OTAGO RUGBY UNION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21446, 22 September 1931, Page 5

OTAGO RUGBY UNION

The weekly meeting of the committee of the Management Committee of the Otago Rugby Union was held last night. The president (Mr S. G. Styche) occupied the chair.

H. Robertson, secretary of the North Otago Union, wrote stating that the Management Committee of his union had decided to support the request made by the Otago Union that the New Zealand Union should make a substantial grant towards employing unemployed footballers on the improvement of football areas throughout the Dominion, and had forwarded a motion to this effect to the governing bod}'. —Tiie letter was noted. T. V. Cahill wrote applying for a transfer from the Dunedin Club to the University Club.—Noted. F. S. Shanks applied for a transfer from the Pirates’ Club to Training College.—Noted. It was decided to ask the Dunedin Club to send a Third Grade team to Brighton on Saturday, October 3, to play a match with the local team. The committee also decided to pay the transport expenses of the team if it agreed to make the trip. GATE RECEIPTS. The secretary reported that the gate receipts from the match at Carisbrook on Saturday came to £4lO Xus. OTAGO TEAM’S TOUR. Messrs D. A. Jolly and A. Haynes, managers of the Otago team, submitted the following joint report of the northern tour: — In presenting the report of the northern tour of the Otago team, we think you will agree with us that it is one of the most successful that we have had for years. Our record of three wins and two losses must be considered very gratifying, as the Wellington match, with ordinary luck, would have been a win. Then in the Ranfurly Shield match v. Canterbury, had members of the team not been stricken with influenza, we feel sure it would have been a very much closer contest. The points scored were 79 for and 55 against, and our wins against Auckland and Taranaki were most impressive. Several Rugby players and officials stated that it was the best team Otago had sent north for years. Our old friend, “ Jimmy ” Hunter, at the officiiil dinner at Hawera, said it was the best team of forwards and the best exhibition of football he had seen for 20 years. The Wellington match was very keenly contested, and proved our forwards to be equal to, if not superior to those of Wellington, while our backs, though not so good on attack, were, very sound on defence. Cavanugh and R. Allen scored, while R. Souter converted one try and kicked a penalty. Souter’s kicking was a great help to ns. He kicked eight goals in four matches.

The Wellington officials, especially Mr Prendeville and Mr H. Murphy, were very attentative to us and made our stay there most enjoyable. Our trip to Parramatta on the Sunday will long be remembered by all tho members of the team. We arrived in Palmerston north at noon on Monday, and stayed there till Thursday evening. Tho officials were very kind to us, and gave us several enjoyable outings, the most interesting of which was a visit to Massey College. In this match we played several of our emergencies, and they quite justified their inclusion. Our team started off at a great rate, scoring 13 points in the first quarter of an hour, then they slackened off, and our opponents scored 11 points before they got going again. Procter scored again towards the close of the match, which ended 10 to 11 in our favour. Procter scored two tries and M'Kenzie one, while Francis converted one try and Nicolson converted one try and kicked a penalty. We arrived in Auckland at 0.30 a.tn. on Friday, after a sleepless night on the midnight express. Our stay in Auckland was very short, as we left there on Sunday night. The weather was very bad, raining practically tho whole time. Wo fielded a strong team against Auckland, and played the best game of the tour. Both forwards and backs gave a great display of all-round football, and Auckland had no show with them. Simon scored two tries, Hore and Cavanagh one each, while Souter kicked two penalties. We met quite a number of ex-Otago footballers in Auckland, and they helped to make our stay in the Queen City most enjoyable, our old friend “ Paddy Sheehan being a great host. Wo left Auckland by the midnight on Sunday, and it was then that influenza started to take its toll, J. Hore being the first victim, and it stayed with us a very unwelcome guest till the end of the tour. Arriving at Marton Junction at 8 n.m., we had to fill in time till 2.30, when we left for Hawera, and arrived there at 8 p.m. Our host at Hawera was Mr J. Goodwin, and he did everything m his power to make our stay an enjoyable one, our trip to Mount Egmont being very interesting. In the match against Taranaki our team which was weakened, by influenza, played quite beyond our expectations and gave a great exhibition of football. It was pleasing to see the forwards and backs combining in beautiful movements which completely baffled the opposition. Clouston (2), Procter (2), Laing (1), and W. Allen (1) scored tries, while Souter converted three tries and Bathgate potted a goal. We left Hawera on Thursday morning for Christchurch, arriving in Wellington at 6 p.m. and catching the boat at 7.45 for Lyttelton. Quite a crowd of Wellington officials and friends came down to the boat and gave us a cheery send off. We arrived in Christchurch at 8 a.m with half the team ill with influenza, and in no form to play a hard game. However, we were beaten for the Ranfurly Shield by the best team we had met on the tour, and wo would like to cougratu late Canterbury on their fine game. The official dinner was a great success and the Canterbury Union entertained us very well indeed, the drive on the Sunday being very enjoyable. Leaving Christchurch on Sunday by the midnight, we arrived in Dunedin at 7 a.m. after a very pleasant and successful tour. We would like to place on record our appreciation of the conduct of the team both on and off the field, Otago has always had the reputation of sending well-behaved teams on tour, and this year’s team worthily upheld that reputation. Tho one recommendation we wish to bring before the committee is the matter of presenting blazers to the players instead of jerseys and caps. Prac tioally all the major unions have adopted this idea, and we consider this union would bo wise to adopt it also. In conclusion we wish to thank the committee for giving us the privilege of managing one of tiie finest teams that ever left Otago, and also to thank the members of l the team for their consideration und cooperation during the tour.—(Applause.) Mr Haynes said he would like to add that the players had not suffered from one injury during the whole trip. He considered that a groat deal of the success achieved by the team had been due to the coaching they had received before they left Dunedin from Mr Y. G. Cavanagh.-—(“ Hear! hear!”) Mr H. Harris said he considered that the tour had been one of the most successful ever made by an Otago team, especially as regarded their games in the North Island. He thought the team deserved great credit for its play.— (“Hear! Hear!”) The chairman also congratulated the team on its play. lie said lie had received letters from both Mr Prendeville, of Wellington, and Mr H. Frost, of Auckland, congratulating Otago on the fine set of young fellows it had sent on tour, Air Prendeville had stated that it had been a pleasure to be associated with the Otago team, and to show them around. “ Otago seemed to send even a better type of young fellow to the North Island each succeeding year,” had written Mr Prendeville. It was decided to thank the managers for their report, and to ask the Finance Committee (with Mr Jolly) to bring up a icport in regard to supplying Otago representative players with blazers.

JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVE TEAM. Mr T. Porter fmanager) submitted a brief report on the visit of the Otago junior representative team to Christchurch to play the Canterbury B team on tbe day of the Ranfurly Shield match. He said the Otago team had been rather heavily defeated, and he was not sure that the object of this annual match was being observed. Tbe idea had been (o bring on promising junior players. Ho understood that if an Otago player was in the junior ranks for more than two years he had to he passed over when the representative team was being selected. On the other hand, the Canterbury team contained players who had been playing in the B Grade for four years and over.

Members agreed that the object of the junior match was not being observed, and it was stated that it might be necessary

to require Canterbury to play juniors again instead of tlicir B team. After some discussion it was decided to go further into the matter next season. HATCHES FOR SATURDAY. The following matches will be played at Carisbrook on Saturday:—Kaikorai v. Alhambra (Mr F. Swetci. .'! p.m.; Smith Otago Schools v. Otago Schools (Mr A. Binnie), 1.30 p.m.