RUGBY FOOTBALL

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 97, 21 October 1936, Page 6

RUGBY FOOTBALL

ALL BLACK HONOURED

ATHLETIC CLUB DINNER

To celebrate the success of their j senior A first division and senior AJ second division sides in carrying off championship honours, and also to congratulate Mr. J. Wells, the club's All Blade this year; the Athletic Rugby "Football Club held a dinner last night. Colonel G. F. C. Campbell, C.M.G., presided over a good attendance. Proposing the toast of the winning team, Colonel Campbell, the club's president, welcomed old members and the chairman of the Wellington Rugby Union (Mr. .J. Prendeville). In his long experience of the club, he said, he had not seen a" more successful season, or one in which better football had been played by all teams of the club, than during the past season. "Possibly my beliefs are somewhat oldfashioned," said the Colonel, amid laughter, "for I last played the game in 1886. It is my belief that Rugby today is more interesting than in the past, both because the playersr are more numerous and because grounds are much better. Today there are no grounds where players get their corners knocked off as we did." Colonel Campbell declared that he had not seen better club play by forwards than among .the Athletic pack this season. The backs were not quite so adept, as a body, chiefly because some of the players were junior in years. It was to be hoped that next season, with the extremely interesting visit of the South Africans, the club would continue to foster the fine spirit of enthusiasm apparent this year. Messrs. M. Richardson and G. Walden, team coaches, replied 911 behalf of the second and first division teams respectively. Both paid a tribute to the team-spirit of their charges, and Mr. Walden expressed his thanks for the leadership of Mr. Wells. In the 60 years of its existence the club had perhaps not had as many All Blacks as other clubs, said Mr. J. W. Heenan, .proposing the toast of Mr. J. Wells, the senior captain selected for the • first and second Tests against the Wallabies this season.1 PAST SUCCESSES... The club, said Mr. Heenan, ljad four players selected in the original team which toured New South Wales in 1884. Only two, Mr. J. T. Dumbell, still living, though an invalid, and Mr. Davey, were able to go. Colonel Campbell; was one,. of those • selected, but he.was unable to go. In. 1893, in another tour of Australia, Mr. D. Wilson, of Athletic, was chosen, and Colonel Campbell managed the side, and in 1897 T. P. Pauling, a great forward, made the tour of Australia. In 1905, though the club was not directly represented, it had F. T.* Glasgow, one of the greatest forwards of New Zealand history, who learned his game with Athletic. Since -then the club hdd had "Rangi" Wilson, Teddy Roberts, Cliff Porter, "Snowy" Svenson, and Eric Tindill, probably the cleverest field-goal expert New Zealand had produced, in various teams. Though Mr. Heenan defied anyone to produce a line-out forward of the ability of "Rangi" Wilson, he believed that Mr. Wells was stamped with true greatness. He was glad, too, that his opinions were shared by an old Australian player, Mr. Harold Judd, who toured New Zealand with ' the Wallabies this season. Mr. Heenan then made the presentation. < > Mr. Wells, in reply, declared that the greatest thrill of what was, for him, a thrilling year, came after the second Test at Dunedin when he was going off the .field to the dressingroom. Someone called, "Good old Athletic," pushed through the crowd to him, and explained that 30 years ago he had played for Athletic.. Mr. Wells "also said; that the presentation should not have been to him—it should have beep "..to the'club player, the man who "willingly ' turned out Saturday after Saturday with no: hope of rising to representative status. .other toasts were:—"The Wellington Rugby Union and the Wellington Referees' Association," proposed :by Mr H Austad, replied^ to by Messrs. .^ P^nf v.He and J Gilchnst; Past M«*S£ :^£^^ti&a^ /: j O y a bie songs, arid also led community /singing. . ''■''.. '