SPORTS AND PASTIMES

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 948, 12 September 1918, Page 21

SPORTS AND PASTIMES

By Souohlina-

Rttghy FootballAFTER all the hubbub_ there had been last week in Rugby circles over the proposal to play the AucklandWellington representative match under certain modifications of the rules of Rugby that had been borrowed from the League code, a feeling of satisfaction ran through'the Rugby community when it was announced that the "Wellington Rugby Union had bowed to' the inevitable, and had accepted the decision of the governing body of the sport in the Dominion that they would not tolerate the rules of Rugby being tampered with for such an' important game. No one can deny that the New Zealand Rugby tJnion took up a dignified attitude in this matter, and that the claim that they were the guardians of the constitution of Rugby football was the correct one. Another fact is that wherever you went—amongst the oldtimers especially—there) was a chorus of disapproval of the action of the Chairman of the "Wellington Rugby TJnion and those associated with him. And there was a, comfortable feeling about the majority of the vast concourse that assembled at the Athletic Park last Saturday afternoon that the good old game was to be played in the good old way, with no' sidelights of League football introduced into it. But, alack and alas, what was the sequel? The game was played as the Auckland an® Wellington Rugby Unions agreed between themselves it should be, despite the assurance of the latter body and the decision of the New Zealand Rugby Union. When I left the ground fairly late on Saturday afternoon nobody was prepared to take the blame. The New Zealand Rugby Union —a full muster of the tee was amongst the spectators—had an informal gathering in the referees' room, where they awaited the captains of the respective teams. When I got into the room Mr. Weir arrived with the word that the Auckland team had left the ground and that the members of the Wellington Rugby Union present declined to allow their captain (H. E. Nicholls) to be interrogated by the Committee.

The long and the short of the matter is that the New Zealand Rugby [Union have been defied, arid by whom it should be the Wellington Union's business to find out. Mr. Weir (the Chairman) said he was not a party to the agreement, as he was too busy about other things before the match to worry about the rules. Mr. Kitto (the referee and a member of the Management Committee) says that he distinctly told both captains before the game started that as far as he was concerned the Rugby rules werei what he would administer.. This information I got from him in reply to a direct question at half-time. -

I was not long 1 at the Athletic Park when I felt there was something sinister in the air. Mr. Kitto, like his fellow members of the Management Committee, was on duty at one of the' gates and he was buttonholed by a Committeeman who has been closely in touch with the players. On one occasion I heard a remark that caused my ears to tingle, but I did not think much of it at the time. It has, however, come back to me with full force in view of the happenings during the match. It was : "You know, Dolph, it is illegal for players to advance in front of the ball when it is in the scrummage." If he wasn't talking about the imaginary line what was he trying to impress on the referee ?

Later on, I was chatting in the Aucklanders' dressing-room with one of the Auckland lads when their manager (Mr. J. • Twinanje) said, "Stay where you are for a while, boys, Joe Gasparich (captain) and T have some arrangements to make with the Wellington team." This was such a remarkable thing to happen that I felt that I might be finding out too much if I stayed there much longer, _ and I went and had a look at the ladies playing hockey to lull the suspicions that were in my mind. But when the Aucklanders were awarded a free kick just, after the game started, and the whole of the Wellington forwards stood like dummies on the mark —and they included amongist them some of the most persistent chargers I have ever seen — I silently drew my own conclusions.

"It's not cricket," said a New Zealand Rugby Union Committeeman to me. That is too mild a term to give

it. In all my connection with sport—a ,good many years now —I have never come across such an unsportsmanlike action. It is all very well for the Wellington Rugby Union to put the blame on the captains, but I know young Nicholls well enough to believe that he must have received instructions from'* somebody before he would be a party to flaunting the authority of the New Zealand Rugby Union. Mr. Weir did not give those instructions, but it is his business to find out who did, for the stigma now attaching to the Wellington Rugby Union over this matter is one that will take a lot of removing, and the only way it can be done is by taking the sporting public into his confidence and putting the blame where it rightly belongs. I regard this matter as vital in the interests of Rugby football, for if it is possible for controllers of the game to employ such tactics to gain their ends how can the rank and file be expected - to play the game in its true spirit, and with the idea of making it a pastime in which our lads can become better citizens and better men because of the refining influences and the discipline that are taught them through playing it? The Rugby Unions should not descend to such tactics.

Tills matter of playing the game under the modifications of the Rugbyrules borrowed from the League code seems to me to be) more important than the matcli itself, hence X have given it first place amongst my comments. This page of the Free Lance goes to press so early in the week that I cannot wait to see what action the New Zealand Rugby Union takes. The weather had a real touch of winter in it when the teams lined out on to the field, a stiff blow from the south giving one the impression that there was an iceberg floating about the Cook Strait somewhere. There was a fine gathering of . spectators, ' estimated at between six and seven thousand, with a liberal display of men in khaki round the ring. Owing to the fact that the Auckland Rugby Union have not been able to secure the traditional blue and white jerseys for their representatives this year the Northern lads were garbed in white, the Wellington fellows turning out in their sombre black. J. Gasparich led the Aucklanders and won the toss from H. E. Nicholls (Wellington). He elected to play with the southerly blow behind him for the first half of the game. The teams as they took the field were as follow: — AUCKLAND. Full-back, J. Li. Prussing; threequarters, V. W. Wilson, E. T. Nixon, H. J. Lewis; five-eighths, W. Laxon, B. Gold water; half, R. Lusk; rover, J. Gasparich (captain) • forwards, J. Mollqy, H. A. Stanley (front row), L. McLean, A. Marshall, J. F. Thomas (second row), N. McLean and A. Lock (back rowV WELLINGTON. Full-back, A. G. Valentine; threequarters, W. J. Christopherson, C. Porter, W. Thomas; five-eighths, A. R. Morris, G. G. Aitken;" half, H. E. Nicholls (captain) ; rover, F. Tilyaxd; forwards, Arthur Parker, Albert Parker (front row), 3>. Eberhardt, H. E.Tancred, T. Troy (second row), J. Marks and C. B. Thomas (back row). During the: game Christopherson had to leave the field and his place was taken by Chesterman.

The daily papers have given liberally of their space to the details of the game, and there are but a few incidents in the play that I will refer to. My first statement is that it was a good game spoilt by the wind, for the players seemed to be on a par as far as Rugby ability was concerned, and given equal opportunities would have made a rare and determined struggle of it. As it was, the wind, with all due respect to the players, was the biggest factor of all, and the fact that the Wellington team made better use of the unruly; factor than the lads from the Queen City accounts! for the handsome win that came their way.

After L>. McLean had kicked a fine goal for Auckland—the Wellington players standing still and watching how he did it—a fine rush by Lusk, Laxon and Lewis was enjoyed by the spectators, Stanley just missing the try in the following play. Wilson and Porter both made fine runs down the far touchline, and then L. McLean—a fine player and a splendid specimen of a young man—made a great dash through, the Wellington team with the ball at his toes, and the movement ended in Thomas scoring the first try of the game. At this stage two-thirds of the opening half had passed by and the probable defeat of the Aucklanders looked almost certain. Gasparich and Lewis made much ground in a concerted piece of play, and then Goldwater broke right away. He passed to Thomas and the ball shot across the Wellington line. Laxon was in a good position, but whatever chance he had of scoring was frustrated by a glaring piece of obstruction which escaped the notice of the referee.

The Wellington backs went well tip the field with a. passing rush in the face of the wind, but a long line-kick

by Nixon sent them back- Then Pxussmg (the full-back) made a fine run and a good centre. L. McLean opened up the play with some fine passing from the line-out, but another attack by Auckland, headed by Nixon and Wilson, ended in one of the many force-downs accepted by the Wellington team. Time was going on, and Auckland's chances were fading away. Right up the field went the Wellington forwards in a great rally, and the backs essayed to score a try by passing the ball about. A faulty pass- was. intercepted by Wilson, who raced down the field with Laxon in company. The latter, when hei got the ball, had a clear field in-front of him, and he got . safely across the chalk mark. L. MoLean had no difficulty in converting the try, and half-time was taken with the" score— Auckland , 11 Wellington. ' 0 * . * . After the interval a try by C. B. Thomas started the scoring for Wellington almost immediately after the ball was kicked off, and the spectators sat back in anticipation of the Wellington team soon overtaking the total set them. But a surprise happened. Nixon, Wilson and Laxon combined in a passing rush that carried the ball well past half-way, and following this McLean handed the ball to Nixon, who made much headway, and then passed it on to G-asparich. Wilson next got it, and he made no mistake, scoring a try that was the best of the game, the movements that led up to it being the excellence of Rugby. McLean's kick was a good one, but as it rose in the air it got the full force of the southerly, and actually landed further down the field than from where the burly one kicked it. This try livened up the Aucklanders and another great run by Wilson heartened them up still more. Goldwater carried on tnei good work, but Laxon missed his pass, and 1 down came the Wellington men, with Porter in the lead. Pxussing stemmed the tide for a while with some defensive work, but two force-downs in quick succession indicated how things were going for the Aucklanders. A~'poor kick by Porter from a mark by Tilyard culminated in a scrummage near the Auckland line. The ball came out quickly to Nicholls, . and Morris, who was given the pass, scored a simple try. Nicholls kicked the goal, the tally then reading— Auckland 14 Wellington 8 A mark by Valentine was goaled by Nicholls, and at the end of a loose forward rush Arthur Parker gathered in the ball and scored a- try. ,With twenty-three minutes left, to play both teams were level in the matter of scoring. From a fine opening by Nicholls Albert Parker made a great dash, and with Wellington in the lead the public began to leave the ground, as it was then only ai question of how many points the local team would win by. In the subsequent play, Eberhardt and W. Thomas both scored tries, the latter being thet outcome of a great passing movement by the Wellington backs, the ball going through the hands of everyone of them from the half-back to the wing three-quStrter, and was one of the best concerted efforts of the match. The bell rang with the tallies— Wellington 23 Auckland 14

My opening comment describes the game—the wind was too big a factor to give the individual players and the combinations a fair chance. Why the respective captains did hot agree to play four twenty-minutei spells I cannot imagine. They have power to do this under similar conditions to what obtained last Saturday, and would have been a much better agreement than the one they did arrive at. However, I have got to take things as I find them. I am not prepared to say that the better side won, although the Wellington team had the bigger tally in their favour at the finish. Still, the local side have won both the matches —the one in Auckland a couple of weeks ago and this match —and facts are" "chiels that winna ding," to quote Scotia's poet, and the facts are all in Wellington's favour. But that doesn't dispel the conviction I have that on a perfect day these two teams would give an interesting display of Rugby football, and it is hard to say which would come out on too*.

Prussing gave a fine exhibition as Auckland's full-back, especially in kicking and gathering in the hall. I would like to see him closer to the heavy work amongst the five-eighths, for I don't think he is a full-back by choice. "Wilson is a fine stamp of a three-quar-ter, full of dash and possessed of pace, lie wis—on the other wing—looked likely to be dangerous, but 'few opportunities came the way of the half-caste Maori. Imsk (half-back) and Gasparich (rover) were two fine players, but neither Laxon nor Nixon impressed me very much. I/. McLean was the best forward on the ground, his brother and Thomas also pleasing a lot.

On thei Wellington side the forwards did fine work, the brothers Parker, Marks, and Tancred performing in

great style in faoei of the southerly. Nicholls played a much improved game on his display against Canterbury, his passing being well-timed and with excellent ' judgment right through the piece. "Ginger" gave a half-back exhibition that. would stand the test in any company. Of the others I liked Morris and Chesterman the beet, though hut little fault could be found with the others, Valentine filling the bill passing fair at full-back.

Just a few personal notes. The two McLean boys in the Auckland team axe the sons of thei late Murdoch McLean, and amongst the spectators in khaki was a cousin of theirs—a son of Neil McLean's. The old-timers were ■ fin© burly forwards -in their day, and the youngsters are built on the same generous lines as their fathers-were. Half-back Lusk is the son of R. B. Lusk, the old-time Auckland Rugby and cricket representative! player, the same "Bob" Lusk who gave such a fiite display at full-back for Auckland against the 1888 English team. The only other* old-timer represented in the two teams was Sid Nicholls, the Poneke and Wellington representative champion. One of his boys—the third eldest, 5 think, captained the Wellington team. ™i- m * nu^s > though. Gold water and Molloy were well-known names in Auckland football twenty odd years ago, and- these players may be representatives of the old-timers. ?

* * # Going back into the past, Alf. Warbrick, of the 1888 New Zealand Native team, was in Wellington last week, and, of course, stayed in the Empire Gity over the week-end. These days he is well known to those people who can manage a holiday to xtotoraa, where 'Warbrick is the chief of the guides. In "that famous Native team there were five Warbricks, all brothers —Alf Joe, Bill, Arthur, and Fred— ap.d although it; is but thirty years since they toured round the world -Alf is the only member of the quintette who is still on this side <jf the Great Divide. As matter of fact, there are only about ten of the Native team itself left to chat over the i doughty do? ings of those warriors of old, amongst the number being Alf Warbrick, e 4 r fT'ri Hai ?' y5 J a^ d Wynyard, Ted McCausland, George Williams, and Pat Keogh. ,

A few weeks ago Alf and George Wimamsi had a great time together at Kotorua, whither the burly es-Wel-iingtonian and now chief of police at Seddon, had gone in search of renewed health and strength. He got it there, ? ia 5 r^:>e chats about their football days would have helped more than a little to i that consummation. Alf Warbrick himself owns up to being 59 years of age, but he doesn't look it. and it would not bei amiss from the standpoint of advertising Rotoraa as a health resort were the Tourist Department to send Warbrick on a tour abroad. Perhaps Ben Wilson may take the hint herein, for truly this halfcaste Maori is in robust health and is a fine figure of a man. He enjoyed his trip to Wellington and probably would have been better pleased had Auckland won. , .