chairman of the C.R.F.U. development committee (Mr R. W. Thomas) and another union member (Mr C. H. J. Rhodes) had explained that it was proposed to play 10-a-side football in one grade—the new under 15 years 7st grade—a vote on voices showed that almost all the 100 delegates were against the proposal. Mr Thomas asked delegates to accept that 10-a-side was an experiment—“let’s try it and if its not beneficial, throw it out”—to improve young players’ handling and running. A JAB. management committee spokesman (Mr M. Inglis) said that his committee had found that most clubs were against 10-a-slde football and it had informed the union of this. "The N.Z.R.F.U. originally recommended that it be tried in under sst, yet they are going to have it in the under 7st grade. It appears that we are on a different wave-length.” "I don’t know if I can take that,” the president of the C.R.F.U. (Mr 3. Storey), who was chairman of the meeting, said

f after Mr I. Newman (Albion) had t asked that a vote be taken t recommending the abandonment 1 of the scheme. r “You’ll have to,” replied a . dalegate. . An amendment to the motion 1 —which was later defeated— I from Mr J. Irving (St Andrew’s > College) aaked that the union call for entries for 10-a-side play }in the under nine years Sst 1 grade. This would have involved > 600-700 boys and more coaches, " more referees and more fields. "We’re in a big enough S muddle as it is,'*’ Mr Storey said, - In answer to a delegate's inquiry , whether “anyone has bothered 1 to ask the boys.” , "I don’t think they (the union) > will take any notice,” said Mr . Storey, after the motion for 1 abandonment had been carried. AGI-WEK3HT GRAMS ■ Earlier, the delegates had > voted to accept the LAB. man--1 agement committee’s recom- ; mendation for a combination of t age and weight grades for all ■ grades up to under 16 yean this f season. ’ Mr Inglis said that the J.A.B. > felt that Canterbury’s under- . weight system was outmoded ■ and that the new grades would “provide equal opportunity to » all.” ! The Sydenham club sought to ■ have grades according to age I only, with its main spokesman (Mr J. Coleman) explaining that too many big, young boys were being forced out of football. The J.A.B. recommendation is tor 14 lower grades—under Oyra Sst, under llyrs Sst and llyrs open are examples of three of them—but speakers last evening Indicated that there might be a need for more, especially in the 14-15 years area. 1 Mr Rhodes explained the t union’s plan to Institute a "tern. . porary suspension” or “cooling. . off period” for lower grade foot, . ball. A number of delegates , agreed that the union waa starting at the wrong end of the

, The J.A.B. committee for 1*72 la:—Messrs B. Rudkin (Belfast), B. Chapman (Burnside), V. Buz- • ton (New Brighton), J. Ditford (Mertvale-Papanul), R. Sullivan ' (Linwood), B. Frear (H.S.O.BJs J. Irving (St Andrew’s College., ■R. Laing (Christchurch), M. . Inglis (Albion), N. Fraser. : (Sumner), E. Derbrldge (Sub- ' urbs), J E. Cummings (Marlstir , K. Bailey (Sydenham). Mr G. Couch was the defeated ■ member while the new member is Mr Derbrldge. ;