ROUGH PLAY AT FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12303, 22 June 1903, Page 3

ROUGH PLAY AT FOOTBALL.

A CHRISTCHURCII DISCUSSION.

[by TELEGRAPH.PRESS association.]

: CimiSTcinmcH, Saturday. Football circles in Christchurch have been stirred to their depth's this week by a newspaper discussion over the question of rough play. The agitation arose out of a letter written to the Press by Mr. Fortescue Studd, a visitor from England, who described an incident he witnessed in a match on the previous Saturday. Mr. Studd's experience in football may bo judged from his explanation that he was captain of the football club at an English public school from 1835 to 1889, and during that.time- they played Eton, Harrow, Marlborough, Winchester and a few other schools, and was afterwards selected to play for England against Scotland, Ireland awl Wales. He goes on to say:—"During my nine or. 10 .years' play in England I never saw such unjustifiable and brutal play as I witnessed on Saturday on the part of one of the players of the Merivale team. A young fellow named 'C.,' of the Old Boys' team, tried to stop a rush. Ho was floored, and the ball kicked on. A few seconds afterwards, when 'C was on the ground, a member of the Merivale team rushed at him and deliberately kicked him four times on the shoulder. A couple of gentlemen, who were standing by me witnessed the action. The offender was named by the captain of the Old Boys and four others, but he denied."

In speaking to a Press representative on the subject, several Rugby Union officials admitted and regretted the existence, of rough play. Mr. G. R. Mason, chairman of the Christchurch Rugby Union Gommitteo, said the Rugby Union could do nothing in the matter unless the referee reports a player lor rough play, for the rules of the English Rugby Union declare that any misconduct by a player must be reported by the referee. Attempts have been made by the Wellington ami Otago unions to prevent rough play by the adoption of by-laws under which members of the Executive Committee could report misconduct by players, but in both instances the by-laws have been declared ultra vires, and punishments inflicted under them could not be- upheld. Quito recently a decision of the English Union, was published that the. Otago Union's by-law dealing with this matter was declared ultra vires, and that any action taken under it was illegal. Mr. Mason was strongly of opinion that the governing body in New Zealand should take action in the matter. He admitted that referees usually had their work cut out to follow the movements of the ball, and their chances of detecting rough play were small. lie admitted that another prominent official remarked that Merivale Club had always been inclined towards roughness. He himself had urged repeatedly that referees should be allowed to appoint their own touch judges, with power to report to them any misdemeanour which took place, and members of the committee should also be authorised to report on incidents of rough play which they might witness. The referee probably saw only a tenth of what took plane. Regulations which, if strictly interpreted, would provide the reformations outlined had actually been passed by the Canterbury Rugby Union, but owing to the position taken up by the English Rugby Union, which is the supreme authority, they con not be brought into use. The captains of the two teams have, of course, had their say, without contributing in any degree to the pacific settlement of the affair. The Merivale captain says that it was while the opposing player was trying to recover the ball with his arm that the incident happened, not a few seconds after, as stated, and then he only received one kick, and not four, and that not intentionally. Against this there is the evidence of the victim, who asserts positively that he was kicked four times on the shoulder when he was lying on the ground and nowhere near the ball. As his shoulder was badly bruised and his collarbone cracked it. is obvious that he received very rough treatment. The position of the referee also comes in for some discussion. , The Merivale captain assorts that the referee said he saw the incident, and another correspondent corroborating this says this official gave a very modified version of it. The captain of the Old Boys asserts, on the contrary, that when he asked the referee to order the offender off the ground he was told this could not be done, as the referee had not seen the affair. The immediate result of the dispute was that there was an appreciable diminution of unpleasant • incidents on Saturday, while undoubtedly another attempt will bo made to induce the English Rugby Union to yield to the wishes of the colonial unions.