RUGBY FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20255, 15 May 1929, Page 18

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

THE NEW ZEALAND UNION. ANNUAL MEETING TO-MORROW. DECISIONS REGARDING RULES. The annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union will bo held in Wellington to-morrow. Particular interest centres in this meeting as an important decision may be come to in connection with reverting back to the old rules. The position appears to bo that there is a certain section in Wellington in favour of doing away with tho kick-into-touch rule, and a resolution passed by the Pelone Club a week or two ago has given rise to considerable discussion all over New Zealand. Fetone seems to have gained some support for such a scheme, as prominent members of " the New Zealand Rugby Union have seen fit fo express themselves as being willing to go back to pre-war -style of Rugby for club matches as well as interprovincial games. Tho tour of the English side next season is no doubt at the back of this latest development, but is tho present day bright type of Rugby to be sacrificed on this account? It is nil very well for the governing body ill Wellington to say the old rules shall be reverted to, but this is a very narrow view. Had the members taken a wider outlook of tho situation they' would not liavo expressed themselves as they did. Struggled For Patronage. The proposal to ask New South Wales if it would be willing, to revert to the old rules seems ludicrous cm' tho face of if. How can New South Wales afford to risk losing the patronage it has struggled for so many years to obtain ? Auckland's position is very similar to that of Sydney. This union could not, in fact dare not, attempt to revert to the old rules. The same thing applies in a lesser degree to Canterbury. Wellington is not in" such a position, having nothing to worry about regarding opposition from a. rival code. This is probably the reason why the members of the management committee of the New Zealand Union —practically all Wellington residents—took such a small view of what is. after all, a very serious matter. The excuse ad% - anced for wanting to rerert to the old rules is that proper scrummaging will be necessary to defeat iho English team next year. But did not the 1924 All Blacks have an unbeaten record after having played the new kick-into-touch rule for three seasons prior to leaving ? There is no reason why New Zealand should not again triumph over the Englishmen provided tlio right type of forward is selected. That is the crux of the whole situation —the right type of forward. The advent of two 'good old-time forwards on the New Zealand selection committeeMessrs. G. Nicholson (Auckland) and W. Maxwell (Canterbury)—may have the effect of inducing that body to look for the more solid atul hard working type of forward. Cunning Forwards. The position has arisen out of tho defeats sustained in South Africa by the All Blacks last season. Such defeats were the best thing that could have happened to New Zealand Rugby. It proved that the majority of the forwards sent- with that combination were like greyhounds • which have done a great deal of coursing —they had become cunning and preferred to leave the hard work to their Younger and more vigorous team mates. That is precisely what requires remedyin New Zealand Rusrby to-day. Select the forward -who is willing to work and leave the "shiner" on the bank. Seven reallv honest scrummaging forwards will "be good enough-to hold the English eight next season, but such forwards wdi have to bo found. Once again, it not the new rules that are to blame Another important matter to be discussed to-morrow is the su est sent forward from Canterbury that the All Blacks' tour of Australia this season should be put back'a month. It is rathei hard to understand what, good will be derived from putting the tour back Ihe absence of leading players will still hp felt in club and representative games m New Zealand. Interchange of Visits. The interchange of visits with New South Wales is a further subject to come tinder review. It is held in many quarters that a tour of Australia every two rears, and vice versa, is too much for New Zealand to undertake. Surely not. It is 21 years since a British team visited these shores, and it is eight years since the Springboks came. Wjth such liitei - vals as these, where is New Zealand to tret her international matches from, it not Australia'! All Black teams have done a tremendous amount tow aid reestablishing Rugby so firmly in Tsew Soutli Wales, and is it not in -New /.calami's own interests to encourage the two neighbouring States, Queensland an Victoria? Progressive Rugbyites w IJ I surely say it is. The injury sustained by A. E. Cooke m Masterton last Saturday has come at a most inopportune time, that is, providing the. brilliant cx-Aucklandor was available for the. forthcoming tour of Australia by the All Blacks . While sympathising with Cooke in lus injurv the'football public will extend congratulations to the All Black fiont ranker, J. T. Burrows, who is about to join the ranks of the benedicts. The success of the Ponsonby team against Manukau on Saturday can be judged on tho fact that it scored seven tries, five of which were converted, against its opponents' three tries, one of which was converted, and two penalty goals. Sound Coaching Required. The Manukau team is a good side in the making, and, if it were to undergo a few weeks' sound coaching, would extend any fifteen in tho competition to the fullest. It possesses a line pack of forwards, who arc sound in all-round play, but at the present time lack of finish robs their good work of better success. Ihe backs do not combine at all effectively. Had they done so on Saturday the result would probably have been in favour of their team. Tho forwards gave them plenty of opportunities. One of the outstanding weaknesses of the Manukau rearguard was its position when on defence. The players stood right back as if on attack, and this gave the speedy Ponsonby rearguard plenty of room to work in. One pleasing feature was the brilliant play of Falwasser, whose tricky runs always had the opposition guessing. Soloman, as rover for Ponsonby, proved n handy man both on attack and defence. He often set tho backs in motion, and at other times joined in passing movements. His rush stopping could be copied to advantage by some of the backs in his team. Soloman showed promise when playing for North -Shore a couple of seasons ago and lie bids fair to fulfil that promise. He should be in the running when the representative team comes up for selection. Lack of higher football experience .alone may be responsible for keeping him out. Luca;g played right up to his best form on Saturday, and his cleverness often saved his team. His uncanny placing of short punts had the opposition in serious trouble, while his adaptability in reverse, passing, combined chiefly with C'ammick, made yards of ground and led to at least three tries..