The SPORTING WORLD

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 5 July 1939, Page 10

The SPORTING WORLD

COMMENTS ON LOCAL WINTER SPORTS

: THIS SEDDON SHIELD AND THE TOl'R AND A DIFFICULT QUESTION During the course of the discussi'/n at this week’s Nelson Rugby Union meeting on the question of finance for next, j month's tour of the North Island, a ! delegate, Mr R. Forbes, commented that' 'while the matter of raising the required ! money did not appear to present undue! difficulties, he desired the assurance of.! i preferably the chairman. that the' money that was going to be raised ! woudl be spent in the best interests and advantage of Nelson Rugby as a whole. The president in his reply said that ! for some years the Nelson senior team had not been further afield than Blenheim -and it was not good for any sports body to sit at home so long. Nor ; had Nelson received any visit from out- ! side teams for a long time. “It we j could win the Seddon Shield we would 1 create a stimulus to Nelson Rugby that is very much needed.” The speaker went on to say that the experience and combination that would no doubt b-j gained on the tour would give the te 1m 1 a far better chance of winning the Shield. During the discussion it was show/s, | that there was complete unanimity of opinion among delegates to the union that the tour should go on despite the \ reverses which have been suffered j firstly the Wanganui defection, and see-j jondlv the unexpected smallness of ’he j I New Zeal cod Union's grant. The first j setback was countered by the union *o | some exten* by securing a Saturday match with the Wellington Colts. Ce~tnmly this is in the nature of a curtai-i----1 aiser. bin this match should be Ihe (one to give Nelson most valuable experience. It is unfortunate that Nelso i : were not as lucky as Marlborough to j secure a match against Wellington’s ! best team especially in view of the (act that Nelson, judging from ear,y | season fenm at any rate, appear to be a i better sict > than the wearers of th« ; marom jersey There is some reason *o

•: ppose that Nelson can manage wins ; gainst Bush Union and Wairarapa; at.cl if they were successful at Wellington it would certainly put them in additional good heart for the pig match at Westport on 26th August, j On the last tour undertaken b. the I Nelson Union in 1934. the side did not j win a game, but was fortunate in being j matched against some strong southern j teams, particularly Canterbury, where the scores were level at 11-all’ at half- ' time. The second half was a different ; tale, of course. The Nelson side was at | concert pitch at Blenheim for the Shield ; match, and sheer bad luck played a j big part in its defeat on that occasion Jat 17-10. The year previously, at Grey--1 mouth. Nelson had fought a most torrid contest, for the trophy, losing 1(5-11 after at one stage practically having the game won; while in 1935 at Blenheim there was very little between the two sides. There have been wide margins of defeat too. of course, in the pim ten years that the Shield has been away from Nelson, but it appears that this year, as in 1934. the union is going to again give the senior representative team every possible chance to write “finish*’ to its long list of honourable defeats.

While it is true that practically every other union in the Seddon Shield area would be quite happy if Nelson this 'year had its long-deferred turn at hold* | ing the Shield, it is certain that they do not intend to give it to this city even j if Nelson wanted it that way. j The delegate’s question at the union meeting was a hard one to answer. No ; doubt many would consider the expenditure on this tour well worth while if ' the Shield were won this year and Nelj s on could hold it for a match or two. Again, while there are those who hold i about trophies in general opinons that ! must be respected, there are many who j would consider in the event of Nelson , winning the Shield this year, that the j money for the tour had been spent in • the best interests of Rugby here. ; C’ollejje Inter-Ilouse Rugby. ; The College Inter-House Rugby j matches concluded last Thursday, when Barnicoat defeated East in the final by 33 ponts to 3. The game was played at Trafalgar Park, which was sodden after several days’ rain. Barnicoat forwards paved the way for their backs to domnat the play. In the dying

stages or the game East played more as;, ei team, and were unlucky not to score I J more than three points. I Following were the results of the j« first two rounds: First round: East 13. Fell 12: Barni- j coat 2G. Country 3. ! Second round: East 6. West 3; Barni- - coat 13. Rutherford 3. Final: Barnicoat 33. East 3. Junior Competition: With the first round of the junior i competition nearly completed Nelson i are leading with ten points. A major upset occurred when Regimental and i Pirates were both defeated, the former by Nelson and the latter by Rivals, i All the teams except College and Re- . gimenlal have played six games and , it can be seen that the competition is in a very' open position. The following is the position of the

“Wouldn’t it be a Shock!” j The recent discussion at the Nelson ! Rugby Union meeting concerning whether or not to forward in order of merit referees’ names for selection to control inter-provincial matches (as requested by the N.Z.R.U.) was only interesting insofar as it showed some varied opinions on the merit of various! referees. The request from the New i Zealand Rugby Union has become rath-! ; er a formal one. for it is many years! ■ since a Nelson referee was called upon j

by the parent union. This fact led one delegate to remark: “Wouldn’t it be a shock if one were appointed!’’ ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL As there were no Association Football matches played last Saturday owing to rain, last week's fixtures will automatically be carried forward to the coming Saturday when Athletic will j meet Celtic, and Thistle will play j Y.M.C.A. Added interest is lent the ! Athletic-Celtic match by the fact that ns well as counting for the senior championship it is also to constitute the replay for the Price Charity Cup in the semi-final of which these two teams drew. It is interesting to note that in the three times these teams have met Ihis season two of the games have been drawn. In the schoolboys’ matches on Saturday Hampden street will play Central at Victory Square, and Auckland Point will meet Tahunanui at Tahunanui. both matches commencing at 10.30 a.m. Points Table The points table for the senior cham-

Back Play A notable weakness in back play in Nelson this season is the tendency of a number of the players in that position tu regularly kick hard down field, either passing to their forwards, or just cleaving wildly in an effort to get the ball as near their opponent's goal as possible. Very often it will be found that a half i.-' in a better position to receive a pass, and he in turn may find that instead of passing to one of the forwards he might do better service by sending to another half or back to a full back, although this latter move should not be attempted too often. Chaining the Goal-keeper A point on which many players appear to be in doubt was recently the subject of a ruling by the Wellington ; Referees’ Association when it was decided that it was quite legitimate to charge a goalkeeper, provided the tackle was not violent or dangerous. This means that ’keepers are not altogether in a "glass case” as some players would have one believe, and should help local forwards, for it frequently happens that a player will hang back

when he could be bustling the goalie, j for fear of having a free-kick given | rgainst him. REPRESENTATIVE HOCKEY Nelson has suggested sth August as j the date for the first match for the Nor don Cup. the challengers being, Wairarapa. The New Zealand Asso- . ciation is anxious that the Nordon Cup fixtures should commence earlier than ' this as there are a number of challenges in already. Should the date be acceptable the match will be played at Trafalgar Park. As a curtain-raiser the Nelson women representatives will defend the Pope Shield West Coast. The shield was won from Marlborough last year. If this arrangement eventuates there ought to bo two excellent games, as Wairarapa arc stated to be a strong team, and Nelson will be right out to retain the Nordon Cup. which is being held by a South Island team for the ( first time. It was wrested from Wan-j ganui last year, and this is the first challenge Nelson has had to withstand. : The season promises to be an excellent one for representative fixtures, i Nelson has offered to play Marlbor-' ough at Blenheim on 29th July for the McCarthy Cup. This match, if it is accepted, will serve as a trial game for the Nordon Cup match on sth August. l The players, from whom the repre-! sentative team will be chosen. have! been training regularly, and the representatives who are finally selected 1 should make a good showing. Next Saturday the 15 players, from . whom the final choice will be made to! represent Nelson, will be announced. I Ex-Nelson Selector’s Views. Writing from Invercargill. Mr Huia Perrin, senior hockey selector in Nelson last year, says:— “If you care for an opinion of the ; relative merits of the standard of senior hockey here and in Nelson, well, I would give Nelson more than an even chance of withstanding the challenge from Southland. "My interests in the game here so far have been devoted to umpiring, but I will probably be playing again withlin the next two weeks. Hockey has I a good footing here, being well established in the primary and secondary

| schools, but for me. of course. Nelson ! holds a much greater interest in regard to club competitions, etc.” Fiji Hockey Visit. A Fiji representative hockey team is to tour the Auckland province in August, and at a meeting of the Auckland Hockey Association it was stated that among probable members of the Fiji team was M. J. Bay, a former Auckland and New Zealand representative.

Mr E. J. Hewitt, a vice-president of the Auckland Hockey Association, who has recently been in Suva and seen some of the players in action, reported on the high standard of the game in Fiji. The final match of the tour will be played at Auckland against an Auckland provincial side. FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY Next Saturday's hockey fixtures are as follows: — Seniors Stoke v. Wakatu. Stoke, 3 p.m. Federal v. Waimai, Reserve. 3 p.m. Juniors Stoke A v. Stoke B. Stoke. 2 p.m. Waimai v. Wakatu. Reserve 2 p.m. Federal, a bye. Women's Wakatu v. Huia. Pioneer Park. 2 p.m. Kia Ora v. Stoke. Pioneer Park. 2 p.m.

teams: P. W. L. D. Pts. Nelson 6 5 1 0 10 Pirate . 6 4 2 0 0 Regimental ... 5 4 1 0 8 College ... 5 4 1 0 8 Rival ... (i 3 2 1 7 Old Boys ... ... 6 2 4 0 4 Rover 6 1 5 0 2 Hospital ... 6 1 4 1 3 Hira 6 1 5 0 2

pionship is as follows:— Goals P. W. L. D. F. A. Pts V.M.C.A 8 7 1 — 42 19 14 Athletic .... 8 5 2 1 34 17 11 Celtic 7 2 4 1 18 24 5 Thistle 7 — 7 - 9 43 0