ON THE BALL

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 115, 12 November 1934, Page 11

ON THE BALL

FLEET-FOOTED FIJIANS

RUGBY WITHOUT BOOTS

HOPE OF.N.Z. TOUR

Iv "The Post" recently there was published a photograph showing Fijians and Tongans engaged in a Rugby footBall match. That in itself was an indication of tho spread of the game, but a point of particular interest was that tho players were bare-footed. Many people will remember Fijians coming • here and demonstrating firewalking. To them,\as well as to.visitors to Fiji, it will perhaps be no surprise to .know that a foot hardened enough to walk on white-hot stones is able, without protection, to propel a football with considerable force. But more than that, thcro is the question of propelling the ball accurately. Can the Fijians do this? Mr. J. B. K. Taylor, now in Wellington on furlough, answers tho question very effectively in pointing out that during the'recent, three Tests between Rugby teams representing Fiji and Tonga 24 of Fiji's' points were from goal-kicking—a field goal, two penalty goals, and seven goals from tries. All were, the efforts of! one man," but the others, too, can kick, and with such power and accuracy as to be able to land goals from almost anywhere inside' half-way. And it is not tho flre-walkers who do this. It is the tribe of Fijians on the Island of Bcqa that docs the -fire-lvalking, and as yet the Rugby game has not become established on that island. PHENOMENAL KICKING. . The field goal mentioned above was really a .phenomenal kick,, to the European eye at any rate. The ball came out o£ the ruck to a Fijian, who ran a little way and passed .it to another, a player named Samu. When he took it Samu was some forty yards from the goal-posts. He turned, almost facing the sideline, dropped the ball to kick it, and with a left-foot screw sent it midway between the uprights and about eight' feet above the crossbar.. Mr. Taylor states that this player can put the bail over: four times out of six from inside half-way, k and the' extraOrdinary thing about his kicking is that it is done with the side of the foot, not with the toe 3or instep, tho foot being turned ■ out in such a way, one would imagine, that power would be lost and strain .caused. It was extraordinary how the player was able to do it. Mr. Taj'lor will be remembered as one of Wellington's most popular Rugby players. He captained Wellington's .c----presentativo teams before he retired, and was elected, to a scat on tho management committee of the Wellington Rugby Union, was during his term of office on the union that he was transferred to Fiji. That was four years ago, and since then h« has. boon a leading figure in the advancement of Rugby football in the Islands, rising to the position of chairman of tho Fijian Rugby Union'and also holding the position now of sole selector. INTELLIGENT POOTBALL. In. An interview with a "Post" representative Mr. Taylor said that the game was* making fine headway' among the Fijians, and while at present practically confined to Suva and nearby districts there was every prospect of. the game becoming firmly established in other provinces i>i the Islands. The influenco of New Zealand football was felt very much ther,e, and in the natives he had .found' really excellont Rugby material. Some four years ago it was' largely a case with them of just kicking the ball arid running about, but today the Fijians wore playing intelligent football. "Unquestionably they are the best natural footballers I have struck anywhere," he said. "T hnve never worked on better material. They, play most attractive football; their handling is uncanny, thoy know how to throw the ball about, they can kick', and they are terrifically fast." The improvement in their standard of play has been such that' Mr. Taylor is hoping that in the very near future if, will be possible for them to engage in tours and to receive visits from f.cams from overseas. It is to New Zealand, of course, that Fiji has its main football attachment, and the hope is that a tour of New Zealand by a Fiiian team may be arranged at no distant, date and also that the game in the Islands will receive further help in i\ visit by a team from New Zealand. Before he returns to Fiji Mr. Taylor will discuss with officials here the matter of tours. His opinion that the Fijians would be a draw card in New Zealand will be endorsed by most followers of the game. He Joints out, however, that, one difficulty presenting itself is the fact that the Fijians play bare-footed. It could not be expected of them that they should meet teams here under the same conditions, but he bolieves thnt the Fijian players could quite easily become accustomed to playing in football boots. It is a fact that younp Fijians coming to New Zealand for educational training take up football enthusiastically and do not take long to find their form in football boots. When thoy go back they discard the boots and carry on barefooted. UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. Representative matches are played in tho Islands; in fact, they have become important events on the sports calendar. Quite .recently Mr. Taylor took a Fijian .representative team, on tour to Tonga, and the team had the unique experience of travelling by a warship, the Diomedc. The captain had told Mi1. Taylor that as far as he knew it was the first time that a football team had been carried by a British man-o'-war. The tour was a wonderful success from all points of view. Commenting editorially upon the tour the "Fiji Times and Herald" stated: "It is a tribute to the education and upbringing of our young Fijian, people that on such a tour, in the course of which they would be subject to a certain amount of" temptation, they could act with restraint and moderation and conduct themselves in 'a, manner which brings credit upon themselves and their country. It provides another • example, if further examples are necessary, ..of the great _ value of Rugby football as a character building game for our Fijian people. It teaches them to take knocks without complaining and to subject themselves to1 tho leadership of manager and captain for the good of the side. It is pleasing* to the people of Fiji to learn that they won two out of the three Tests, tho last one very decisively, but even more pleasing to receive such satisfactory reports of their demeanour and behaviour on and' off the field. ' To enable the Fijian team to make this tpur assistance was provided them by the Government, by tho Rugby Union, and by the New Z6aland Squadron of the Royal Navy, which, through the kind offices and interest of his Excellency the Governor, provided them with transportation, to Tonga.'.'