FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 121, 14 February 1908, Page 5

FOOTBALL.

BRITISH TOURING TEAM. HOME COMMENT. All the latest Home sporting journals contain references to the forthcoming tour of the Dominion by .a British Fifteen; which it is sincerely to be hop-y:l will be a thorough representative team.'. Wo make the following extracts: — .Says tho London "Sportsman" A .meeting of tho General Committee of the Welsh Rugby Union was held'at tho Queen's Hotel, Cardiff, .the other evening, when it was officially, announced that next season a British team would visit New Zealand, and that among those who had ne'eopted invitations wcro Reggie Gibbs, Ralph Thomas, and J. L. Williams, of Cardiff, while invitations had beer'''extended to Cliff Pritchard, the Welsh In(--national ..'centre now playing for Pontypool Jl. K. Green, Neath; T. H. Vile, who d.i ! , •_ y well in the last tour; W. J. Martin, !■ ...irier Newportonian, who has been doing g.'ib.Service at half for the'Usksidere; and the Jronowiicd J. P. Jones, of l'ontypool. are duo to leave in April next, and should prove a formidable combination.' . The "Winning i'Post" comments as follows The< official- statement that a team would go to.NewiiSoaland next spring came as a! surpriso to tehy except those who, for somo reason unknown, havo been making assertions .to tfin,contrary. The tour has roally been .dec;,i,cci:.upon for months, and it-was'practically certain to becomo an accomplished fact as-soon as Mr. Georgo Harnett was entrusted-with tho matter. . Scotland, as usual, are ..holding back, and decline to let their pkyers go. This is just what :might have b.een expected from Scotland, and' tho fac of their holding aloof is in no way prejud,ri-il to the probable success of the tour. Can lit be ; that they still regret the loss of all those bawbees to the two Colonial! teams, 'or; am they jealous?

Loland follows : Scotia's lead in declining to

take any actii in the'expedition, though they w>;-; rmit players to go if they wish. At prese' ; 'how jver, it is understood that no InshmauVtts, s'Uni in his name as a candidate. '- What contrast to this lukewarmness.is the behaviour of Wales, who

have dono % all in tbeijvpptrer to' assist the English Rugby vL'nion, J> and have: proved them.ielvcs real . • - \ ; Wo B ti,'.'byitesl .sny* ''Judex" un the London'r'ijsortsman, :, i / 'in days gong by and up td'now n<svei JVtoo far ahead; we Havo.been.content , j \ <;cat on/our. oars : far, far too-much,\ai Mough r,c have at times, sported,wo haV': j '*.0 had apparently interminable "easies,"; ■ d in 'no class of sport;is i this state of l K'.vfgs for'its: good. Wo Rugby Rip Van V , V , A 3 wero awakened by tho visit :of tho \ • : !!laeks,' ' . and we wero'-not- allowed to nihu'So. into oiir peace-

ful : slumbers once moro,''n> tho South Africans camo along to-furtlifa arouse us. ,We , are- now reaping the results of these two visits from our Colonial friends in the increased: interest, better gates, and the improvement in our play, which is now faster, .more open, and more attractive to watch than Rugby ever has been. The additional attractiveness .of - tho ■ game itself • is. now . such that both from tho player's and spectator's point of view, and also from tho financial aspect, otherwise, the gate 'question, the pastime ought never to look back. . At tho same time,- we Rngbyites must not live in a "fool's paradise."; Wo must maintain /tho; interest in Rugby, keep it alive and nourished by: constant v visits from': our Colonial Rugby experts. Ono cannot expect .that' New' Zealand, South Africa, and Australia will 6end us over teams unless- we return th'eir visits, and for this reason alone I am glad that the Rugby Union has dccided that a-team shall, visit Neiv Zealand at the 'conclusion.. of tlio present, season. Scotland and Ireland, from what one can learn, have .not fallen in with this idea, and though Scotchmen >or Irishmen can join tho tour; .they will do so without their Union's consent, a decision dccpl.v to be deplored, because it has ■ been-arrived -at at this most inopportune moment when, for, the good of Rugby football.in tho. British Isles, England,, -Ireland, Scotland, and Wales should act in unison and' show a united front to tho rest of the Rugby world. ' As ,far as one can learn, Scotland has supplied / the tune, whilst Ireland does .the dancing; but ono could have wished that our Scottish friends had seen-their way to have composed an , air for the Irishmen to jig to which would have also been acceptable to the English and Welsh Rugby musicians in • their . present dilemma. I know from hearsay evidence what aro'the motives which,have prompted Scotland to her present action; they deserve every'consideration and aro, from a Scottish light, for tho good of tho game. They arc taken up by Ireland because Rugby football tliero and in-Scotland'stands on tho samo piano as far as professionalism / goes. In neither of these countries have they to fear the professional.- This, unfortunately, is not so in, Wales- and England. Tho Welsh arid English Unions havo this spectre ever before them, and in combating this they need : the helping hand, of Scotland and Ireland. The English Union has decided, and, I think, very rightly so, that a team, shall go out to one of our Colonies noxt April, and to me it does seem inopportune—l uso the word\advisedly—that Scotland - and ; Ireland should withhold their: help a moment- when a united front in Rugby football: is so much needed. Wo must visit our Colonies and'invite them cordially over here if we want to preserve our position in Rugby and keep our game to tho fore. '