ATTACK ON THE SHIELD

NZ Truth, Issue 1080, 12 August 1926, Page 14

ATTACK ON THE SHIELD

"Trutli" Sums Up the Merits i pi Wellington Reps.

.'■ t-;/' ([From truth's" Special Wellington Representative.) 1 It.is;doiibtful if=last year's big battle with Hawkes Bay has createdjsoinuch interest as has the coming struggle on Saturday.

OF. course,', the majority ,6j£Wellington's supporter's will-Have to be contented with Jjftegs reports of the great-^e-nj;, bjtffitVis not hard to imagine the excitement that •■ will be prevailing -m Hawkes fiay, and particularly m Napier; where the argument will bo settled;' . had the Ivonor of hearing a full debate, the subject being: "Will Welling-. ton treat-".Hawkes Bay for the Rah-_ furly" Shield?" * / .' ';! ' , . ■ ' Loyalty to Wellington induced ■ most' speakers to be optimistic, and to give'it out as a firm conviction that there could be no, question about it but that Weilington would win. The main argument which suggest- -. . cd that this must be the result was '"■■'-■' "that the Bay team consisted of players: who'were 1 getting past their prime m the game m uiiiiuin 1111 11r(111111111ri111rtrtrri111r11111111111iii111i 11111111i11i11ri

, til>h 1 t 11i7i 1/1 111111111111111111111 ti 11111 u llllllll it 1T1 11 u ll s tu 11111111111111111111 m 111111 ri 111 ir '. ■■ -.'?:■• i '.■, .»^ <;'•'- Th.c: Bay,-has made the mistake, of " sticking to the old players whereas . 'Tt&Ss-ss&s^sg&js^ rrl lif'thS'&fiiiTi* ''flH^hin'e- tvnnnf nlavpr wlo^m sSe/S^S^w^he JB'iv stalwarts ! Then pressing home the truth that Wellington had whipped the All Blacks and the Maoris and that the Bay had only ma^de a draw of it ;with Manawatu; those-.favbving Wellington , $^ere-unanimbiis^inM^h-'"cohclulioh FttethSresulf was;^Megone conoid, -i?'si6nirifavor-of.W'emrifFon.V' •■' ' .. . ArgumeriW'. .'•■■ ■"•'•, S:. : ■ —• -, One spokesman launched the statement that the Unions were' making a terrible mistake m commercializing Rugby and for this reason he was dead against there being any Ranfurly „. , -..Shield matches.--^;"; 1 >•■■;: .. His aVguments" "were" knocked flat, speakers. upholding.-^the-. unions for

catering 1 for -the -general public, who keep.the/game alive, Another speaker .'made a good point of whajt the, Ranfurly Shield had done for the: betterment of Rugby m Hawkes Bay, which, up to the time of gaining the -Shield, was. always regarded as being a more or less insigni-JN-Z- , , . The chairman of the meeting, m . giving his verdict on the merit of the speeches stressed the points that all the arguments would be denitely settled on Saturday and that,the supporters of both teams would have reason to be pleased •' that there is such a game as Rugby. Sport, and the love of sport, makes it a certainty that after parochial feelings had been given full latitude during the matchby barrackers shouting themselves speechless, genuine congratulations would be handed out to the winning team which on the day at least, would be the better team. "Truth's" Opinion . After following football m all its phases throughout New Zealand, with particular attention to Wellington and Hawkes Bay, m view of the big match, -"Truth" is of opinion Wellington will surprise the Shield holders. ' On paper it is hard to imagine the Shield leaving ■ its , quarters, but the surprise will come m the splendid exhibition it is expected Wellington will give. . Hawkes Bay will win, but not by the margin some people expect or wish for. One thing is certain that wet or fine, McLean : Park, Napier, will have to accommodate . a record crowd on Saturday and all the barrackers won't' be on one side either! - tr?n?"d? ™ss sjfM *nP to tlle Scene Of. battle and if WeiWotf khoufd . succeej m. its mission "Truth" will not undertake to keep ™6er m th * trai" **><*■ h «Jf .to convey «»e. barrackers back to the City on Saturday niffnt. Wa.Ml.- m nr ™c . ™Rtch .f, sa'nst r^l>fl, or l Wednesday will have the .effect of brinsw«'abo»t necessary, combination so J f c on Saturday m; the very best of condition and full of confidence. - The team will feel at home m Napier where it is assured of a fine welcome even though it cannot exPect to find a prevailing desire that victory should be given away with the welcome. Anyhow may the best team be victoripus and may the great traditions which surround Rugby m New Zealand.be upheld.