RUGBY RE-UNION.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 September 1928, Page 6

RUGBY RE-UNION.

PRESENTATION OF TROPHIES. SEASON REVIEWED AT-XJtTBBEST-ING SOCIAL FUNCTIONS. A very enthusiastic and enjoyable gathering took place in the Wistaria Tea-rooms oa Tuesday evening, when j players and supporters of football in the district were entertained by the members of the Horowhenua Rugby District Council's management committee at a supper, and the trophies won during the season were presented. The attendance was a large and representative one, and the proeedings, under the chairmanship of Mr W. Hannan (presidentaof the Council) were full of "' interests ■■'-. ■ .* "'"■" ' ;v/ LIBERAL ASSISTANCE ACKNOWLEDGED. After the loyal toast had been honoured, the chairman announced apologies for absence from Messrs E. M. Ryder (a member of the management committee), W. McLennan (Levin), T. Watson (Mirauui), F. Robinson (Foxton —>a member of the management committee), and S. Austin (Foxton). He then extended to the visitors and supporters a hearty welcome. The Couneil were sure that had it not been for the support they had received from various gentlemen they would not have been able to show a credit balance at the end of this season. It augured well for football in this district that the controlling body had so many friends who were ready tj come forward with funds and cars,' and he wished to thank them very heartily. The season had not been Very favourable in regard to patronage by the public, due to the . financial stress, work not having been too plentiful. However, the Council were very pleased to come out with a credit balance, and -he/ thought this was mainly due to their supporters. He hoped that the guests would depart after this function with a good impression. The entertainment was being provided by the committee out of their own pockets to show their good-fellow-ship and mark their appreviation of the support that had been accorded the good old game of Rugby -football. The • cnairman also acknowledged the assistance that had been received from the ■Press/throughout the Council's area. Mr Casey likewise paid a tribute to the Press*. The toast of "The. Supporters" was then enthusiastically honoured. THE SELECTORS. Mr J. W. Rimmer (treasurer) proposed the toasts of "The Selectors," and iu doing so said that the selector's task was net an enviable one, as he had to sta,nd a lot of buffeting, not only fi;om players but from supporters of football. However, this Council's selectors were ■ uninfluenced in that way, and made their selections accordnig to their own judgment. He could say that the senior selector had put plavers-into .their proper places—positions that ■ had gained, them fame throughout the Combined Union's district." Mr Rimmer associated with the toast the names of Messrs M. Winiata • (senior selector), S. Hooper and T. Watson (junior selectors), H. Boulton and H. Leitch (third grade selectors). . Mr Winiata, in responding, said he appreciated most heartily the way in which the gathering had drunk _ his health. Continuing, he said that if a selector did not possess confidence in himself, he might as well "throw in the towel." if he had that confidence, it must take him through; and if the; players knew that he had it, they; would uphold him. During his term as a. selector, his success had not altogether come through his picking a team, but through the support of the Council, and he took this opportunity of thanking them. He had undertaken the duties] on the condition that the players from whom the rep. teams were to be chos-! en must come in. to practice. Failing this a good team could not "be produced. When he first took up selecting, in 1926, the Council could not see their way clear to bring the players in, but they had hact good supporters, who volunteered to transport the players from Foxton, Tokomaru and Waikanae, and he wished to thank them for what'•'they had done. Mr S. Austin had rendered this service in respect of the Foxton players; and in. Shannon similar help had been given by Messrs Balzell, Moynihan, Richards and Brann, and in fact'there were many who would volunteer in that locality. In the southern end of the district help of this sort had been rendered by Messrs O'Erfurke, McGill and Bevau.. This season, when the players were brought to, Lcvhi for practices, they were looked after and were provided with-sup-per- before returning to their homes. The suppers had been supplied by the supporters, to whom 'the hearty thanks of the Council were due. Mr Hooper thanked the gathering aid said that anything he had been able to do in selecting junior teams he had been only too pleased'to do. If he saw 'a good player he put him in the rep. team. Mr Boulton said that he was new at his duties, but he trusted to his. judgment, and he thanked the Council for their support, also for /the kind entertainment now provided. CULMINATION OF THE' SEASON. The chairman congratulated the win- ; hers of the trophies. The Levin Club cup was- won by the Wanderers, who had won the championship. They had been at a certain disadvantage through not having Jacob as captaiu this year, but Tatana had done well in guiding ihem to victory; ■■'ln his hands a young team had been turned into a formidable team. The Nash Cup had been won by Shannon. In previous years they had been a formidable team up to the last round. Now they. had. shown that the longer they went the faster they went, so they must be Limericks. (Laughter). They had been at a disadvantage in competing for this trophy, because so many of their players were with the Manawhenua team. 'Much credit* was due to the Shannon •Club for having won the cup-under difficulties, and. they had shown great 'sportsmanship 'Tn playing the final. The Couneil had a rule under, which, ifj Shannon had asked that that game be ; postponed until their players jin the rep." team returned-; the Council would have acceded to the request.. The congratulations of the Conncil Hyere certainly due to them for: the Jn which they had carried out the* filial.

by Hui Mai, and he would like to congratulate them becauss they might think that they had a grudge against the Council because the latter had ordered the knock-out final to be re-played. The Coji-ncjd had only done their beat according to their rules irrespective of what clubs were ecnesrned. A mistake had teen made in not playing out the extra spells in the first ease; there must be a ruling body, and the Council had Lad no option but to declare that match a draw. This had reaeted on the Hui Mai Club, but the matter was all clear- I cd up now and Hui Mai Avere the win- | nera. He might not be very popular ' in Manakau for the stand he had taken, but it was what, he had thought to be'just. The Rowlands Cup (won from Kia Toa, the Manawatu junior champions) had already been presented ;toHui Mai, and Mr .Procter had been instructed to convey the Council's congratulations to Hui Mai. At the same time he, wished to say that he thought it was k great thing from the district point of view that the Hui Mai juniors could go fco Palmerston and beat the elect of the Manawatu District Council. The junior football had been quite good in this-district this year, a condition which augured well for its future senior football. Now that Hui Myi ' had done so well, ho thought they could quite fairly bury the hatchet and re--1 cognise that the Council /had done what they felt fully justified in doing.' There would always be a head, and that head would have to be kept; otherwise they would never have football. There was no : 'bias on the committee, the majority of whom had not been interested in either club; and they were in a better position to judge the effect than she supporters of Hui Mai or any other body. The Licensed Victuallers' Cup, for the junior,, knock-out competition had been won by Hui Mai, and he believed, they bad won. it- on their merits; they had finished the . game i playing with 14 men, and they fully deserved the congratulations of the committee and the supporters of football throughout this district. Miranui, the runners-up, had certainly given Hui Mai a good contest. Two drawn games were relayed, and the final was won by Hui Ma! by. six points to five. The Council would compliment- Miranui on being runners-up to such a good team. VICTORS RECEIVE THEIR SPOILS The' President then asked the Mayor of Levin (Mr T. Hobson) to present the trophies. In handing"the Levin Club Cup to L\ Tatana, captain of the Wanderers Seniors, His Worship stated, that a former cup had been given by the Levin Club, the members of which were all good sportsmen, and when that trophy had been won outright some of the members of the Club and a number of I the District Council had drawn attention to the desirability of replacing it with another. The speaker happened to be the president of the Club at tho time, and he found that it was quite a pleas-ure for the members to contribute, to the purchase of the new cap. He had much pleasure in handing the trophy to Mr Tatana. They had accomplished a really creditable win, an.l His "Worship was quite proud to know thf.t the captain had pulled the team through. Supporters o.f Rugby had been a little downhearted when last year's captain, Harry Jacob, sustained an iniury which precluded him from further plav. However, as far as the Wanderers'' team was concerned, the speaker's expectation that a man would be fount worthy to lead them was justified. He felt that a lot of credit was due to Tatana for the way he had kept hU men together; and he deserved the congratulations of this gathering. " The Nash Gup was handed by IDs Worship to Mr G. Mitchell for the Shannon team, the Mayor remarking that he had heard it said at numerous gatherings that the Shannon men were Recognised as a great lot of 'sports. A TROPHY BEYOND PRICE. "This seems to be the pooh-bah o.t the whole lot." said His Worship an regard to\the Canoe, which is the trophy for the junior championship, and which he handed to T.. Perewiti, captain ot Hui Mai juniors. "A Maori told me that this canoe is a wonderful piece or work, and I really believe it is. 1 fear that this art will, in all probability be dying out among the Maoris, which is'verv much to be regretted. The Government has been taking step.-j to try to preserve some of the art ot the Maoris. If some of our *atiye leaders could see this canoe, they would have a Ictus story to,tell us about it. His Worship added that the Hui _,iai Club had played great games this season, and he really thought that the junior football, in the district this year had provided better sport than the senior games. It was an honour for the Hui Mai juniors to beat the champions of Manawatu. It showed that the voung players deserved to be fostered; they would be ..senior players bye-and-bye. Those who had brought the juniors to their high standard were worthy of the heartiest congratulations. 1-he Mayor handed the Cup, the Canoe and Banner to T. Perewiti, of the Hui Mai | junior team. "These honours," His Worship said, "show that you have great prowess at Manakau and are determined to stave, off some of the* heartfailings that the senior teams, might have had. As for Miranui, the runners, up, they have spurred the Hui Mai, Club to'greater efforts than they would otherwise have put forth. If Miranui had had just a little more coaching to finish them off, I believe they would have carried off those trophies. His .Worship handed the Higgins'. Cup to Mr A. Richards for the Miranui juniors as runners-up. REWI MOYNIHAN MEMORIAL. The Council had had engraved the Dewar's Trophy replica which, was made last year and presented t-) Mrs Rewi Moynihan, of Shannon, ; m .memory of her late husband, who -was captain of the first Pak'eha team, in 1926, but who died before the challenge trophy for the annual Maori-Pakeha match came to hand. This replica was handled by the Mayor to Mr W. Moynihan to oonvev to Mrs Rewi. Moynihan. In doing so" he made fitting reference to the great part which the Moynihan family, and- Rewi in' particular, had. played in Rugby circles; and said that the* miniature of the trophy would always be valued and would become a great heMoom in the family.' r ''\ ' HONOUR T.O TIIE .KEEEREE^,. , The health of '.'The Referefcaj: was v proposed, by. Mr .A'. .Richards, (ghanntjnj v who said that a debt 4&/ih*nks and

gratitude "was due to-those officers for the manner in which they had carried' out their duties this season. The position which they held "was a most difficult one, as they could never please everybody. The standard- of referee-' ing in this district, however, was-'high, and it was recognised in other places. One instance of this recognition was the fact that Mr Pa-ratu was chosen as the referee for the match between the 1 Maori representatives for the Prince 1 of Wales Cup, played in Poverty Bay j recently. i Mr Sciascia, in responding, stated that as referees' sole-selector this year | he had picked the referees to the best of his ability and allotted them to the different matches, In. being appointed to the selectors' position he had had to stand down as a referee, but had seen quite a lot of the play. and had got quite a ;great fun out:of it. Prom what he tould gather he thought that the elubs had been supplied with the best referees that could be procured. ■ . ..■■■!- - VETERAN COMMITTEEMAN. The chairman proposed the health of Mr J. W. Procter, who had intimated to the committee that he contemplated letiring from J;he Council. The speak- 1 er asked for the* 1 influence of/-supporters of the game to ensure that Mr Procter would remain in the Council, on which he had served for nearly a quarter of a century. No more honest or conscientious worker had ever been on the Council in the Horowhenua district. He had given his heart and souL to Rugby, and it was fitting that this Council should not' lose such a worker. Mr Procter believed in doing a. thing properly, and had been the life of Rugby in the district and had stuck to it through thick and thin. Mr Rammer added his tribute to Mr Procter's services to the game, mentioning the manner in which Mr Procter had worked for its interests when it was at a low ebb. The speaker hoped that when the iew season came round, Mr Procter would feel as vigorous as inMhe past and would throw in his lot with them. He had not only given his time, but had spent money for the advancement of football. Their President should also reconsider his decision to resign at.the end of the year. Mr J. Casey (secretary, of the Council) said he had been struck by seeing Mr Procter's name year after year in the Council's books. A feature of his work that was "outstanding- was that he was straight-dealing; and he was notable for his fearlessness when he thought a csrtain.line of conduct was right. His feeling for his fellow-mem-bers was also much in evidence. If it had been Mr Procter's duty at any tinw to take a team away for a day, he set out bright and. early in the morning on his bicycle to -ride from his. homr at' Hokio to Levin. The Council would like to see. him at- least complete his quarter of a century-as-a member. Mr ■Casey added that Rugby football had cost Mr Procter many pounds,, but he had earned the solid appreciation of those with.whom he had been associated. AN "APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT. ","I think you have said a lot about me that I am not entitled to," said Mr Procter, .in reply. ''What little I have lone for football I have been pleased to do. I have -met many friends in that connection 'whom I. will never forget. But there is a time when you feel that you have to give up a certain amount of your pleasure. I am not, as young as'l uaed to be, anid I feel I cannot give the time at nights that I used to. I have fully made up my mind that it is as well to leave the ship before she sinks.—(Laughter.)— I don't mean that the Rugby Union is going "to sink, but that when a fellow gets too old he is sinking. himself.— (Cries of dissent).—l think there are plenty of young fellows, and it is time some more".of-them came along. .Tlieir ideas are more,modem. If the Council want any Assistance, I will always give them the best I can. 1 have seen two or-three presidents on this Council, and Mr Han nan is quite a young man and hij career is all in front of h i m —i n fact, he has not started yet; but I have seen no better on this Council since I have been here." I,- for one, would be very sorry indeed to see n young man like Mr Hannan pull out just as he has got to the top of the tree.'' ( Applause).' _ " - THE ALL BLACKS. Mr Hutehins proposed, the toast of the New Zealand team that toured South Africa. 'He said they were proud of the All Blacks. Perhaps this team had not done so well as that of 1925, but it would be recognised that they had been up against a strong' combination lin the 1 Test matches. Ncvr Zealand people were looking forward tc : the, time when the Springboks would come ,ovcr. U the All Blacks did not beat them then, they would at least hold their own. The team from this country^ apart from playing football, had been a [credit to New Zealand, and had -played the the field and ott MERRIES OF THE ARMY TEAM Mr, J. (Manawatu selector and a member of the Army of, 1919), in responding, said he though that one of the finest features ot football was that, many years after am had finished playmg,, he w ™ welcojn ed to the sxdal rank's pf the' players of the day. Mr By an "gave reminiscences of the period 1910-13 when .he was a member of the back division oi the Petone '.seniors, in -their notable contests with the Athletic Cub for the championships; also recollection of the tours of Britain and South Africa by the Army team. v «lf you cannot take a bump and meet a fellow m the right way after the game." he said, "your football career has been a fail-, ure. Very often you will see it reported in the Press that forwards have come into conflict on'the field- vlt marvellous that there is so little pern per shown with 30 men jagagedan a fist same." Regarding South Afuea, Mr .that .his" rilaved on grass grounds at Capetown, ffi Elizabeth and Oudtshoorn, and the two latter would not bo called grass grounds if they were in New Zealand. The condition of the grounds was equivalent to.that of the Palmerston Nortn, showground in the middle of summer, and if a player came down it was as bad as if there was no grass thtro at all He considered that the South African climate did not affect the visiting players, but*the dust certainly did. M half-time in their, match at Johannesburg,, quite a number of .their players' were sick. It was at that place

that they had been expected to suffer .defeat, but they actually played their best game there. Paul Eoos had summed up the types of international footballers by saying,that the Australianswere thin and tall, the South Africans. were fat, but the New Zealanders wei-a-of the perfect build of footballers. BENEFITS OF BULLY BEEF. An interesting reference to the standard of the Army team, as shown in the. English tour, was made by M,r Ryan, who said that in one period of eight days they played four games, had three "stun-ups," and did two long railway trips; yet in the match against Coven-, trv they scored 35 points in as many minutes. He thought that the cause of their hardiness was their plain food during the war, Some of the 'players had' bean wounded three times. He added that when the South Africans came to New Zealand in 1921, he coached the Manawhenua team on the- lines which he thought would catch theSprinkboks, and' they proved fairly successful. Ho still thought that,thereI were no footballers in -the world lika tht New Zealanders. They could play I the thick forward game, ahd they 'eoula play v the open game. Mr Ryan alsosaid that, as a senior player from 1901 to 1922, he had never had a suspicion iof a player selling the game. Furtherhad never heard of a.selector or a committee who-would let personal bias "influence their selections. The. selectors 7 of the All Blacks in Soutu Africa this.year seemed to have, gone •absolutely for defence and nothings •else, and -tj have forgotten' that noNew Zealand* rep. footballer was wea* on defence—if he was, he would /not. be there. HOST AND HOSTESS. Mr Oasey proposed the health .-ot the host and hostess, Mr and Mrs JEdwards, who had provided the Coim(4l w ith a good room and a fire for the meetings, throughout the winter. • /Mr Edwards responded and. express-; ed his pleasure .at the excellent spirit, shown by the gathering. THE. CHAIRMAN. The Mayor, in proposing the health of the Chairman, said he had read the reports of the Management Committee meetings and had always been very much interested in them. Mr Hannaiu was a gentleman who had always taken a-great interest in Rugby foetball -.in thii district. His, Worship . thought that it was always advisable to have as representatives on the management committee men who had taken thenpart in the game,, because when there were any disputes to be settled, they knew what they were talking about;. Th* good wishes and goodwill ot the District Council and supporters or Ru"bv in this district would go out t> MrHannan. They all felt proud orthe way in which he had conducted th-J interests of football in the district and in the Combined Union this season. Mr Hann.ni, in reply, said that any success that he had had had only come through the loyalty of the committee who had helped him to carry on ■through the year- He haa been new to the position, and if he had madeany mistakes he- could" claim that he had used his judgment and done .things, to the best of his ability. He appreciated the compliment paid him by tb« Mayor and by the-'others present indrinking -his .health. -. At' the call of Mr Bimmer, thre«heartv cheers were given for the winning "captains. The gathering the?* jcame to a close with the singing or. ,Auld Laig Syne,. . • -.. .'