Caledonians v. Pirates.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10629, 7 June 1897, Page 3

Caledonians v. Pirates.

Satniday's matoh on the Reoreation Gronnd may be summed up as a wrestle between the forwards and a whistling performance by the referee. The latter element of the afternoon's performance, needless to say, was mnoh more enjoyable than the scrummages to the spectators, If the Caledonian Pirate match was a fair sample of senior football In this diatrlot, then the game has very poor exponents Indeed, and the sooner "senior" fixtures are called by some other name the better.

The 30 players who took the field sorambled for the ball for about 15 minutes, and then they were all baked, A go-as-you-please style was then adopted by both teams, and it was simply the side whloh loafed the greatest that stood the best ohanoe of winning. The Pirates won by seven pointß to nil. Bear's pot wan a clever piece of play, which registered the first score for the blacks, bnt if the Caledonian forwards had not considerately stopped to see what a fine goal he could klok Bear might have been on the ground, or In the air— in fact anywhere bnt potting a goal. There was no pretenoe at paislng, at I good heeling out, or any clever play on I either side— it was the same antiquated style to whloh spectators have been so long accustomed, The ball icarcely ever left the ground, except when the baoks exohanged friendly klcki, and then the forwards looked on for a time, because they were so tired. Toe hardest worked man on the ground was the referee (Mr Wilson), who really is entitled to mnoh praise, and this leads one to say that the referee had no right to be so bard worked, and he wonld nnt have been had every player known the mien Ab to Individual play, that of Double (Pirate) was by far the best seen on the ground, and it is a pity some of the others don't emulate his dafib,'

What little pausing took place was wild and reoklecß -anywhere would do bo long an a player got ild of the ball. The nalveii for the most parti on both slde->

were useless, because they allowed the three- quarters to take a holiday, end the latter In their turn failed when a chance was given them. Tbe forwards, those that did do any work, no donbt plugged away coneclentloa>ly enongb* but the bulk of them . did not take matters seriously at all, and if there had been half a dozen spells Instead of the one interval, they would have proved most acceptable. A player brought the Pirate's soore to seven polios by getting a try, The moral of all this Is that If the game Is to be played as It really ought to be, our footballers must ba a little more in 1 earnest when they don. the jerseys. There to urgent need of reform In every olub, Unless the men get into condition, and get coaohed np in Rome of the new points, the same tale will always be told. Besides, a great many of them simply plod along without any regard to the fact that there are snob things as rules whloh govern the game. If these remarks have the effeot of livening the players np a bit, and the Eugby Union as well, then a very good purpose will be served, and we may expect better football In fntnre Instead of the wretohed scrambles of the POBD,