THE RANFURLY SHIELD.

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 38, 13 August 1921, Page 12

THE RANFURLY SHIELD.

The question o£ challengers for the Ranfurly Shield was discussed at a recent meeting of the union now holding the trophy. The chairman briefly recapitulated the information he had re | ceived when in Wellington at the union conference early in the season. He ea-id that at the annual meeting it had been left, to the discretion of the union to decide whether or not Southland should be challenged^ to play , when on tour. When he was in Wellington he had made it clear that Southland was willing to abide by the conditions under which it won the ■' shield. Mr. Geddes also referred to the position at present, and said that,they wanted to know from the New Zealand Union which matches on , tour were to be Ranfurly Shield matches. Mr. Stalker thought that no union should be allowed to challenge another before the latter union had possession of the shield. Referring to the conditions governing the shield, the chairman said that when' he was on his recent visit the Governor-General had'" commented adversely on,the present conditions, and said to him that the fairest way was that,the holders of the shield should be played on their own ground. It was decided that the- N,.Z.R.U. be written to askincr them to nominate what games, if any, be classed as shield matches when the Southland team, is on tour. The Wellington-Southland match will be played in Wellington on 10th September. ' . NEW SOUTH WALES TOURING TEAM. Details of the New South Wales team, which'is now on tour in New Zealand, indicate that the side is a strong one, and a comparison of the results of the Springboks' matches in Sydney and in New Zealand also serves to show that the visiting team should extend the interprovincial representatives which it is to meet on the tour. "Hamilton" makes the following comment in the Sydney .Sun :—"The N.S.W. selectors are to be congratulated on having chosen a, very fine side to tour New Zealand. The forwards are particularly strong. Save for Connor and Louden, they all played against the Springboks, and acquitted themselves well. The two meiitioncd players secured their places through W. S. Friend and Marshall being unavailable, but their inclusion in no way weakens the strength of ihe thirteen forwards chosen, for each of them in club matches this season has consistently been the best forward on his side. The strer-gth of the side lines lies in the all-round ability of the majority. In Davis, Fowles, Smith, Thompson, and Bond there are five pure front-row forwards to last through the series of nine matches, but players like' Fox, Dunn, Elliott, and M'Kay can play either second or third rb»v if the occasion requires, j For breakaways, Louden, Thorn, M'Kay, Elliott, and Fox are a very strong quintet, and it would be hard at any time to select the two best from them. Viv. Dunn, of the A.I.F. team, bad the Honour of leading the pack during the Springboks' games under Walker's captaincy at, half-back, but neither of these' two players displayed wonderful qualities of leadership, and the selectors in appointing a captain might well consider the claims of Dr. Louden, who is now in club football playing -as well as at any time of his carter. It isV very regrettable that Shechan and Raymond are unable to make the trip, for they would have been certain of inclusion in the Test team. Two other University players take their places—Stanley and Wallace. In many -tjgarters Stanley; is -regarded as being .the.

bent three-quarter in the Blue and Gold side. Certainly he is their most reliable defender. As for ■ Wallace, it may be safely asserted that but for his itijury last year just prior to the 'All Bkck' games he would certainly, have been included in the State fifteen. Wallace did not commence football until after the 'Varsity rowing tests were concluded this season, but has recently been showing his old form in club games, and can play either inside or outside centre." , ■ NATIONAL MUTUAL CHALLENGE CUP. j By the time this is in general circulation the committee will have decided who is* to be given the privilege of challenging the winners of the 1921 competition. Undoubtedly the decision that would meet with popular approval would be the acceptance of 'Varsity's challenge. The collegians are now "at the ■top of their form; they play a clean, bright game, and, from a, straggling beginning,., have finished up. the season brilliantly by defeating the best of the ■teams. Oriental certainly have defeated ■'Varsity recently, but the game was a ■mud scramble; the defeat was only 6-3; included in Oriental's score 1 was a penalty ■try, and 'Varsity had bad luck not to bo [ given the benefit of a try by; Woodward. If the committee wishes to secure a big gate, . and to allow the public to v*ee football at its best, it will have matched 'Varsity against ,Poneke by to-night. 'If there was one man on Saturday who really did work hard to preventPetone's defeat it was Eddie Kyan. During the seasonl he has played some patchy games, but. on Saturday his game was fine from start to .finish. Wherever 'Varsity's attack was hottest he was there.to stem the tide, and, more often than not, he did it. In attatek, too, he waa always in the lead, and finally he got over only to be called back for a breach of the rules. That was. particularly hard luck, for, to jret over, he had to dive v into the middle of a miniature kite, with two 'Varsity men diving on top of him.. From that little incident he came out a mass of mud—but* still smiling. He could afford' to smile, for he wag playing one of his best games.

' Nothing indicates" more clearly that the Petone team are on the decline, temporarily, it is hoped, than the habit some of the members have developed of playing the. mam instead of the' ball. A really first-class team go for the ball all the time, and trust to their superiority in the game- to pull 'them through; a team that have doubts about themselves and yet are determined to win will frequei\tly,,try to do so by playing the man. Of course, there iV a certain amount of minor obstruction which may he classed practically as accidental, but, one or two of the incidents'of last Saturday's match > cannot possibly be passed off in this way. For instance, Jackson' was racing for a ball kicked over Petone's line. A Petone man grabbed the back of his jersey and held on. On yet another occasion Jackson ■ was one of a string of backs racing along in attack. With the ball nowhere near him he was beautifully tackled. That sort of thing is not only absolutely;i inexcusable but defeats its object in the long run. The Petone team are good enough to .win most games if they go after the ball,« and not the man without the ball. ' PEEVISH COMMENT. The request sent out 1 from Wellington for a return match with the Springboks lias excited much comment in other centres, and' it has placed the Wellington Union in a-poor light. In fairness to the local officials, it must be stated' that the request did not emanate from them, and -the writer has- no knowledgie of any desire having been expressed' by local officials for another game.. They have acceptedl the, defeat in the way in which it 'should! be accepted. The following is taken from an exchange : —"A ; Wairaraipa paper grows peevish : "Wellington is apparently out to make, itself ridiculous in the eyes of the people of the Dominion. Because of the blow to Wellington's vanity through the sound 1 thrashing the Springboks administered! to the Wellington football fifteen, there ha<s sprung up a. general desire in Wellington fpr a return match with the Springboks at the end of the latter's tour of New Zealand. To make such a request is to offer an insult to the visitors, a/ndi to suggest* that the win was a fluky one, or obtained by some und'erhandl means. Wellington's conceit j has been touched. Before the match with the Springboks the Wellington peacocks strutted.the.streets'of Wellington with) an air of vainness equalled only' by th« sabre-rattling Huns of pre-war "\ days. Wellington has been vanquished, but its conceit will not allow it to accept its. defeat in the spirit of sportsmen. Taranaki. Wanganui, or Wairarapa are not likely to display such unsportsmanlike: tactics as to suggest that if they had another game each with- the Springboks they could beat them. No voice comes from Taranaki suggesting that the latter should have beaten the Springboks. It is to be hoped that the New Zealand' Rugby Union''will administer a severe rebuke to Wellington for the insult it has offered its visitors.'" As a matter of fact, the question of return matches has been raised in other places. x NEWS AND NOTES. It Ls reported from Southland that the takings for the Springboks' match there amounted to £1563, the second largest of the tour, and the number that ■paid for admission was 10,234. The huge crowd, was out of the ground within ten minutes of the final whistle sounding. Describing the crowd at the SouthlandSpringboks' match, the Southland Times says ;—"But the most admirable of all were the four who scaled the goal-posts on the neighbouring playing area, and, perching on the |crossbar, iiad a bird'seye view that was doubtless as good as any on the ground." The jubilee ball of the Dunedin FootbaltSCiub, which was held thus week, proved to be a most enjoyable function,, about 150 couples taking- part. The occasion, which was held undqr the auspices of the Otago Rugby Foptbill Union, was made the opportunity 'of welcoming the visiting South Africaps, \yho were represented by the captain (Mr. T. B. Pienaar), vice-captain (Mr, W. H Mor^' kel), tho manager (Mr. <.}. H. Bennett), and some 17 members -.i the loam. Mr. G. Aitken (captain, of the Now Zealand representative team) and al-out ;2 New Zealand players-, also attended. Mr. E. Wylie, of the Naw vTeiUnd Rugby Union, and the' officials of the Otago Rugby Union'were also present. Advice comes from Auckland that the eale of tickets for reserved seats for the Springboks' match next Saturday will be limited to six per applicant. There were one or two unusual sidelights at Invercargill last Saturday. An enterprising fruiterer, with 400 c-<ses (empty) to dispose., of at a shilling apiece, auctioned them just inside the admission gates. If one did not wear waterproof stockings or buy n box, there was trouble in store becniso of the ground's dampness, he declared. There certainly was trouble for thp misguided moitais who placed themselves on top of the boxes to get a better view : there was a lot of people witiouj boxer. Tho uniformed ball boys wore another innovation was pleasing an^ had 1 good results J. D. M'Cleary, who had been'asked to explain his absence from one of the practice matches for the 'Otago team, wrote to the Otago Union stating that so far as he knew other absentees from previous matches had not been required to tender an explanation; . In the circumstances he did not think that any explanation was necessary, other than 4o state, that he. faaj^feis fiwa private;

reasons for being .unable to play. At the same time he recognised that hie inability, to inform the. selectors merited an apology, and he trusted that this would be conveyed to them. "I may state," concluded the writer, "that I resent the receipt of this blister." At the last meeting of the union, Mr. Stuart said it was incorrect that players had previously absented themselves without making an explanation. The Chairman said the tone of the letter was'not very discreet; and it raised the question whether M^Cleary was entitled to any further consideration when picking teams, It was decided to refer the matter to the Selection Committee, and to write to M'Gleary talcing'exception to the tone of his letter.

A typographical error occurred in a reference made last week to the interest being 'taken by country people in the** visit of the Springboks. Mr. H. E. Combs, secretary of the N.Z.R.U., was credited with saying that when he was in Dunedin 100 applications had been received for 250 seats set apart for country paffons desiring to see the first Test. The number of applications was, of course, 1100.

Among those who do not think that a preliminary match would have been of benefit to the New Zealand team for the first Test is Mr. "Dorrie" Leslie, 'the well-known local enthusiast. 'He has. good reason for this view. Over at Day's Bay in 1904, when the New Zealandevs were preparing to meet the British team, he received a set-back to his training, of the team when a local scratch fifteen .went across the harbour one afternoon and gave the Test team more than it expected. A proposal to send another team across was quickly stopped, because "Dorrie" wanted a sound fifteen to go on to|Jie field on the following Saturday. It is interesting to recall that 1 each evening in the smok-ing-room over at the Bay "Jimmy" Duncan's blackboard work proved of much interest and benefit, particularly that relating to the method of overcoming the scrum 3-2-3 system. -