FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1425, 27 April 1912, Page 12

FOOTBALL.

CBl A.BIBTO3ULTO ] HOW VYILL IT ALL END? Our Mistake, It is",discovered! The same of tho gamel.'Last week tho pastime of Melrose and Southern remained unidentified: today it. stands revealed. Stripped of its mantle' of, mystery it is simple enough and charming, too. The name is "opening of the season," We knew it was * not Eugby, - but we did not understand. Thero is a difference between a game of Eugby and a Kugby Union championship contest. A gam© of Kugby is just ltugby— Eugby all the time. A ltugby Union championship'contest is'various things at various times. Tho latter is worked on a definite plan, and to depart from it might mean' failure; and it might mean Kuguy. There is the opening of tho season, tnen the season in full swing, and then the end of the/season. At tne opening of tho season. tho playefs are "out of form"; ivhen the season is in full swing they are "getting into better condition"; and at the, end of the year .they are "state through having been out of form and getting. into , better' condition." To ,depart from this order of things might bring the wholo system thundering and clattering about everybody's cars. And, as mentioned; a moment ago, it might produce Rugby. So, in apcord with custom—the custom of Eugby '.Union > championship contests—Melrose and : Southed played "opening of the season" on Saturday. Tho notion about a game of Eugby' l>eing expected was our mistake. For Untrained Men—The Sideline. It is said that one or two members of the Southern'team who had been doing a little physical training prior to tho opening match were annoyed on finding that the. balance of the team had deferred their training till tho afternoon cf the match. Houlihan is mentioned as one of those who omitted to train. Of course, tho writer, who stands on the bank and hears these things, "cannot cast back over tho past and say whether or not Houlihan did train-, but lie can say that Houlihan's chief industry during the game seemed to be to act -as tho tail of the comet. There is a great deal of truth in what tho barTackers said on Saturday—untrained men ought to be left out of the team. There is ample accommodation on. tho side-line for them. Tho fato of teams who play untrained men is written in paint luminous enough for Southern, or anybody else, to read -without difficulty. Good Tackling. The brightest spot in the Southern. Melrose contest was the good tackling of a few. H. Capper (Southern full-Back) collared, excellently, and on one occasion ■when his side was in a very tight corner he brought off a very clevor doublo tackle. Bradley s tackling was good, arid so was that.of Mortensen and Gallagher.- But the general collaring of the. Southern team ■was terrible indeed. Jlelroso ivero much better in this department. It was pleasing to notice the all-round safety of.tho two full-backs—H. Capper, of the Southern team, and W. Marshall, of tho Melrose team.

"All Blacks Not Wantod in England."— A Correspondent's Letter. During the week a letter'relating to an interesting and somewhat, sore question lias'been received. The. letter, which sufficiently explains itself, reads as follows Sir, —Your football writer, "Aristobulus," talks of the "All Black" application for a tour in (1) Great Britain, (2) England, as being "turned down," and further asks, re the comparative form of "Springboks" and "All Blacks": "Is there any other kind of form of which the gentlemen who play Rugby ill England take etock?" "Aristobulus" has hit tho nail right on the .head. . There is another kind of form of which English players take great stock, a kind of "good form" which was frequently absent from some members of the "All Black" football combination both on the field and off. In tho United Kingdom, with the exception of Wales and the remoter countrv districts of Ireland, Rugby football has always been the game of the "classes" ns opposed •to professional Association, which is the game of the "masses." It is the game of the great schools, of the universities, of professional men, and of officors of the Army and Navy. The English Rugby Union has always wished to keep the game to the class that may well be defined by the aquatic term, "Henley amateur." Tho Scotch .Rugby Union is even more particular. With all duo respect to the fine "All Black" team and to New Zealand Rugby football as a whole, it does not agree with Old Country Rugby Union ideas. Unpleasant incidents, such as n certain Police Court affair, could not possibly happen in the United Kingdom, even in Wales. I think I am right in saying that that particular affair was much discussed in official Rugby-circles in England and . Scotland, and it did .not tend to smooth the way for the reception of another New Zealand team in tho Old Country.—l am, etc., G. R. BACCHUS. Otaki, April 20. Btars That Shone Dim. Over 2000 people went up to the Park on Saturday for fid. worth of "star" match, :as.they call it. The "stars"— Poneko and Petone—did not shine much, and it is fortunate that, during its progress, a dog-fight or a horse-bolt did not happen outside tho fence. Superior attractions might have emptied tho ground. If Saturday's form is tho truo form of Poneko and Petone, all our genuine starlight is out, and the vision becomes a firmament of black cats. Poneke has always been our prettiest team for style, and Petone our best for downright enthusiasm. In their case tho sl'jrnp is no doubt temporary—a fortnight may set them up again—but Poneke anticipate a difficult, time in pulling the team up again to the old standard. Still, if the.y face it, it can bo done.

Painful Letter on the State of the Game. Doleful accounts of Eugby arrived in a private letter from Sydney this week. Further wholesale desertions of Rugbcians to tho League game are likely, and tho decrepit old thing cannot stand in:iny inoro desertions. Tho writer of the letter -an old New Zealand forward-adds:— "What elso can you expect? Tho public lovo motion, and' tho Leaguo game gives them twice as much of it as and there you are! It's a cleanor game, too, bceause tho man who sets out on a 'ruffing' cruise is soon noticed. |" el ' e aren't so many men on tho field to block tho referee's view of him." Yes, tho outlook is no doubt bad—or rather good. It amount 3to this: If the glory of the usual trip to Australia fades Eeeauso Australian Eugby itsolf has faded, and tho, visions 01 future English trips vanish because the English do not want our trips, why then tho end is quite near. Some strong man —a man who can think—will rise up in New Zealand some day, and ask'all sorts of unpleasant questions. Among others ho will want to know whether tho time is not ripe for a change, game and management and rules, lock, stock, and barrel. For sonic years tho Dominion has endeavoured to indicate the steady backward drift of the current, but not on ac- - count, of tho "ruffing" or the betting, or the numbers playing the game. The chief trouble is the gradual deterioration of the standard of play, anil the shockingly

tang|ed state- of tho rules. No referee can enforce them. Tho best referee -who over steps on a field averages about , twenty mistakes per match. A Union That Wanted The Game Changed, * One recalls that, last year, the Wanganui Eugby Union did have a shot at bettering the play. They did ask the New Zealand control whether or not changes were desirable. And then the chief control turned heavily in its slumbers, and answered one- question by asking another: "What changes do you suggest?" quoth tho control. So tho Wanganui Union got to workgot to the control's work that is—and considered, and surveyed, and pondered, and reflected, and cogitated, and scratched its head, and then gave tho control the result of its labours. But the control sleeps on. Probably the Wauganui suggestions have nover even been considered. At all events nothing has been done—the control sleepeth. If a Doctor Saw Old Boys. It is possible that an all-wise control may some day retain a medical board to test tho physical fitness nf footballers to pursue their arduous pastime. If this

idea is ever taken up, such a team as Old Boys, pitted against St. James at Miramar on Saturday, will assuredly bo forbidden to take the field until it has undergone at least, some weeks of vigorous training. Standards of play were not applicable to tho, alleged contcst. The victors to a man were, keen and fit. Most of their opponents were out of condition. The result followed as naturally as night follows day. St. James might as easily have made the scoro 109 as 29. One remark with a bearing on condition 'canio from the field. Towards the end of tho opening spell one player asked in a plaintive way whether they were playing "two sixties." Strangely enough, the question camo from King, the St. James forward who scored five tries. • Redeeming Features, The Old Boy forwards as a body did not count. Tho best of their number was Fordham, who laboured tirelessly to make up for tlio deficiencies of his comrades. . 'Ho was particularly .'.fearless: in charging, and on one occasion received a tremendous whack on tho face with the

ball, ami stopped the boot of the St.. James full-back with his chest. If there had been anythiug on his side to lead, Fordham would have led it well. Amongst the Old Boy backs, Grace took pride of place. Ho was indefatigable in defence, and there was no sounder tacklor on the field. His kicking was well-judged, but like any other player on his side who tried an occasional opening move, he was foiled, and his efforts mads of no avail, owing to lack of support. Logan, at half-back, also did good work. Ho went down very pluckily to opposing rushes, and was never far away from the place where he could do most good. St. James's Simple Forward Policy. Perhaps because they had Buch an easy task in hand, St. James played a somewhat unenlightened game, particularly during the first half. I'ho forwards formed themselves into a rough-and-ready battering rain, with tho ball never very far away from its forward end, and pounded away (rather blindly) at their disorganised opponents. The St. James back? meantime were clumped in rear, busily

engaged in doing nothing. Mutters improved in tho second epell, when Old Boys were playing down wind. St. James now opened out, and the backs maintained a good formation, and showed themselves ready and alert in taking tin! ball on a long down-wind slant, and smartly recovering lost ground. Tho result was that Old Boys never even had prospects—despite the wind in their favour—of crossing the lino of their opponents. In the open work of the second spell Israel, tho St. James full-back, played a prominent part. \His returns wero quick and clean. Cookb was ready and resourceful in attack, and made a number of promising attempts, apart from tho ono which ended in a score. Crewes did some excellent kicking, though ho reaped a poor harvest of points, and was also nimblo in tho field. As to the forwards, King annexed tho honours. Athletic and Wellington. By superior strength, condition, and experience, the very fine contingent who are wearing tho bluo and_ black jerseys I his season first ran the Wellington boys to a standstill, and then beat them decisively. Tho Athletic side liavo opened up this year with tho form they showed at the end of last season, and thcro will bo some violent football going on the days they get their beatings, if indeed, they ore to get any at all in 1912. Their most

A Good Word About Poneke, It is pleasant to bo ablo to say a really good word about Poneke. They got the ball in tho scrum quite as well as it could reasonably be expected to bo got in any inatch. There were IS scrums altogether —/ancy 43 scrums in ! 90 minutes!—and Poneke got it out 17 times to Petones 4. There were 22 scrums which ended in nothing at all. Blot on the Game—The Present Scrum. Twenty-two futilo tussles out of 43 scrums is a high percentage of "missfires," but it is good compared with most matches.'. Plenty of matches never seo the ball out cleanly half a dozen times all (Jay. Why? Because thoro arc too many men in the present Itugby scrum. If the chief control would hire a hall and try two good teams of scrummors in it nightly for a week, and keep counl tlicso worthy men would get figures tr ponder over. The first time, say, the bal strays out at tho side, in an inebriated way; second time it atrays out at the same side; third time it strays out at tho other side; fourth time it emerges wearily on the original side, a real candidate for Koto Roa; tenth time it sticks among tho feet in the back rank; nineteenth time some side really heels it out. That is the average. Yet controls, spectators, players, and critics go on believing in tho scrum as an efficient means oi focdihg up the backs! I?- the control will not awake, some enterprising captain O'.lght to try live men in the scrum. Of course lie would not get the ball—he docs not get it anyhow—but he would have enough extra backs or wingers, to take up a violent aggressive whenever the other sido ijot it. Tho artifice would pay moderately any day. On wet days it would pay liandeomely,

notcworthj recruits arc Paton, of Otago fame, and Roberts, who used to bo tho mailt support of tlic St. James backs last year. In Roberta the club have found the very man they were most in need of— a strong nnd elever half-back. Od Saturday he played d fine gamo behind tho scrum, albeit, his! forwards could not get the ball for him except on very rare occasions. His try was a smart piece of work. Tho Blues admitted that thev were surprised at the fight put up by Wellington. Last year's Wellington team would havo scarco offered tho resistance 01 a cobweb to the rushes of those keen bluo forwards, but there has been an infusion of new blood since then. Thompson and Irons, although hold up by a scrum that was several hundredweights lighter than their opponents', were ablo to get the ball. Altogether, there are six promoted juniors in the forward ranks, and they are not .quite accustomed yet to tho --Pee'' and energy of first-class football. Phey may acquire this, howevor. Oriental and Victoria College. More spirit was shown by tlie Victoria College forwards on Saturday than has been the case of yore. Their backs seem to be fairlv fast, "and individually capable of first-rato play. But their combination as vot is not good, and their Handling of the ball rather feeble. Faire, and O'Shea certainly looked like players on the up-grade. The Oriental team did not appear to be exerted to their full. Their forwards want somo hard practico before they are tit to meet winning team?. Their backs at times handled the ball in true match 1 style, but these were only "Hashes in the ' I l' au '" ___________