RUGBY FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23492, 5 May 1938, Page 4

RUGBY FOOTBALL

By Full-back ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT "Awatea."—(l) One of the recent amendments to the scrummage law says the ball is fairly in the scrummage wben.it passes a foot of a player oh either side and is on the ground. (2) The ball must be put in at the spot where the infringement occurs:. (3) Books can be obtained from the New • Zealand Referees' Association, Wellington. SOUTHERN v. UNIVERSITY A The 3000 odd spectators at Carisbrook on Saturday witnessed a stern contest;between-two fine packs of forwards, with the honours resting with the Colours" pack. The absence of Simon, the All Black half-back, who was suffering from an injury to his arm upset the combination of tne Southern, backs. D. Trevathan was played !at full-back—he had a light afternooh-and his place was taken at first 'five-eighth by Robert. Stent playing behind the scrum. Robert was inclined to run into trouble, and as a consequence the play of his outside, backs suffered. Black, on the wing, was the best of the Southern backs, and: ;he took some -,stopping when he set out for the line. He scored ;one f fine try, and proved rather too much for his opposing wing three-quarter-,'-Steele, to com oat. - McDonald, Hill, Quaid, and Wallace were a-solid quartet in the Colours pack, whose bunching and combination repeatedly drove back the attacks of the Blue forwards. Howden played a solid game .behind the Blues' pack, and Berghan made some penetrating dashes, one of which enabled Jones,. the centre to score a fine try. This was-the only try scored by the A team. Southern s tally was made up of two tries (one converted) and a penalty goal, while a penalty goal to the A's brought their total, to six points. Egan ful -■ back, had'plenty to do, and hedid it well, and Jones, centre, shaped well, but he had.few opportunities. Park played a fair game only at second five-eighth, ; . ■_.. Borrfe was noticeable in the Blue forwards for keen following up, and Burns, Gleeson, and Mack kept well So" the tight play The Blue forwards had a hard task to hold the strong Southern pack, and they got through it in fine style. DUNEDIN V. UNIVERSITY B University B gained Dunedin in the early match at Carisbrook, after a scrappy game, by 18 points to. 6 points. The B's scored four tries and two penalty goals and Dunedin two tries. ■ The strong diagonal wind affected the place kicktag? nX one- of the six tries scored being converted. The players did Sot use the wind with much judgment, kicking straight to the line when on many occasions.a greater stretch 01 ground would have been secured by Bunting into the field of play and letfine the wind do the rest;. This weakness was also noticeable'in the game between: Southern and University A. The break-away forwards on both sides were fast round on to.the respective half-backs, and Wright (Dunedin) and Simpson (University B) often found their first five-eighths covered before they could pass out and they perforce had to try to go round the scrums. They, however, eeldoTheg°handriirig of the two sets of backs was disappointing,- and it was hard to understand why what looked like good passes were fumbled and dropped. There was also too much cutting in and solo play by the inside backs. Low and Falvey, the fullbacks, played serviceable games, but the outside wing three-quarters had few chances. Wallace and Turner and Bissett and Kawe seldom had much room to work in when they did receive a pass. Bissett, the ex-Pirates wing three-quarter, was sitarved for tne ball all the afternoon. The tries scored bv Turner and Wallace were the result of good movements by" Black, at centre, who was making a first appearance for Dunedin, and C. Foote, a forward scored two well-earned tries for the B's.

" KAIKORAI V. ZINGARI-RICHMOND In more ways than one, the Zingari team can be regarded as a little unlucky in not securing a win against Kaikorai at Bishopscourt. If the Colours had made better use of the wind during the first spell the result might have been different. As it was, however, they scored only one try, Rapson, the five-eighth, breaking through a weak tackle to register the first points of the match. For the greater part of the second half Zingari were hemmed in their own territory, but good forward work resulted in an occasional entry into their opponents twenty-five. ■ • . The Kaikorai team, which so far this season has not registered a try, made costly mistakes in the second spell, and this prevented them from increasing their score. Too often opportunities were thrown away because players repeatedly tried to go on their own. The forwards, too, showed a preference for individual play instead of hunting in a pack. There was an improvement in the second spell, however, but the Zingari vanguard was never overwhelmed. Kaikorai's points were registered by Ruff, on the wing, who was successful with a pot at goal. This player made one or two determined runs, and on one occasion he was nearly over, but was thrown out at. the corner flag. Both Murray and Manning, the inside men, attempted too much on their own, and in this way several promising movements broke down. The fullback, McFadzien, was impressive, and he linked up with his backs nicely on two occasions. Among the' forwards. Souness worked hard, and was prominent in several rushes. ■: The Zingari rearguard did not come into action very often, despite the fact that they received a plentiful cupply of the ball. The half-back, Robertson, essayed the dive pass successfully on two occasions, but generally the passing broke down before the ball reached the wings. Consequently, Gib Smith, former prominent amateur cyclist, and Anderson received few chances. The Zingari forwards all worked hard, and Hennessey, a rugged type of player, came through with the; ball at his feet on several occasions. PIRATES V. ALHAMBRA If the Alhambra forwards and inside backs had not allowed their enthusiasm to run away with them in the second half, when they had the strong wind to help them, the side would probably have had a win against Pirates instead of being beaten by six points to five. Mr A. Mitchell is developing the Alhambra forwards into a good, even pack, whicli has Lamont, Frood, and F. Robertson as energetic leaders in the loose. The inside backs, Orange and Robinson, shaped well individually, but they played too much solo football, and usually lost contact with everybody; Mitchell scored one fine try and.produced good form. He is showings no sign of the thigh injury which worried him last season.. Parkhill stood out among the Pirates forwards; being in the thick of everything. The Black backs were not even, but . fiuff, a very fast young winger, showed most promising form. Taylor was hot always in position at full-back, but his good fielding usually got him out of trouble. Pirates' form was not particularly impressive in the first half, but they fought back strongly in the second half. TAIERI v. UNION The gale which blew in Dunedin on Saturday had a clear sweep at Tahuna, and as a consequence it was practically impossible to play any.kind of constructive football, Taieri had the

benefit of the wind in the first half, and Giles kicked a penalty goal, the only score in the game. The Taieri players did not make as good use of the wind in the first spell as they should have done, but they shaped better in the second spell, in which Union did not play up to expectations. The Union forwards had plenty of dash, but they did not combine well. Their backs, too, could not make much progress. Bissett and McLeod (who retired with a shoulder injury in the second half) were the best of the Taieri forwards. Johnstone, at five-eighths, was sound on defence, but he tried to do too much solo work on attack, thus losing contact with his supports. Murray, at centre, and Frew, at half-back, were responsible for good defensive play, Grant was playing his first game on the wing, and he Droved a hard man to stop. Faris, J. Walker and Vorrath were j the best of the Union forwards, the j last-named doing well in the tight play. Werner played another serviceable game at wing three-quarter, show- | ing plenty of dash, but he had few chances, and Trevathan shaped quite v/ell at full-back. The other backs generally lost ground in their passing movements, and they lacked thrust. NOTES It seems to me that the Otago Rugby Union will have to go further than simply " urging " players to wear their allotted numoers oh their uniforms. On Saturday two of the University A players had no numbers on their jerseys. As previously stated, the union issues an Official Guide which states the number of individual players. A charge of 3d is made for this guide. If, however, players do not carry numbers, what is the value of the guide? A note from a former Canterbury footballer and cricketer. Mr J. Prosper, now living in Johannesburg, says:— " Craven, the Springboks' vice-captain, will be available to play against the British team after all. He has announced that he will be turning out lor Garrison, Pretoria, the same club as Ferdie Bergh, who is captain. The enthusiasm for Rugby football in Wales is well known. Recently, Mr Denis Dowling, while engaged in recitals, was the guest of Mr Ivor Owen at Swansea. Mr Owen is the leading musical personality of Wales, and.happens to be a brother to Dick Owen, the famous Welsh half-back who played for Wales against the All Blacks on the last tour, and was shown over the famous football ground. The' soot was also pointed out to him where Ted Morgan, at Cardiff in 1905, scored the winning try. Although New Zealanders pride themselves on their knowledge of the individual prowess of All Black footballers, the visitor soon found that his hosts were even better versed in their careers. An examination of the weights of the forwards in the Southern and University teams, as published in the official guide, shows little difference in the aggregates. The Southern total was 104st 111 b and University 103st 31b. Colin Gillies, the 1936 All Black, played for the Maheno Club on Saturday in the Oamaru competition. His brother, D. Gillies, was also in the five-eighth line. Colin Gillies is playing as well as ever, and combined nicely with his brother. The ex-All Black is a teacher at the Oamaru South School. The ex-Auckland wing three-quar-ter P. C. Minns, who is an administrative officer in the Colonial Administrative Service, Uganda, is (states a -London correspondent) visiting England on six months' leave. He has lived in Uganda for the past two years and a-half. . ~..-« - M Of alleged partisanship in New Zealand Rugby crowds, Mr J. E. Sacks (a South African newspaperman) reports in his book that he noticed only one flagrant instance; that was at Timaru. " I have noticed," he writes, m overseas newspapers a suggestion that at times the crowds in New Zealand adopted a most unsporting attitude towards Springbok performances. However, this suggestion is most unfair to the exceptionally enthusiastic sporting public of that Dominion, and certainly not warranted by the facts. In the whole tour of New Zealand, Timaru was the only ' one-eyed' town encountered; here the crowd's attitude was most unreasonably partisan. But everywhere else the Springbok triumphs were most generously acclaimed, and sincere tributes were paid officially and unofficially to the attractive football which they played. AFTER MANY YEARS No fewer than 17 penalty kicks were awarded in the match between Univprsity A and Southern on Saturday by the referee, Mr J. Briggs. A large proportion of the penalties were given in an endeavour to bring the play into conformity with the International rules, now. after a lapse of some years, to be enforced again. Law 16 of "The Laws of the Gam*" of Football as played by the Rugby Football Union " states, inter alia:— "Tackle (d): No player shall prevent a tackled played from releasing the ball, or getting up. after he has re--6 (e) " No player shall pick up the ball after a tackled player has released it, or when it is on the ground after a player has been tackled, )( until it has been played with a foot.' Though the rules covering a tackle have never, to my knowledge, been superseded, they have seldom, }l ever, been enforced in football in New Zealand for some years. It has been the custom when a player has been tackled and the ball has been lying on the ground for another player to pick it up and make off with it if possible. That style of play is now to be stopped, and Mr Briggs did not hesitate to award a penalty kick when a breach occurred. • ' Similarly, Mr Briggs took a definite stand in cases where a player was tackled and brought to the ground, and the tackier did not immediately get off the man on the ground. The two rules do not require any explanation as to their intention, and players should soon be able to adapt themselves to them. Referees must, however, be firm and uniform in their rulings; The scrambling and falling of players in their endeavour to pack on top of the man tackled and keep him down certainly does not improve the game, and why the particular rule dealing with this breach was allowed to become non-effective is difficult to understand. The enforcement of rule (d) should also give the man on the ground time to get on his feet again and continue in the game. Both rules, indeed, should have a tendency to make the play more open, and reduce any element of danger. SPRINGBOKS' TOUR THE FINANCIAL ASPECTS Some of the figures in connection with the recent Springbok tour look rather startling. First, the New Zealand Union received £26,339 by way of net Springbok match revenue from the various district unions (that is, after the heavy local accounts, hotels, advertising and entertainment costs had been paid by the major and minor unions). The receipts forwarded to Wellington were net, or nearly so. Naturally, the head union still had to make payments on its own account. It is the size of some of these items that is impressive (states the Christchurch . Star-Sun) Thus, the South African team's fares to and from New Zealand cost £2991, their fares within New Zealand cost £843, printing, cable and general tour expenses £663 —and yet on top of that the large sum of £2184 is set down under the heading "South African team expenses in New Zealand." , , . - , Many Rugby supporters must leel they are entitled to a detailed statement concerning the expenditure of this £2184. The New Zealand Union balance sheet does not give it. WAS IT INCIDENTALS? Fares, medical expenses, cabling, selectors' expenses, New Zealand team expenses, etc.. are all listed separately, and though heavy are more or less within reason. On the other hand, district unions paid local hotel expenses and entertainment charges out

of their own gross receipts. But with all this accounted for, the New Zealand Union still had to expend another £2184 on the Springboks during the 1937 Dominion tour.

How? A portion of it possibly covered the brief visits to Mount Cook and Rotorua.

Incidentally, the full amount expended on the New Zealand team for fares, outfitting and expenses was £6Bl As this covers as least 22 players over approximately three weeks (a week before each test), it is magnificently modest by comparison with the cost of running even one Springbok fixture to a provincial union. Most of the major provincial unions spent up to £SOO on entertaining and billeting the Springboks, plus ground expenses. Allowing £IOO to cover ground expenses, etc., this seems to mean £4OO expended on the Sprinkboks for a visit that averaged four days, seldom more, often less. What the New Zealand Union spent was apart from this. OBITUARY Mr S. F. WILSON Mr Samuel Frederick Wilson, one of the most widely-known and respected men in the Rugby Union football game in New Zealand, died at his home in Rotherham street, Riccarton, on Friday after a long illness. He was in his sixtieth year. Mr Wilson had been prominent in Rugby for more than 30 years, as player, referee, selector, and administrator. He was a past president of the Canterbury and New Zealand Rugby Unions, and had represented New Zealand at an international Rugby conference in England. As a mark of respect to Mr Wilson the Canterbury Union postponed all matches which were to have been played on Saturday. • Mr Wilson was president of the New Zealand Rugby Union for a year from 1923 to 1924. and it was in 1924 also that he went to England to represent New Zealand at the international Rugby conference. He did much at the conference to improve relations between the New Zealand and English authorities. Mr Wilson was an active referee for about 15 years, and on his retirement he was elected a life member of the Canterbury Referees' Association. He was a Canterbury selector in 1913-14, and a New Zealand selector for many years from 1907. Mr Wilson was out of New Zealand when he was at the height of his football career, and he . never played for Canterbury, but he had won State representative honours in New South Wales.

A REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE BLIND FOOTBALLERS MEET

Dear Full-Back,—l must tell you what is to me a good football story, and one which I think will interest many of your readers. As many are aware, Mick Casey, the old Southern and Otago player, has lost his sight, and a few weeks ago was a guest at tne institute for a month. Well, one day I boarded a car in Queen street, and the conductor put me in the smoking end, and I overhead a very interesting conversation between a couple of fel-low-passengers seated alongside of me. They were speaking about the early days of the Southern Football Club, and mentioning all the players of that time. This was interesting to me, for I joined the Southern Club m their first year. Almost all the.old names were mentioned, but I mentally noted that no mention was made of either Mick Casey or Steve Casey, and I drew the speakers' attention to it. One said to me, "Who are you?" and I gave him my name. He replied, "Well, you should know me." I replied that I did not, and his answer was that I could not be Frank Titchener, otherwise I would know him. I then asked why he did not. know me, and it was then he told me that he was Mick Casey, and that he was blind. I told him that that was the first time I had heard of it, and that I was in the same fix. The fact of two blind men doubting each other's identity, because neither knew that the other was blind, raised a great laugh, and the story has been told in many quarters here with great delight. Mick, who was always one of the best of good fellows, made himself very popular at the institute, and all were sorry when he left. I occasionally meet "Mother Elliot," one of the last surviving members of the famous Maori team that toured England in 1888. He is still hale and hearty and a very bright conversationalist. Another old player who still has a warm regard for Otago and Otago football is Fred, better known as "Doc Murray." It is good to hear him recount stories of his trips south. He has kept closely in, touch with Otago football, for he is the uncle of the brilliant centre-three-quarter of the same name who played with such success for University and Otago some years ago.—l am, etc., Frank Titchener. New Zealand Institute for the Blind. Auckland.