RUGBY FOOTBALL

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 83, 4 October 1929, Page 6

RUGBY FOOTBALL

A TARANAKI COMPLAINT

(By Telegraph.—Pren Association.)

STRATFORD, 3rd October. At the. meeting last night of the Taranaki Rugby Union, it was decided that a letter be sent to the Wellington Union in reference to the- recent match at Wellington between Wellington aud Taranaki. The latter sent a B team, but Wellington put its best team in the field. The newspaper reports indicated clearly that the reporters believed the Taranaki team to be the A team, and the Taranaki Union is of the opinion that the Wellington Union should have corrected the newsx>aper statements.

The chairman at last night's meeting, Mr.'J. M'Leod, said that the prestige of Taranaki football had suffered severely as the result of Wellington's actions. Wellington had not advertised: the- match as a B one. It was telegraphed from Wellington that Wellington had avenged its defeat by Taranaki at Hawera, and one newspaper said that Taranaki had deceived Wellington by sending a B team.

Mr. E. Masters said that h© had negotiated with the members of the Wellington Union for the match, and all along it had been understood that the B teams would play. Mr. M'Leod said that Wellington had not been fair to their public or to Taranaki. If Wellington had been playing Hawkes Bay at Wellington eight of the team playing against Taranaki wouldj have played against Hawkes Bay.

The chairman of the Wellington Rugby Union (Mr. J. Prendevillc) stated to-day that, briefly, tho arrangement mado was that Taranaki ' would send the best team available from the players who were not then on tour, and that Wellington would field a team from the players it had at home. Both unions had a team on tour at the time. The letter from the Taranaki Rugby Union would no doubt come before the next meeting of the Wellington Eugby Union's Management Committee, which would be able to give a more detailed answer to the points raised by JTaranaki.

At no time was the Taranaki team referred to in "The Post" as an A team, and a special note was made of the fact that Taranaki and Wellington each had a team on tour at that time. It is not likely that eight players in the team against Taranaki would have been included in Wellington's first fifteen