SPORT IN ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20602, 28 June 1930, Page 18

SPORT IN ENGLAND.

MERELY RUN FOR GAIN. RUGBY A GAME FOR SAVAGES; 7 • ■ ■; SEQUEL TO FRENCH CASUALTY. A remarkablo description of sport- in modern England appeared in the Journal des Debals last month. It was written by tho London correspondent of this nows> paper and inspired by the death of n Frciicli Rugby player as a result of injuries received in a Rugby match, ' If this gatno for savages "...is banislied from civilised countries, tho death of its victims will not liavo been in vain, Jjo declares. For many years, even in England, continues the writer, fathers of families, heads of public institutions, and clergymen havo protested against a "socalled sport that is nothing but a school of brutality,'""and 'British newspapers have niado it. their duty to second these Ono,v.London .newspaper, he says,. used.'. lp>,. publish » 'Rugby "death* roll " at tho end of every season, and ho that of 1890-91, when there were 23 deaths. v " How is it,"ho asks,'"that with all these examples before their eyes, people could bo mad enough about ' sport' to import Rugby into. France? Ignorance alono could excuse this folly. Furthermore,/it is not generally known in France that tho so-called popular sports of England are no longer anything but spectacles, like tho cinema, and commercial enterprises. " There are no longer more than two or three sports in England: fox-hunting, stalking in Scotland, and yachting. Football and cricket are played by professionals .... The organisers of these spectacles, owners of special arenas that hold tens and scores of thousands of spectators, all niake enormous profits. " The railway companies, arrango special trains for tho great matches, and it matters little if players aro crippled or killed so long as the profits are made. If it - were only sport, something might be done about it, but these spectacles arq a business, and business is business." Decisions taken at a meeting of tho Consultative Commission on Physical Edu-. cation form an interesting commentary on the arti'cle in the Journal dps Debats. The commission decided to search for suitable/ sites on the outskirts of Paris for the creation of spacious playing, fields "for panics and competitive sports," and to investigate the' possibilities of creating a great stadium near the capital in which national and international sports meetings can be held.

Taillantou, .tho French Rugby threequarter'international player, declares ho will play no more Rugby. * This statement is,made following the death of the young player Pradie in the match against Pau. Taillantou was the man who tackled Pradie when he fell and injured himself fatally, but there is no suggestion that Taillantou was in any way to blame.