THE COMBINED TEAM v. ENGLAND.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 139, 13 June 1908, Page 8

THE COMBINED TEAM v. ENGLAND.

Dr. R. Noble Adams writes from Takaka-to the Nelson Evening Mail as follows: — , It is' to be' presumed that the information you /publish' concerning the Nelson- Rugby Football "Union's meetings is derived from some responsible member of that body. That, beingthe case, I would wish to draw yo,ur attention to a report of one such meeting held a week 0r..50 back;.- In commenting on the' personnel bf the Nelson representative team .to meet Marlborough; it is stated that " it is' noticeable- tliat there are; no -Gojdeji, Bay iften selected,"; The' reason for ihis is then- given,' that' tbie- Bay Union' were" written. Is,, and not havr ing replied' it is presumed that, they ;do, not wish' to bp represented.' The report occasioned feeling in the Bay, as the facts of the case are totally opposite to this. The Bay secretary has shown me the letter written to him by the Nelson Union (which letter is supposed to have desired the names of the Golden Bay players eligible for places), and there is not one word in that letter which could be construed into meaning such a request. We in Golden Bay therefore wish it to be publicly known that the non-inclusion of Golden Bay men in the representative team was entirely the f deliberate action of the Nelson" Union, and we also are under the belief that the said Union wilfully , laid the blame at the feet of the, Golden Bay Union to exonerate themselves in the eyes of the public. The Golden Bay representatives have proved themselves last year by beating Marlborough and making a splendid fight with' Nelson. It cannot be gainsaid that the forward division of Golden Bay is immeasurably superior to that of either Marlborough or Nelson. We are not aggrieved at having no men in the team picked against Marlborough. Neither are we aggrieved at the nonmolusion of some men against the Anglo-Welsh team. But we are aggrieved at the wilful misrepresentation of the facts which appears in your report, and we regret that jealousy and what not should deprive the comb in wl team of some very capable men. ' We feel that too long has Nelson used Golden Bay as a convenience, but this last action is beyond all hounds of fair play, and will probably stimulate the Bay to further the effort to secede from the controlling body—the Nelson Rugby Football Union.