WELLINGTON RUGBY

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 152, 24 March 1938, Page 15

WELLINGTON RUGBY

Annual Meeting Of Union MR. J. PRENDEVILLE AGAIN PRESIDENT The annual meeting of the Wellington Rugby Union was held last night, Mr. J. Prenderville presiding over an attendance of about 60 delegates. Although overshadowed by the visit of the Springboks, the past season had been a good one so far as the administration of the eport in Wellington was _ concerned, said Mr. J. N. Millard, chairman of the management committee, in moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet. There had been over 2000 grade players and 1400 secondary school players, a total of approximately 4000, under the jurisdiction of the union on Saturday afternoons. This naturally had created a problem over grounds, and the loss of the Lyall Bay grounds would create a further problem for the union this year. The number of players would have been even greater but for the adoption of the rule concerning primary schools, which had caused the seventh grade to slump from 17 to five teams. He believed that that decision was a good one, the only fly in the ointment being that other codes had offered games to the boys. He felt that the union could honour the rule only if other codes did the same. After extending congratulations to the competition winners, Mr. Millard made mention of the record of the representative team, which could be considered a very satisfactory one. Commenting on the visit of the Springboks, Mr. Millard said he did not subscribe to the view that because they won there was any reason for the panic that had arisen. “It has been said that our football is at a low ebb, but I don’t hold with that. I believe that some of the teams we sent to Australia in the past 10 years were much weaker. “The plain facts were that the South Africans were the beet footballers to have visited this country. They were superior to the All Blacks and to provincial sides, and to say that because the All Blacks were beaten football in this country was slipning was a poor spirit. Mr. Millard said he felt everyone agreed that the new system of trials adopted last season was wrong. It was ridiculous to call on players to participate in four games in one week. He had no doubt that the New Zealand union realised this and would not repeat it in the future. In conclusion, Mr. Millard referred to the tremendous amount of organisation falling on the union in handling not only the Spring-boks-Welling ton match, but also the first Test. These arrangements had been "successfully carried through. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Mr. A. F. Wiren advised that he did not desire to seek re-election as a vicepresident, stating that he had been a member of the union for a long period and believed he should give way to younger men.

A tribute was paid t 0 Mr. Wiren by Mr. Millard, who remarked that Mr. Wiren was one of the stalwarts of Rugby in Wellington. The election of officers resulted as follows : President, Mr. J. Prendeville; vicepresidents, the Rev. Father T. Cleary, Messrs. E. Price, W. J. Wallace, W. F. Hornig, and J. W. Heenan; delegates to the New Zealand Rugby Union. Major T. J. King, Messrs. J. Prendeville, J. N. Millard, M. F. Nicholls, and F. D. Kilby: honorary treasurer, Mr. G. F. Jackson: auditors, Henry Kember and Sons; management committee, Professor F. J. BoydWilson, Messrs. J. N. Mallard. 11. Murphy, J. D. King, 11. D. Morgan. H. B. Simmons, F. J. Tilyard, J. Moffitt, and Major T. J. King. At a subsequent meeting Mr. Millard was re-elected chairman of the management committee.