RUGBY FOOTBALL

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 67, 16 September 1936, Page 18

RUGBY FOOTBALL

REPORT ON COLTS' TOUR

MANAGER GRATIFIED

FIXTURES ARRANGED

Reporting to the Wellington Rugby Union last night on the tour of the Wellington Colts team, which left Wellington on September 3 and returned on September 13 after playing Poverty Bay, Wairoa, and Southern Hawke's Bay, Professor E. J. Boyd-Wilson, manager of the team, said the tour had been successful and'enjoyable. Poverty Bay won by 19 points to 16, but the Colts defeated Wairoa by 38 to 8, and defeated Southern Hawke's Bay by 49 to 3. The gate receipts at Gisborne were £59 net, at Wairoa £17, and at Dannevirke £2 ss. The professor expressed the opinion that mid-Septem-ber was too late for matches at Dannevirke owing to the dairy season. Some of the players against the Colts had not been in training for four weeks. It was doubtful whether the educational value of the match was warranted by the poor gate receipts. The Colts were well entertained by the receiving unions, and in Poverty Bay a motor excursion on September 6 was terminated by a visit to the grave of Jack Ruru, the Hawke's Bay and Wellington representative, who died from football injuries. In the game against Pc>verty Bay the team lacked combination, but in the other two matches it played thoroughly spirited football and gave bright exhibitions. Professor Boyd-Wilson expressed appreciation for the assistance he had received from H. H. Trapp, an efficient captain, and F. Mollier, an equally efficient vice-captain. "The behaviour of the team was irreproachable," said the professor, "and perhaps the finest tribute was from a hotel which relaxed its rule of not taking footballers by taking the Colts. The reason was the excellent behaviour of a previous Colts team." Application by the Seatoun Club for permission to change the'present club colours from gold, with a green band, to a royal blue jersey with green and, gold '■: monogram ■ was refused on the ground that the proposed colour would clash with, those of several other clubs, andthe,club was advised to consider some other combination. Permission was granted .to the Athletic Club to take a team to Palmerston North on Saturday to play the winners of the Manawatu championship, Feilding'A. The understanding is that the Athletic team will not be the championship winners, but a side representative of the best talent in the club exclusive of the men chosen for Wellington representative teams against Otago at Duriedin and against Wanganui at Wellington. In giving permission for the team to travel, the union expressed the opinion that men from Athletic chosen for the representatives should play there in preference to the club side.

Permission was granted for the following matches: —Reserve Bank- .v. National Bank, September 19; Hibbard Son and Burns v. Gordon and Gotch, September 19; Petone, fourth grade, to Napier, September 19; Wellington Referees': Association v. Manawatu Referees, at Palmerston North, September 19. .