CANDID COMMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1089, 30 March 1911, Page 6

CANDID COMMENTS.

s ' . THE RUGBY GAME, TACKLED BY A FRIEND. "BLACK SHEEP." Mr. D. D. Weir broko into/a discussion on finance at the meeting of the Wellington RugbJ-Union last evening to express a hope that the delegates assembled would not ignore matters of larger importance. They were there, he said,'to foster a gained In his view less had been done in this direction than ought to have been done. They knew they had gained a few players, but this was not enough. The speaker, was sorry to note that Ihe accident insurance fund was in a bad way. This he attributed to the poor quality of the referees.of to-day, ..who were absolutely inefficient. "Take the disgraceful incident known as 'the Ranji Wilson case,'" said Mi. Weir. "Anyone will admit that it was nothing more nor less than a free fight, and who was responsible for it? We have to face tho position, gentlemen, and tho. sooner we do it the better it will be for ourselves ■and for our game. We find to-day thatthe referees want to run us. We extended a lot of consideration to them five years ago when we gave them throe representatives on the Appointment Board. Now they are not satisfied. They want to make their own appointments. Also they have internal troubles. They 6ay: 'John Jones got five representative matches and I got none.'" At this stage a delegate inquired whether Mr. Weir was in order. "It's all right," said Mr. Weir,; "I am easy; I am an old hand, and you aro a young one. (To the chairman):* May I proceed, sir?" "Go on, Mr. Weir," said Dr. Newman. Scarifying the Referees. "I knew it," said Mr. Weir, resuming. "The position is this: that tho failure of our accident fund is brought about by the incompetency of our referees. A\'e find that we have paid for broken noses, we have paid for false teeth, the result of blows struck during a. match. AVe have no right to make any such payments. The sooner clubs recognise that they have black sheep in their midst the better for our football. No club should play a man when they know ho is a black sheep, but clubs at the present moment aro doing it. There is nothing surer." "They Would Have to be Very Careful." They must not forget, continued Mr. AA'cir, to try to give everyouo a fair deal. As an instance of what he meant, they might take the case of the Oriental Club last season. It was deprived of a match it was to have played against a weak team. They all knew with what object the match was held back. They would have to bo very careful not to run football for money. A Live Governing Body. Another matter which had.come under everybody's notice'was the'line of action taken by the New Zealand Rugby Union when it interfered practically with the internal arrangements of this union. The speaker happened to be in Sydney when this was done, and the papers theroseemed to be delighted that.New Zealand football had such a live. governing body. In this view the speaker concurred. He held that if a man erred he should be punished. Unfortunately as soon as a" man got. into trouble you found "all hands," so to speak, rushing round the country to magnify the virtues."of that individual. It was lio.t right. If.a;mnu ojfed'he should be punished irrespective of rank, grade, class of play, or anything else. If ho made a mistake.he should pay. Another matter which brought ridicule upon our football was the action of selectors. In tlib end of last season .the .Management Committee appointed one man. The speaker was very glad that affairs had turned in this way. He had been battling for one-man selection- during the past ten years. ... Game Seriously Threatened; •■ •■■■ Leaving 'tho domain of local 'affairs, Mr. AA'eir turned next to the question of professionalism. "At the present' moment," he said, "we have opponents' who seriously threaten us. I refer toy the Northern Union. About the 'soccer' people wo never trouble. They are as good men as we are; and they arc amateurs. But when there is an attempt to invade our territory, when our game is challenged, I think it is time to take such action as will enable us to annihilate the invaders. Mr. Houghton, manager of the English football team,'made a statement that was not contradicted. He said the only difference between Rugby Union players and League players was that tho League men were honourable. They came out in the open and took their money over tho table, while Rugby plavers took their money under the table. Is it right that men should come to this country and make such statements without being challenged?'.' . Was't not a fact) con tj nuc(l Mr Yfoir, that players had been bought up by the League?.. Was it to get better sport that this was done? Not by nnv means. The inducement was that there would be money to handle, and those instrumental in bringing about the chango hoped to participate when the division took place. In Sydney, the speaker encountered a iria'n who was offered .£IOO to play the professional game.. That man said, "No-. I must study my honour. If Ido this thing I shall feel ashameVl of myself." (Hear ''W . J |??F should play, continued Mr. AYeir, to derive sport, for themselves and not. for the public. The game was introduced to provido a sport fir tho bovs of tho community."' •■'.,. ..." It was said that that League game was more open. That might be granted., But was a niore open game going to give' more enjoyment to those .who participated? Iho ordinary individual who worked at us bench all day, and so on, would not be keep going in an open game. Iney did not want this. They'wanted to embrace everybody and anybody so lon° as his reputation 'was good.. The other game was thriving in two centres. This was due to Rugby mismanagement.' Last season one of the unions set to work aha* disqualified a e i u i, f or . practically" nothing. J. he players disqualified wished to. play a game, and they played tho other_ game. . . . Are the Rules Good Enough? Speaking generally, Mr.. AVeir went on, the rules (of Rugby), were good enough. If the rules Were good enough, the plaver must.be at fault; so that if vou started to alter t?ie rules to suit him it might not serve tho end desired. ; "We aro probably the purest amateurs m the.ivorld," said Air. AY'eir in concluding, "and we are proud of tho fact." Professionalism mlist be, resisted in every way. They only wanted out-of-pocket expenses when they started professionalism in England, but how they wanted hundreds of pounds, to transfer .from one club to another. Hundreds had been offered in this country to get players to enter professional ranks.. Tho .-money : was there. If it were possiblo to .remove many of the Rugby..players into the Northern Union, Rugby would go out of it: They must be a little more careful than they had been in the past. Mr. Brp\vn disagreed with Mr. AVcir in his remarks about referees. Many men wero content to criticise referees, but they would not go out and act as referees themselves. It teemed that some men when they left active football wero all talk and no work. The speaker did not in this refer to Air. AA'cir, who. did good work in coaching' his club.-