General Gossip.

NZ Truth, Issue 111, 3 August 1907, Page 3

General Gossip.

Fryer made an extraordinary leaping dive over Dix, the New South Wales full-back, m the first match m Sydney. If Dix had been close to the goal-line the Canterbury man would have scored, for he came; down on the ground' with the ball m his hands. It was the sensational item of the match. In the next encounter between the All Blacks and the Light Blues, Messenger surpassed the fea,t}, for he was blocked by two men— Booth and Sponcer— and' didoiot appear to havo 1000 to i- chance of scoring. Yet he soared up like a bird, went over his opponents, and landed on the ball grasped m his hands -m goal. The has-besns pi Rugby are • often worse than those wiho never wore. Having gone through the jnill, they ought to know better than give vent to kiddish . g&iyble, which merely proves in' some cases that though present at the match, they- see little of the real play at all. J. TaafcV for many years a prominent member of the Linwood (Christohurch) Club, and subsequently coach to the Merivale Clubjs junior team, died a fortnight, ago. He had been m poor health for some time.

"Why the 'eI,L don't they let it out ?" yelled "an old bloke, dancing upon his toes excitedly as blue and black were pushing m the scrum during the progress of the initial game m Sydney. "I'll out you," snarled a walling cove, "why the devil can't you keep quiet ?"

"America's the place to see a football match. They're marvellous over there." remarked a somewhat boozed spectator to a Maorilandcr at the N.S.W.-N-Z.', contest. "Why, once m Chicago I satv : a player fall on the ball at quarter way, and' it went down through the ground and came up right behind the posts, and he got a try !" There was no room to put thumbs up.

Wellington Rupbyites journeyed to their respective battlefields on Saturday with the llirlit of victorious combat gleaming on their foreheads and they returned home like a lot of wet hensgwho had been rescued from a mud-puddlo.

When N©w South Wales become as perfect at th-oir own system as New Zealanders are at theirs (writes "Rebound" m the Sydney '''Sportsman") and there is no reason why they should not if they are kept together, and the team is not chopped about as is generally the case, the Blues will give Now Zealand all they want. We have rruite as good footballers here as they have m New Zealand; but they are not oui-te as quick to act. The New Z-ealander sees an opening^ makes up his mind, and does it quickly. The above was cold type before the debacle came about on the 17th inst>

It fs only a few weeks ago thai, the writer had occasion to. chide "Full-back" ("Otago Witness) for his pessimistic vaporings concerning the prowess of the Otago rep. team this season. ■ 'Full-Back* ? has recuperated wonderfully well slnco that lesson, as witness his latest dung-hill crowing •• "With so many players of about equal Rugby merit available, the selector of the Otago representative Rugby team has this sea .'on a particularly unenviable task. Tho back division should be strong alike on, defence and attack, while the forwards will be powerful scrummers and fast m the open. Otago was never better off for forwards than m the present season-, and the difficulty will be not who to put m but who to leave out. ??

The Sydney "Spostsman's" glowing eulogy on Charlie Seeling' s display m the Inter-Colonial tuSsle, on July 13-fh •—'•'■ What a fine forwardalways m the -thick of the battle, many of our forwards might take a lesson m line work from 'him— just sec him jump for the ball m the airsnap it — with . the same movement turn back ta^tho opposing side and break through, drop the ball, leaving breach ami ball beyond for his forwards to > come through; such points as these' can only be appreciated by keen observers of the grand old game.?' An excited and hatless individual rushed into "Truth" office the other dgy with a cock-and-bull yarn about George Dixon having won his international cap for England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland m successive years. Someone had been filling him up with a wonderful concoction of the "smoodging one's" powers m the seventies, and when the writer' carefully explained, to his gaping astonishment, that Geordie was a "neverbeen" m any degree of the winter pastime, the silence that ensued was deatli-lUce m its intensity.

A little knowledge is often worse than no knowledge at all. A Duroedin writer, referring -to Iky Hyam's statement to a Sydney interviewer, that Paton was .next to Johnston and McDqnald as tue best forwards Otago has turned out of recent years, asks "what next ?" and goes on to s"ay :— "Where does Fitzpatrick, his own club-wate, come m ? There is no comparison between the two men." Anyway, what is the use of our Dunedin friend kicking at Iky's "screamers" when we m Wellington know quite well that the little fellow is unable to give an expert opinion as to the cfiualifications of local players?

Wellington- was not the orilv place where the result of the Australia v. New Zealand match awakened tremendous interest. Excitement was at fever heat m Dunedin that Saturday evening. When the "Star extra showing the Domlnionists' win over the Kangarooites and Bananalanders was forthcoming, there was an outburst of cheering that could be heard a quarter of a mile away, By scoring five tries a/galnst Queensland, the young Canterbury three-quarter has accomplished a performance that will probably never be equalled m a big match under the skies of the Southern Cross for some years to come. The openings made by Wallace appear to be largely accountable for Fryer's, great feat. In the matter of scoring, the Poneke bpy was always the most unselfish of players. The gentle game of Rugby was responsible for a n.ice mix-un at Op.unake, the outcome of which was the appearance of two. .players before the "Beak" on a charge of assaulting oaoti "otlves, whilst one of the pair was further charged with striking an onponeht. The police had taken thp matter up, hence the prosecution at the expense of the Aeeor-

" ding to the evidence, which was of a very contradictory character, one of the defendants had to seek treatment at the local hospital, whilst the other's "peeper" was a sorry sight for two or three weeks. In giving his decision,, the Magistrate said men must expect knocks m the game without complaining, and receive it m good temper, If a man could not go on the field and receive the knocks of the' game, then he should Leave it, because if men resort to using fists or foul play, then the game would get into disgrace. Howes, one of the defendants, was guilty of an unprovoked assault. He could not place any, reliance on his evidence, and he would be lucky if the matter rested where it was. After some more sermonising on Ilowes's alleged falsehoods, the law dispenser convicted him and ordered him to pay £5 and £3 17s costs. As the other man (Young) had received great provocation, the "Beak" sjaid he would simply convict him. • .

The Canterbury Union's senior championship ' competition has established a record this season by completing, two rounds without a postponement. There was only one doubtful day, when the snow was on the ground, so that for fifteen consecutive Saturdays football was possible. Actually, there have been seventeen fine Saturdays since match football began,

The gate-takings at the New South Wales v. New* Zealand first match m Sydney is a record m this hemisphere, the previous best being £2200, collected at. the New Zealand' v. British match m Wellington m 1904. On this occasion the gate proceeds tan to £2583 Is.

A Sydney writer has this to heave off his chest .- "The New Zealanders' new wing-forward, J. Coleman, has the vim and pounce of youth, but as an artist m the position is not nearly the equal of Gillett ; that is, judged by the displays given m the two matches. On Wednesday Colman had his side penalised through-, getting offoccasionally through "shepherding" side while the ball was still m, and or obstruction to protect Roberts." The Otago Rugby Union Executive has a queer idea of. what constitutes. justice. A resident of Dunedin who has followed . football for the last twenty years states that he has been ordered off all grounds by the Committee, which will not state the reason for its action, at the same time refusing his request to be heard b-ofore it. The Committee, it is understood, take up the stand that it is not bound to give a reason for its action, so t : hat the individual m question is- debarred from knowing the nature of -the offence it considers he has committed, and is given no opportunity of defending himself. He is simply "ordered off/ Surely his request to be heard is a reasonable one. Everyone is presumed to be innocent until he is found guilty. By defeating Mas-terton on Saturday, Carterton is almost assured of pride of place m the Wairarapa Rugby Union's senior championship competition for the season. It has yet to meet the Rod Stars, but as the latter will be without the services of Wrigley, who is iroing Home, so it is reported, with the professional team, the Cartertonites should not find much trouble m putting the issue beyond all doubt.

Danie Weir's cheeky request to the Wellington Union to put certain questions to "Bumper" Wright about the personnel of the professional team deserved a mighty quick shrift. If the Union was to take notice of all the demands made upon it by every Tom, Dick, or Harry, who happened to be a delegate of an affiliated club, it would be sitting continuously for weeks— and months— at a stretch. If Dahle is so anxious to work m with that lilywhito brigade, of which Dixon, Wylie, and "Gaily" claim to be such luminous lights, let him hustle his club to hawk round a petition for a special meeting of the Union to discuss' th© matter.' No doubt he would 'recedve invaluable assistance from Ma Murray and other touts of the N.Z.R.U. Executive.

Lovers of football have scanned the daily papers with much eagerness to see what the special correspondents have had to say about the "All Blacks" m Australia-, but instead of being treated to a sportsmanlike description of the garijes they haVe received instead chronicles of. the highcollared "Gaily." etc. " 'Gaily' patronised the Governor-General" ; "Wylie ski ted,: etc," seems to be the specials'/ideas of how the doings of our footballers should 'be chronicled.. Verily, v;e asked for bread and they gave us a stone. Surely these lured scribes know that the New Zc-aland public is not concerned aboiii; how "Gaily" kow-towed to this, functionary, or as to how m\»eh swankey has been consumed,, or how much gas h a s escaped from the gas-holders, the long-suffering public want facts' of the garner nowadays, and the Daily Suppress should at/ once rep/rfmand the alleged "specials."

New Zealand Ru&jjf Union has a peculiar way of. transacting business. Recently some doubt existed as to whether Auckland Union owed a visit to Hawke's Bay, or vice versa. An Auckland* annual was consulted, from which it was ascertained that Auckland was one to the good, and that Hawke's Bay owed the visit. The New Zealand Union, to place matters beyond question, apparently, wired each of the two Unions on the point, and Hawke's Bay promptly replied intimating that Auckland owed it a visit, on the other hand Auckland ignored Ilis communication. In such circumstances it wo'iM have been expected that the Union would have accepted the statement of the Union which had been loyal enough to reply ; but not so— the N.Z. Union has ways of its own. and capped its stupidity "by deciding that Hawke's Bay were the . debtors. All would have been well from the N.Z. Union's pomt of view, but Auckland Union suddenly woke up and informed the doddering old parent that it, the Auckland Union, owed Hawke's. Bay a visit.

Recently "Truth" quoted from an English exchange which stated that the Rugby game -was supported by more generous patrons m the . old country than the sister code, and m support of this stated that the higher nrjeert patrons of the grounds, the 5s and 3s portions, were occupied better than was the case on the "soccer ' J grounds. "This is true," writes a Yorkshireman new m New Ze&iand, "but the exchange omitted to state that, as m New Zealand, -there is always a preponderance of 'deadheads' m the hi K h.e\v I»r!ced1 »r!ced portions of the English Rvj&y. grounds,"-