RUGBY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 18 September 1926, Page 12

RUGBY

The curtain has -been rung down on jal football, and ..will shortly be so i the?; <*fltne all oyer-the Dominion, ly a few extra, matches and a few presentatiye games remain, and the ipedimenta of Rugby will be P»t vay for the season and not dug out itil Aprir next. It has been,on the whole an mteresto- and a good season, and there have en many keen struggles between übs whose teams have been matched r in some eases, over thirty years. !© local interest attaching to these lines is extraordinarily strong, and >es « r long way towards maintaining ie popularity and continuity of the line. This is a strong argument in your of the Jiorth and South divi- , 1 1C .wtlvv

The play has not been uniformly >od and high-class, and much play is been seen in* the lower grades hich is of a standard to make senior jams think, if only they could see it. hero is no doubt that -senior footill should he better and show more ass than often j it does. . And only aining and coaching can effect this, he former is largely in the hands of ie individual; the latter is the club s isponsibility. And both should loulder it for the sake of a great ame. The play would lie improved, ie player would enjoy the game moie, nd thei’e would not be so many going If, or at- least stopping the game, as ie result of a knock. Tlie perfectly t man, trained hard, with muscles rm and wind good, laughs at .the nock which puts out of action the alf-trained player. , . , . It is essential if the play is to be nproved that clubs should\ take these mtters in' hand One of .'the results ■oulcl he an addition dp. the gates tor rdinary championship fixtures. Those •ho ate-not-, keen supporters of one tub or the other will not turn out if hey are not sure of seeing a decent isplay of Rugby. They do not care hich team wins, so -long as the play 4 good, open and fast. . / The two extract® below hearing on he subject are worth perusal by play-i-s. ‘ Under 'the heading “Get Them :'it” a Christchurch- paper states: ‘With big representative matches head, the Canterbury . Rugby Union nd its selectors have heavy responsiilitv oil their shoulders. Their duties /ill ‘be lightened if a medical inspection of every player is insisted on jirior o training and prior to each match. Too often in the past lias a. Canterbury ide been disorganised by the presence ,'n me field of unfit men. The most irilliant Rugby player in the world is >f no earthly use if he lias a game lot?) i crook arm, or a stiff hack.” Writing on the success of’the Athetic Club in once again securing the Wellington senior championship, the Times’ critic says: “The benefits ot :raining.in the open air, as well as in :he gymnasium, have been evident ’rom the form of the Athletic forwards. I’he pack was in great form last week in the final, with not a sign of slackness. Nor was there any such sign on ’Varsitvs’ side. The forwards all went

ATHLETIC CLUB (WELLINGTON) A GREAT RECORD. ! It was away back in 1877 that the Athletic Football Club came -into bsino\ The founder was Colonel G. F. 0. Campbell, who is still a staunch official, having occupied the presidential chair for over a quarter of a century. There was only one football club in Wellington in 1877—the Wellington Club — an d it occurred to Colonel Campbell that it would be a good thing to start a second club to be a branch Of the Amateur Athletic" Club, of which he was secretary- He communicated the idea to the committee, consisting of Messrs A. B. Campbell, C. R. Welsh. C. Webb, Harry Hickson 1 , Frank Harrison, and others, and it was received enthusiastically. The club was formed, and some very keenly contested battles took place with Wellington. Only ont, or at the. most two, of these matches took place in each season. A the rest of the season was devoted to practising for these, club matches, unless a stray travelling team called in. It was wonderful what an impetus the game received when there were- two clubs, Colonel Campbell recalls. It was clearly proved that it required ■competition to send football ahead. Wellington was the despised of all other football centres until 1879, when,much to everyone’s astonishment, she beat both-Otago and Canterbury. Soon .after the start of the club, the •brothers Berry, A Thomson, A. Cooper, G. Wright, the Leckies, Dumb ell and others joined up. It was men sUch as these), combined with such enthusiasts as Cowie, Webb, James, Johnston, Lynch and others, who brought football into prominence in Wellington in those early days, and placed Wellington on a level with other townß.

The first match ever played by an Athletic Club team took place on the Basin Reserve*-An Saturday, the l&th of May, 1877. It was against Wellington, who won by a try (scored by Thomson) to nil. The game lasted two hours, and 'was divided into halfhour sjpells. The second match was played' in September of the same year, Wellington again furnishing the opposition. There were only twelve men aside, and the game ended in a draw, each side scoring two points. _ The senior cup contests started in 1882, and Athletic were the first team to carry off the trophy. In those-days the Masterton and Greytown Clubs competed for the cup, and they, with Wellington and Athletic, ( were the only clubs in the competition. Two years later Athletic again won. the cup, but thereafter they were out of the running until ISOT) 1 when they again finished at the top of the ladder. All told, Athletic have -won the senior championship nine times (including a tie with Wellington in 1914). Probably their most successful period in senior football -was from 1911 to 1915. when they were never shifted from the top of the ladder. The club has made fine progress numerically and otherwise, and in the honours gained the lower grade niembers have played a prominent part.