CHRISTCHURCH RUGBY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19250, 14 August 1924, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH RUGBY.

By “ Ex-Dwnedinxte.” There is "very little to chronicle this week. There were no matches of importance set down for Saturday. A few junior matches only took place. As events turned out it would have paid the Canterbury T'nion to have had provided mi attraction, as the postponing of the trots left no outside entertainment. The weather ;was awful for last Wcdnes-

Iny's match—Otago University v. Cantermry College. About live hundred turned ip to see the game. The display of the .Ha go team was most disappointing. They ■ould not or would not attempt to adapt heir play to the prevailing conditions. Tactically throughout the game Otago tried o play their hacks. Canterbury College ■arly summed up conditions, and by means >f sterling forward rushes held the upper land throughout the game. There is •eally description necessary. Otago failed lamentably. The spectators, discussing he Otago ’Varsity-Old Boys match .were ill decidedly in favour of Old Boys if the ground is wet. On last Wednesday’s display Old Boys will be favourites up here for the match. The news of Canterbury’s win against Otago was received with delight. The Canterbury Union went to considerable expense to scour the country for talent. The team's showing justified the trouble taken. Next Saturday the English League play Canterbury here. PLAYER DISQUALIFIED. ENGLISH UNION’S RULING. Another instance of the disqualification of a player for a breach of the amateur rule by (ho English Rugby L’nion has come to light, and an account of it is given in the English Sportsman. Dr F. A. Meine, a South African, played for Bath and for Somerset County as a three-quarter. lie recently returned to South Africa, and since his return the English Rugby Union has declared him a professional Rugby player, thus preventing him playing Rugby in South Africa. A BANK GUARANTEE. Dr Meine till recently was in medical practice in Bath, and he states that when he was thinking of leaving the city he was induced to remain by accepting a bank guarantee for £3OO. which made it possible tor him to staf and help Bath to come through the season 1922-23 with flying colours, and Somerset to win the county championship f. r the first time for about 25 years. “The guarantee.” ho says, “was signed by the late Mr G. W. Roberts, hon. treasurer of the Bath Rugby Club, and three other members. They told me it was a personal guarantee, and that the club had nothing to do with it.” “A PROFESSIONAL ACT.” lie states that subsequently a demand for the return of the money was made by the guarantors, who secured judgment against him, and outstanding accounts, due to him in Bath, which he left to meet tradesmen’s accounts, became their property. The English Rugby union has now held that the signing of the guarantee was a professional act on his part. That being the case, ho announces, ho considers the claim on him by the surviving guarantors is null and void, and inquires what is the position now of the Bath Club itself, if it knew that in putting up a personal guarantee for £3CO on its behalf it was making a professional Rugby player of a member of its team. He expressed the hope that the club’s next balance sheet will show clearly and concisely the whereabouts of its funds invested at interest.

GLIMPSE AT THE PAST. RUGBY IN THE ’SEVENTIES. FIRST OTAGO v. CANTERBURY GAME. Otajm is tho only province that Canterbury has played with anything like regularity since the ’seventies (says the Christchurch Star). In fact, tho game between tho two provinces has taken place with such regularity since 1878 that it can bo regarded as an annual fixture. In the case of Auckland and Wellington, Canterbury has played teams from these provinces only at intervals, some of several years’ duration. A fairly regular series of matches has been played by Canterbury against South Canterbury, and also against Southland, but in each case it was 1890 before the lirst match was played. Otago, therefore, may bo regarded as Canterbury’s oldest and most consistent rival, though the first match of Canterbury against Auckland was played in 1875 and against Wellington in 1876. A GAME ON CRANMER SQUARE.

Although 1878 was the year of the first match between Otago and Canterbury, in the previous year a game was played at Christchurch between a team from Dunedin and a team representing the Christchtrch Club. The game in 1877 was played on August 9at Cranmor square. The great interest taken in the game is shown by Iho fact that between 4000 and 5000 people were present. This must have been a large gathering for Christchurch with the population it had in those days. Apparently there was no very definite set of rules to work by in 1877, for, according to a report in the Lyttelton Times, “the captains, Messrs Evans and Dixon, arranged that nothing should count except goals and touchdowns, three of the latter to bo equivalent to one of the former. It vras also decided to play the match in four spells of half an hour each.” Footballers nowadays consider that 90 minutes is quite long enough for a game to last. It is interesting to nolo that ‘‘the Dunedin fifteen wore clad in scarlet and black (really the colours of their opponents), and the Christchurch team had consequently to abandon their well-known costume and adopt blue and white for tho nonce.”

The teams in that early match were as followDunedin.—Forwards: Fulton, M'Kinnon, Mills. Murray. Neville, Nichol, Holland, Smytho, and 'Burton. Racks: Cargill and Sweofe. Half-backs: Allen and M’Lean. Quarter-backs: Rose and Dixon.

Christchurch.—Forwards: Bolton, Cuff, Evans, Field, Hart land, W. Million, L. M. Ollivier, W. Potts, and M. Smith. Backs : Moore and E. Cotton'll. Halfbacks; J. Million and A. Anderson. Quar-ter-backs : Mathias and Stringer. AN UNEXPECTED VICTORY. Tho game ended in favour of Dunedin by two touch-downs to nothing, “a result.” according to one scribe, “for which everyone was perfectly unprepared.’’ Apparently tho Dunedin players owed their victory to superior passing. A report of tho match stales: “The Dunedin men never attempted to dribble, but as soon as Ihe ball was out of a scrimmage the hacks swooping down upon it. were off at full speed in a moment, and the forwards, whenever a chance presented itself, copied their example. But they did not attempt to hold, for as, soon as they were collared it was out of their hands into one of their friends’ ; and so well did they hack one another up that it rarely fell into their enemies’. In the latter instance they had an immense advantage over their adversaries. and if the members of the Christchurch Chib do not take tho lesson to heart they deserve to lose a few more matches until I hey have improved themselves in this respect. . . . This match wit] undoubtedly be long remembered in tho annals of football, both because it was the host contested and because tho victory of ihe Dunedin fifteen xvas as unexpected as it was thoroughly well deserved.” THE FIRST PROVINCIAL GAME.

It was on August 28, 1878, that the first provincial match was played between Canterbury and Otago. 'iliis game was played at Dunedin, on the Caledonian Ground. The weather to unfavourable, and the ground was in very bad order. A report of the match says: “The, spectators numbered perhaps 500, which, considering the cold wind and the payment at the 'gate, mav bo considered a fair attendance.” Reference to the fact that (bo charge for admission had something to do with the small attendance is distinctly good, considering that the game was played in Dunedin. The teams were as follows:

Canterbury,—Forwards: Hamersley (captain). Chapman, Dewin. W. Millton, D. Potts, lavender, Bolton. Jones, Field, Verity. Quarter backs; Hamertou and G. Bolts. Half-backs; M'Cardell and Hamilton and Rcevea in goal. Otago.—Forwards : Thompson (captain). Mills. Winks, Turton, M’Kirmon, Robb, Roll and, Westenra, Nicbol. Quarter backs: Rose and A. Cargill. Half-backs: Murray and Sweet. Backs: Allan and M'Lcan. It will bo .noticed that Canterbury played 10 forwards and five backs, and Otago nine forwards and six backs. MANFUDDY FOUGHT GAME. In tho course of bis report on the game, a correspondent of tho Lyttelton Times states; “The game was manfully fought from beginning to end, though it was no day or place for football. 'The advantage was with those who played with the wind, which was so strong that on several occasions the ball was actually blown bade behind the man who kicked it, and, as Dunedin played with the wind during tho last spoil, if was deemed certain that they would score a, -"'in. Bo r orc the match two to one was laid on them freely, and Canterbury’s host friends shook their heads when speculative individuals inquired what chance the visitors had. It was after all

by a groat piece of luck that the local men wore not beaten. On tho wivole, X fancy that on a drier ground the Christchurch fifteen would be a shade the better of tho two. The game was chiefly conspicuous by the frequent and toughly fought scrimmages and the entire absence of the passing 'back element which forms such a pretty’' and paying branch of the Dunedin •game Tho contest was too hard to allow of much of this, as no sooner did a man touch the hall than two or three ready foes flung themselves upon him. The Dunedin forwards surprised me by the way in which they played together, and held their own against the heavier weights opposed to them. As in the match last year, they were deficient in this respect. I think it may be accounted for by tlie fact that the visitor? were scraped together from nil parts of the province, and never had an opportunity °f practising together, while, with one exception, the Otago fifteen were all Dunedin men. Certinly tho Christchurch forwards did not play together as is their wont, and often got into a loose, disorganised state, of which their opponents were' quick to take advantage; otherwise they had a slight, but very slight, advantage of the Dunedin team.” AN EXCITING FINISH. Tlie match evidently had an exciting finish, for wo arc informed that “the last five minutes was a scene of confusion and shouting and glancing uniforms and mud such as, I am assured, has never been witnessed on tho ground before, but all in vain. No score was chronicled, and the match ended in a drawn battle, both sides respecting each other a good ileal more than they did two hours before. The usual cheering signalised the end of tho great football contest of 1878. and the teams returned to town to dine together in tho evening.