FOOTBALL NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4301, 9 March 1901, Page 7 (Supplement)

FOOTBALL NOTES

(BY “TOUCH.” /_ The music of the bouncing ball will shortly bo heard in Wellington once again. Rowing is all-right, and cricket does to fill a. gap, but the no plus ultra of delight, tho only game worthy of an ecstasy of admiration, is football. Just conjure up a picture of the Athletic Park, the soothing, jostling, jubilant crowd of onlookers, ' the ponderous charge of a heavy-weight pack, and tho raucous-toned adjurations of a hundred throats beseeching “Cocky'’ to com© on, or cheering on tho Ori’s to clear their line—just picture mentally such a scene, I say, and then ask yourselves whether tho present nearness in time of tho football season is not a matter for general gratulation. And now for some plain remarks about football matters generally. The local clubs are bestirring themselves. and tho annual meetings arc to be on the tapis within a few days. The outlook for tho ensuing season is very fair. The Oriental Ciub has lest a stood man in Charlie Bush, who has been transferred to Christchurch. Charlie was tha mainstay of his club last season, his superb defensive work standing tho team in good stead in every match. _ The Orientals, nevertheless, will, in my opinion, prove themselves to be a factor to be reckoned with this season, for they have to help them tho advantage of a year’s development on a team in which the majority of the members arc yet in their teens.

“.Slorrio” Wood, who was absent from Wellington for a while, has again returned to the city of eternal calm —and Wellington football makes a distinct gain by tho fact. The Wellington Club, with his assistance, .should make a bold bid for championship honours, I hear that McLaughau has made up his mind to again don the jersey and play for his old flub. Melrose, last year’s winners, are said to have lost tho services of several of last year’s players through retirement, but the ‘‘old horses” of tho rod and blues have a knack of coming to the front when the hell rings for kick-off; and no doubt this year's happenings will prove tlio general rule. The Atliletic and tho Old Boys’ Clubs are said to be at least as strong in ■present prospects as they were last year, the former having secured in advance the services of a player yet to arrive in the city. At the end of last season a meeting of the Wellington Rugby Union was held to consider the advisableuess of

making overtures to ihe Hairarapa Football Association for amalgamation. The management committee of our local association was authorised by the meeting to arrange preliminaries *or giving effect to tho junction of forces. Perhaps the management committee referred to did move as requested-; bus if they did they have ..it nil events taken to heart the advice tendered by Li Hung Chang to a icllow conspirator to “sit tight and s.u.v nothing." If an.>thing definite lias boon done, no'.v is t.ie time, for tho committee to open its collective month. Tho international football matca ootween England and Wades was plated at Cardiff in January last, before about 40,900 spectators. The Welshmen won tile match by 13 points to nil.^ Bancroft, the \V' !;b full bacx in tuc match above-mentioned, was playing in his twenty-ninth international game.

A paragraph in the ."A. A. a fov,- woe'as back drew attention to trio fact that football wits greatly in popularity in Franc,?. The Germans, too, are adopting tbo English national game. A team of ioqrballers opened a tour jn England in .January, the first match being against the Southampton Chib. The visitors, however, proved no match- for the Englishmen, and suffered defeat by 5 goals to 1. The rhinoceros is a very favourite beast of luxury with Eastern potentates, and frequently figures in the accounts of Indian spectacular fights of wild beasts; though it is recorded that as a giadiator the rhinoceros is apt to he disappointing, preferring to grub about in the arena for food to paying attention. to the business in hand, Tho only thing which ho is always reauy to attach appears to be a. man; and there is, or used to be, a rhinoceros at the capital of Gwalior whose homicidal instincts provided much sport for subalterns quartered at Gwalior before the fort was surrendered to Slndla. The game only required two players beside the rhinoceros, am! was very simple. The beast had an exceedingly violent temper, and was confined in an enclosure half as large as Leicester square, surrounded with pillars, between which a mau could slip easily, but too close for the monster’s bulk to pass. Somewhere inside the enclosure Lis food bucket lay, and the players, taking opposite sides of the enclosure, played football with the bucket. It differed from ordinary football, because only one player could play at a time—the rhinoceros was always looking after _ the other- - and you could never got in more than one kick, because the instant the rhinoceros hoard the bang, he was round and after you like a locomotive- This was the chance of the other player, who, dashing in at full speed after the beast, was able to get in one good kick while rhino was narrowly missing his friend at the opposite barrier. Then it was his turn to floe, - with the creature after him, and for the other side to get a. Stick. llaif-tiine was always called when the rhinoceros began to play cunning and lurked near the bucket. i 1 ■ .