Football.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 57, 4 September 1909, Page 14

Football.

RUGBY. (By "Dropkick.") In writing of the Auckland-Wellington match, played here last Saturday, and won by Auckland by a penalty goal to nil, one is loth to make excuses, for there is always ready the unanswerable jibe that " Wellington can't take a beating." Having that contingency fully in mind, " Dropkick " still says that Auckland was lucky to win the match. Wellington should have scored at least twice during the first twenty minutes of the game, and on at least as many occasions during the early part of the second spell. It was a case of a match beinw thrown away through poor | tactics. 'Ihere were many mistakes made, but' the chief of them was the practice of playing an open back game on a day when the rule should have been touchline kicks from the open field, with final dribbling charges by the forwards. Wellington's backs were the better set, but their tactics last Saturday were football ruination. Auckland's win was due primarily to the splendid work of their forward division, but also in a recognisable degree to the fact that the Auckland backs were content to recognise flfteir own comparative weakness, and to be principally a support to the forwards. Commenting upon the Auckland-Wel-lington match, the special correspondent of the New Zealand Herald remarks that the game did not prove which was the better team. It was anybody's game right through, though there is little doubt that there was more play in Auckland than Wellington territory. For Wellington, Fred Roberts, Evenson, and Ryan played well behind, and Wilson (2), Avery, and Tannahill were among the best forwards. The correspondent above quoted says that veteran Jimmy Duncan refereed, and by the full score he provided for nis whistle he was detei mined to allow no one to run away with the idea that he did not know the rules. He knew them too well, and was a "factor in making the game a duller affair than it might have been. The last paragraph is as unfair as it is unkind. Duncan's refereeing was good, and if it was remarkable for any one thing, it was for his systematic determination not to blow his whistle for inessential breaches. SELECTORS' SQUABBLES. A great deal of controversy has been occasioned by the squabbling amongst the Wellington selectors. It is a great pity that these three gentlemen are unable to emulate the birds in their little nests, of whom the late Isaac Watts sung. It is unseemly to have the selectors rushing into print and letter to have grievances ventilated and discussed which should have been mutually determined. " Dropkick " will not go further into the matter than to say that H. Roberts's showing in the team against Auckland was. by no means a poor one; and to express regret that the Wellington Rugby Union's management committee did not accept the selectors' resignation when it was tendered to them early last week. The expedient of getting the selectors to withdraw their resignations, and pick a team for the Southern tour, has resulted in " confusion worse confounded." In the team then selected Wellington people had the experience of seeing a player dropped out entirely (from twenty players) who was thought good enough for inclusion as the first emergency against Auckland (i.e., as sixteenth man). What is the explanation? What explanation is necessary, in light of the fact that Dent (the player in reference) was not picked even in the B team, which is to play at Horowhenua to-day. Obviously, he was overlooked altogether. Then someone mentioned the faci to the selectors, and they hastened to put Dent in the B team — and incidentally to drop overboard one of the forwards who was originally picKed. This occurrence shows a lamentable looseness in the selectors' ways of procedure Wellington has had the experience of treble selectors > and single selectors. Neither system* gave complete satisfaction. Perhaps it is time \ that the experiment of two selectors should be given a trial in Wellington. At least, it would require unanimity before a team could be picked, and ensure that there would be no subsequent protests in public by over-ruled minorities. Such a proposal was made in all seriousness by a New Zealand Rugby j Union delegate last year. It was received with loud laughter. Should he bring his proposal up once more, it might receive more sober consideration, in the light of recent events. REFEREES AND THEIR METHODS. A Wellingtonian who "carried the whistle" with marked success for many years has written to The Post a letter which shows that he is not impressed favourably by the quality of some of the present exponents of the art. He says : As a keen follower of the winter pastime I, in common with a large number of others just as keen, have noticed with regret that the standard of refereeing has shown a decided falling off of late. Referees of the present day interfere altogether too much with the .progress of matches ; in fact, take almost a part, and seem to be eternally on the look out for reason to blow their whistles. They seem to fancy that the game is made for the referee; not the referee for the game. The id«al referee is looking for reasons "not" to blow his whistle. It is quite permissible for players to break nearly every law in the book without being brought up. From the reports I have read from time to time of referees' meetings, I judge that a lot of time is taken up in the discussion of '"points" which may occur once in ten years. There are no ryegular instructions as to the general work which falls to the lot of every referee every Saturday. "Points," and still more "points," are the regular subjects for discussion. What is the coiibequenceV A referee takes the field full up of knowledge on knotty problems, and hazy about general rules. As an instance, take the final match in the championship series. On two occasions at "drop out", the ball did not reach the 25 line, but still the match was allowed to continue. On another occasion, a player lying on the ground lifted the ball from the field of play and touched it down over the line, and was awarded a try. Again, in the AthleticPoneke match, the referee disallowed the charge after a try. The placer put the balJ down, and was walking away, when the kicker called him back to rearrange the ball. He was allowed the kick. Deci&ions such as these have been made all through the year, and I only instance them now because they are fresh oa my mind. Marks are another great cause of peculiar decisions. As the merest tyro knows, there is only one way of claCuiug a mark, and that is by marking with the heel after a fair catch has been made. How often is this done? Nine times out of ten no mark is made and the player doesn't want it — he has something else in view probably. Still, out comes the whistle, and the game is Btopped. This is a most unwarrantable interference on the part of the referee, and Saturday after Saturday sees it done at the Athletic Park. One glaring case in point : A St. James back in one of the games a few Saturdays ago took the ball in a splendid position for potting. The player's attitude and subsequent play showed that he intended to have a drop at goal. The taking of the ball and the drop were almost simultaneous. Tb* ball kept low

rank made a mediocre lot, and they trouand rebounded off the charging opponents. Was the game allowed to go on? No. As usual, the whistle blew and the back was ordered to have another kick. What this player's feelings would have been had his firt>t shot been successful can. be imagined. There is too much whistle in the game, and the well-trained team gets little or no benefit from its training, on account of the continual stopping of the game helping the untrained men to get frequent "breathers." There is no mistake, our referees are getting worse, and it is "up" to the Referees' Association to look around for old senior players, who have just retired, to "take on" refereeing. Junior players (with few exceptions) are no good, and those who have learnt their football in the grandstand are absolutely useless. These latter may know the rules, and case law from A to Z, but have no knowledge as to how they are to be applied. It is in no carping spirit I make these remarks, but through a genuine desire to ccc our referees as capable as they were a few years back, when their services were in demand from Auckland to Invercargill. The material is here, and only wants bringing out. AN INTER-COLLEGIATE GAME. WELLINGTON, 21; WANGANUI, 9. A good exposition of the Rugby gam© was seen at Wanganui last Saturday in the match between Wellington College and Wanganui Collegiate School. The first spell was hotly contested, and at half-time Wanganui led by 9 points to 6. The local team had run up their nine points before Wellington seemed able to get going, but evidently they were unable to last out the pace they had set, for Wellington, after scoring their first try, went on and on, until at the call of time they led by 21 to 9. An extraordinary characteristic of the game was the weakness of the place-kickers. Ten tries were scored, but not one of them was converted ; and, in addition, the efforts to place goals from penalty kicks all failed. The losers' tries were scored by Barker, Kinder, and CKamberlain. For Wellington the tries were gained by Gallic, Martin, Grey, Stewart, Natusch (2), and Childs. Stewart's try was gained after a very fine run, and Kinder's was led up to by excellent passing between Chamberlain, Higgins, and Godfrey. Stewart and Ramsden did some good passing as a preliminary to the opening that gave Gallic his chance to score, ASSOCIATION. -{By "Vanguard.") The "star" event in this week's Association programme is the great contest for possession of the Brown Shield. At the time of writing this is a future event, and the issue, owiDg to Auckland's untried but formidable-looking combination, very uncertain. By the time these notes are read the contest, however, will be over. No doubt the struggle will be the keenest that has been witnessed in Wellington for many years. Looking over the names of the local representatives, one sees several changes from the teams that defeated Taranaki and Canterbury respectively, but the changes are not very great, and in this respect Wellington has the advantage of experience gained in these two events. The combination of the home team should be good, their understanding with each other excellent. Auckland's eleven, on. the other hand, are an untried combination so far as representative matches are concerned. Doubtless during the past two or three weeks they have been gaining in knowledge of each other on the training-field, and there are several veteran players in the team. But they are at a slight disadvantage in not having had recent representative-match experience. Whether this will stand in the way of their taking home the shield, however, will have been seen to-day. So even seem the chances that there is just as much likelihood of its proving an "inglorious" as a "glorious fourth" to Wellington. A mild flutter has been occasioned in Association circles by the publication of a letter, written by a certain "K. B. Kay" in last Saturday's Sports JLditiou of The Post, criticising certain doings of the YVelljngton Football Association. Other correspondents have been encouraged to put their grievances on paper, but there seems nothing new in what they allege. Doubtless the Management Committee has made some mistakes in the past, but where there are so many contending parties, so many clubs and teams to administer and govern, so many disputes upon which to adjudicate, it would be impossible to please everybody. In this connection, Mr. Ernest A. Anderson wrote to the Association to the effect that he neither agrees nor sympathises with K. B. Kay in his views or his methods. "I exject to be leaving shortly for England," he says, "and I would like to place myself above suspicion of any underhand work, as my connections | with members of the Association have ; always been of the happiest nature.'' He has never stated, he adds, that Association matters are in a "disgraceful J state of chaos" in Wellington at the present time. Mr. Auld, who was also implicated in K. B. Kay's allegations, feels only a silent contempt for the allegations made by the aggrieved correspondent. The news that Otago has definitely forwarded a challenge for the Brown Shield will not be very welcome to a large number of Association followers who would like to see the end of these Brown Shield matches. Not that they are nervous about the ability of Wellington to retain the shield, but it makes the final struggle for possession very belated. The challenge itself was belated — it was not received till Monday, just two days before the date by which it could be officially received. Even now there seems to be a doubt as to whether the challenge is quite in order — the point will dc >tless be settled at an early meeting of the New Zealand Council. It is understood that the long-defer-red visit of a boys' team from Otago is to take place on the 18th instant, on which date Otago boys will probably play a team of Wellington boys. Continued rain on. Friday and Satur.day last necessitated a visit to Miramar for the Soccer players, town reserves not being available. The Swifts and Rovers faced each other on No 6 ground in heavy rain, and with a strong wind blowing down the field, Swifts got the advantage of the latter through winning the toss. Play had not been in progress very long before the players found the utmost difficulty in controll ing the greasy ball and keeping their feet. Anything like accurate play was entirely out of the question. The Rovers put up a determined defence against Swifts' attacks^ and, thanks mainly to Oldnall's brilliant goal-keeping, they kept out the red forwards until close on half-time, when the Swifts managed to get two goals past him from closequarters. This was all the scoring that took place during the game, and the Swifts were indeed lucky to get these. Oldnall, as already mentioned, played a grand game. All sorts of shots, high or low, were dealt with in a way that must have pleased the selectors present. He was ably supported by his backs, of whom Martin vas the better of the two. The latter is very cool <md sure in his* tackling. Of the half-backs, Perks was best — he was toiling hard and giving his forwards many opportunities, of which they took little advantage. Bethell was considerably below par, and in consequence jeopardised his selection against Auckland. The whites' foont

bled the Swifts' defence very little. Of the reda, Pye-Smittv, at back, played very well. His kicking was strong and sure, but he .got ample time. When next he plays (against Auckland) he will have to hustle more. Amongst the halves Kerschberg Btood out by himself. He played his usual quiet, effective game. Graves, at centre-half, was continually on the move, and was doing a lot of needless running about. Guise is improving, and his time for rep. honours is coming. Amongst the forwards, the two outside men were passengers — Saunders through an old injury, fend P. Pye-Smith through lack of condition. The three inside men were all hard workers, Sparrow lending a hand in imparting some "dash" into their work. He has, however, not yet forgotten how to get offside. Both he and Vessey wasted many opportunities by getting out of play. His Excellency Lord Chelmsford has accepted the position of patron of the New South Wales Football Association.