FOOTBALL.

NZ Truth, Issue 179, 21 November 1908, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

*, — •■ .'•■« — : — __ (By ; "Pakeha,"i ? 'D.F." (Brunnerton).— The late Tom Kllison, when m his prime, was probably the cleverest forward that ever donned a Rugby jersey m the Dominion. "A.T." (Auckland).— Poneke (Wellington) and Alhambra (Dunedin) never met. Scanning the football columns of the "Leicester News" the other day I happened on the following paragraph : — "McGregor, wlio came over here with David Gallagherfs team— the original All Blacks —■has been secured by Methyr at what is said to be a- record fee. A< regular Colonial invasion has surely taken place; Besides Iks 'mea who have settled down as members of Northern XJnion sides, we are especially interested m the y appearance of the two Australian teams. The iuugby season, when it is m full swing, will surely be ad remarkable as any we have had m secent years." Probably 'the average man of New Zealand cares .lftfjla about the inner workings* of, the. football world, and yet it is strange it should b^e so. The sjx>rt has long been a riitftfcty one, it has irfo counterpart m athletib games, and^the neccss'ilry for.good, sound and- ■p.rS&tical gpyernment is. obvious. -It will be cdnducLVe v to something approaching commpnV honesty among play,ers, team bufldei's and officials of aililiated bodies when most; of the present Executive Si the N.Z.RVU. is cast but into utter darkness. When that good time eventuates the game will be raised to a high pinnacle. • Discussing the recent suspensions by the E.R.U., an English paper has this to say ;— -'"The Rugby Union, to my thinking, are not remarkable for diplomacy. Of. course, it has always been obvious that they would have to suspend Ivor Gabe, who Was known at. Leicester as Jackson; but I think one may fairly quarrel - with the authorities that they al- . lowed him to go out to New Zealand before, they had made up their, mrnds that he had offended against amateurism. The suspension; of -Tl Smith, the Leicester player who went Out with the AngloWelsh team, and is at present away from home, together with S. Matthev.s, the Leicester captain, is a very serious matter. And there may easily > be a great dear of trouble. Ido not know much, about" the case' of Smith ; one would like to, hear his case before expressing a ' decided opinion ; but the suspension of Matthews has -quite fairly created widely-divergent views, .and, not unnaturally, much resentment at Leicester, it "is insisted by those w.ho presumalbly know that the only offence Malic../: has committed has been to give an undertaking that \if he ever de-■c'"\:-'l to go over td. the Northern Upion h« . would join Hull.'- Such a promise does not make Ma-thews a professional. And hesides, lam assured that he made this promise, which, as far as one can gather, he had , not the least notion of fulfilling at tb« Wm*a ef his suspension, some nine TXjtw Zeailand'».' All Black toeballers are graduate tiring of the game of pro}gi:t*ir. the inflated ball about;, and from reports which have reached me from different parts of the Dominion of late, there will be a considerable accession to \>ix9 spactaters' jroup when next season's operations come to be fought «out. Jack Kinder, /the well-known Auckland rep. player,- left, for Sydney on Monday to pursue his studies as an engineer m the Ma State's metropolis. For some Kinder has been one of the most ijrcitiihent fbr.wards m the Parnell dis;s!riet Cricket CJuTj. . . The j6fefctish . press reckons that the « Cornstalk toeballers a"t • present- invading /|h> Old Dart are far .inferior to the All flacks and also twp South African teams Chat toured Fogljvnd last season. AnyHow .the WallaMes have been flattening gut the Home leather-kickers m right ' Jt^rry fashion, all the same.