RULINGS IN RUGBY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21295, 23 September 1932, Page 15

RULINGS IN RUGBY

REPLACING INJURED MEN NO ALTERATION PROBABLE ENGLISH WRITER'S SUGGESTION [from our own correspondent] LONDON, Aug. 19 The general sports bulletin of Sporting Life to-day announces:—"While assuring tho Itugby Union of its loyalty, New Zealand confirms its opposition to any interference with its custom of replacing injured players." Mr. C. W. Pack ford, in the same newspaper, writes:—"The New Zealand Rugby Union lias recently appointed a sub-com-mittee for the purpose of drafting an appeal to the International Board for retention of the rule regarding the replacement of injured players. There are several other matters in which the New Zealand Union does not see eye to eye with the governing authority of the game. But this, in its opinion, is of far greater importance than any. "So far, the International Board, which consists of four members from England and two each from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, has resolutely set its face against such an innovation. It. is one which I am convinced will never be sanctioned in the British Isles. This automatically means that no overseas combinations will be met by us in the future who adopt such a method of combating an accident to a player. "What New Zealand desires is a special dispensation to be granted by the International Board so that, if it wishes, it can authorise its own clubs to replace badly injured players. If New Zealand were granted this privilege it would not necessarily mean it would be allowed to utilise this advantage.when in opposition to British teams. "It is possible, had such a law been in existence on the last visit of a British team to New Zealand, that it would have been beneficial to us in several of the games in which our players were injured. '1 he suggestion was actually made during the tour of Mr. James Baxter, honorary manager of our team, that he should cable home for permission to disregard the existing law on the matter. This, naturally, Mr. Baxter would not do, and he pointed out at the time to the New Zealand Union that this was one of the matters on which the International Board and the Rugby Union were adamant. "Another alteration, apparently of lesser importance, which New Zealand would like to see made is for teams to be allowed to leave the field at the interval. This is r.ever done over here, not even in international games, although it is difficult to see what serious objection can be advanced against such a practice. "I do not think New Zealand will seriously urge the right to pack more than three men in the front row of the scrum, although it would like to obtain it, nor <!o I imagine, at the present time, that it will press for other reforms. In such circumstances it might be an act of grace on the part of the International Board to Riant the request of our New Zealand friends in a few matters that would be regarded as being purely domestic in character, and applying to clubs in the Antipodes alone." '