ROUGH PLAY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 175, 9 July 1932, Page 2

ROUGH PLAY

WILL NOT BE TOLERATED H.B, RUGBY UNION’S DECISION. INSTRUCTION TO REFEREES. Whether or not there was evidence of unduly rough play in club games m Napier was discussed by the management committee of the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union last night, when members present were divided in their opinions on the matter.

However, after fully considering a letter from the president of the union, Mr W. T. Foster, it was decided to enforce the rule requiring the Referees' Association to forward to the Rugby Union a list of names of all players cautioned during the- progress of games.

The letter from Mr Foster on the subject was as follows:—“It is with regret that 1 feel compelled to bring up the question of rough play. Your committee recently had before it a tetter on the same subject from Dr. Fitzgerald. I agree with him entirely. I have watched senior games regularly this season and on every occasion' I have see.n instances of deliberate attempts to punch opposing players. In several cases the attempts have been highly successful from the attacking player’s point of view, and the games have been held up in consequence. 1 wish it to be clearly understood that in most of these instances the referee was rightly watching the ball and could hardly have been expected to see the incidents. MORE DRASTIC ACTION URGED. “I would urge the committee to take more drastic action. It is already the case that the touch-judges in these games are usually referees. I would suggest that they be always such and have the right to report to the committee incidents that have escaped the eye of the referee.

“Club football is being ruined by the unfriendly spirit evinced week after week in the championship contests and I would suggest that it is the duty of the committee to use all means in its power to stem the tide of rough play and maintain a high standard of sportsmanship in the game. “I trust therefore that your committee will seriously consider the suggestion that I have put forward in the best of good faith and with no other aim than to maintain the true traditions of Rugby and to keep it in the forefront of keen and manly sports.” “I don’t agree with Mr Foster,” said the chairman, Mr J. W. Norrie when the meeting considered the letter. “Our game is not rough and continually drawing attention to occasional instances gives the impression that it is worse here than in other parts of New Zealand.

“I have seen it every Saturday,” replied Mr Foster. Mr Norrie: You have been looking at one team and at one player in that team. FOOTBALL NEVER CLEANER. Football in the district, said Mr G. A. Maddison, was never cleaner than it was this season. He had refereed many games this year and he had never seen them played in a cleaner and better spirit. There had been accidents certainly, but they were really accidents and had not been due to rough play.

Mr Foster pointed out that the players were “shrewd” and waited to indulge in rough tactics after the referee’s eyes had left him and were following the play which had moved on. Mr Norrie: That has always been the case. The dirty man always gets in after he knows that the referee is not watching. Mr J. W. Callaghan supported the view that the line umpires should have power to report rough play, as referees did not always see what happened, and this would help to put down the rough play. REFEREE’S RESPONSIBILITY. “As far as the instance last Saturday is concerned,” Mr Callaghan said, “if we are going to rely on the referee we won’t get rid of it. The player hit another player twice when the referee was looking at him.” There were good and bad referees, said Mr O’Neill and a member of the union should be on the referees’ appointment board to see that the right man was chosen to referee a hard game. The trouble would then not occur. He said that he had seen games in both Napier and Hastings this season and he had never observed one incident that could be called dirty play. He had certainly seen hard play, and he thought that there were some people who did not know the difference between hard play and dirty play. REFEREES’ RESPONSIBILITY. Mr N. A McKenzie expressed agreement with the chairman in that it was wrong for the powers of the referee to be deputed to anyone else, say the touch judge. Mr Norrie: We could draw the attention of the referees to the necessity for putting down rough play. Mr McKenzie: We have already done that. “The referee has got an acre of ground to look after,” said Mr A. D. Lynch, “but as long as there is oneman control we can’t stop it.” “Mr Foster is alluding to one particular player, and I agree that something should be done about it,” said Mr A. Kirkpatrick. Mr Norrie: If the referee had put him off and we had had to deal with him we would soon have put a stop to it. It was then moved by Mr McKenzie that the referees, in view of the complaints that have -been made by the public, should in future forward a list of names of players who had been cautioned to the union. He stated that tho referees were supposed to do this, but it had not been in force. “It- will be a good guide if any of the players come before us,” remarked Mr Norrie, when the motion was carried.