Manawatu Daily Times [ESTABLISHED 21st MAY, 1875.] WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1921 FOOTBALL REPUTATION.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 1914, 7 September 1921, Page 4

Manawatu Daily Times [ESTABLISHED 21st MAY, 1875.] WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1921 FOOTBALL REPUTATION.

The reputation that has been held by New Zealand for some years for possessing the finest exponents of Rugby football in the world, is in serious jeopardy. The South African and New South Wales visitors have both proved themselves superior to our provincial teams, and in each case they have defeated our representatives. So far as 'the Springboks arc concerned, we have still the opportunity of retrieving the situation by winning the "rubber" of the three test matches. But even this may be lost by managerial muddlement or other circumstances. The defeat of our representative team at Christchurch by NewSouth Wales was inexcusable. It is true that the team was what was regarded as second-rate, and did not contain the pick of our district players. Still, the ignominious defeat it suffered at the hands of a State that has always been looked upon as producing combinations much inferior to the All Blacks, is most humiliating. The management of the N.Z. Rugby Union — which appears to be badly in need of an overhaul —was largely to blame. It put the representative team upon the ground without so much as a practice. The men lacked combination, and did not understand each other's play. The consequence was that they were decisively beaten in every department of the game. New Zealand has prided itself upon its accomplishments on the Rugby field. It has earned a worldwide reputation in this connection. But if those controlling the game do not display greater sagacity than they have of late, this reputation will be irretrievably lost. Nobody begrudges New South Wales the distinction it has gained in lowering the standard of a New Zealand representative team. The visitors themselves would, however, have felt more satisfied had they met and defeated a combination of the Dominion's best players under something liko equal conditions. The management of the N.Z. Rugby Union is not to be congratulated upon the methods it is cmploying to maintain enthusiasm in one of our most popular winter recreations.