General Gossip.

NZ Truth, Issue 118, 21 September 1907, Page 3

General Gossip.

It is a curious thing to note that there were four skippers .of clubs playing for Wanganui against Auckland on Saturday, viz.— Absolum (Wanganui). Meuli (Old Boys), Abbott .(Pirates), and Hitchings (College). •

There is some possibility that the match arranged -for September 18 between, Taranaki and "Wanganui will not be played. It will be a question of whether or not the Taranaki Union will guarantee Wanganui a large enough sum or percentage of gate returns to recoup them for playing there. A match m New Plymouth between Taranaki and Wanganui should be of particular interest. Wanganui having never or seldom played m New Plymouth. The annual match between the teams is either played at Hawera or Wanganui. * -„-'. Alan Adams, the University (Dunedin) captain, who was seriously injured m a match a few months ago, and who had announced his intention of giving the game up for good, now finds the attraction of kugby too strong, and has expressed his intention if selected, of playing m the closing representative games of the season. Members . of the Auckland touring team are . *of opinion that Hardgreaves, of Taranaki, is the best full-back m the colony. And there are plenty of others who say "ditto" to the Auckland declaration.

There is plenty of "dunghill' crowing among South Canterbury Ruggers because of their representatives record this season, they having lowered the colors of Auckland, North Otaeo. North Canterbury, and Ashburton.

The Sunderland Club, against whose team the New. Zealanders will play, had an income during the year just closed ol £12,508 19s 3d, the actual net profit for the twelye months being just over £3000. This does not look as if the popularity of the game m the Northern Counties is on the wane.. The previous incomes of the Sunderland Club were: 1898-99. £9183 ; 1899-90. £6771 ; 1900-1901. £8651 ; 1901-02, £9533; 1902-03, £8914; 1903-04. £8433; 1904-05, £10,148 ; 1905-06, £9010 ; The same club paid away the sum of £5000 last season as wages to its players. * A Westport player, it is reported, is taking action against a spectator for assault during a match.

Alterations m the Taranaki team to journey to Auckland may he necessitated by the inability ol some of the forwards to travel. It is very likely that an alteration will be made m the three-quarter line, as the work of the three-quarters taken on tour was very patchy.

It will be noticed from the telegraphed report m • the local press, that, "Opie'' Asher, the one-time dashing three-quarter,- was to the fore on occasions m the WanganuiAuckland game, last Saturday. Taking him on prime form, '••Opie," who has been playinc for WairOa, was one of the most dangerous scorers who ever trod a football field, and had his nut-piece been screwed on more tightly he must have earned greater Ruebv fame. If Asher, on present- form, is anything near the man he was m 1902 and 1903, Auckland, will have' good cause to congratulate herself upon the resurrection. We have been accustomed to regard "Opie" as belonging to the great "has been" family.

The feeling m favor of professionalism has spread with extraordinary rapidity m Sydney. The "Mail" says *. "Go where you will, you will hear the subject discussed, and for everyone who will look upon the movement as a blow to clean football, you will find perhaps a dozen to support it more or less enthusiastically. Even the Rugby Unionists themselves have admitted to me that m some cases there is a hardship. Take one— the case pf Dix. He comes from New England, and for almost three months his private income was encroached upon. During! his absence he lost his earnings. For this he received from the Rugby Union 3s a day '.—away from home staying m a hotel. Yet he was one of those who assisted m earning about £7000 for the New South Wales Rugby Union ! No man upholding the credit of the State should he money out of pocket. What is wanted at the present moment is a man capable of grasping the situatian m such a way as will lead to the formation of a body whose constitution will admit of the amateur and the man recouped for the loss of time to meet on , the common foothiall field. To suggest that the introduction of the partially-paid professional will -at once bring about pernicious practices, and m the end ruin the game, is to confess that the majority of our players are not worthy of trust." Before a crowd of between 18,000 and 20,000, Glebe and University met to decide the senior grade cham-

pionshlp ia Sydney.. The former came out on top and by a big margin of i difference m the way of points. Uni. was favorite, but was beaten all round and never had . a chance.. As 1 premiership winners , Glebe have . been very successful since the inauguration of Rugby under the electorate system, having carried off the honor on three occasions, and shared a dead heat with 'Varsity on another. The reason of the latter was, the sides decided not to play a final, as a number of players from Glebe were leaving before the final could take place for New Zealand with the New South Wales team. Glebe, m winning the premiership for two seasons running, have established a record,, inasmuch as no other team has succeeded m this under the local system, although they nearly did it m the opening two seasons, winning the first, and m the following year tying with 'Varsity. The local system has now been m force eight seasons, m half of which the Reds have taken the honor of premiers.

The weekly allowance to injured players under the Metropolitan Rugby Union's insurance scheme will probably be increased next season from £1 to £1 IGs, medical expenses also being thrown m.

Apropos of the suggestion of town teams visiting the country districts, I find that the trip of first grade Clubs m Sydney this season took £300 of the Metropolitan Union's. It was. money well . spent. Qver £520 was distributed to clubs for training purposes and about £250 paid for medals, pennants, etc., for the winning teams m the several competitions. When will this blissful state of things come to pass m Wellington ? Never, I'm afraid.

The South Canterhury forwards haye 1 proved themselves superior to every team of forwards they have met (says a Timaru .scrii.e) and they would! probably hold their own apainst aay pack m New Zealand at the present time.

It is qmite likely that the football days of Basil Maclear, the Irish International three-qluarter, who played against the All Blacks m several matches, are over. Quite recently he has undergone a couple of operations, one for varicose veins and the other for the removal of cartilage which was damaged at footlbail. Though he has not definitely decided to dofil the jersey for good, so promising is his military career . that persuasive methods will have to be powerful indeed, keen though this fine player is, before he takes the field m serious fooil*stll.

Taken as a whole, the Auckland tour has been rather a disastrous one, says the '''Herald," for of the eight games played, oniy three have been won, four have been lost, and one was drawn, while the Aucklanders have scored 47 points against their opponents' 46. In the last tour m 1905 the Aucklanders played three matches,, of which two were won and the other lost: but we then regained the Ranfurlv Shield from Wellington. Two years previous to this six matches were played m ths tour, half being won and the remainder lost. In 1901 the tour was short, only two matches being played, and both were won. The 1899 combination achieved three victories and played a drav/n game m the fourth. An unbeaten record was the result of the 1897 team's tour, the three matches played being won. Six matches were played by the 1895 combination, two being won, three lost, and the other drawn. In the tour of 1899 two matches were won, two lost, and the. fifth drawn. Previous to this the Aucklanders had a couple of tours at 1 * irre;gplar intervals, and they emerged m the majority of cases victorious.

Even a worm will turn -sometimes. The New Zealand Rugby Union is giving the Auckland Union a reminder that more promptness m the way' of replying to correspondence addressed to it would be acceptable. The parent body is getting one back for the snub administered to it by tlie northern officials over that Hawke's Bay episode. On this season's showing the Auckland officials are a queer kettle of fish, and their secretary, Langsford, doesn't appear to have enough "go" to catch worms on a warm summer's day. One had only to v sep the sprinkling of Rugger cnthusfasts outside the "Post" on Saturday night to learn that the bottom has fallen out of this season's toeball with a sudden and awful thud. The result of the Canterbury-Wellington tussle gave rise to no excitement; the AucklandWaneanui match m fact, superseded it/ m public interest.

Had the Wanganui reps cooped that Ranfurly Shield from the Aucklanders. what a shikkerv night there would have been m "Webbtown." It was iust touch and neo they didn't. "Quidnunc's" opening;! comments on last Saturday's rep game at Christohurch :—'''Well played Canterbury, and well played Wellington -! It was a grand game — one of the best games that have been played at Lancaster Park m many seasons, and a game that will do much to strengthen the claim of football upon the public interest and to remove any prejudice that may have arisen through the adverse comments on the previous match. From start to finish there was not an uninteresting moment ; there was an entire absence of anything m the way of foul play, and the game was played m the best possible spirit. The luck, possibly, was with Canterbury, though it was luck precedent to the game than m the game itself. Mitchinson's inability to play was the source of considerable trouble to the visitors, and Wallace had suffered to such an extent on tho journey down that he was really out of form, so that Wellington, at any rate, had no reason to thank the Fates. If Roberts, Wallace and Mitchinson had been playing together m good form, the Canterbury backs would have had to be a little sounder m their tackling, for, if there was a weakness on the Canterbury side, it was m the too frequent failure of both forwards and backs to hold a man."