RUGBY

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 13 February 1926, Page 12

RUGBY

FORTHCGMING SEASON. All the clubs will be calling the A annual meetings shortly, in view of the approach of Easter with its annual fixtures. Many clubs have a match they always play at Easter, and for this reason members must have an opportunity to get into form.. Hence the need to have annual meetings and opening of season as early as possible m March.

SCOTLAND V. WALES. R S. The record of the win of Scotland over Wales seems to recall vividly the absence- of Scotland from the list of matches and records of the 1924 All Blacks’ tour. This absence has lathei relegated the Land o Cakes to. the background as far as New Zealand is concerned, for enthusiasts here recall to their minds the big international matches played and won by them and, further hack, it their years lull carry them so far, to those of Lit 1904-5 team. The latter will remind one of the great match with Scotland, won only in the second half, and towards the end, and largely through the oreat work of the Auckland galloper, G. W. Smith. It was a great struggle, and the fact that Scotland can “beat Wales nowadays seems to indicate that her team is keeping up its great record made in the past.

SOUTHLAND UNION. The annua! report states, inter alia. The national and provincial interest in the game of Rugby, stimulated. by the 1924 “All Black” tour, is being well maintained and affords us general satisfaction. The local interest was also well maintained, but the- failure to secure the universal half-holiday had, as we predicted in our last report, a detrimental effect on our game, and made donldv hard the work of the clubs to place "in the field, in the various grades, teams up to the standard of those ot previous years. ~ , , The divided half-holiday necessitated the holding of two competitions, the Saturday competition being by far the strongest. The Wednesday competition only drew entries from five clubs, but some promising material was discovered and some interesting games witnessed.

REPRESENTATIVE MATCHES, The selectors, Messrs Stott, Hewitt and Donnelly, left uo stone unturned to choose a representative team worthy of the province. The team toured as far north as Napier, under the able management of Messrs Geddes and Courtis, and distinguished itself by being the first Southland team for 19 years to have inflicted defeat upon an Otago fifteen at Dunedin. The following table shows the matches i v, Otago, at Invercargill, won 15 5 v. Canterbury, at Christchurch, lost II lo v Wellington, at Wellington, lost 3 19 V. Hawke’s Bay, at Napier, lost 12 31 v. Manawatu-Horowhenua, at Palmerston North., won 28 12 v. Wairarapa, at Carterton, draw ° “ v. Timaru, at Timaru, won 27 12 v. Otago, at Dunedin, won 25 15 v. Wanganui, at Invercargill, lost , 12 14 Results: Played 9; won 4; lost 4; drawn 1. Points for, 139; points against, 123. ' , In addition to the above a combined Otago and Southland team met and were defeated by the New South Wales team, at Dunedin by 17 to 22. Messrs R. Bell, P. Rice, M. Burt, Yv. Hazlett, F. Kilby, D. Murray, E. Ottrey and G. Alley represented Southland in this match.

SCHOOL FOOTBALL

INVERCARGILL ASSOCIATION. ANNUAL REPORT. The season has proved most encouraging both as regards the keen interest the boys have shown in the game and the whole-hearted attention given to all matters pertaining to' the games by members of this committee, teacher and non-teacher members alike. There were in all seventeen teams competing in the three competitions, and it was gratifying to note the increased interest that was revived in the senior grade competition. Most of the large schools felt it their duty to enter a senior team, and it is to be hoped that in 1926 this grade will he even better supported. An experiment-that proved very successful in maintaining the interest of the boys was that of playing each week one of the better school games on Rugby Park before the senior matches. It is to be trusted that this innovation will be continued during the incoming season.

We cannot impress upon old. players too strongly, concludes the report, the good they can still do for the game by becoming- members of the Referees’ Association. The Union is also indebted to many individual members of this association for their services given in the capacity, of honorary officials on the occasion of representative and other large fixtures.