FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15234, 22 February 1913, Page 10

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAME. - TOUR OF THE SPRINGBOKS - COLONIAL TOURS REHABILITATED. . Although most ot the English critics ' 1 commented unfavourably on wo play 01 tno South Africans ■ after tne firs'; few niatches, there is hardly a single Writer in the British i Isles at the present time who does not consider the latest team to bo the, best ; , ever sent Home by the Soutu Africa <1 . Union. After the Springboks Ma played their last gams, th© Field dealt with th-: , tour as follows:—The South African player a - will carry away with them the ungrudging . congratulations of their opponents. _ After ( the ordeal of a eeries of struggles in the mud of Welsh grounds, some compensation was due to them, and they are not' .over- ■, rewarded by being the first team to boat Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England in a single season. In future years they may V , even take pleasure in telling their sons of the rainstorm in which they were defeated at Swansea, where British weather, as on other historic ocoasionsj fought to. some purpose against the invader. ' i Their fortune has, in fact, been superior to that of any previous; colonial team in Great Britain; aftd posterity, judging by results, may regard them as the test-playing unit that has ever been seen on British soil, though in expert opinion they are: not yet allowed to nave surpass#* the Now Zea- , landers of 1905. . . At the end of a, foot ball tour it is customary and reaßonaliV? to discuss the Question of the causes of. success of failure with reference, to the contribution made by the visiting team to the theory of the game. < It is also pertinont, in view of certain difficulties inherent in i-uoh enterprise, to reconsider the advantages and disadvantages of such tours as tbey are now conducted. On the . assumption, . almost universally accepted, but pro'bablj untenable, that every match is won by the better side "on the day, the South African players would bo pronounced Boniowhat inconstant and variable in their skill. They have by no means been unable .to adapt themscWss to the unusually soft grounds with which' they have been afflicted, nor, on the •other hand, tan all their failures _be attributed external causes- But in. spite of this there in good reason for contending that. soundness and steadfastness have been among their chief virtues. ■:--^ : There is motes good Rugby football in the United Kingdom than , there was in 1906, afld it is differently distributed. A team that could go through a three months' ; tour and lose no match to versatile Welsh opponents in Atlanta weather, to Scotch or Irish forwards in one ■ of their best moods, or to tli&t isomewhzi ; rare confection a perfectly balanced &i%land fifteen, would 'altogether phenomenal. - It has fallen to the lob of the Son + Africans to win their most important engagements without teaching ; their opponents any new lesson in method. Though victorious, they have rather been pupils . than teachers. In October it appeared to be not unlikely that thei? swift-footed three-quarter backs might initiate some system of tactics whioh, even if not uovel, ; would at any rate wtau\'. to the highest. Welsh or New Zealand standard. T''.s ; prospect was : never fulfilled, < but, ;: on ,»* other hand, the forwards who .'then:: eet>.' Mid defioient in the a'/is which are moat profitable on our. soft grounds, made such impK>vem-- xt as to . i«9 superior at . last. >by ■; iihe ■ help Of . -.heir spfi{.<J find strength, ttj Jeir ; English Viitagoniists. "• The vitality of 1,/,'bj football; which a few years back siiciiied to bo i ui. danger of being eclipsed by . the Association game, has , Wen found isO lie not only in the cap«cii? for development, but in the diversity of endowment*., and , styles &6;* which .it affords scope. Both suppleness and strength are . useful; him-blehc-ss &£ wit and of body may aliktt be turned to. account. . Though in the main discipline and organisation, perfected by a kind 'of drill and no little study, may seem to be the secret of success, there are recurring periods when conspicuous vigour and straightforward energy, supported .by the indispensable minimum of dexterity, will overwhelm itihie refinements of the doctrinaire. There is room, too, for talent— y the ardent «onnoisseur would call it genius acting independently; and this, though more or less discouraged by 4ha : modern (style, since even lower schoolboys learn to pass before they attempt to run, is' at times all the more effective because the defenoe has no book moves with which to. meet it. It is fortunate thivt this is so, because it prevents tho Rugby game from becoming too abstruse ! for the , schoolboy and the ordinary Saturday ai'ternoon enthusiast, or { from becoming too much like ' the other forms of recreation ; that are available during the winter. The (South Africans have • provided a - glorious example of athletic manhood. ' English ' spectators at Twickenham, ; after feeling '■ quito satisfied ; with the' appearance of f their own / chmpions when they caracon to the field, could - not fail to be impressed by the manner in which these were dwarfed by the tall scrummagers, who within a few minutes were to prove not only that tbey could push ' theff massed opponents _ off the ball, but could also outrun them in the open. ;, l"he demonstration that South Africa cain produce : such men, as : well as th© hardy and courageous winners ;of the -.Marathon'; race at Stockholm, has a.Ti Imperial significance which might eve.i commend fcotbail as a subject for Mr. Kipling's enooniums. « There is an ethiiitil aspect of Rugby football which has w.-oersjuv received Ample illustration. It is oertamly the most . combative of ball games, and the most calculated to provoke the passions of players and spectators. ; , For the player indeed a 1 epioo of what is known as devil is . highly desirable. But on the'e very account the control of temper on the part of the player and the repression of querulous partisanship on the part of .the spectator are essen--1 tial to. the prog res sof the ' game, which ought and bid's fair thus to become an instrument for the popularisation 'of chivalry. A- colonial team -in its. varying experiences during a tour is exposed -to: many trials of- temper. The necessity of ■ living strictly for a couple of short matches a week must go far to prevent its members : from relieving the monotony of winter travel by excursions and amusements. ': It is to be Feared that the Rugby Union, in * its altogether laudable real for amateur purity, nas not been able to give an adequate ejspiresok>n of English hospitality. ' This is a trouble which ; .recurs whenever athletes or football players visit us from 1 "abroad, and is due to the want of organisation for the purpose, and not to' he want Vof kindly feeling. On the other hand, it cannot Be forgotten that colonial football tours and British visits to the colonies have sometimes merited the criticism that ! they have provoked. Our present visitors, if they have not altogether esmped censure, ' have certainly done little to deserve / it. They . may fairly be credited i-«rith having ; kept up the reputation of South Africa ' for spo.rt3aianship, and with having rehabilitated colonial- football toure. That a British' team equally representative of the strength of our players, and equally oap--1 able of gaining the esteem of : antagonists el-, the field and off, should pay a return visit to South Africa is by leason of different social oonditions' almost impossible; but this is an object quit© worthy of special endeavour. UNDER LEAGUE RULES, THE GAME IN CANTERBURY. • ( From latest reports it would appear, that 1 Christchurch bids fair to be the strong- : hold of the Northern Union gam© in New | Zealand. The game was practically unknown in that city until th© very end of , last season, and so far only two matches have been played there, both representative games, against Wellington and the New South Wales team. Players and spectators alike eta much impressed with | the new gams, and their enthusiasm has now taken practical form, as . club® aro , being formed all over th© city. Sydenham, Addington, and St. Albans, three of the i 'biggest suburbs, haw all formed clubs, white Lyttclton, Linwood, and . East Christchurch will shortly follow suit. • The various clubs anticipate little diffi- > culty in securing grounds, while the League has secured tho Metropolitan , ■ Show Ground for its competition and . representative matches. v..A large number of prominent Rugby i Union players have been enrolled as numi bers of the newly-formed clubs, the younger : players beiffg particularly enthusiastic, and , the-future' of the game in the City of the i Plains seems assured. It is understood [ that several first-class • referees hav© identii fied themselves with the\ League, and as the referee plays a very big part in talking or marring tho game, this is a very imi portanfe factor. ; ' > Th© on© thing the public had against ■ League football when it was introduced was , the supposed professional element, but this mistaken idea has been entirely dispelled , by tho action of several amateur sports • bodies in recognising League players as » amateurs, and now the New Zealand Ariia- > teur Athletic Association itself has informed' the Christohurch League that as long as any player could sign the council's declaim- • i tion lie would be accepted as an amateur. The Newtown Club, of Wellington, recently signified its willingness to send a • team to Christchurch at Easter, and the , offer has been accepted. The Wellington club -will send a strong team, and the match • should do » lot towards increasing . tho popularity of the game in Christchurch, •