FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1174, 8 July 1911, Page 12

FOOTBALL.

— 4 < RUUBY. I • '[Br Aristobulus.] e The Metier of Taranaki. t Our special reporter telegraphed from f Hawera on Thursday as follows-.— I Taranaki did not liavo its strongest ° team in the field on Thursday when they 1 met Wanganui at Hawera, but tho Am- J ber and Blacks are still a first-class com- ( bination. Their backs are clever and c fast, but not quite as finished as the splen- ' did rear division of a few years ago. J Mynott, who had retired, has been brought c . out again, and the old star is still worth ' his place even in the best of back divisions. His generalship alone makes him valuable. Some of his work in the match J on Thursday was reminiscent of the days ' when he was associated with tho brilliant t Hunter, and the two formed one of tho ' finest five-eighth combinations in the history, of Rugby .• His heady, play was a j feature of tho match against Wanganui. , "Con" Sheahan, who, a few years ago, ■was one of tho province's best throe-quar- j ters, was played in an emergency position j as full-backi and showed his. old-timo grit and deadly tackling. • Cameron, is , losing favour with the Taranaki' crowds, ( ■who do not admire him for his tendency to shirk tackling, and other willing work. ( Stohr played a first-class representative j garao in every way. His speed and weight ', enabled him to score his tries, and his j ticking was exceptionally fine, while his | knowledge of the game seemed to be ahead ] of that of most of his confreres. Roberts j was like an over-anxious boy, and so hashed up the passing that several tries' '; rtrore lost. Brown, as a half, was very • solid and lively. Tho Amber And Black forwards appear . this year to be better than usual. The ] refereeing was not at all on a level with representative football. Dates, and Those Who Fix Them. I :' When the annual fixture, North Island ;v. South Island,-'lwas'- mentioned at the: i '■last committee meeting of the New Zen- i • Jiliftl Rugby Union, it was found quite ( impossible to play it on a suitable .date. •In accordance with the union's scheme of i 'country representation, tho match must < be played after August 12, the date of 1 the North v. South country match, and ' '."when a dato was looked for it was found : that every Saturday between August 12 . and October 7 was taken up with some representative fixture that would probably prevent several of the best players coming to 'Wellington to take part in. tho , ■ inter-Island' match. Wednesday, August 111,' would have'suited'but for the fact , ■ that it would have been rather too soon ' after the North v. South country match, for,, a team, if picked on'the Saturday ■night, could not be published in all places ■ before Monday morning, and it would be rather too much to expect players to assemble in "Wellington at such short notice. . Still, it seems doubtful if the union has ■ done a wise thing in fixing the date so -late as October 7, for interest in the sea* son's football will be dying then, and players, who have "been on tour for their different unions will not be over keen on ithe. travelling. Mr. N. Gnlbraith (chair--man) suggested that a permanent fixture should bo made for the inter-Island match, bo that the various unions would arrango their own representative fixtures each year to suit. The suggestion seems worthy of further consideration. Some "Ruffing" by all Accounts, By all accounts, there was some'fairly plough play in one of the leading junior '''matches last Saturday,_ but, as none of ithe players on either side were seriously ■injured, the refereo in charge of- tho -game did not apparently think that his -•.'interference was necessary. Is it possible 'that some of tho Wellington referees, are .-.acting on a resolution' that was carried (but more recently rescinded) by the Wellington Referees' Association? All Writers Are Now Fencing. ■ A well-known Otago representative and , All Black, now Tesident in Sydney, writes me re football and football legislation ' (says "Full-Back" in the "Otago Daily Times") :— ..; "Tho League game is 'absoluto here, ''/although the Union games are improving ■ every week in the standard of play, and as the playing standard improves, so the attendances. If the Metropolitan Union '.would show a littlo more' enterprise they , could easily treblo the attendances at the Union games. The Metropolitan Union is ■ progressive enough) but is hampered for lack of funds and for want of better cooperation on the part of the New South "■ Wales Rugby Union in the past. The "League game here is being run on thorough business lines. The' team of professional Aucklanders, masquerading under the name of a 'New Zealand team and All Blacks,' is being boomed in great mtyle, As a consequence, '10,000 people 'were induced to the Cricket Ground to isee tho 'New Zealanders' play. Would [these crowds could see a North v. South Jlsland match, in Now Zealand. Most "'Now Zealanders here regret the visit of 'this professional team coming as a presumably New.'Zealand side. Francis, Asher, Gillett, and Savoury practically \ co'nstituto all the team possesses in firstclass material. Francis and Asher will be included in the Australasian Northern Union team for England. Asher lis a better full-back than Neil (the best lheTe).on Thursdays game. Any intorpro-. r.vincial team could easily defeat, this New- '■ Zealand team of professionals—quite the -poorest that has ever left the Dominion." ■•; Continuing,, my correspondent says:— *'Why'is the New Zealand Rugby Union not inviting the New South Wales or • Australian team over this season? It cannot be a question of finance, for New ''Zealand has been much in pocket in Sydney money in the past, and quito JJISOO .■ .was furnished hero in 1905 to send the All Blacks Home. Many Union players hero anticipated this tour of the Dominion. In the best interest of the game 'here, and in New Zealand, tho'N.Z.R.C. should invito tho New South Wales team ■over beforo the season.is over." Our Chaos and the League. Saturday's League match, at Sydney Agricultural Ground (cays last week's "Bulletin") was a vast improvement . on the last one, though the Maorilander.s wero still raw, and lacked cohesion. They are game, and fast (some of them) and good." But tho -cohesion which comes'of playing together, is "iiot among them—as yet. Saturday's game was, nevertheless, a brilliant ono to watch, being fast, clover, and strenuous. Ono daily paper man summed it up: "New South Wales players made no misfakes; Mnoriland's representatives made a number." And that is tho whole position—except that New South AVales won by 26 to 10.'.Another thing: the Maoriland team has undoubtedly got a tail, and the New South Wales team on Sat- . urday was tho full-fledged frog. Saturday's Kaino was a case of forwards mostly, although occasionally the back* got in some work. At the beginning tho Maorilanders ■more than held their own; but combination must tell, and the result was inevitable. When they return from playing the. five matches up north, they will be a very much more formidable crowd. But it will bo a mistake to expect too much from them. Never before did a team from Maoriland bump such opposition as this one has in New South Wales, and tho people who compare the. doings of this team with others from Maoriland forp'fc that never before was New South Wales football of s-uch high quality. St. James and Petone. Petone's third loss this season > was mainly brought about by St. James's forwards, who played the game throughout with "dash" and polish. Moffit, Ring, Donaldson, Wright-in fact tho whole pack—were never found wanting, and always saw to it that the rush was going ' the way they wanted. All their tries, save one, were tho outcome of forward work, save one, and Dn Blois got that, not, however, beforo 11. Roberts had made a sensational run through tin - I'etone team. The latter, lo bo sure only made feminine attempts to brinj him down. It was a movement thai every crowd loves to see—where tho applause starts with a murmur and swell; into a i roar when the line is crossed.

Moflit's two tries must go to the "pack's" credit. They simply romped over tlio Blues on .'.each occasion. Wright's try was the same as Mofht s. Hill's score was effected in tho dark, and it looked like a "sneaker," for it was almost, too dark to seo anything. However, it all counts. Thomas, ut full, was as lucky as ever. The two Kobertses wero the mainstay of tho backs. Cook made desperate attempts to cross tho scoring-line, even being indiscreet enough to try a hurdle, over Boyd and Ramsdcn. This player must drop that business at once, lest worse things befall him. One has only to think of poor "Bnrney""Arnnt's sad end to realise what this jumping business means. Apart .from this, Cooks play was nippy and effective, but ho could not beat Bovd, who was marking him. The little Petone boy got him every time. ' Crewes never seemed to be in the right place. Ho has a habit of wandering. Clarke, at second five-eighths, is somewhat impressive, and has a fair turn of speed. Petone's forwards were weak, and had no steam. They "obtained possession" frequently, but "before tho leather got to Ramsden, the back men in the scrum insisted on kicking it bask 1 itgain, and this fault was, in the main, tho cause of their downfall. With the sterling. team of backs which they had last Saturday, tho ball should have gone out to them every time. No ono can dispute tho brilliancy of two of Petone's trios. They were marked .by .absolute perfect combination, with a dash of head work and speed thrown in. Therefore tho argument holds good that if the backs had seen more of the ball a different tale might -have had to be told., ■; •''■"•.■- ~.,Petoiie's.,..third.-.try—scored.' Boyd— was a clover side-slopping' individual effort with a lot of credit to the scorer. Dent was Petone's best, forward. Ho worked like a tiger, and is, one of Wellington's best at line-out work. Ramsden and M'Kenzie—the inseparable two—strovo hard to avert defeat, and it was not their fault that their side went. down. Daley, as a wing,- takes some holding, and even grassing! His thrilling runs and slipperincss would 'raise a cheer from any crowd. " : '' It seems regrettable that suburban matches cannot bo started at. 2.45 instead of 3.15. Last week it was not pleasant to watch tho finish in the dark. What i chanco.has .a,referee' gqt, i'or, even tho players, not to mention the onlookers? Poneke and Oriental. Poncke arid Oriental had a littlo bout at tho Park on Saturday that was not exactly football. 'Resolved into its parts it was merely slush—tho same as the ground. They, jammed their heads together until one was stunned. Even a negro can bo stunned, and a team can bo to all intcuts and purposes stunned much more easily than a negro. To speak unkindly of. the encounter may seem unfair, for reach; team v ..expended tons of energy. Nevertheless,'"the result was not of a kind to become enthusiastic about. The opening spell was unimportant. Oriental tired themselves in an almost abortive series of attacks, while Poneke, as far as possible, held aloof and'relied on long-distance shots at tho line. It was in the early part of tho second spell that the teams really got at one another's throats. Poneke set the tune; Oriental should have been able to strike up an opposition air, but they did not. The teams clashed together, seemingly bent on jamming their respective entities into one solid lump, and. for fifteen minutes, there was chaos. Indeed, it was chaos all the way. v. Itijyas two teams in fair (but not good) training, found out on just the kind of ground to find them out. It all shows what fifteen-a-side Rugby is. A bear pit would do.

Incidental Scoring. . '.' The Reds may seem justified, but their dominant score was built upon incidentals. A penalty-goal and another from a mark—obtained easily as a result of a bit of Oriental's foolishness—comprised the tally of the victors. The losers scored ' their lone try in one of the few spasms of bright play that flickered out Hinfrqquently. For once in a way; the Oriental backs, started off by M'Leod, rounded off a' forward rush in workmanliko style. Apart from this- try of Matheson's, tho Oriental backs made few attempts that even looked like being dangerous. It is ,t) be admitted that the Oriental rearguard has not been distinguished of late. As a fact, neither team was in scoring fettle. Poneke decided that the thing to do was to "hold" very tight? Oriental had no effective alternative to offer, and so tight holding became the order of the day. Meanwhile the finer points of the game went out and overboard. <' The Green and the Red. Southern and College played on No. 2 i ground at _ the Park, and received very i little public attention. Nobody seemed ; inclined to interfere. College played i about ninety per cent, juniors, nnd South- ; era's team fairly represented the strength ' of tho club. The match was tho softest ■ thing Southern has had this season, and , they were a little unlucky that their ' score (31 points) was not larger! Tho general weaknesses of the Southern 1 team wore not so apparent as',,.when they i have met stronger team 3, but they seem- ' ed" to ' be 'as 1 "niueh' oS" ever" a* "one-man t team." In the tough games, Bradley ap- -. pears to ,'do everything; -in Saturday's '■ easy match he was constantly in evidence. ] He scored three of the tries, and was responsible for others. M'Donald (wing- - three-quarter) has played several good i games, and was in fair form on Saturday. r Dwan (full-back) was as weak as anyone • could be reasonably expected to be. ' Surely Southern havo some junior whom " they can make a full-back of.' Southern " have not realised that, besides it being & considered necessary to have a man to 3 fill tho position of full-back, it is also " generally accepted as a good line to get a a man who will do something while ho is • on tho field. Several teams in Welling--1 ton pick full-backs as players, not as ornaments: ' ~.i>. « Too Many Poets. 1 College were a very dreamy, poetic ar- ? ray. They displayed little of the vulgar J interest commonly w-asted on running and ? passing, and kicking, and scoring. They .permitted Bradley to walicthrough from ® half-way almost unmolested, they . "had-'lno objection to Houlihan-scoring oc- • casionally. Ponanga" seemed " likely to ° brighten things, but his several smgle--0 handed efforts wero quickly spoiled. The " team was about the weakest which has .' represented the club as a senior combina- '* tion. The overdose of juniors was too • great for anything but a big; defeat to ,| bo expected. •■» [' The Brightest Item, ■ "::'*.* t- The brightest item'was. not done pur's posely. Southern had "found" a man I- named Cunningham. Cunningham punco tuated the'game by giving away tree's, kicks,-but. his greatest achievement was i- his "try." The Southern forwards had i- swept the Victorians before them, the ball g had been, kicked over tho line, nnd seva oral Southerner's were' chasing it to touchit down, and not a Collegian with a chanco h of getting there first. Suddenly a red n jersey—yards in front of everything elseis (lashed down the field, and tho wearer, d after a superhuman effort, reached it, and >f touched-down-but ho was ten yards off- "' side, and ten yards is over the maximum " allowed by the new rules. However, nil thanks to Cunningham; it was a splendid idea of his, and tho crowd applauded, is ' A Southerner who has been taking a lot r- of tho rough work and getting ■ littlo it support, and less praise, is Gallagher. », The half-back has played some very solid lo games, and his determination in'defence 1- has been admirable. Ono of his best ig games was against Melrose, when he had s, a long, hard battle to keep his team's •d end up against the vigorous Newtown fort, wards. Gallagher is thoroughly gume—a id hue quality lacking in many more polishle cd players. id Thirty Weak Persons Meet, it The Gxturo between Wellington and P- Old Boys played at Karori last Saturday Is was another "illustration of what inconsistent form the Old Bo.vs show durtea

a season. It would be on a parallel with i somo of their performances in previous i years if they beat the St. James team i (leaders for the championship) next time i they met, but sucli brilliancy from them 1 will not bo looked for this season. As far as tho Wellington team is concerned, i it docs not appear to have improved very ; much, though Hunt's try was a pood : piece- of work, and Bridge and Lambert played their usual Rood defensive games. Perhaps the team- may brighten up now that it has obtained a victory. . League Affairs Over the Water. The crowd at the second League matchNew Zealand v. New South Wales—was very large, and yet about 15,000 less than rolled out to witness the first match. It is an unanswerable testimony of public opinion in relation to the new Kugby (says the "Referee"'), for tho Now Zealanders at present with us have not come across with anything like the high reputation—as differentiated from actual strength—of .any of the representative Rugby Union.teams since 1593. Though not so attractive in a purely spectacular sense, it was far more, exciting, and a better display of Rugby than that of the preceding match. The New Zealanders showed an all-round improvement, and were it not that the local men, and particularly the forwards, were likewise improved in defence, that is, as a bodv, it must have gone hard with them. The forward play was of tho most strenuous order. And with big, .heavy, powerful, well-conditioned men on both sides, it may be imagined that the tackling was very solid. It was no day for the physical weakling in the forwards. For a time, at the start, the New Zealand forwards came through, initiating many dribbling rushes, which amply tested the local backs in defence. These questions were answered satisfactorily on tho whole, by the Blues, for the goal-line was not crossed. Then tho Blue forwards replied to devil with devil, and tho struggle became desperately hard and exciting, though lacking in most of the graces and swiftness which electrify the crowd, and that solely through tho high quality of the defence. Tho tackling of both sides was so very effective that play became marked largely by scrummages and heavy ruck work. In this respect it resembled a Kugby Union battle between well-matched teams of stalwart forwards supported by solid backs. "A Reasonable Prophesy." The following entertaining, if ill-balanc-ed expressions of opinion appeared in •'Sport" (a Melbourne paper), two or three weeks back. .Something.similar has been written periodically for oyer 30 years. Even in tho birthplace and home ot tne Australian game no football crowd has ever paid anything like ,£2570 to see a match, as was paid on Coronation Day to see tho Kugby League contest. "During the week the sparkle and excitement of Saturday's double bill at Erskineville Oval has been talked of far and wide in Sydney, and many now friends have been won for Aus- ' trolia's own 'perpetual motion* code. It was a record Australian 'gate for Sydney, and congratulations are being showered on Mr. A. E. Nash, president of tho N.S.W. Football League, and other enthusiasts who have for some years been forcing the game surely to the front in Kugby-ridden Sydney. The 'record gate' amounted to about .£3O. "Tho Kugby Union, which was all tho craze for many years, hangs on before small attendances of 'loyalists.' Tho ' Kugby League, whose game is only a 'less slow' edition of the same scrummaging, double-barrelled-scoring, hug-ball-and-run nonsense, has been getting the crowds for the past three seasons, but many are saying that there's little fun in its easily-mado 'cricket -total', scores; and the frequency with which club beats another known to be its equal, or thereabouts, by 12 or 20 points to nil, or next door, is beginning to pall upon the paying public, without whom no sport can live. "It is such a position which makes me supplement my ancient attack on the Kugby Union (when it was all the rage): with'.:a: prophesy; that.,- within. a very few years tho Australian game will provide .Sydney's favourite football. .

"And neither Bugby ■ Union nor Rugby League will bo its strongest opponent, but 'Soccer,' the British Association 'round-ball' game. Soccer has b»en coming on gradually in Sydney for years, and only needs a visit from an English team to give it a big lift. There was to have been one this season, but it fell through. But just because 'Soccer' is the only genuine 'foot'-ball of the four codes, it will never equal the Australian game in wide popularity. Theabsense of any handling (save by the goal-keeper) and hand-work will be a, flaw from the spectators' viowppintj .fast and open gamo though it be otherwise. "There can be no manner of doubt that thoso monetary grants and visiting teams from the Victorian Football League will before long prove to have been seed sown upon good, ground. What sturdy progress towards ripe fruitftilness the tree has already made was splendidly apparent at Erskineville Oral on Saturday last." Even our best of good friends, whose cnthusiasih centres on the Australian game, will smile on reading this. "Popular Taste" in Sydney. According to the "Bulletin":—"lf stoical disregard of the juggernaut that has just passed over it counts for anything, Union Rugby in Sydney should pull through. On Saturday last, Juno 21, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Newtown and South Sydney pursued the drab and impecunious tenor of their way with ell the grace and enthusiasm possible. Were they cast down by the. roaring applause that soared over the fenco from the 50,000 peoplo in the Agricultural Ground who were watching, the triumphant rebels roll in gold? Not a bit. Each team stuck its chest ont, and play«d as though 100,000 people had paid a sovereign apiece to look on. Possibly, the popular taste may change, but at present it doesn'l look like it."