FOOTBALL IN WELLINGTON

Evening Star, Issue 11606, 17 June 1902, Page 7

FOOTBALL IN WELLINGTON

[From 6ub Ows Oo»b*J»«»i>snt.] June 14. At A? special Bwetimr M the N?V ' hpfißwaby Mnm W Thursday Hiram? vill wftTP to ttifof rule 36 to tM Um effect That {fil union* dwting adgaasnop to th® (nJ.B.U-I Ufli SS. forward their application for affiliation, giyiufl particular? of tho number Mtoain? \rnmmh control, to the Management Com. ffirttn, who shall WPJ2* to a general ov special meeting a* to the advwableness of mWn Ptich union. All unions appIYWS fof adhussion must be proposed and hy delegate# of fifiwreqt umpw already affiliated, and shall then be balloted for, a majority o| vptes to eject.” This motion n sure to be hotly opposed by the smaller unions, who will hav# tho support of 1M Canterbury delegate. The oppositionists contend that the real object of the proposed alteration is to smother the smaller unions. Whan the Management Committee of the Wairarapa Rugby Union met this week a communication wa? read from the Vyanganul Rugby Union asking what share, of the gate money they would get, and it was decided to offer them 75 per cent, of the net St#. The Manawatu Union intimated that sy could not give any gate for a visit, and hoping the Wairarapa would meet them, ft was decided to play Manawatu, the date to bo decided on later. This is what a well-known Northern writer ha# to say concerning the proposal to send a team to Great Britain :—" Tue Canterbury and Wainirapa delegate on the New Zealand Rugby Upion deserves the hearty congratulation of all Maoriland footballers in that ho has attained his object of forcing s, colonial Union to enter into communication with the English Union, with a view to the Rugby invasion of Great Britain and Ireland. No doubt Mr Rowland Hill and his confreres will regard with lurking suspicion the proposal that the colonials should receive compensation for bona fide lota of time while on the tour; but the whole facts require to be placed lucidly before them. The New Zealanders do not desire to what is colloquially termed ‘live on the game.’ they play it for enjoyment, but they can ill-affqrq to dispense with the loss of six month®’ wages and pocket money. The proposal of the New Zealand Umuft will have the advantage of being a clean one —there will be no necessity for the combination to travel with ‘cooked’ balancesheets, or the manager to declaim unctuously at receptions on the horrors of professionalkn.” . , The first round of the Wairarapa Rugby Union championship matches have been completed, and in the senior contests Carterton lead with 3 points, Masterton and Qreytown being equal with half a point each, Gladstone lead for the junior championship with 2 points, ureytown being next with 1 point, whilst Masterton is last. At a match on SatuHay last bet veeu Mar ton and Bulla, a player mimed Gibbons, had his leg broken. At the presentation of trcphies to Messrs T. R. Ellison and A. Wiren by the Poneke Football Club on Saturday evening last Mr Ellison, who is sole ♦elector of senior representative teams, referred in *irong Unr.s to the abominable passing indulged in by players this season. In every senior team tht same defect was prominently noticeable. Mr Ellison pointed out that the evil would have to bo remedied if Wellington wanted to come out on top against their opponents in representative matches th e season. Tie passing was invariably ill-timed and inaccurate, and reckless to a degree. During the Gladstonc-Greytowu junior match the referee took occasion to vam two or three players who showed a tendency to unduo roughness. fs seeker likely to supplant Rugby as the national pastime? Messrs T. R. Ellison and W. Coffey said at the Poueke Club social last week that unless Rugbyitea bestirred themselves they would wake up ‘tune tins morning and find socker on top. '.‘he Inner gentleman gave every credit to the A»-relation players for their energy 7 in pushing ll eir way to the front and endeavoring to obtain the fullest publicity to their doings, which was in marked contrast to the preetice adopted by many who controlled the destinies of Rugby in their ic.-yccf -e provinces. There was no getting away firm the fact that socker was forging ahead in Wellington, and .imilar 'trulls were de.n.ed to have been achieved in Auckland and Otago. Mr D. M'Kenzte mgm that Rugbyites had no cause for alarm, *nd as Jong as New Zealand existed the Rugby game would be on top. No doubt Mr AvKenzie voices the sentiments of many Rugbyites, but ho and others are apparently quit# in the dark as to the methods carried out by the Association officials in giving every impetus to their particular game, and persistently ignore the strides that seekers have made of late.