General Gossip.

NZ Truth, Issue 106, 29 June 1907, Page 3

General Gossip.

Wh'6 was the local footballer . 'that missed his train at Otaki, and m bis determination to pad the hoofj !. : et out on a long and wearisome allnight tramp to Falmerston North m order to join his clubmates ? The traveller, who was beniigiht<ed on the 44 miles journey owing to a dense fog. which prevented seeing one's extended

hand, had to adopt the all 'fours'"' at- ; titude m crossing the bridged streams en route, and his goal was jnot reached until just over 12 hours elapsed., He wisely stuck to the railway track to avoid getting bushed', otherwise the consequences might have been 1 much more unpleasant than they were. ' A team from St. Pat's College was j to have met a combinsation from (tine ! St. Mary's Club,, Wanganui, on tfchej latter's ground on Thursday. ; In the rep. match at Foxton on ■ Saturday,. 'Jack Stalker's ankle gave, way soon after play commenced, and j lie found it necessary to retire altogether about twenty minutes from . no-side. Billy Redgrave, who was shaping ivsll *at five-eighths for the homers, also found it expedient to retire, owing to a nasty .kick on the knee. Mono, who went to Sydney with thei Te Auite College teaih m 1904,- is !said to have played very solidly as .oentre-threequar<ter for Foxton a■gainst Manawatu. Writing of th© rep. match at Foxton, a Palmerston scribe says that as usual a portion of the spectators arranged a set of rules to suit themselves, and their remarks showed that they have little knowledge of the fine* points of the game, while the remaining spectators were most partial m their applause. The New Zealand team will be the guests of the South Sydney Football Club at the Hatter's annual ''smoke oh" on the I'7'th prox. The Wairarapa Union is sending a team on tour through, the South Island dn August. W ' ■Up •to^Sa^urday last, Charley Slal> tery haSj^ie honor of being the greatest try-igetfter m the Poneke Club since it came into existence. By scoring three i tries against Victoria College Wallace; rohtoad him of pride of place, the nespeefeiye figures now being, Wallace 30, Slufttery 28. In&tone put up another Poneke record on Saturday toy scoring four tries m, one%matDh. Slatterydid the ■same feat against Athletic m 1901. Harold JujfcT? accident will likely end the football career of this sterling, if vigorous, forward. He was always looked upon m late years as one of the very best and hardestworking forwards m the Mothfer State. According to latest advices he is getting along as well as possible at St. Vincent's Hospi«ta/L Judd has had a fair share of mishaps at football, but probably (fee latest, the most serious of all, was sustaioed m the simplest way. ■ .. . "WEhy >don't some old players take their lormer teams m hand and teach them the advantage of combined play? Coaching nowadays seems to consist of the formation of half-a-<dozen scrums at the "gym" and afewjninotes' hard passing. Dribbling lineouts,, lockdng-up, etc., are things undreamt of at the training quarters m 'hese days. lam. led to make these remarks "by the exMibita.ons given m several of the senior contests this .season. Tho N-S-W- Metropolitan. Union is insurimg members of first and second grade and borough teams to the extent of £1 per week, and medical expenses to the amount of- ten guineas. That is, each iajured player will receive £1 P"et week and medical expenses up to the specified amount, to be paid by the company which accepts ■the risk. When the matter of granting- the request 6i the Wellington Rugby Union~2s per cent, of the net takings at the match to be^played on Saturday next tetiween a provincial combination and the New •Zealand representatives—came up for consideration at last week's meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union, some members of iiie committee, particularly Dick Isaacs and Edgar Wylie, got tangled up m aiming! at on arithmetical so-> luti*n of an easy problem. Chairman Dixon lucidly explained the financial positdom as-'hefcween thie two todies, but Dick couldn't see it anyhow,, and much -tome was wasted' before the reqpest of the local Union was .assented to. Dick can't see how the thing pans out, even now» "I am a Wellingtonian, a nd I be^ lievo m justice, but I think, the Wellin@ton Union ds getting more than justice," and ' Edgar Wylie expanded his chest to abnormal dimensions when giving utterance to the foregoing, at last week's meeting of the N.Z.R.U. Executive. The question of giving, the Wellingiton Union 25 , per cent of tfre takings at next Saturday's match was under considerar tion, and Edgar was eyidentlv keen on- making the .expenses of the New Zealand representatives a charge, against the match. I hope the Wellington Union will remember the words of a man whose reading of justice will come up for stern review by the writer on some 1 future occasion. His idiotic bafofole about the establishment of precedents would lead one to suppose that he had had some acquaintance with the institutions at Porirua or Seacliff. It was a perfectly fair proposition on the part of the Wellington Union, and other unions will be quite justified m preferring a similar request m future cases of cthis kind. The N.Z.R.U. has now plenty of funds at its disposal, and there is no reason for pursuing th© money-grubbing policy of the past at the expense of affiliated unions. The colonial Union ought ta.consider itself darned lucky that tine Wellington Union , risks the loss of many dollars by obliging it m the way, it has done. To do justice to George. Dixon, I must place om record his just advocacy of the rights of the Wellington Union m this matter, whilst his efforts were well seconded by Jack Laughton and Ikey Hyams. The skin-flint party led by Wylie was small m number, and its arguments would have done no discredit to the biggest ''numbskulls" m creation. Did Wylie overlook the fact that the Wellington Union had iio need to ask for the 25 per cent, concession m the polite way it did ? The Union could have been more brutally frank about the matter. "Gun" (rarrard has m his mind no doubt the demands om his Union made by the N.Z.R.U, two seasons ago to pay up for beer and cheese, lavishly distributed to visiting players during their sojourn m the Cathedral City. Hence the "Gun's" anxiety, for the Colonial Union to foot the bill for a football alleged to have been destroyed during the Inter-Island gamereoently. ''Garry," is up to snuff, and the phiiantrophie spirit which always characterised the C.R.U. before the" Mil" loomed up large on the Riwnbv sky-line, is now extinguished, m so far as its application 'to dealings between the parent vxxly-'and bis Union isconcerned. It- is understood that tire Wanganui Ufl,oß _inteads sending & team north

•to play iAnckland this season.. What Wanganui wants is fthat Ramfurlyj Shield. The general iboayi of delegates to the N.S-W. Metropolitan Union hias authorised the management cominil>* tee to arrange for the purchase of Epping Racecourse,, -the price Dot (to exceed £12,500. . O'Brien^ the burly; a^oneke forward, who promised to make a name for himself before the Shield compete tions were over, is on the sick list, and the reds may have to lose his services for some time yet- A cold has been* the foundation for a general run down of the system. With' Sam Aferims out of court wjith a dislocated shoulder and Wallace and Mitchin-sc-ii going to Australia next week, Poneke's cup of bitterness is full to overflowing. A Dunedin writer takes exception to a towns© scribe's assertion that the standard of Rugby has declined m. "the Sabbyterian city this season. "It is rather early m the day," says he, ''to talk about "deterioration.' Our football the last few seasons has gone ahead instead of back." A' Sydney man has advised his new Zealand friends that a new star has come 'into the Rugby field of vision, and is swooping along like a veritable comet, dimming the effulgence of all other stars oftbs first magnitude. His name is Messenger, the fleetest of all three-quarters. Not only this, but lie possesses phenomenal kicking propensities. It is quite the simplest thing for him to kick a goal from a touch at the corner flag. He did this three times m succession m one match recently. Tho Canterbury Ruishff Union kicks against the form of procedure adopted by the New Zealand: Rugby Union, for iniqjuiries by local Unions into -the oases of players reported by referees, on the ground that it is cumbersome, and will entail a great deal of worlc. '•'Gum" Garra-rd and -his colleagues arc quit© satis^ed witb the present system. So I should think. The New Zealand. Union seems to be getting an awful lot of cheap and nasty advice from its honorary legal advisor, and m the light of past happenings, it Would pay the Union -better to give a '■'•quid" or two out of its £12,000 m stock to some barrister of acknowledged standing for counsel which would stand tbe test of criticism and serve tbe -best inter-.ests of the Union. A theatrical manager who takes a lot of interest m our national game, was telling me the other day that m his overland travels through this Island, and more particularly m Taranaki and Auckland, he heard/ it stated, freely that th-s "All Black" professional project was absolutely sure to come off. Hardgreaves, the Taranaki back, potted a goal m a match a few days ago, and tie feat surprised himself. After taking the shot a<t goal, he slipped and , fell over, an:l didn't see the . leather sailing over the cross-bar,. Wanganui .Union is •jioins to apply to the Buller Union for a game either oni the upward or downward northern journey of the latter representatives". ' ■ .... . The Eastern (Gore) District Committee has purchased five, dozen booklets of the - N.Z. Referees' Association's interpretation of the rules of the game, aad is supplying the same to players invth-e district. * Victoria College gave Pqneke the opportunity of putting up a club recowl score. The. iods' biggest tally up to Saturday was 34 against Petono m 1891 j the suburban men failing to draw Mood. Ttoe English' Football ' Union is ma&ii/ag a rigid inquiry into charges of alleged veiled professionalism among Rugby Union clubs. The Union intends to wipe out all semi-profes-sionalism, root and branch. Judging from colonial experience they have a big task ahead;. Dealing with George Smith's exclusion from the New Zealand team, tho '-'Auckland Star" says no explanation has been offered by the football authori't/ies of this x colony for the omission. Why is it? asks the scribe, and he goes on to say, "If it is because of any alleged connection with the proposed professional football 'team, tihen the Union should have came down hard; half measures are worse than useless.; "If • they have evidence of alleged professionalism, disqualification swift and complete should follow. There has been no disqualification, and the silent dropping a man, without a wond as to the why or the how, from a place which he has fully merited, is not an actibn which. 1 one can admire. Tbe action of the Union all along m connection with the professionals has been weak and ineffective. .They have been unable to put a period to the project,' and there is now but little doubt that the taam will leave, and that it will include some first-class men." Some of the spectators at the Man-awatu-Foxton rep. match on the Foxton racecourse, on Saturday, are taken to task for their : reprehensible conduct at periods of the game, the worst feature of the business being that the heckling cam© from old players, who should have known tetter. The Auckland Goldfields Rugby Union is endeavoring to arrange a match m Waifo-i against the Buller team, and it is considered probialble m Waihi that tfis match will take place. The Rangitikei Union is , accused of being tantalising-ly slew with this season's' fixtures, a slowness bordering on inertia, Discontent is said to be rife amongst players m its district owing to the policy of the Union is.asking men who live miles away to play a cup match at two or three days' notice. A 'Queensland footballer has sworn off the game for life, and for very good reasons. A few weeks ago he dislocated his big toe, had one tooth knocked out, got a fair try against which IKb umpire decided, then ended up by breaking his nose against a goal-post. Well, if a run of bad lu-k of that kind is not sufficient to sicken a man of the game for life, I don't know what is. One of the humorous sights of a small-boy team across the Tasman is the 14-year-old skipper, who takes active part on the field, and is the , ruling spirit whilst play is m progress, m spite, of the fact that ho is i somewhat handicapped by possessing a wooden leg. #■ A' Yankee 'exchange tells of a curious football match. One team appeared on the field on stilts six feet high. Asa set-off against this the opposing fifteen tripped on m bare feet, with arms strapped to their sides. Victory fin-ally rested with. tho i barefooted fjriga'clei Account failed

to state the nuanfoec of the Iteam On stilts that got their necks broken.; Rugby footballers and followers of the sport who saw. Percy Bush perform m this colony with Bedell-Siv- \ Wright's team m 1904 will perhaps be surprised to learn that it was I not until last season that he got his international cap m, tho match be* tween Wales and Ireland, when he captained the "Taffies/ Bush is said by one critic to have 'given as brilliant an exhibition iof halfnback playi as -has been, seen m a match—international or otherwise. In the Ohristchurdh team' that played against Albion last Saturday (June 15), says ■"'Quidnunc," there were five New Zealand representatives m the back division, viz., Turtill, Harper, M'Grogor, Fryer, and Harvey, I doubt if another club m New Zealand' has ever -etqiuall-ed'the record. But are Turtill, Fryer, and Harvey really entitled to claim New Zealand rep^ honors, as neither has ever participated m a . contest where the chosen of the colony has tried conclusions' with another Inter-State or international combination. They have played for the South Island m Inter-Is-land fixtures, but it does not necessarily follow that they can claim the higher honor of having represented j the colony as a whole. Fryer ma£ ! have that chance m a few weeks' time.. During the Metropolitan v_. Country toeball struggle m Sydney t'other week, the yell, "Go it Bush-!" puzzled a number of iflie spectators, It finally prompted one old codger to ask who is this player "Bush" that everyone was cheering on. Somebody, with a grin, informed him that Bush was the whole team that had< come from the bush, j and the old bloke collapsed.. Mr. F. C. Lea,, manager of the Queensland team which bit the dust to N.S.W, last Saturday week, after getting one on >to the Cornstalks, the previous week, is righcbly termed "the Father of Queensland Football." He is one of the founders of tbe Queensland Rugby Union, and from 188 Gun' til 1891 he acted as the hon. secretary. From 1882 to 1890 he was a memiber of every selection committee,' and from 1891 to 1902 he acted as sole selector. He is still sole selector. . Stan. Brown is accused of designs on a seat on the N.Z.R.U. Executive next year, hence bis "coddling" of that body whenever matters affect-) in® it come before the local Union for consideration. Jack Murray i gives one the suspicion that he, too; is briefed by the N'Z.R.U. for a purjpose. But ''Mother is such a lovable old creature that the writer . can"t very well take it into his head to chide her for her husbanding of so much tattle raked m at every street, corner and served up pip-. \ ing hot to the Colonial Union's comma tteemen. It's Ivcr weakness, and can't be remedied. Arthur Joll, a prominent -South African footballer, recently arrived m Wellington, and intends pursuing 'the game m 'these parts. Joll was a member of the- New Zealand Club m South A'friea, and was 'only rejected from the Springbok's team when the final porting came along. His services have been secured by the Wellington Club, and he should "prove a tower of, strength to the.forward division. Tilyard, who made his senior debut with Ponske on Saturday, is a bright little scrum-half, and a. couple of seasons' more should turn him but a top-aiotcher. He is swift and resourosful at a pinch. He gets 'the l;all away smartly, and. Knows when to get rid of it a<t the opportune time. He is rather light just now to stand up against powerful and weighty packmen. Private information has been received that the condition of Allan Adams, the Dunedin University pentre three-quarter, who was injured when playing football on June . Bth, has become serious. It is feared that Adams is bleeding internally (an old complaint) . His condition is so. serious that his father has been sent for from the West Coast. He was to have -undergone a serious operation this week.. There is a- lot of unnecessary fuss made 'by some N.Z.R.U, committee- 1 men about trivial clerical errors unwittingly committed by a secretary of am affiliated Union, new; to the office. Those who kick u>p such a shin* about the matter should remember the old adage, "Those who live m glass houses," etc. It is execrably bad taste to harp so much on these little matters when t&e surrounding circumstances are taken into consideration, particularly when one remembers the awful shortcomings of the critics themselves. The writer has seen some examples of their beautiful methods of doing business, and all he has to say at this juncture is that tho exhibitions on view would get a schoolboy bread and water for- weeks at a stretch.; \