RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 26 July 1924, Page 11

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. ‘‘Centurion,” writing in the Sydney Bulletin tinder date July 10, says: In my -opinion H. .W. 'Brown, the Tairanaki centre three-quarter, was the outstanding ‘member of the All Blacks. Jde is a racing centre who very -muc-h recalls Frank Mitchiuson with his dashing straight running, though he is lighter than the famous Wellington centre. He is only 19. C. G. Porter, the '"Wellington wing foirward, put up something like a record for- a first match in. Australia, inasmuch as liu bamicker audibly thirsted for his blood. With vivid memories of Maorihiiid wingers from pfi-'side McKenzie to Beilis, this is a thing to marvel at. l’oor Dave Gallagher, dead in Firauee, roused such a frenzy in Britain by ’hii methods as wing fo'nvard in 1905 that the expulsion of Maorilaud from: the ■Empire tva-s discussed in exclusive circles. The present side shows no arresting football personality to compare with W. •T. Wallace, Geo. Smith, Fred Roberts or E. Booth among the: 1905 backs, or Seeling, Glasgow and Casey among the -forwards. The most attractive section of the Black team on Saturday was the three-quarter line when it found its feet- in the second half. Forward the side was irresistable in the fucking and loose rushes, but tftat •failure to take the hall cleanly, which often marks a new combination,' caused the game to go against them at the finish. The Welshmen owed much to their clean hooking in the - first term, and to Stanley’s exceptionally good work as outside centre. The invaders were finishing much better than our fifteen, and 1 tip them to win the rubber.

Writing from the South. Oka Heketa says he has been in Otago and seen the families of the noted Taiaroas and Ellisons. The homes are decorated with many photos of different ages, principally.'of the time of the Taiaroas and Tom Ellison. Dick Taiaroa was a Wellington rep. forward of the eighties, while Jack was half-back with the New Zealand team which toured Australia in 1884, and came back with ah unbeaten record.

■Paddy considered by Southerners the greatest half-back who ever played for New Zealand, and acknowledged by all to he one of the greatest, is said to be an inmate ojj the Seaoliff Mental Hospital, and to watch, always from one , window, all local matches played there. The inter-collegiate tournament — Wellington, Wanganui and Christ’s—will be played in Wanganui this year, on August 23, 25, and 27. The fiist Seddon Shield match this year is being played to-day between West Coast and Golden Bay, while Buffer will have the second about midAugust. Three Ifwerson ‘brothers are playing in the back division of the Grammar Did Boys (Auckland) senior team. Some veairs ago in the Wellington Club team three Hills liled the three-quarters position.

It is to be regretted, says an old enthusiast in the Waikato Times, that in the present combination there is not one in the AIL Black team who can be classed as a leader. The late D. Gallagher possessed such splendid characteristics as a leader of men that the 1905 team was particularly fortunate that he was a member of the side. New Zealand has been without a leader for a number of years now, and it seems almost hopeless to expect to find one. If there were one here he would be invaluable to the touring side. Every lovaL .New Zealander will wish . the side all possible success. Much of it will depend on how they realise the importance of the undertaking and by individual effort perfect themselves and be n re pa red to make sacrifices towards team work —that all-winning factor in football games. When the 1905 team was beaten by Wales some of the hardest headed on the side stated to me that the vast crowd assembled singing “Band of Our Fathers”. had a very depressing effect on them. Mr F. T. Evans, at the public send-off of the Canterbury contingent rightly remarked that if the 192*1 side hea.r the same song they wiLl do well to iremember that the whole of New Zealand, are also shouting: “Ake, Ake, Kia Kaha.” "The Dullness or these: present had times; —but are the tunes really bad 'i in an eiglu-eolunui page of this morning’s paper, Thursday's, four columns are given to commerce, politics, the affairs of nations, nearly the whole of the other four to sport, nothing but' sport. And all cable messages. On ariothejr page of the paper sport lias live columns. The details, of English cricket are cabled (lay by day ; if liendren gives three catches and they are dropped, Hendien has a separate cable for that. The game of the All Blacks m Sydney is sent across entire, every kick put into the wires. All this testifies to our devotion to sport. In cricket only the two elevens play, in football only the two fifteens; The rest Of us in our thousands are sportsmen because we look on. And, judging by the cables, w certainly look on a lot. The miracle is, all things considered, that we are able to pay for it. In ancient Rome, as the story goes, the unemployed and unemployable are gathered in mobs to shout for *‘Bread and circuses!” Wc, too, may come to that m the end. Meanwhile times cannot bo so very bad alter all. When the Ranfuiriy Shield was first presented to the New Zealand Rugby Union the governing body decided that Auckland should be the first holders. The shield was presented to Auckland at. the half-time interval in the North v. South Island match in 1902. At that stage the Aucklanders had a commanding lead, and looked like running out easy winners. As they were lined up, Tom Cross said to Rn Cooke, “But they haven’t won it yet” —the burly Jtago player (later a Weliitigtonian) having the idea that die shield went with the inter-island game. “No, they haven’ll"' .replica The Canterbury man, and the pair went at it that, -hard in the second spall, assisted by Drake, Fanning, ana the others, with the flying Scotchman —Duncan McGregor—scoring tries at wing three-quarter, with the result that finally the South Islanders won a sensational match. But the Aucklanders took the Ranfurlv Shield hack with them all the same. A voirespoTulefa has- the following rather caustic comment on a recent High School match in Hamilton. He says: “Had they Iveen taught the slightest attempt at. heeling the hall Grammar’s backs must inevitably have had far fewer chances. But no; we are a country town, and ii is not seemly that even our school football should hear any seal other than that ot the remote waybaeks—the hoot, i he boot for ever. Since, however, the ‘‘boot’’ method l'o.r so many years has dismally failed, may I suggest that the High School coaches now hazard one game in which the boys shall be taught that only the

side that has the hall can scoi'e—that logically the surest way. to cross tho line is to run towards it with the ball, ■ancl. not to kick to the opposing team; in short, that old man “kick and rush” be given reverent burial -.and “run and pass” he brought to life?” Ruling by experienced Rugby refeiree,:—“As soon as the ball ".is hooked, the wing-forward must come .back, -with it ; Otherwise he is offside, and a penalty be given against him.’ ELTHAM THIRDS. (Contributed). . The advantages of gqod ' training for fothall.—(That Tegular and systematic training is one of the main factors in winning matches is exemplified by the position now' held by the. Eitham third grade; team. This team has played nine cup fixtures, and a match against Taranaki West Coast third (rep) team. They have also played Hawetra Technical School and a (friendly match with Kappnga. - They have won 'every match and have, only had Their line crossed on four'occasions. This team is composed of an even lot of enthusiastic players who practice together regularly every Tuesday and Thursday nights, doing plenty of steady running and .some: sprinting. They are a credit to Eltha.fn, -and if some of our senior teams in country towns were in the same condition as these thirds they would play much better football. i might also state one cf these boys rides twenty-six miles every week to play his game. Two others also come in twelve miles.

A LOST ART. HOW TO KICK GOALS. .Says a writer in an exchange:— How many pjlayers study the art of goal-kicking? And how many of them practice kicking? Probably not more than one or two. And there is an art in place-kicking. While 1 do not contend that anyone at- all can become a topnotcii goalkicker, I believe that all the regular goal kickers can considerably improve their kicking by paying attention to one or two: points that might be considered trifling until they have been put into practice (writes a correspondent). r First, the kicker places the ball. There arc several ways of doing that, and no set rule can be laid down for it. The player must please himself. After doing that the kicker retires. All too frequently he takes too many steps, wilh the result that when he approaches the ball to kick it die is racing at it like a madman. That is a fallacy. Four or five steps fit the most is sufficient to enable the kicker to get his utmost weight behind the ball for a 50 oir 55 yards kick. Another point to bear in mind is that the kicker should watch, the ball, not the goal posts alone; and at the moment, ol connecting with the boot the eyes should: he fixed bn the -spot -whore contact is to be made. If the ball is placed accurately there i s no need to watch the goal posts. Some kickers realise the necessity of placing the ball most accurately, but never give a thought to the matter of placing the kicking foot accurately. When preparing to run to the ball, the kicker should first of all place his foot perfectly straight and then keep it firm—almost stiff—so that it will not assume its natural position of 7)ointing slightly outward when contact is-made with the ball. * That is fatal, and is probably more often responsible for misdirection than anything else. The last of the points I wish to make: is the.:position of the body when contact is made with the ball. Tn the case of a right-toot kicker, the leit foot should come within six inches of the ball iust before it is kicked. The body at- the moment of contact should be poised slightly backward, so that it acts as a sort of lever. At the very moment of kicking the left foot -should be raised slightly from the ground, so that the weight from the body goes into the ball. In recovering, the right (oot should still he in the air. It is fatal to alight on the right ford after kicking the ball, as some players do. _ If Those points are studied and practised, goal-kickers will notice a w.onderful improvement in their kicking. It may lie added that in the Thirds match last week in Hawera the winning points were secured by a most excellent find well-judged kick from almost on the side line by one. of the Eltham hoys. A better kick is rarely seen in any rep. match. ATHLETICS IN CENTRAL EC RODE. FOOTBALL THE FAVOURITE SPORT. One of the results of the Groat War, due to the; lorced intermingling of the various nationalities which then took place, was the enormous impetus given to the pursuit of athletics in Central ■Europe (writes a. London correspondent). First England and then the United States performed prodigies, on the battlefields with' t roc os which were at best half-trained levies.' Rightly or wrongly, their facility of adaptation to the requirements and rigours of modern warfare was attributed to the peacetime cult of sport. British and American regiments seconded for service with Allied forces took their games with them, and, on the other hand, hundreds of thousands of enemy prisoners witnessed, and often learned to appireciate, in particular, the attractions oi football as a sport and a spectacle. The traveller through Europe to-day cannot but be impressed by the number of “goal posts” observed en route, and. suriously enough, by the extent to which the game has taken root in Central Europe. Germans, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, Hungarians, Serbs, and Croaiian.s, have/ all adopted the Association game with, in many cases, a striking degree of proficiency. On a recent Saturday in Vienna '50,000 spectators paid no less than G 00,000,000 Austrian kronen to watch a match between The Rapid ancl Amatcure Clubs which ended in a draw. English professional teams aire invited to the leading European cities. It is natural, that the Czechs should lead the new sporting movement. They are essentially- a sturdy race of Spartan habits, ancl. for years .their national movement, denied the -possibility of political expression, shotted itself in the .Sokol societies 'which, in reality, w©r<an intense nationalistic propaganda, kept within the law as athletic- organisations. When the moment arrived to throw off tho Hapsburg yoke and proclaim the Czecho-Slovnk Republic, j the Czechs had no ostensibly military forces. But their higlily-irained and disciplined Sokois took possession of Prague and established a sort of military law throughout the seceding territorv.

The Czechs had thus reached a high stale of proficiency in general athletics and such sports as swimming, and rowing. They turned their attention

to football wi(li brilliant success, and not only are their teams excellent ex ponents of the game, but vast crowds assemble to witness the matches. The English professionals nowadays need to exert every effort if they are to emerge victorious from their encounters. -

Sport lias contributed not a little: to the restoration of friendly relations between the Central European peoples. At a time when tho Governmnts were hostile towards each other the diplomacy regarded the various races as ready to resort to armed warfare. Dresden and Vienna football teams would visit -Prague, and Czecho-Slovak elevens would Take the field in Germany and' Austria, to receive the enthusiastic plaudits of . thedr quondam enemies, and the entertainment- of the rival teams provided even a couple of years ago. an occasion for the expression of amicable sentiments then entirely alien .to the . political relations between the respective countries. THEIR FIRST MATCH. Two young ladies were ■ watching their first “Rugger” match. They were somewhat mystified when they observed that some of the forwards were Using scrum caps. “1 wonder what those funny things are for?” queried one. “I’m not quite sure,” answered the other, ‘‘but T think they are to prevent the men from hearing.each other’s bad language while they are fighting together in a Tnineh.” NOT LONG ENOUGH. The: .'fothall was in full swing, but the visiting team were putting up the worst show ever seen on the home team’s ground. Naturallv, the home team’s supporters did not let this opportunity slip for indulging in some goodnatured chaff. Thomson was their tame humorist, and to him fell the duty of doing the leg-pulling. “Do your supporters cheer much when your team wins a match ?” he asked their opponents’ captain. “I don’t know,” replied the other. “You see. I’ve only been with them