RUGBY MEETING

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 60, Issue 4321, 23 August 1950, Page 5

RUGBY MEETING

TO IMPROVE FOOTBALL

PROPOSAL CHALLENGED CLUBS TO LOSE IDENTITY? Quite a number of Rugby football players, members of clubs of the Paeroa Rugby Football Union, responded to the invitation issued to them by the union to attend a meeting in the Civic hall, Paeroa, on Monday night last for the purpose of discussing certain proposals for the betterment of football and raising the standard of play in the Thames Valley.

The chairman of the management committee of the union, Mg W. Faber, ■presided and explained that the purpose of the committee in calling the meeting was to take the players of the clubs into its confidence and at the same time to hear the, views -and ideas of players as to what measures could or should be taken to improve the standard of football in the Thames Valley.

Mr Faber informed the meeting that a meeting had been held in Waihi recently and he understood it had been decided to restrict the number of senior teams in the Waihi subunion to two teams. If the same principle was applied in Te Aroha and Paeroa then there would be six senior teams. -

-It was further proposed to concentrate on club football and try and increase very considerably the number of club games in each season.

The Netherton club would not be willing to lose its identity, said Mr E. C. Morgan, as delegate from that club. The possibility of there being other clubs in the Paeroa union in the event of the Thames union joining the Valley union was mentioned by one member. To. Lose Identity The three existing senior club teams in Paeroa would each have to lose their identity or the scheme could not function, Mr T. Richardson. The clubs would have to 'be submerged in the union as teams would be merely Paeroa A and B or Paeroa Town and Paeroa Country. . Scheme Challenged It would be a splendid scheme for •tile referees, said Mr H. T. Grant, who pointed out that if the proposal was carried out a great number of present players would refuse to be graded dawn from senior to junior standard. They would never agree to that, said Mr Grant. Many of them would become referees and give up being players. Last year it was difficult to field four teams. During the present season it has become difficult to field three and next year, with many players giving up on, account of age, it may be difficult to . field two teams, said Mr Richardson. Union Blamed The position was the fault of the Rugby union for it had failed to find sufficient games for the players during the season. - On many occasions there were no matches for the declared Mr E. Williams. What Mr Williams had stated was true to a considerable extent, said the chairman, but the year had 4 been a most difficult one with the ..British Isles touring team in the Dojninipn and sb many representative matches to be played. It would be a hard decision for the West club, after being in existence for 48 years, to have to decide to lose its identity. The standard of Rugby was improving, declared Mr H. T. Grant, who drew the attention of the meeting to the fact that it now had several third and fourth grade teams which would provide the players of the future. The heed for seeing club matches fostered was stressed by the chairman, who asked for a decision -upon the question as to whether there Should be two, three or four senior teams in the union and whether the union wa» free to make arrangements with the other sub-unions for combined club „ competitions.

’Every club should lose the' identity of its senior team but retain its Junior and third grade teams, stated Mr V. Maloney, who urged the clubs to ’consider the interests of football. (No club would really be hurt by losing its senior team. He thought that some clubs thought only. of winning cups. Strong exception to the suggestion that his club, Netherton, was seeking only the winning of cups was voiced Iby Mr Morgan. His club’s objective was the playing of good football and if the club won cups as a result of the games played that was merely incidental.

To do something big then something (big must be done, argued Mr E. J. McKenzie, andi he urged players to think of the interests of football

Two Atemaitives There were two alternatives-— bo scrap .all cups and run proper ■’ club football or elsce to scrap the club teams and adopit the union’s ■proposals and combine with other sub-unions, was the view expressed by Dr J. W. Bartram. “We have too many cups,” declared Mr Faber. “That is really the cause of the trouble.”

The decision would - not need to be made at the present meeting, enquired Mr R. Todd. What was really wanted was authority from the clubs to negotiate with other sub-unions for inter-union club matches. The chairman agreed that the position was as stated by Mr Todd. In explaining the ideas of the union to the players, Mr Richardson pointed out that it was the intention of the Paeroa union to scrap cup matches, excluding the Peace cup, and concentrate on club football. The union had played for the Lockyer cup, the Poland cup, McGregor cup, the Peace cup anl had" intended to play for the Birch cup.

Mr L. Johnson informed the meeting that players had asked him whether the union would guarantee that club football would be kept in uninterrupted operation till the end of August without interference from representative matches. The matter was really one to be decided by the Thames Valley Rugby Union, said Mr MJorgan, as, in the event of all sub-unions joining in, then there would need to be a controlling body. A motion that no cup football be permitted until after the end of August was moved by Mr H. R. Reward. He pointed out that the teams really never played together frequently enough to enable them to develop combination. Every week or so .they were split .Up into other teams 'to play for some cup. Untess the cup fixtures be postponed until after the end of August the standard of football would certainly not improve. Mr Moloney supported the motion.

If the motion were carried then it might be that Paeroa could not challengefor the Peace cup,..said Mr McKenzie, ... - Mr Reward agreed to amend his motion jx> read that club football should continue uninterrupted, until July 31 instead of August 31.

In • the form of a recommendation to the annual meeting Mr Reward’s motion was carried. The West club would not stand in the way of any proposal which was agreed to by the other clubs, stated Mr K. Fitz Henry, of West clubFinal Motion A further motion that it be a recommendation to the annual meeting that there be only two senior teams in the Paeroa .union provided other unions joinipg with Paeroa in combined inter-club competitions adopted the same principle was moved by Mr Reward.

Strong exception to the motion was voiced by Mr Morgan and Mr Grant. The annual meeting was quite unfettered by the motion, if it were carried, said Mr Faber. The annual meeting could ignore any resolution if it thought fit and the proposal merely gave the annual meeting an idea to work upon. Upon being put to the vote the resolution was carried. The necessity for setting up a subcommittee to control any inter-union competition was stressed by Mr Morgan. That sub-committee would have to control all inter-union club fixtures and all matters relating to such competitions. The chairman agreed that the experience of the past season had shown that such a controlling body was nec*««ary.