RUGBY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 103, 1 May 1926, Page 22

RUGBY

BY "DKOH(ICK" WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

INTERNATIONAL BOARD'S ACTION

fA SmTHEK SEPORT PKOM ENGLAND.

't; further advice concerning the latest action, of the International Rugby , Board in dealing with the claims of the ; -Dominions has been received by mail ;.. from England this week. At its meeting .1 in London-1 a few weeks ago the board •: passed the following motion: "That an .; Imperial Bugby Football Conference be f held annually in London in the month of j November jor-December to consider any )i suggested1! amendments to the laws of '.; the game and the rulings thereunder." . It was proposed that the 'first conf erif ence should take place this year, and j: that the members there shall consist •■. of the members of the International ■Board and two representatives each i of the following Bugby Uniona: New % Zealand, New South Wales, and South -.Africa. Mr. C J. Wray, the New Zealand representative on the English V Bugby Union, has merely cabled this resolution .to the New Zealand Union. Its .meaning will no doubt be interpreted .there. ...

.. The London correspondent of "The' jPost" points out that it has to.be re- , membered that Mr. Boland Hill and his colleague of the English .Union went to j the meeting of the International Bugby Board with, the fixed determination of supporting the principle of an Imperial ' Advisory Board which had been promised to the Dominions at the conference at the end of 1924. What happened ' at the board meeting will not be publicly revealed, but it is evident that the Engish delegates have not been able to prevail upon their colleagues to fulfil the.promise of fifteen months ago. This is the second time .'the proposal to set up an Imperial Advisory Board has, been turned down by the International Bugby Board. "Enough of This Humbug." The holding of an Imperial,,.Bugby Football Conference every three years was agreed upon previously, so that the present resolution merely means that , the* conference will be held more frequently. In these, conferences the Dominions will have no executive power. ; They -will ;be. in the same position as the Dominions when they send their delegates to the political Imperial Conference. It-is just possible that the Internationalf Board has deemed it expedient to put off-the establishment of an Imperial Advisory Board until it has been further discussed at the Imerial Football Conference.' ; It now remains to be seen whether the Dominions 'will exercise patience with the International Board or Whether they will say: "Enough of this humbug." If they determine to hold their hands until the next Imperial Eugby Football Conference'no doubt their delegates will have an opportunity of expressing in full measure their opinions on the subject. In the meantime we may expect some forceable opinions from correspondents in the sporting Press. * Transfers—and Ignorance. Judging,by the number of applications for transfer which have been made since the annual meeting of i-the". Wellington Bugby Union there are many players and others who are not conversant with the rules for club contests. It is provided in the rules that no player shall, in the same season, play for more than one club, except in the, case of leaving or joiniiig up with schools or colleges. The Man-' agement Committee of the Wellington Bugby VOmon has power, however, to allow a player to be transferred"' from one club to another if it is satisfied that the player would not otherwise be iable ,to play football, provided always 'that such transfer shall be consented to by the clubs. It is also provided in the rules that, except as aforesaid no transfer; of any player from one club to another'shall be granted unless^notice in .writing is given to the Management Committee prior to the Ist March. Prior to, the last annual meeting the notice had" to be given two months before the union's annual meeting.

STany applications for transfer this season have been made after the stipulated time, and certain of them have created a good deal of discussion at the • Managsment Committee meetings mainly on the point as to whether a refusal to grant the transfer would mean' that the applicant would not be able to get/a game. In practically every case, if not in all cases, the application carried; the consent of both clubs—the one-which he was leaving and the one to. which he was going. Even so, the Management Committee turned down ■ some, of the applications, on the ground that-the reason for transfer was not good enough. If the clubs agree to the transfer it would seem that the Manageiacnt Committee has no other course to 'adopt than to grant it, but if the approval of a club is not obtained then there is reason to hesitate. The ease that the Management Committee has to- watch particularly is that of the player who, not being satisfied with his club selectors' idea of his playing qualities, want to go elsewhere. In such a case, the club should make the position plain to the Management Committee. Cases of Hardship. ■ Changing about from one club to aMother is not in.the interests of the game, and naturally the Management Committeeiis out to see that, a practice is-not made of it But it seems that iijf one or two cases the refusal to grant the. applications is placing a hardship on the applicants. At this week's meeting of the Management Committee the following letter was received: — , . ' "Through my ignorance of the Union's rules,: your letter of the 22nd iast. declining my transfer from the S&thletic Club to the Wellington Club *ame as a surprise. While lack of feowledge of the rules cannot be claimed* as a sufficient excuse for failing to make application in the correct manner it is an igftbranee, apparently, that isishared by thermajority of players and many officials. I fully recognise the 'difficulties of your committee in dealing with application* for transfer, and, while not desiring to waste the member's time, I would ask for reconsideration of my; .application. It, may .be thought that'l; have a grievance against the Athletic Club> but_l have none whatever,;aTid the.approval of the Athletic Club endowed on my application should.';be sumcient evidence of, this. My chief reason-for'desiring a transfer is vrio- of convenience to myself in that the /Wellington training sheds are only/a'few minutes' walk from my present place Of residence. My office hours are long, and, as I am studying time is an object inasmuch that if your committee cannot see its way to grant a transfer then I should probably find it necessary not to play for the season. I do not desire to convey the ■ impression that I would be much loss to.'the. game, but merely, wish to illustrjatp.my^poaitipn.in regard to spare time; .Owing to ill-health "I was able to -flay only for the first part of the sea-

son. While there is .nothng further to add in support of my application, should your committee desire it I shall be pleased to submit myself before it. Trusting for a favourable reply in due course, —Tours faithfully, .'' Reconsideration Urged. During the discussion on this and other applications, the.chairman (Mr. J. Prendeville) remarked: "We have to deal with each case on its merits. That'is the only way we can get the rule into working order." With regard to a case in which a player's reason for transferring was that his relationship with other members of the team was not happy, Mr. Prendeville saia that the fact that a player was not in accord with the team seemed to be a fairly valid reason. Mr. H. D. Morgan: "If we do not grant this transfer it seems to be that it will be a hardship on the player. If we do grant it we will have to reconsider every, transfer that has been turned down." The transfer was granted, whereupon Mr. Morgan urged that the case of the player whose letter is quoted be reopened. This application had been turned down a second time, though the voting for and against was close. To a remark by Major King that it would save time if a sub-committee were set up to. deal with transfers, the chairman remarked that efforts to place, the matter on a satisfactory basis had been made in previous years. He had done his best in the matter. Mr. G. F. W. Jackson: "It is going to save time* and a lot of heartburning if we set down a definite mle. I will give notice to move at the next meeting of the committee, 'That no transfers be granted except in the case of a player going from a town club to a country club, or vice versa.' '' Mr. Murphy! considered that where clubs agreed on a transfer it should be granted if the application is made before the start of the season. Once the season had started it was not desirable to crant transfers in cases where men are dissatisfied. As far as the application under notice (that for transfer from Athletic to Wellington) was concerned, the Athletic Club was agreeable to the transfer. xt. • After a further statement by the chairman that cases would be dealt with on their individual merits, the discussion closed, the understanding being that there was nothing to prevent the Athletic player from appearing before the committee. Satisfactory Opening. Tor the opening of the local championship competitions last Saturday the wtathe? was not on its best behaviour. Bain prior to Saturday had been welcome, but the damp, misty conditions during the.playing time were .noVwanted- The consequence was that players inmost cases found the oval more elusive than was the case in the. preliminary ! canters on previous Saturdays. .JForm in the seven-a-side tournament had given | an'impression that-;quite'a deal of sparkle might be introduced into the opening games of the senior championship, but the experience generally was that much more tuning-up^was necessary to bring the'p'ay to the standard expected of senior teams. Some teams lasted better -than others, and some were suited by the prevailing condi-. tions. In parts the games provided some bright football, notably where sec-, tions of the back divisions started off with an understanding of-one another s play. Some very keen forward tussles were witnessed, while quite a lot of sound defensive play was recorded. Too much could not be expected for the first matches of .the'season, but taking a line through all that was given in the leading grade it. is fairly safe to say that the standard reached last season will be maintained. The opening was quite satisfactory. More attention to training will make for. really good football. Let it come in"; plenty. Athletic- and University. In estimating the strength of the teams for this season's senior A championship, many people no doubt gave ■both,Athletic-and 'Varsity reasonably good chances of rising to high places on the championship ladder. They may not be far 'out in fheir' reckoning, though 'Varsity's prospects received a set-back by the performance in the opening match, staged at Athletic Park. The students were outplayed by Athletic, and badly beaten on the day. Of stamina: Athletic could show more than 'Varsity, no doubt because of Captain Porter's orders at the gym. each week • that.' players must adjourn to Nairn street reserve for open-air training. . ■ ■'.- Another,thing which served Athletic well on Saturday was the splendid working of the inside backs. Svenson and M'Kay "(ex-Hutt player) were particularly good, and Porter saw that they received plenty of the ball. This trio, with M'Naught and M'Gill (a former Oriental player) were in the picture all / through the - match. Others showed up at various stages, one to create a very favourable impression being the full-back, Taylor, a pro-' moted intermediate ■ grade player, who formerly-played League football in Australia. '■';■.■ Some of Athletics last year seniors who were placed in thewenior B grade team last Saturday evidently did not like the idea. They were spectators at the princjpal match. ■University were; without Sccats and Munro in the backs 1c i Saturday, but the rather poor display of the students could scarcely be-'put down to the absence of those players. Leys (ex-Old, Boys) made' quite a good substitute', half when ho found his feet, one of his efforts from the. scrum fooling a fair portion of the' Athletic back division. The 'Varsity backs seldom penetrated ';yery far in passing bouts, and very, often fumbled- The heavy work was placeS „u^on the shoulders of the forwards, among whom Baldwin, Burns, and Cliilds showed up well. M'Kenzie kept a fairly good eye 6'n Porter's activities. ... South /(centre three-quarter) ■' and Noble: Adams: (full r back) indicated that they•;are •likely; to. serve the side well during-the season. ' ••••'.. : Foneke and Wellington. A bright feature of the WellingtonPoneke ' match was Sid. Shearer's goal-kicking. He was obliged to boot from all angles and invariably succeeded in negotiating the bar. He encouraged the bank and heightened its spirits during the progress of a more or less drab exposition. ■ } Players in the Wellington-Poneke match were, no doubt, keen, but their display was marred by frequent breaches of the off-side rule. No doubt as the season progresses erring in tfiis direction will lessen in magnitude if it does not suffer total elimination.

It was quite patent to the crowd on .the bank that both teams were anything but trained to concert pitch. The play generally was ragged, particularly I in respect to the Wellington pack, which exhibited little in the way of sound combination. Perhaps the newness of the season and just a nodding acquaintance with the gymnasium parent the explanation. A few more matches :might find the Yellow and Blacks warmed up to business. Berhampore and Old Boys. The meeting of Berhampore and-Old Boys at Wakefleld Park produced an exciting contest, in which the issue Was in doubt right up until the final whistle. For the most part it was a forward game, but in the latter half of the second spell Old Boys brightened up their play; and. their backs, handled -.the -ball in several neat passing rushes. Berhampore "fielded a more solid pack,

and the Light Blues, through sheer weight and tenacity, were dominant in the first half. The Light Blues were sound in the close work, and their quick following-up often had Old Boys in some difficult positions. Had Old Boys opened up.their play earlier, and let the ball out among the fleet-footed backs, the score, perhaps, would have been different. When the rear division was played it swept through the Berhampore defence, and the prettiest play in the match was seen. The ball was thrown about in great style, but bid Boys had left it just a little too late.

Among the Berhampore forwards, Duncan, Deere, and Goodall were always conspicuous. A fine effort by the last-mentioned player secured Berhampore's first, try. A long kick by the full-back brought play into . the Old Boys' twenty-five, where, for a time, some hard play ensued. Goodall emerged from the ruck, and crashing through the defence dived for the line. Cooke, a brother of the All Black, showed up well as half, and was instrur mental in putting the team in some good scoring positions. Mason played a sound game in the full-back position, and brought off some good saves. His line-kicking was particularly effective. The Old Boys' full-back, Malcolm, was in fine form, and was responsible for £ye out of the eleven points scored by his team. M'Kay, Mansfield, and Bedell, when they got moving, gave a good exhibition. Bedell's two tries were the result of some pretty play. Marist and Selwyn. As reported; the Marist-Selwyn match was much better than one would have anticipated. Marist look-like having a team just about as good as they had last year, even though that brainy footballer, Joe Murphy, has retired to ranks of barrackers on the bank. "Their backs from Toohill out to the wings are i fast,'even lot, with muph dash and, at their best, a surprising command of the ball. Cummings and. Johnson are an'excellent' pair back of the half; Donovan did well at centre, and the two wingers, Foley and Barry, are both fast, determined sprinters for the line. Griflin at full-back is still one of the greatest distance kicks in Wellington, but he makes mistakes when hustled, and does not yet show the football brain of Murphy. Still the Marist backs are; well above the-average. The , Marist. forwards were not by arty means so successful on Saturday. One or two men-looked as if they could train off-a good many pounds avoirdupois, .and the-fast .game left them, in the lurch.at the finish. Thus the pack did riot work as a pack, and nullified in a way the efforts of the> rettr- division. : ' Selwyn "quite justified their claim to stay the season in the A grade, of the senior division., -•Their.;, forwards are a fine, even, hard-battling pack, who make up by quickness and energy for lack of weight. They quite outplayed Marist on Saturday, even after losing Young, one of. their best men. The fault'with, Selwyn was a recklessness or ignorance of the off-side rule, and one' noticed one of the forwards —Bobingon, it looked like, though one would apologise in advance in case of error—very frequently and almost ludicrously off-side. This sort of thing robbed Selwyn. of many hard-earned advantages. ' De Clifton, dignified— one hopes without offence, by a printer's error—with the medical prefix of Dr. in the report, played a splendid game in place of Young, and Churchill and Sewell were equally to the fore. If only Selwyn. could rustle up a few backs, they would do quite well in the competitions, but there is not much to be said for' Saturday's showing here. The place-kicking 1 was bad on both sides, Selwyn especially suffering through the failure to land a couple of quite easy penalty "kicks. Want of practice and a damp ball, no doubt, were responsible. : Petone and Oriental. First impressions are that Petone will once again play a prominent part in the senior championship, and that Oriental should be capable of improving upon last year's performance. The game provided by these teams at Petone last Saturday was quite fair, though nothing out of the way. - The need of brushing up was apparent in both teams, and with'another game or two each should show up in spectacular play. It is not an junebmmon lot of Oriental to meet Petone at the beginning of the season, and while it must be accepted as a tough outing, the Black and Whites almost invariably make the home team strive hard for the win. More preparation by Oriental.-, on this occasion would have placed Petone in difficulties. But Petone are always hard |on their own ground. ?:

For Petone, Mark ;■Nicholls as usual shone out as-the real leader, and although his goal-kicking was not up to customary standard he was mainly responsible for initiating the movements which resulted in scores. "Ginger," too, played attractively, but ho was inclined to give his passes too low.'

Mat Corner put plenty-of dash into his play; in fact, at times a' little too much. Henwood as full-back was safe. He is small, but-as game "as the best. Welch and Jowett,?the wingers, displayed senior form, and both will improve as they gain confidence.

Thomas and King might be mentioned in the f orw.ards,. but the pack generally seemed to be. wanting when it came to combined efforts.

„ Sidet as full-back^ for Oriental had a difficult task, but in spite of having to'limp round with a damaged knee he gamely endeavoured to keep down Petone's score. Darby, who: last week created such a good impression, received more than a medium share of attention from those opposed to him. He must learn to go straight for the goal line and not the . touch-line. Darby is deadly in defence, arid when orie3 meet weaker teams he is sure to Bhine.

M'Nicholl was by far the best back on Ories' side. He ia good in' all departments of the game, and if it had been his good fortune to have had the assistance of his mates Ories would have been nearer to victory. Pringle, Sly, and Moffitt -were the leading Oriental forwards. Lance Johnston Parewclled. During the week Lance Johnston, of the Wellington Club, who is leaving to take up his residence in Hawkes Bay, was met by members of his club and a number of outside friends, and entertained at dinner. For some throe or four years Lance has captained the Wellington Club, and'in every department of the game has proved his worth. Ho was, unquestionably, the mainstay of the backs. He has been a consistent representative for Wellington, and was vice-captain of the New Zealand team which visited Australia last year. Johnston will be missed from the Wellington Club, and no doubt it will not be long before we hear of him in Hawkes Bay representative football. It has been reported in Christchureh* that Johnston will be playing there this season. Johnston was in Christchurch this week, but only oh.a visit prior to transferring to Hawkes Bay.