FOOTBALL.

NZ Truth, Issue 108, 13 July 1907, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

[I- The Australian campaign of the ') "All Blacks" 'starts this afternoon, \ when they try conclusions with tha r Cdrns talks m Sydney. 1 The New Zealand "Rugby Union Ex- . ; ecutive cannot he congratulated on , its businesslike promptitude exhibited on Saturday. It would have been I though b that having invited tha r ! Kjing's representative, the Premier- , jand members of the Ministry, to witiness the struggle that a punctual start would have been mads, swid there was no reason why this sfcanld j not have been done, seeing that Irh« ! players were all m town early. Te. . ; keep the crowd (not to mention "the . Vice-Regal visitors) waiting m th« bitter cold twenty-five minutes "is ._ centainly not the .way to. populaxisgthe game,' and the NVZ.R.U. SeserV<£" strong condemnation for its lack of business methods. It was the same; kind of dilatdriness m the old) country that lost the public support, and the Association . authorities profited through the lackadaisical manner of the Rugby Union by suppljang a long felt want m starting matches at the authorised time. On the eve of has departure fou Wellington and Australia, Jack Ho-? gan was entertained by his club, (Kaierau) .members and presented .with a valuable rug. "Nimble" is darned lucky to get the trip, which' have fallen to his other townsman, Guscost. ' ' Up to aUortnight ago "Bunny" ■Abbott had Jnot been showing up as. he should, and several of his staunch* est friends-were losing faith m bini as a fjrst-class footiballex. In the Cup matche, Wanganui v. Pirates, "Bunny" demonstrated to the crowd that he was a top-^notoher, at least ' a local writer hazards that statement, an-d he speaks of his tackling being good. "Bunny" as a tackier strikes me as excessively funny. ' When Has Excellency drove up to the football ground' on Saturday last a younpj programme merchant, a purveyor of the "unauthorised" thougK "correct" programme, proffered his wares to the King's representative; who was about to invest m the information supplied when George Dixon,; who was standing by, anticipated His Excellency, and giving the young merchant a "bob" procured four copies,, whioh were handed to the occupants of the Royal equippage. But what about tine morality of purchase ing unauthorised programmes, which were nevertheless correct (not so tJ» official one). Surely one of the management committee should hay* proved loyal to the vendor who hat! purchased the rights or the "official programme. By the way, will George charge that "bob" up to incidentals? . A Rug.by football crowd (says an English exchane) is always of better (Class than those at "soccer," and invariably a better paying gathering. While Rugby ■ followers will think nothing of Is, 2s, or 5s for a seat. i the popular one at "soccer" is a G<\ jjjrate. , ] . Reported that Jimmy Hunter will; fellow the example of Alf. Bayly an-1 s settle down m the Wanganui district after the Australian tour.

The forwards of the first New Zea-! la^id team which invaded the land' ofj .the Cgrnstftlis ' aTeua,ied 14st. ; Seems .m spits . .ef all efiorts to"; stop 'em. Bo»kevilie r s PuPS are going; . to pack traps aa«l Hffht out f.ot Fo^\ land, and. "Shaver" Hard'gTaves, the 1 Taraaaki rep. full-back is singled outto fill a corresponding position with Hh« professional combination. \ "Siej ro aot forth to make a name} Or just for gjory's sake ; Npr ."empty" fame, they'll ..play, the j^aiß*— ' ;. ■ And m the shekels rake. I'll lay a shade of wids that the most sheepish-looking, mob m the colony when the "pros." start out on their wanderings will be the N.Z.R.U. Committee, which consists of Dixon, Cralbraith, Wylie and Isaacs. The customary chest expansion parade of the N.Z.R.U., Executive was a dismal affair on Saturday compared 'iwith previous displays. All seemed to have "jibbed" on this occasion except "Gaily," a ndt foe ran the whole concern for all he was worth. Nelson intimated to Wairarapa that it cannot say when its team will cross the Rimutaka, but it will do so before the curtain is rung down ifor the season. Hawke's Bay replies m like manner, and Marlborough considers it too early to fix the date of the probable visit of its players, jjugt now. . B«rt Carroll, a footballer of repute $n the Q-reymouth district has gone *o Wanganui, Where he will play for tih,» Pirates. Carroll has been playing for four years for the Star team m Grreyraouth, and has earned for himself a big reputation. Last year he represented the Westland reps., anrl flfrac ie the winning team just recently iii - seven a-side tourney held m Or>yj7j,alh. He plays m the forward aiYision. It has-been 'decided by the Auckiajad Rugby Union to send a junior rtpUaentfttive team to Taranald this staGon- The move will, it is thought, greatly encourage the junior. players. "Tim Wairarapa Rugfoy Union has a present credit balance of £135 I.Bs. W. Lewis, the record internationalist, had a 'benefit match recently. ■Lewis, m all, took part m 32 Welsh international matches commencing , in ISBS and concluding m 1898. "Have" you seen what 'Truth" says George," quoth a reader of Is^ journal the other day to the one aifT only George Dixon. . "No." replied the' hero of the Jootball committee, adding. ■m caustic atones, ''I never icead the rag-" In the same breafti be proceeded to say that a certain statement was inaccurate. "Then you have read it, George," quickly queri--1 ed the interrogator to the discomfited hero thus unwarily trapped into the admission that he did scan the tag on occasions. It is a well-known lact that George would sooner lose his ham and eggs on Saturday morning than miss the perusal of the people's popular paper. . -Dead-heads m utmost profusion graced the more aristocratic portions -of the Athletic Park stand on Saturday, and how they have the. effrontery to stalk by the gatekeeper with tfheix wives and daughters hanging on to thair arms passes all understanding. Men whose sole claim to recognition My the N.Z.R.U. is that they ar« associated m lucrative businesses *hat have fattened on the game, sturUftd about enclosure like, so »any. "bantam cocks as though ~the^|

were "monarchs of all they surveyed," and these unscrupulous individuals never deigned to recognise the preliminary of stumping up at the gate, whilst old battlers at the game who, m past years, have raked shouts of admiration by their prowess "after the leather," had to content themselves with the "inferior" positions of the enclosure which they were allowed to avail themselves on payment of the necessary "bob." Is it any wonder thajfc under these and similar circumstances that the younger generation) are refusing, to put their shoulders to the wheel while the dead-heads aforementioned *rer 'main on the box seat ? Such despic-; able tactics on the part of the noble patrons (?) of the game lend themselves to the developement of professionalism, and when football here degenerates into the limited liability concerns of the- North of England will then be stopped at the gate, and serve 'em right says fPakeha." -. Anent lihe professional team for Home, it is said by a local writer that a meeting of the Aucklanders intend making: that trip was held a few days ago, when it was decided t o demand of the team return tickets to and from England prior tp leaving the colony. A very wise move on the part of the Northerners, I should think, . iQuin, the referee who was imported,from Wellington to control the Mas-terton-Carterton game last Saturday, was surrounded that evening T>y a throng of toeb-allers, who plied him with- all sorts of questions touching upon the laws of the game. Evidently some of the referee's decisions m |he valley have not given the utmost satisfaction to players, and now /that 4 Referee's Association has been established up there it is hoped that uniformity will prevail m the administration of the, rules. A. B. Charters has taken on the secretarial dusjes for the time being, ]"R\ Munro, a prominent member of .the'Kia Toa Football Club, has gone to- Australia. i'The Liberal (Wairarapa) Football Qiub is losing the services of Syd. Smiiih, who is retiring from the football arena, owing to pressure of business. ' 'I An old Ponekeite, whose business takes him to the interior of the Kine; Country, tells me that toeball is'ihe only diversion on the Sabbath, •jjnd that thq natives .and pakehas look forward to the weekly fray with tremendous interest. It is the only day they get to have a r game. I Rally was to be seen marching- about the football arena on Saturday, yearing, the usual smirk which he mistakes for a, smile, and one had not far tb look for the cause of his satisfaction on thlis occasion. The "N.Z. Mail" had issued a Football special containing the physog, among others, of the only Gaily, and his eminence acting as advertising agentf for tpe said journal, not to mention his opn' little self, as his pockets were bjil-ging with copies of the aforesaid IPfolioation, which Gaily has taken' to Australia, presumablly for distributfon. It' is also rumored that Gaily ftas secured some scores of copies of last week's '-'Truth" for. distribuijiotni on the other side. I/The Auckland Rugby Union has despatched a message to Mr Alf Bay-^ % sympathising with him m his sejjjib^illness. The writer has not 3^ard of either the N.Z.R.U. of which he is president, or the local IJnion, doing the same graceful action. r'Mother" Murray was buzzing a- ■ Sout tb^.-.ParkV on Saturday with the tfeennesjs oiE a./''bluebottie." She was e|i|ien^iy determined that Gaily sfiquldft't be the cynosure of all eyes, ifence iier tireless evolutions. . battle between- Carterton a-nd Ifasterton on Saturday -ended in-hion-*ors even.. Neither team had been defeated' up to this tussle, which aroused great interest amongst Rugbyites across the Rimuitaka. The teams on ittis occasion were well matched, and Bteither line ; was crossed during hostilities;. It. was mostly a forward "ISSfQflfst the enthusiasts .who asiMnb'W on. the T?*&rf to wish bon.yoyi^B.t'o the N.Z. fo(yt'ballers wa; a w&g. of a newspaper' boy, who cried, [iiatest edition of 'The Post,' _ With ull particulars of the depatture- o: c feqS ; Warren," and broadly smiled that liitae personage as he • crossed the gangway with, his portmanteaus, the 'Arniber of which gave onlookers the .imjbression that he was about to do tik -Far East. ' ■. I Having seen all. the. teams play this p Se|ispn, a Taranaki scribe .plumps for „ Potier as the best half m the North ' Taranaki division. The Imglewood Eliyer is said to be much -above it/he ai'erage of scrum halves, lit will not escape notice that the l Ijanawatu Union is apparently very £ c|ary about letting .its players spend pother Sunday m Wellington. In all ?|oba;bility, the remembrance of what h|ppened.at the White Swan pub last "time is still with some of the mem- - Bets, who do not want a repetition , withe affair. Therefore the Union , the match- with Wellington this played on a Wednesday, so that tj| team can return the following rarirning. If this is fou<nd difficult to I afange, they are prepared to agree tfe-Saturday, but only on one conditfn. It is that the hour of starting ;

be fixed sufficiently early, say 1.30 p r m.» to allow of the team coming home that same night. At first glamcfi, it might appear that the Union is over solicitous that its repreKfitatiTes should no* be away from kometoo long, but those Acquainted with wbat happened befor* will probably admit that there is at least some justification for the fears apparently entertained. It is said that managers of Manawa-tu rep. tour-, ing teams make no secret of the fact that their men get out of hand as soon as they are m a straage town. There is a player of the bulldog breed up Gas-borne way, by name, Wilkinson, who met with a couple of painful accidents m quick sue? cession whilst taking, part m a Cup match the other day. His ankle gave ■way m the first instance, but notwithstanding the intense pain, be went on playing. In attempting to. stop a dribbling rush, Wilkinson received a terrible kick' whdeh made him lose consciousness for some time. Wellington referees please 1 note. At the "pat-onr-the-'back" Conference held at Dunedin at Easter time,, a motion was carried to the effect that m the event of a line umpire and referee not knowing- to what side the Jjall belonged to, the referee must #ive one side the option of throw.ing out the frail from a- line-out. J. Williams, &£ Dunedin, felt that ,-thig was a wrong decision, and conse* queniily wrote Home to the Welsh Union for a decision, whicli, has just arrived,. At the Conference /"Williams .•argued that a scjEiiin.' was'i the correct decision. The Secretary, of/the Welsh Union writes : ',',s£; have never had an appeal upon the point referred to, and consequently., my y committee have: not given a ruling. < Personally, I think' a scrummage is the correct de-^ oisioDi, aVsit would come under the rule, '-'Other Irregularities not Provided For" (40) m our hand-took, a , copy of which I am spending you." Den S.kelley, the Baimerstdn North toeball.er, will piobaWy be unable to .• Rlay again this season. While riding a' bicycle about three weeks ago the front fork gave, way, and Skelley, falling, goU th-ree of his ribs broken. J. O'Leary's absence from the Wellington Provincial team on Saturday was owing to his desire to play m the Masterton-Carterton championship match set down for that date. Every efiort was made by the Wellington selectors to induce O'Leary to change his mind, but without availSome necessary advice was tendered to the^footfcallers as they left the wharf per s.s. Warrimoo on Saturday, but perhaps the most uncalled for and .altogether unnecessary advice was that tendered the treasurer of thss N.Z.R.U./ "Keep on Side, fraily," for that is the sole e?.iality and quantity of Galbraith. He's all side, and to keep "off-side" m liis .case would be to cease to exist; altogether. C. Harper, of the "wJiite-ohoker" brigade, told a OPalmerston .North scribe that he has seen ' the serious evil m England resulting from the growth of professionalism, and hopes it may fee avoided QiVbh' ere. It is true, he said,, that -tj&is is more m Association footbal^ than m Rugby, but it is 'bad enough m the latter. From a referee's point of view he regards the amateur as by far the. roost tractable player, and he jfoelieves the respect accorded to the referees m this country is largely due to the absence of professionalism amongst the players. The clerical gentleman is likely to discover a v few thousand supporters of tne game' who could, taka strong exception to his view about the respect paM to referres being res-r pcnsible for trie, absence of the pro element among players. ' r ' x About 75 per cent of pr^sent-iday referees are •enough to drive players clean out of Rugby. *'■■'■.■ Wfet on ea'itk.W'as Edgar Wylie .thinking about on Saturday when he. mustered his rn©n at the Park ? To , the uninitiated^ it would appear as though Edgar was-: an undertaker with solemn look amd -black suit and simi-r larly colored tie,, 'taking charge of a funeral party. /It is 1 to b-e hoped that the omen isiK#; an unlucky one. A,nyway, if our boYs suffer defeat, Edgar can look out for some severe rebukes when he returns. > v v Mr George S. Swan, of Glasgow, who has been 'some little timo m Auckland, left for Sydney -by the Mo-koia on Monday en route for England. ,Mr Swan, who is , a great 1 fotrfSall ' enthusiasts visited all the principal matches here -4Hirm-p his v:sit, and was much impressed With :4uckland methods. \ \ At an English footballXma v vV * he referee allowed his v/histlq \S': -I'-de dowoi his throat at an exciting *£°~ ment, and he was m a very exhaut*5 :eiCl and critical condition ere the instil^ ment -was hauled up by the chain toj\ which it was anchored to his' waist-\ coat.