Truth MORE RUGBY BOUNDERISM

NZ Truth, Issue 99, 11 May 1907, Page 4

Truth

MORE RUGBY BOUNDERISM

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING AT LUKE'S LANE (OFF MANNERSSTREET), WELLINGTON, N.Z. SUBSCRIPTION (IN ADVANCE), 188. PER ANNUM.

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 1907.

Now that tlie N.Z.R.U. has, thanks to the doughty deeds on dirty fields abroad of the famous All Black football combination, become such an opulent .and usurious body, it Savours much of the rankest treason for anyone, let alone that unspeakable paper "Truth," to dare to ques^ tion anything done by that Union, or to criticise the; conduct of any individual official. With its increasing wealth, this. N.Z.R.U. has become quite autocratic, " m its manner and method' of dealing with anything or | anybody, and the consequence is* that a free and open discussion of the Union's concerns is burked, ex. ceptiiig, of course, m the columns of that section of the press, which is not controlled by its advertisers. It is refreshing to note that the "New Zealand Times" is falling into line 'With the attitude adopted and maintained by "Truth" against this mob of mountebank amateur sports, as last Saturday ii threw discretion to the winds and condescended to dub the officials "snobs," which, after all, is a more polite substitute for "bounders" which "Truth" has always applied to several of the Rugby Union folk. Since the Union has had such a. tlmmping big balance on hand, there j has been no holding these jumped-up j controllers of 'clean, pure sport." Thous.ii under the pretence of guarding the best interests of Rugby football m the colony, the fact has hecome all too apparent that a clique of three or four have banded together and have endeavored to carve things out to satisfy their own selfish ends. The pity of it all, too, is that 'though delegates at the recent annual meeting had an opportunity of delving deep into the mysterious .Workings of the mysterious Management Committee, they made but little use of their opportunity, and though more than one attempt was made to let a little daylight m on certain doings of the. past, the chairman, Mi* G. F. C. Campbell, m a most arbitrary manner, shutdown 'on' delegates/ and he certainly seemed, by ills autocratic and over-bear-ing manner, ...to ''.'''!' Jjjive- deliberately connived at burking discussion. It cannot he said that Campbell's conduct as chairman was Parliamentary. The rules of any debating society wauld apply to the Rugby Union meeting, and it seems to "Truth" that if ths person Camphell is not actuated by any . desire to shield possible culprits, he should, if he ever again presides at a meetin?: of the NiZ.R.U., study the rules'* of •'•o'wte. Campbell is some sort of a f'.-ovprnment official, at whose beck and call. are_a, m\mber of pen--pusjiers and he seemed to have imagined at tho , meeting the other night that delegates were his .clerks, and he accordingly treated them as his subordinates, and -delegates, more shame to them, knuckled under to him, and with little protest against his manifest unfairness. * • * If ' anything, there is much more attention paid to Rugby football m this colony than the pastime 'really deserves. Everywhere it is Rugby, Rugby, Rugby, where more pressing wants are allowed to go to thu Devil. It is not a sport-loving coAffitjfiity, that prospers and thrives.

Rather is it to the contrary, and to have seen and heard the ardent, and zealous delegates at the football conference and meeting roariijg and ranting about their requirements and lack .of attention of the governing body- one would have imagined that New Zealand's destiny was wrapped up m a mob ol howling yahoos, divided into forwards, quarters, halves and backs, who are regarded by the small boy as the personification of all that is glorious ami brilliant. It is, however, hy the prowess of these Dancing Dervishes that Jhe N.Z.R.U. has blossomed forth as an opulent and cormorantic foody. Having wealth at its, command it has enlisted m its service "bound--prs" who prefer tb regard t/hemselves as eminently respectable persons, but who. deem it beneath their dignity to recognise the player m a public place. The player, but of whose "brilliancy," "nippiness," "fleetness". and "scrummaging" prowess, boodle is being accumulated is regarded as a very vulgar person, but the N.Z.R.U. bounder is all that is comprised m the term "respectable" and he is fit only to hobnab with G-overn<or Bill Plunket a>nd others "high-up" m tlie world. The fact of the whole matter is, the N.Z.R.U. is out of [touch with Ruguy football m New Zealand. The officials of the N.Z.R.U., being an amateur body, want to lord it .as high and mighty personages. Hence the •''•'Times" calls them- "snobs/ and' "Truth," "that paper that nobody takes notice of," refers to them as "bounders," and after all. the .terms ,are synonymous. Nobody objects to the N.Z.R.U. wishing to become respectable, but ' when the players themselves are regarded as the vulgar herd and not worth an orange or a lemon at "half-time J' i* does seem that the effort to become ul-tra-respectable ls a wasted one. « * « Moreover, this eminently respectaole Ria^hy Union affects a patronising air towards tjhe Press, and it is to be recorded with as calm a feeling as possible, that the delegates at the recent meeting, with the exception of one or two, upheld the insolent, over-bearing and churlish conduct of that bounder of bounders, Galbraith, m making a '''holy" show of a number of Press representatives at the Athletic Park m Sept&nbier last, by calling on tlie police to eject the Pressmen from the line, wher.e it. had hitherto been their custom to watch the play, and to give to the '. public full and fair accounts of the matches. Suffice to say, as it was remarked by one delegate, Galbraith has rued the day that he displayed such a want of tact, and notwithstanding his bounder-like assertion that he would repeat his conduct if the necessity again arose for removing reporters, this paper,- at any. rate, is firmly of the belief that Galftraith would do nothing of the kind, for the best reason that if he did a new treasurer would be wanted, and even, too, m the 'face of the fact that he was unanimously re-elected to that position. The N.Z.R.U. at first affected a nonchalant air with regard to the usefulness of 'the 'Press, and its great assistance m spreading the gospel of Rugby, and the awful ignorance of -a man named Mason, who is some sort of a school registrar down at Christchurch, or somewhere m Canterbury, who suggested that reporters should learn to report a football match under a most wretched disadvantage, certainly caused other ignorant galoots to laugh ; but wind-beg Mason had the mortification of learning, a few minutes afterwards, that the N^Z.R.U. had come to its senses for once and was determined to provide facilities for .newspaper men. Therefore, it is to be hoped that such a scene as that whioh happenad m September last will never be' repeated. If it is, Press- support will be withdrawn, and we shall then see how the N.Z.R.U. will fare. As for that vain-glorious body's attempt to become a very resneCtafole -body "Truth" extends its helping- , hand. First, let the Union purge itself of its- element of snobbishness, let everything he fair, open and above board, and the Union may do what it is not doing now, viz., furthering the interests of Rugby football' right throughout the colony.