FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1675, 6 April 1904, Page 51

FOOTBALL.

THE ASSOCIATION GAME. Special to the "Mail.” CHRISTCHURCH, April 2. A team from Wellington played a Christchurch team on Lancaster Park today, and were beaten by three goals to two. Taylor, of Wellington Won the toss, and the 'Wellington men were on the attack at the start, but: Christchurch were first to score-, Styche converting a pendMk kick for hands which was purely accidental. Rawßusan, goalkeeper for Christchurch, was: severely tried after this. The home .full backs were strong in defence, but the visiting forwards were playing well together, and gave- Rawlinson plenty to do. Then Wellington had to defend, Salmon making several saves. Just before half-time Duff, who was playing a splendid game at full-back, beat Rawlinson with a long low shot. The visitors had the better of the spell, but could not score again. Christchurch came with a rush in the second half, but Taylor, Duff and Shimon all relieved in turn. Good forward work was done by Bethell and Collins on the right, wing, and, passing to Bennett, the latter placed Wellington ahead with a splendid' shot. The home forwards played well at times, but it was not until Styche came up* from full-back to centre-forward that they looked like scoring... A long shot came in. which the visitors’ centre-half let into goal, the ball passing into the corner of the goal. Shortly after the same playerplaced Christchurch ahead with a hard shot from, dose quarters, the game closing shortly afterwards. Mr Ward was referee. There was a fair number ot spectators, and the win will do good for Association football in Christchurch. Taylor, Duff and Bennett played well tor Wellington, (By “Line Umpire.”) It its apparent to every soccer enthusiast that Association football is gaining in popularity in New Zealand year by year-. This fact is borne o>ut by the formation of clubs at Palmerston and in the Wairarapa dish iot last season, by the resuscitation -of. f.lie Canterbury Association, and bv the yptablisluu ant of several clubs in Southland, where the ssarne had never befor » been darted.

And early in this season news cam.-s to hand of the formation of a very strong association in Invercargill. eon-s.-sLng of several clubs. Already, at this early stage of the game much enthusiasm is hang who an in Christchurch. Three clubs are in existence at present: and it is hoped more will be formed shortly.-.. To instance , their keenness, it is of interest to note that a match had been arranged lor last Saturday between teams representing Otago and Canterbury. Unfortunately Otago was unable at the last minute toplace a team in the field, go the Canterbury secretary wired to a local enthusiast asking if lie could arrange a game for the Saturday. Turk was satisfactorily arranged, with the kind assistance of several members of the Diamond 1 Club, who were playing in Christchurch on Easter Monday. •Dunedin is like Wellington (full of entlxsiasts), but the eouthcru centre Guffers in the same respect as Wellington —fro:;i the want of grounds. 1 hear that the Kaitangata Cluh is likelyyto. withdraw from the Otago championship this season, owing to the great difficulty many or the players had in getting leave to, play in many of the matches. Should this happen, it will be a very serious thing for Otagc football, as the popular mining club was cue of the strongest entering far the championship. It is hoped that big off rots will be made to am Ist the club to remain in the contest. In Wellington wc are. likely to have big entries for the -senior and junior •contests. Y.M.C'.A. have stated their intention of competing for the senior championship, while I am told that at is most probable that the, Pearls will also play senior. Should they do so, this will give eight entries for the senior championship, which will be a larger number than in any previous season. A new and strong junior club (the Ramblers) has been formed, while, the Swifts are entering at second junior team. Should the Petone third-class team (winners of last year’s third-class championship) enter for the junior eontest this season, there will be a record entry. ENGLISH NOTES. The attendances at the English Cup games on February 6th amounted to 207,803, the gate money to-£8215. These figures do, not include those of the various clubs who hold members’ privileges. McCombie, of the Sunderland Club., was recently transferred to the Newcastle United team. His transfer is said to have cost the latter club anything between £4OO and £SOO. Preparatory to the inter-Varsity, match, a match was arranged between the Oxford team and Mr W. J. Oakley’s eleven. Nothing in the game called for any special comment except rather a humorous situation. The appointed referee failed to put in an appearance, whereupon Captain Simpson (a wellknoiwn London referee) consented to officiate on condition that he should rule the game from the pavilion. His desires were acceded to, so that the incident will hereafter have to be noted in the records of the game. W T e may remark (says the "Athletic .News”) that the amateurs did not transgress the laws of the game, for if lie thinks fit, the referee is at liberty to officiate from the giddy heights of a baloon. Here we see the true spirit of amateurism —the play was the thing, the referee a mere secondary consideration. The following team was selected to represent England against Wales: — Baddeby (goal); Crompton and Burgess (full backs); Lee. Crawshaw and 11 uddlesdin (halves); Brawn, Common, Brown, Bache and Davis (forwards). Particulars of the play are .not yet te hand. The annual soccer, fixture between Cambridge and Oxford ’Varsities was won by the "light blues” by five goals to nil, after a poor game. 'The win was principally due to tire tactics of the Cambridge, forwards, who made for the opposing goal on evei*^-possible l occasion, and were not afraid of having a go when within shooting distance. This is the first time Cambridge has won since l«Jy. RUGBY. OPENING OF THE SEASON. Tlie first matches of the 1904 season were played on Saturday at 'the Athletic Park in the presence of about 500 spectators, The visiting teams were from Napier, Hawera and Christchurch. Honours in the end were even, Wellington winning from Christchurch, and (ronverajp from Melrose, while Poneke and City (Napier) played a drawn game. Play was very open and at times interesting, but individual endeavour was very much in evidence, as a .lesult ot which the games were not as scientific as they might have been. The form displayed, however, was better Than could reasonably have been expected at so; early a stage of the season, and the piiblic was well satisfied with the afternoon's epovt, not having come expectant-of seeing football of a high order of merit. The weather was a trifle bleak, but the wind that blew was not hard enough te -spoil back play, and occasionally There .was to be seen a passing display <of anore than average merit. Following axe summaries of the.gamesu — WELLINGTON v. CITETSTOHURCH. The annual Easter aitatdh 'befeveen- the \V cll'ngten and OhristchurdhsOlubs, judged ftem the point of view of a •frrsUseasoa

game, was quite as interesting as might have been expected under the circumstances. Leafing was conspicuous by its absence and even the old-timers who were pressed into sendee played gamely to the finish. In the first spell Wellington had the best of things by a good I y-pronor t ioned margin. Their tackling and forward play generally was much b rich ter than that of their opponents, and their footwork seemed to be more effective, bcor.tWilson made the first opening for the homo team. From a brilliant follow-up he made a pretty flying catch, passed to Cooper, w.io in turn transferred to Brabner, the latter finally dodging in behind tue posts. Scott-Wilson converted (s—o). Inglis registered the next try after .cleverly fooling the Chriritchnreh backs (8 —0). Hamilton’s try, which brought the home team s total up to 11 was the sequel to a scramble on the line. In the second spell the Canterbury men made a better show, and in two or three instances had ratner bad luck in not getting over Wellington s chalk line. The only score obtained by tlie visitors was got by Murphy after a stubborn fight near the goal posts. W*. - lington, 11; ChTistcluireh, 3. HAWERA v. MELROSE. This match was closely contested, the two teams being apparently the best trained of any taking part in the afternoon’s games. There was.much even play in the first spell, but near the end of it Hawera scored at the end of a combined rush, Hunter sending a fine pass to Larcomb. which enabled that player to score a try that was not bettered: 3—o. In the rush that resulted in the score E. Clariuge suffered a severe rick to his ankle and had to leave the field. The second half began with a persistent Melrose attack, Adams eventually scoring a try that made the scores equal, but nearing the finish of the game the Hawera players swept down field in a bunch and maintained an attack on Melrose ground mat ended in Cooper gaining a try that was again not bettered. There was no further scoring, and thus Hawera won by 6 points to 3. Mr Peter Mackie was the referee. CITY (NAPIER) v. PONEKE. Tlie Napier team was short of players, and some Poneke men filled the gap. Unfortunately the Poneke Club members proved to be better sportsmen than arithmeticians, for they made the City team total sixteen—a fact that was not discovered by either side from start to fipish. The game was fast, open and interesting. The first spell was, generally speaking, in favour of City, but in the Second tussle Poneke had a lot tire best of the play. There were, however, too many dry-nurse footballers amongst Poneke, and their disposition to cuddle che ball lost' their team its winning chance, the match ending in a drawl without a point being scored. The Napier forwards were a dashing lot, while the Poneke men individually showed themselves to be a fine set of players. Mr S. Evans was the referee. CHRISTCHURCH, April 2. The football matches played to-day were chiefly noticeable for the want of condition among the players. Linwood beat Union (Dunedin) by two tries to nil; Merivale scored three points (a penalty goal) to four (a goal from a mark) by Alhambra, (Dunedin), and Albion defeated South Dunedin by a try to nil. •WELLINGTON RUGBY UNION’. The annual meeting of the Wellington Rugby Union was held on Wednesday, Dr* Newinan presiding, r orty delegates were present. Mr J. P. Firch (president) wrote gretting that owing to want of time He could not continue to hold office. Mr Firth forwarded a donation of one guinea towards the union’s funds. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Firth for his Services to football. Two clubs—Johnsonville (junior) and Railway (fourth class)—wore admitted to membership of the union. An application from Creswick Club (fourth class) vras referred to the Management Committtee to be dealt with. The report and-balance-sheet were i. ad and adopted, after Mr Coffey, ,liad ■ expressed his regret that no reference was made in the report to the insurance scheme instituted last season, and so successfully carried out. It was the most important step the union had taken for a long time past. The election of officers resulted as follows:—President, Dr Newman; vice-president of New Zealand Union, Mr G.F. C. Campbell; vice-presi-dents Wellington Rugby Union, Messrs N. Galbraith, A. C. Norris, G. Fache and G. F. C. Campbell; secretary, Mr D. McKenzie; treasurer, Mr A. W. Stevens; management committee, Messrs W. W. Beck. M. J. Cronxbie, D. D. Weir, S. Brown, W. H. Hales, Alick Hill and J. T. King; junior selection committee, Messrs S. EVans, G. How.© and W Nimnio; delegates to New Zealand Uniou, Messrs A. Campbell, N. Galbraith, G. 0 Fache, J. T. King and W. J. White (all re-elected); auditors; Messrs J. H. Pagni and A. F. Wiren. A division wasi taken on a proposition that representative team® should be this season selected by a committee of three instead of a single selector. This was carried by eighteen votes to twelve. Messrs J. H. A. Laughton, J. H. Murray and Alex. Campbell were elected (from bn nominations) to form the Selection Committee.' Mr Fache (last season’s selector) declined, nomination. A resolution was earned providing that Wednesday players should be barred from taking part in Saturday matches, and that Saturday players should not be permitted to play in Wednesday matches', except by permission of the Management Committee of the union. It was resolved that the penalty for playing a defaulter should be .(in case of Club contests) forfeiture of the match by the offending club; in any other case, auch penalty as the Management Committee might decide. N ; It was proposed that the incoming comJpittee of management should be ©- quested to take steps to prevent boys over the maximum age of sixteen taking part in the fifth-class competition. Eventually it was decided that for the incoming seas jn the eligible age should be defined so as to bar from playing in the competition any lad who* shall have attained thu

of seventeen years at the beginning of the football season—April Ist. The following new clause was added 1o the accident fund regulations:— Financial member shall mean a member of ».n affiliated club who has paid his ordinary club subscription for tlie current season to the club for which he is playing.” Discussion took place as to the new by-laws to be submitted at the New Zealand Union’s meeting. On the motion of Mr Fache it was resolved that che delegates be given a free hand. The union decided to accede to the Ncv Zealand Rugby’s Union’s request for a guarantee of £IOO (plus an undertaking to place an additional sum of .£l5O in debentures) as the ellington Unions pro rata sliare of the expense of sending to England next year a representative team of New Zealand Rugby footballers. A motion by Mr Weir, that endeavours should be made to resuscitate the abandoned- representative .match between Hawke’s Bay and ’Wellington Dnions, was carried by a large majority. The remuneration of the secretary and treasurer was increased to <£2s and .£ls respectively. It was resolved on the motion of Mr IVard that the insurance of players fund be made a separate account, and operated on only for insurance business. Mr O’Sullivan mooted the advisableness of the union offering a trophy as an inducement for teams to compete in the Wednesday competition. The incoming Management Committee was instructed to arrange to that effect. NEW ZEALAND RUGBY UNION The twelfth annual report of the New Zealand Rugby Union to be presented remembers on Friday, May 6th, congratulates unions on their continued good go vernment in the respective districts. The past reason lias been an exceptionally busy auu interesting one. and the governing body lias rigidly upheld the purposes for which it was formed, and has. by ! t« persistent efforts in the direction of upholding its prestige, gained the confidence of union,s and all interested in the game. On the subject of the North v South Island match, the committee is impressed with the fact that its determination in resuscitating an annual interisland match lias not only proved satisfactory from a financial point of view, but has provided players with an object which every . one should strive to attain —representative honours for the respective islands. In dealing with the proposed visit of an English team to Australia, it is stated that the committee has submitted 1 the follow'ng terms to the New South Whales Union, for a visit of the Englishmen:—7s per cent, of the net profits of matches with a minimum guarantee of <£6oo, with a stipulation that not less than five matches be played in New Zealand. Tlie committee hopes that the annual meeting will decide whether a New Zealand team shail visit Eiingiand m 1305. Regret is expressed that the number of disqualifications last season was far in excess of that in the previous year, but the committee observes with pleasure the promptness with vrhicli the unions have dealt with offenders. The Appeal Council had before it seven appeals during last season. The three years’ tenure of office of the present committee expires through efflux, ion of time, and it will be necessary to fix the location of the Appeal Council for 1 the next three' years. The retiring committee consists of Messrs G. 1 ? . C. Campbell, A. Campbell, G. C. Facihe, G. H. Dixon and A. C. Norris. The balance-sheet shows that the total receipts fdr the season, including the transfer of the touring deposit account, the proceeds of the North v. South Island match, and a balance of <£39 12s 5d brought forward from the previous season, amounts to <£963 17s Sd. The expenditure, including the cost of the tour to New South W ales and Queensland, was .£671 Is lid, leaving a credit balance of <£232 15s 9d. The assets show an amount of <£3o2 2s 5d in excess of liabilities. ENGLISH TEAM FOR THE COLONIES. SYDNEY, March 30. The Rugby Union has been advised that a strong English football team nas been got together to visit Australia during the coming season. The tour will commence at Sydney on June 22nd. Arrangements are being mafe to proceed to New Zealand after visiting Brisbane. It is also proposed to bring a New Zealand team to Sydney to play the Englishmen after the latter have finished their New Zealand tour. LONDON, March 30. The Rugby football team for Australia will sail by. 'the Ormuz. It consists of nineteen men, including several international players. PROPOSED VISIT OF THEI ENGLISH TEAM TO NEW ZEALAND. PROGRESS' OF NEGOTIATIONS. An urgent meeting of the Management Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union was held or Thursday night to consider important correspondence from f.io New South Wales Rugby Union in respect tie the proposal that the English football team should extend ito Australian tour to New Zealand/ Mr G. F. C. Campbell (president of the N.Z.R.U.) was in the chair.

It was decided that the union could not see its way to send a New Zealand team to Australia (as suggested by* tire N-ew South Wales Union) to meet the Englishmen there. Negotiations are proceeding between the New South Wales Rujgby Union and the New Zealand body m respect of terms tor bringing about a vißit of the Englishmen to these shores. The original offer of the New Zealand Union was a minimum guarantee of £6OO, together with 75 per cent, of the net proceeds of not less than five matches to be played in this colony. The guarantee was subsequently increased fo £750, but this did*not prove acceptable to the New South 'Wales Rugby Union. The New Zealand Union has now offered to guarantee the expenses of the Englishmen from the -date, nf fheir departure from Svd-

ney till their return, the New South Wales Rugby Union to receive half of the net profits of the tour in this colony. Certainly these terms'seem to be most liberal. There are some proposals pending, but the Management Committee is very reticent in regard to the correspondence still passing between the New Zealand and New South Wales Rugby Unions. It is reported, however, that the colonial executive is unwilling to go beyond the terms offered at Thursday’s meeting. PALMERSTON, March 30. At the adjourned annual meeting of the Manawatu Rugby Union to-night, a committee was appointed to carry out the details of a scbemie adopted last year providing for tlie insurance of players against accident. A pro-posal to discontinue junior matches was not agreed to.