RUGBY UNION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 91, 18 April 1945, Page 7

RUGBY UNION

REINSTATEMENT QUESTION

Some discussion took place at the meeting of the council of the New Zealand Rugby Union yesterday on the question of the reinstatement of members of the forces who had played League and desired to return to Rugby or to take up the game. The decisions arrived at are to be submitted to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union today for confirmation. It was decided that the council should approve a general dispensation for all League players who had been or were members of the Armed Forces and who desired to continue their association with Rugby. It was also decided to inform the New South Wales Union of the decision, and to ask it to join in representations to be made to the Rugby Football Union (England) on the matter. A resolution was passed that a dispensation be granted by the New Zealand Rugby Union to all League players who had been members of the forces Mr. S. S. Dean presided.

ENTRIES FOR SEASON

J-he management committee of the Wellington Rugby Lnion Jast night received 111 entries for grade championship competitions for the 1945 season, made up as follows .-—Senior 21 • junior 14; third, 35; fourth, 22; fifth, 14; sixth, 5! 11ns was an. increase of 13 teams on last years entries. Seventy-six entries were received tor 1110 secondary schools' competition A motion that after the first round of senior matches the leading two teams in the Hardham Cup competition should he promoted to the Jubilee Cup competition and at the end of the season the two bottom teams in the Jubilee Cup competition should be demoted, was lost •1 Tf , d, ecW M(l J h. at tlle eißht teams which competed for the Jubilee Cup last season should again compete this season and that the remaining thirteen teams should play for the Hardham Cup.

The draw for the first series of matches in the senior competitions on Saturday week resulted as follows:—

owi ilnv '?;T^ tllletlC v- Wellington College Old Boys. Athletic Park, 1.30 p.m.; Poneke- !? T,\ i> W larist Brothers' Old Boys, Athletic Park, J p.m.; Wellington v. Petone at retone, 3 p.m.; Hutt v. Army, Hutt Kecreation Ground, U p.m.

Hardham Cup.—Eastbourne v. Training College; Johnsouvlllc v. Onslow; Upper Hutt v. laita; Berhamporc v. University: Scatoun v. Miramar; Navy v. St. Patrick's Old Boys; Athletic B, a bye. The arrangement of grounds ™ '^ ~ln tho llilmls of the secretary. Ihe following junior advisory committee was rfn'r^L f \ e r season : —Messrs. A. W. Cooper H,,m wf I ? I\. GiU <M"ris<). H- «■ Baker (Hutt) H X Mooro (University), J. Thompson (Wellington), v. Gorrie (Taita), A D Chant (Oriental), and A. J. Wi xo n (Wellington College Old Boys). At the request (if the Wellington Secondary Sschools- Rugby Football Association, it was agreed to pay the travelling expenses of players to secondary schools' matches during the 194u season.

The Hutt Club notified that £9 10s Gd had been collected on .Saturday for the primary school boys' competition. H was reported that all arrangements had been made for the schoolboys' field day to be Jo J at^, AtWetlc Park on Saturday morning next. The boys would assemble at 10 o'clock, and during the morning a meeting of club officials and members of the Junior Advisory tfoard would be held to arrange conditions for schoolboys' competitions. c I!'° lli"?t0» Collego Old Boys' Club wrote Slating that the union's suggesed scheme for ueaung with the accident and injured players' tunas for the coming season appeared to bo a very fair one in the present extremely'difficult circumstances, and it desired to acknowledge the union's generous action in foregoing the accident fund fcer, normally payable by nubs. The club's committee, however, felt tnat the union should use every endeavour to make arrangements for a doctor to be in atIcndanco at Athletic Park on Saturday afternoons for the attention of urgent cases.