TRUE RUGBY SPIRIT

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 148, 19 March 1931, Page 11

TRUE RUGBY SPIRIT

Trophies Condemned PLAY-OFF PROBLEM A Grade and B Grade Resolutions and amendments, with _ a running tiro of discussion that varied from the positions of clubs in Wellington to the spirit of New Zealand football, held the attention of delegates at the annual meeting of the Wellington Rugby Union last evening for the best part of an hour. Finally, after delegates had fully dealt with the main topic of argument, that of the rule making it necessary for the bottom team in the A grade to play off with the top team in the B grade, they decided to . retain a motion passed last year and agreed that the play-off should continue. The subject was first raised in a general way when a notice of motion from the Athletic club “that the rule relating to the’relegation of the lowest senior A team to the senior B grade be reconsidered” was presented. ’’Getting Away from Spirit.” The mover, Mr. H. Murphy, instanced the position of the AVellington club’s senior team last year, and suggested that the management committee was in a better position to judge which team should go down. Several speakers contended that the bottom team in the A grade should automatically go down without the necessity of playing off with the top team in tbe B grade. . Another speaker said the competition system was getting away from tbe spirit of the game. Surely no team should have to play for its very existence. The very fact that, the accident payments were increasing seemed to show that tbe game was being taken too seriously—there should ont be such a big number of dentsCurse of New Zealand Football. Ur. P. F. AlcEvedy thought there was a lot to be said for both sides. The curse of New Zealand football, to his mind, was the presentation of cups and shields. If there were noue football would be the better for it. At Home there was a very different method, for each club owned its own ground and arranged home and home matches. The great weakness, however, was that clubs took the gate takings in place of the union. At Home, too, it mode no difference on Sunday morning whether the game had been won or lost; Rugby there was more a matter of playing a clean, _ healthy game, and getting healthy exercise. He thought the officials of clubs in New Zealand'had a very grave duty, for they were elected to control the football spirit in the clubs. At the present time in New Zealand far too much was left to the referee on the field; chib officials should bake up the attitude that if a man did not play the game in the proper spirit, they should tell him he would be dropped. A line example had been given b.v the British team that visited New Zealand last year. It had taken risks from every position, and tried to make th game open, eliminating the tight, uninteresting play. “What does it matter if a team plays A or B, so long as the players are getting good football, and clean, healthy exercise?” Ur. McEvedy asked. At this stage Mr. Murphy _ moved that the whole question of deciding which team should go down to the B grade be left in tlie hands of the management committee, but his motion was more or less forgotten when Mr. Calcrnai moved that the rule be disregarded altogether this season. After some rliseusison and after two further amendments half been moved and had lapsed, the chairman ruled that this motion would have to confine its meaning Io whether a play-off should be staged or wehther the teams should go up or down automatically. In this form the motion was lost on a show of hands.