General Gossip.

NZ Truth, Issue 214, 31 July 1909, Page 3

General Gossip.

They do say that Oriental and Petone i players were m the seventh heaven of J delight when the news reached Geartown that Jimmies were leading Poneke m the first spell on Saturday. But oh ! • what a difference were their feelings when the final tally was posted. They nearly had a fit at ifcat stage, and hel-ler-skeltered to ' their destinations as Bunny would to his burrow. A. Beuwick, the Grafton Club threequarter and Auckland rep. full-back, states that he will retire from the game at the end of the present season. Renwick, who lays claim to fourteen years of senior football, is one of the oldest Auckland senior players , on the field today. How can a wMsstle-tooter who is 20 or 30 yards behind a set of pacy three-quarters like Mitchinson, Ryan, Evensen, Dawson, Matheson and others who are racing along at top speed, tell whether a pass is forward or not ? Yet on several occasions this season we hay been treated to such a spectacle. Loafing— pure, unadulterated loafing— is characteristic of several of .Wellington's crack scrummagers nowadays. The manager of - the Queensland team m Sydney the other week said that his men might not be champion footballers, but he would back them against the world at eating. Their day's .training consisted of two hours' football practice, and the rest was spent m trying to satisfy the inner man. Shadbolt, who is now located m Lyttelton, paid a flying visit to Wellington at the end of last week. 1 Taranaki and Auckland meet 'on the , latter's ground on September 11. v Nobody wonders at the intimation from Auckland that dissatisfaction prevails among footballers at the administrative, bhmderings of Mick Sheehan's cqrps of inefficients. Mick is easily the boss blunderer of the Dominion, and the wonder is that clubs stand him as they =.do. Nothing further seems to have come- oi the N.^.R.U.'s suggestion of a few weeks ago to organise an All Black combination to exploit the smaller towns of the Dominion. The suggestion is all very well m theory, but assumes quite another aspect when put into execution. "How ever did he get past Algy »" as it fell trippingly from the lips of the fair charmers m the Park stand on Saturday afternoon what time Mitchinson and Co. were galloping through the opposing ranks, was deadly narking to the Yiddish push , which had so vigorously cheered on St. Jimmies up to the time they were heading the Red and Blacks. The "squealers' " revenge was a most humiKacting one for the yids. A good goaMdcker is a very valuable asset to have m one's team. Petone has discovered this fact by McFarlane's superb feats m several oi the engagements of the suburban team this season. On present form the Petone 1 player must be one of the best, if not the very best, place-kicks m the Dominion. Alhambra has scooped m the honorsattached to the Otago Rugby Union's senior flag competitions. If Wellington's senior clubs hope to keep Rugby up. to a high standard and achieve success m their matches, they must look after the nurseries, the seedlings, and- be careful that no weeds of dissention be sown among the lower-grade crops to choke them m their infancy. Some of the Saints and their barrackers did their nuts m at half-time on Saturday. The squeezing of a Polar bear was a fool circumstance compared to the hugging that went on m the Saints' dressing-room. Save for Billy Wallace's*

admonitions, the Poneke quarter was as quiet as a pub exploited by Sergeant Dale and a couple of bluebottles after closing time. Moses : "Say, Jedikiah, did you find .playing cricket bliss ?" Jedikiah : "Yes, but 1 found playing football blister." Seemingly several of the Queens landers were not m fit condition when they clashed with the New South Wales men m the first match played m Sydney this season between the reps, of the two States. More than one of theui vomited during the progress of the game. When m Dunedin last week I had the great pleasure of again gripping the hand ; of the two Percys — Macassey! and Priest — Dunedin's whitest sports. Other real good fellows whose acquaintance was once more renewed were Bob Barr, who controls the athletic and dramatic columns of the "Otago Witness" ; Billy Jndge (Dunedin "Star's" Rugby critic) ; Alic Dey ; Dr.. Crawford (now located m lnvercaxgilr) ; Rue Cooke (ex-New Zealand rep. forward) ; George Thompson ; Harry Harris '; and Frank Campbell. The writer has bumped up against several of the aforesaid pretty heasily at times m the course of discussions on matters apper- : taining to Rugby, but that fact not^ ; withstanding, the personal relations of ' the parties remain unimpaired. Twenty-one players makeup the Ponsonby team which is to invade the Cornstalks' land. In the list of players one discovers the names of O'Leary (formerly of the Wairarapa), Francis, Nicholson, and Cunningham. George Gillett is also accompanying the team, presumably as a guest of the Auckland's champion Rugby combination. New Zealand Rugby Union andaffiliated bodies will please note that to build r a house, one must first lay the foanda-. tioii, and . the more substantial it is the better prepared will be the house to weather any storms that may .happen along. Organisation, tact, liberality (as regards money) and coaching are indispensable : adjuncts to the upbuilding of ouri Rugby game. Neglect these and the whole fabric eventually tumbles to the ground. They were telling me m Bunedin last week that the Park Blue forward . brigade will be a very hot bit of stuff this , season. The back division will also be a better one than 1908, so it will be seen that Wellington is going to have a. ( tough contract on hand to lower the' col-' ors of our Southern rivals. Unless more", ginger is infused into Wellington's forward work than has been on tap m club contests to date, the Dark Blues will • have a hundred to one chance of emerging j victorious from the fray . m Dunedin m; September. "Quidnunc," the "Canterbury Times"*} writer, m drawing attention to the-num-^ ber of place-kicks from easy angles that', have been missed this season, says that i the ball is either taken "back too far or else the kicker takes too long a run and ; allows the kick to be charged down. Tom Pauling, once famous m these' pacts m the Rugby arena, met with a nasty " accident a fortnight ago through stepping on a piece of • sine metal. A Sydney firm is giving a large silver cup to be competed for by the Maori and N.S.W. professional teams. The firm is also giving two gold medals, one for ,the best all-round player m each team. Says a Dunedin scribe :— "The prospects of Otago winning the Ranfurly Shield, so long held by Auckland, is holding a prominent place m the minds of some members of the Otago Union. It has been suggested m all seriousness that Otago should challenge Auckland , this season, and that the strongest possible representative team from this province should be gt>t together and specially trained fox the match." "Many people have expressed the opinion that it would be glorious to see Australia and New Zealand meeting this year. It will be more glorious next year, for by that time some of the Wallabies will have shaken off their drowsiness." — Excerptfrom a Sydney paper. At the meeting held m Auckland the • •other week for the purpose of eiectingiofficers of tiie Auckland Rugby League to play under Northern Union rules, there was a large attendance, : and a number were unable to abtain admittance. A large sprinkling of Rugby Union senior' players were m evidence. The League^ was placed on a sound basis, and is to be conducted on purely amateur-fines, the ' only payment to players being for loss of ; time while on tour. Although no definite programme has yet been arranged for the season, it is understood that several 'representative matches are to be played, while negotiations will probably be entered into for a visit from the Kangaroos, which, if successful, will result m two matches, one against Auck-; land and the other against New Zealand, being played m Auckland. The League have been fortunate m having three* grounds at Epsom placed at their . dis- ' posai. Nelson Union has abandoned its intention of. sending a team through the South;. Island this season. I was told m Dunedin last week that All Black forwards Alec McDonald and Steve Casey are not showing anything; like their form of a few seasons ago. ; .Three more Saturdays, if the weather holds good, will see the end of the" ' Christchurch championship fixtures, and present indications point to the success for which the Merivale Club has hoped since 1901. Taranaki Union has fallen' m with the Otago Union's suggestion m respect of; reducing touring football. A TaranaTcl representative team will not visit Dunedin" until 1»11. George Thomson, who managed the British team last year down Otago parts on behalf of the New Zealand UnI ion, is coaching the Otago University for its engagement against Sydney University, next month.