RUGBY CONTROL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 65, 14 September 1911, Page 3

RUGBY CONTROL

MISMANAGEMENT ALLEGED, WELLINGTON UNION COMMITTEE CRITICISED. AT SPECIAL MEETING pfl DELEGATES. ' In response to a requisition signed by a number of delegates, a. meeting of delegates to .the Wellington Rugby Union was held in the Chamber of Cony merce last evening. Mr. G. F. C. Camnbell presided, and thirty -two dele« gates attended. Mr, D. D. Weir explained that tho meeting was the outcome of a corteijltstion he had had with several old players, who were of the opinion that delegates should be brought together to .go into the question of the management of Rugby football in Wellington. Several delegates who had signed the requisition had staled that they had no grievances againet the union, bat if abuses did exist it was right and proper for a. meeting to be hdd. Continuing, Mr. Weir aa-id that the papfc «ea«on had been one of many records. There had been a record competition; the weather had been finej and there had been record gates. More dissatisfaction, however, had existed during the season with the management of iootball than on any previous sea-son. The senior competition was the long«st on record, and there had been a record numbsr ot forfeits in the lower grade*. There also had been a Selection Committed that had mad© a record ; in fact, no previous Selection Committee had ever tailed to pleas© the public and pla.y«-ri leas. To most people it appeared that those who controlled Rugby football in Wellington to-day had only- one care, and that wa« finance. The player was not in the hunt ,' all tliat was wa.ftfred as the gat*. The senior competition wa« juggled with in such a way as would have don© credit to any acrobat, and things had not been as they ought to have- been. Through mismanagement Rugby had gone back, and there Were fewer players now— and ©very year the number lessened by at ledMt fifty— than were playing five years ago. From a spectacular point of view, too, the game was not what> it used to be. (Hear, hear.) The soccer game, on th« other hand, was going ahead in leaps and bounds, and one significant fact was that it was attracting the ichoolboys. A few years ago tne members of the Management Committee- of the onion, who wore men who forgot the grandstands on a Saturday afternoon, worked hand in hand with the Schools Rugby Committee, and the majority of the boye played Rugby. What a different state of affairs existed now ! The trouble was that the men offering for seats on. the committee at pTesent had no time for the junior grades; the gate was their first care. There had also been too many games during the season, and players were so tired towards the end that to .take the field wsm!i a. hardship instead of a pleasure. WANTED— WORKERS. The speaker then went oft to compare .the soccer nighit at the Exhibition to the night set aside for the Rugby carnival. The soccer night had been so well managed that a profit had resulted, but the Riigby night had been so mismanaged as to have been almost a farce. Reference was also made to the absence from the dinner given ill honour of the Auckland team o;i Saturday last of the pr© sident of the union, and also to the fact that when the Swindale Shield was being presented to the Athletic senior fiftfcon. on Tuesday night the union, was represented by ite youngest comnutteemaft, Regarding transfers that had been granted during the season Mr. Weir instanced the case of O'Brien, of the Oriental Club. O'Brien had played in h» club'e senior teams, and had played as a representative in the Wei* lington B team during the peason. Notwithstanding this, however, ho was granted a transfer to j/lay against the Wellington junior team, which t»ae leading in the junior grade. Subsequently O'Brien, rejoined the iseftior team, and *hat> played in all its Matches. The management at the park during matchee was al*> criticised, Mir. Weir holding that there were far too many irresponsible people rushing about the ground. It. would be far better, he thought, to employ a couple of competent ushers. There was also the spectacle every Saturday of the crowd, after watching game« oil No. 2 ground, leaving by the north, gates. Why were the couth gates never opened. It wfcs undignified on the part of tlve chairman and committeemen to try and stop people crossing tho ground before the gaßiee were concluded. Why were extra police not obtained. If 20 policemen were required he '(Mr. Weir) would have got them. Regarding the trouble with the Referees' Association, there was only one way to get over the difficulty, and that was to have a body attached to the union. At pre'sefit there were fetett&es in Wellington who had no idea how to control a game. The clubs would not have them, ,and all they did was to stir up trouble. The union should have insisted on the referees carrying' out- the rulee in a proper manner. In conclusion Mr.' Weir said that the only solution to all the trouble appeared to be in, the appointment of workers to the management committee. The members of the present committee had done their beet, but that "best was not good enough: The chairman at this stage pointed out that there was no motion before the meeting, and after .deliberation. Mr. Weir, to put the meeting in order, moved. "That in the opinion of this .meeting the management committee has failed to carry out it« duties satisfactorily." Mr. W. 'Perry seconded pro forma. Mr. Brown, briefly replied. Regarding the Rugby night at the Exhibition, the reason for its non-eUccess was that the players did not turn up to compete. With reference to the absence from the Auckland dinner of the president, he pointed out that the president and vicepresideftte were always 1 welcome, but it was not the rule to send them invitations. SOCCER A DANGEROUS RIVAL. Mr. Harry Roberts contended that junior Rugby was not being fostered. The soccer people were doing their utmost for the boys and in Brooklyn alone there were something like six boys' teams playing under Association rules. The union was forgetting that the boys of tOday were the players of to-morrow. The boys were ao disheartened at the union's lack of interest that they were drifting into the soccer ranks, where they were assured of a hearty welcome. The Northern Union game was another danger, and it was only a question of time when it would be introduced into Wellington. When that happened l.c ctnild say with authority that numbers now playing Rugby would go over simply because they were disgusted at the treatment received at the hands of the union. He was very surprised to learn that no trainers had been appointed foT the representative teams this year nnd he considered it very poor policy. The men could not be expected to play well if they were not fit. flayers on tour should also receive ouft-of-pocket expenses. Mr. Roberts was proceeding to adwejie tbj matting adtjJt of th« Ne*

Zealand Union, from the English Union when he was checked by the Chairman, who held that th« matte* was irrekvent. A PLAYER'S VIEWS. Mr. T. Walsh considered that the committee had mismanaged football during the season. He also pointed out that on one occasion when races were being held the gates at the pafk were •checked by outsiders. He did not infer anything against these gentlemen, but he considered that c&mniit'teemen's love for horse racing should have been subsidiary to their love of Rugby football. Mr. Walsh also had something to say about the training of the representa* tive teams. He personally had visited the gymnasium before the Auckland match and had. found no one in charge. Scrum practice had been held only on one occasion prior to Saturday's game. It> was the same thing right through ; after the names of thc*e selected had been published nothing more was heard until. the day of the match. Fault was also found by Mr. Walsh with the action of fche union in assisting clubs to the extent of £50 in connection with the entertainment of visiting teams during the Easter holidays. He supported the motion very strongly } as there was certainly grounds for the dis» satisfaction that was rife. Mr. C. Atkinson considered that the union might well take a leaf from the book of i the- soccer people in regard to thy? junior players. The soccer people looked after the boys, and they certainly would never have allowed such, a state of lihines to exist as had existed in tho dressihg sheds at Mirainar. Players would think more of'committeemen if they occasionally vkited some of the ottkof-way grounds. Regarding thft representative team there was no doubt that it would be advisable to have only one selector in future. Mr. B. Gallagher said he considered that the constitution of tho comntitte© was wrong. Seftt& on the rommittee should be open to everyone. Chorus of Voices : They are. Mr. Gallagher '. Are they ? There is no '"readying" up, is there? Delegates simply go- to the meeting and vote according to the ticket. HELP CLUB SECRETARIES. • Mr. Col. Campbell dealt with th# charge of Is- made for admission to the Oriental-Atheltic game. He con* siderftd the public were got at on that occasion. The union had also displayed weakness when dealing with the case of King, of the St. Jamee Club. 'First the union disqualified King, and when a deputation from the St. James Club approached them the decision was reversed. In his opinion comtnitteemen should have had their heads read. During the season the union called on all secret ari«« to forward ciub books within a fortnight. The secretaries were advised by the secretary of the 'Union nine days after the decision had been arrived' at. and consequently had ortly five days in which to get the books ready.' The union should try and assisfc club secretaries, and not endeavour to fflAke their lot a hard on©. Dealing with the question of the trading of the Wellington representative team, Mr. Campbell said it was an. absolute disgrace. When no trainer was appointed, two players, King and Mofßtt, had per* sonally engaged a man to rub them down. VIEWS OF A, SELECTOR. I To Mr. Sweeny it appeared that the- [ only complaint was that junior football had not been fostered. Junior football < !■ had certainly fallen off, but the fault lay at the door of the clube, who did ' not encourage their junior*. As a selector of the representative team, he would say that their task had been' 1 made hard for them by all the criticism | levelled at them. They also had to contend with deputations from clubs advocating tho selection of certain pky- | «rs. Not on pne occasion had the team j originally selected taken the field this j eeaeoa. The Management Committee | had been subjected to a gr#at deal of criticism from the pms. On Tuesday nighft there was/ a sub-leader in Tli© Post. (Voices : Don't refer to it ; it was all true.) The Post was wrong when it #ud play had deteriorated, «ws this yea,r's competition wa* the befet ever held in Wellington, and the Stand* ard of play had been very high. To show that the game had not loefc its hold on the affection^ of the public, the gate receipts had increased by something like £600. Regarding the final championship game, no true sport begrudged paying his shilling. Mr. T. W. Leslie's ' chief grievance wae that the Wednesday clubs w«m overlooked, and Mr. Buck had something to cay about th© condition of tha Porirua ground. CLEAN UP THE GAME. ( Mr. Dawson regretted that personal^ tie* had been introduced, but there was no donbt that tho meetihg would re* suit in some good. H© considered that the task that the union, had undertaken in, purchasing the park had so ' over* shadowed them that they had forgotten the .interests of the players. The comcommittes certainly had a hard row to hoe, and it wa« well known that Wellingtonians were great growlers. There wn« one thing, however, he wae going to growl about, and that was the programme issued al the park. He was a Scotsman, and begrudged paying 3d for the publication, which was a very poor affair. There wae no use saying liUgby had deteriorated, and not saying why. tieferees were not altogether blameless. A great number of them were too pmart; th«y always knew 'what happened to the ball, but they often overlooked happenings in the scrums. If he (Mr. Dawson) had fifty sons he would not allow one of them to play in the forward ranks of senior teams. It was the duty of thft union to clean up the game. ME. PERRY IN REPI&. Mr. W. Perry was glad tTx't the meeting had been held, as he considered that delegates should meet more often than once in a season. Delegates would have a chance to put & etopto a lot of irresponsible talk on the part of the public, who knew no better, and on the part of the press, which ought to know better. Regarding Mr. Weir's allegations he would detail with them all. Xn the first place the lack of interest in junior football wss due to the clubs, which ran after the reputation player and ignored the men in the junior teams. ' The statement that the union had done nothing for junior football ra incorrect. Apart, from the Athletic Park, the union spent over £300 on junior football. The rental of grounds amounted to £175, and labour on thoee grotmd* cost £50. A janior representative tour cost £12, and £30 was donated to help defray the expenses of a team of schoolboys. With donations to the Referees' Association, referees' expenses, donations to, St. John Ambulance Society, and the expenses of the Appointment. Board, rental, etc., it cost the- union £318 annually. Junior games were also played on the park prior to the senior *fixRegarding the remark made a.boitt, finance, Mr. Pen-y said that finance wa* the first consideration of the union, tf the park was to be retained finance had to be very carefully looked after. Tn three years' time, if the union was not in a position to renew the lease of the park for a term of twenty-one years amateur football in Wellington would bo doomed. Regarding school football, the union had done its best. A competition was proposed, and every school was circularised, but bo few entries were received that the proposition was aban* doned. The explanation about the I ■quality, oi ihe fir^grajasaies wjj that $h©

union had to get someone to issue them at the last moment, owing to a contract falling through. With reference to oiit•iders taking the stiles at the park, he personally had attended the race**, and would do so again. If the delegates objected they could get another treasurer. Regarding the question of oneselector for representative teams, he pointed < out that delegates had always voted against any such proposal. There was no man on the committee who tried to further the interest of clubs, and bias would have to be looked for with a j microscope. Personally, he did not cafe a straw what the public thought, aa the interest of the players was his first consideration. Mr. Halee, as chairman of the Trail*?fer Committee, denied that any transfers had been granted without enquiry. ReS».rding O'Brien's case, thp Oriental Club had assured him that O'Brien would not train, and consequently was not wanted in the senior team. He would like to point out to Mr. Weir that on thp occasion of the Taranwki and Auckland game, there were fifteen policemen on the park. the motion withdrawn. , Mr. Weir, in reply, e&id that the debate had done good, but he Was Hot particular whether the motion was put or not, aa the object of the meeting wjis to ventilate grievances. With his seconder's permission he would withdraw the motion. This was agreed to. Mr. Weir then brought up the quefi- ' tion of severance from the English union, but as the hour was late- the matter was held over for diecuesion -at a future mseting.