RUGBY FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23907, 7 September 1939, Page 4

RUGBY FOOTBALL

By Full-back

■ OTAGO FIXTURES .August s—v. Southland, at Invercargill, (Ranfurly Shield challenge) ‘ Lost, 23 points to 4 points. •August 12.—v. Bush Union, at Dunedin. Won. 23 points to 12 points. Won, 13 points to 9 points. ‘August 19.—v. Wellington, at Wellington. Lost, 7 points to 3 points. August 23,—v. North Auckland, at . Whangarei. Won. 25 points to 13 s points. August 26. —v, Auckland, at Auckland. < Draw. 3 points each. August 30.—v. Wanganui, at Wanganui, s Won. 4 points to nil. September 2.—v Taranaki, at Tara- * naki. Lost, 8 points to 4 points, a Christchurch. Won. 10 points to ~ 3 points. 9.—v. South Canterbury, at : Timaru. September 16.—v. North Otago. September 30.—v. Southland, at Dunedin. •A • OTHER FIXTURES September 16.—Payne Trophy match at Dunedin. September 23.—North Island v South Island, at Wellington, {September 27, 30—New Zealand trial Vj matches (Wellington). SENIOR SUBSIDIARY s COMPETITION * Two' rounds of the local senior sub* lidiary competition have now been played. Taieri have won both their games, and Southern, Pirates, Dunedin and Alhambra have each a win and a loss. Southern, the runners-up In the ordinary competition, were heavily defeated by Kaikorai last Saturday, the score being 27 points to 4 points, A number of junior players are being given the opportunity of a game in the competition, and the experience should prove of value to. them Shext season. SOUTH AFRICAN TOUR * 1 Whether the tour of a New Zealand team through South Africa next year will now eventuate remains to be seen. If the war is still being carried on then it can be safely stated that |he tour will have to be abandoned. * RUGBY RULES 1 Australian Suggestions , A variety of proposals for amending the laws of Rugby Union will be discussed by the council of the New South Wales Rugby Union at its next meeting. ' The council had invited suggestions, with a view to recommendations being made to the Imperial Rugby Conference, which will be held in London at the end of this year.

£ One of the most interesting amendment)} will be submitted! by the St. George, district club, which desires the elimination of the clause now operating in Australia which allows a defending player to benefit when he kicks into touch on the full from within his own twenty-five yards. St, George proposes that the kickmg-mto-fouch rule should be amended to provide that when the ball is kicked - into touch on the full from any part of the field, a line out should be taken at the enot level with the kicker. This amendment,” the club comments. ; would remove some of the most commonly criticised rules, and the result would be an effort being made to keep the ball in play for longer periods. St. George also desires that a lineout should be compulsory after the ball has gone into touch, instead of the nonOffending team being given the choice of a line-out or a scrum, and this is also proposed by the International Board Rules Committee. The present rule allows a team with, a strong hooker but a weak line-out to obtain a majority of the ball, by merely taking scrums instead of Ime-outs, whenever It is their turn to throw in. the dub states. “Besides giving an undue advantage to one side, the rule often leads to an appreciable neglect of nie of the most attractive features df the code. Most football critics will agree that one measure of superiority of oiir code over Rugby League is the open play and quick service resulting 1 from. line-out play, as opposed to scrums, The existing rule allows a team, at its option to revert to a Rugby League rule.” ’ „ , The New South Wales Rugby Union Referees’ Association will submit several items. The proposal of greatest interest is that “ after a touch-down by a defending team a drop-out should be awarded from the goal-line instead of the 25-yard line.” The association declares that the 25-yard drop-out gives the defending team an unwarranted advantage, and amounts to a heavy penalty on the attacking team . for reaching its 'objective—the goalline. The referees also desire it to be ruled that no charge should be allowed when a kick is being taken for a goal after a try has been awarded. . The New Zealand Rugby Union has advised the New South Wales Rugby Union the items that it will submit to the Imperial Conference. On its suggestion that a player should be ruled off-side if. while the ball is in the sjcrum, he advances beyond a line drawn through the Centre Of the scrum, Mr F. J. Herlihy, a member of the Management Committee of the New South Wales Union, proposes that “no forward shall leave the scrummage until the ball has left the scrumihage,” i The Victorian Rugby Union has submitted the following;—“We suggest t|hat instead of the throw-in from a line-out of a minimum of five yards, the minimum should be ten yards. Our grounds for the suggestion are that it would save a succession of line-outs when the ball is scrambled by the ruck so near the line. It would also ihake opportunities for ‘ blind ’ side 13lay from the line-out.” \ TWO TIRED TEAMS j There were many exciting incidents in the game between Southland and Canterbury (states the Southland Times). The dry ground enabled a feist pace to, be set throughout, and fib hectic were the exchanges in the second half that at times both, teams " Were run to a standstill. A good illustration of this was seen a few niinutes from the finish, when the Southland backs threw the ball about freely and had the defence beaten, but could not score. Several players were stretched dut on the ground fatigued, and .the • last whistle was welcomed by two tired teams. .

WAS IT A TRY? Serious doubt was expressed by close observers of the match between Canterbury and Wellington whether Tindill’s try in the second spell should have been awarded (says the Christchurch Star-Sun). Canterbury had infringed approximately eight yards from their own goal-line. The law says that all. players of the defending team must retire to or behind a line 10 yards from the place of infringement, or to their own goal-line, whichever is hearer to the mark, and the ball, when kicked, must reach this line unless first played by an opponent. Taylor took eVery other place-kick for Wellington. Without waiting for Taylor to come up in this case, and without waiting for all the retiring Canterbury players to reach their own line, Tindill tapped the ball with his foot along the ground, picked it up, and fell, over for a touch-down. It appeared to a number of spectators as if, when he did pick, up the ball again that it was still a yard from the goalline, when by rights it should have reached the line, as provided by the law. Others again contend that the ball reached the goal-line before Tindill regained possession. However that may be,, there is the further condition to observe that all the players of the defending team must be given time to retire to the proper spot. The law further says that alj players of the defending team must be motionless until the kick is taken. In that case, the kick should not be taken while some. of the players are in the act of retiring to the line. By itself, this try, probably, had no effect on the issues of the match, but it was an unsatisfactory decision from a senior referee. . SOUTHLAND STAMINA With their backs seldom able to gain much headway, the Southland forwards were always a potent force in Saturday’s representative match on the Oval, and most of the ground gained came from their fierce all-in rushes (says the Christchurch Star-Sun), Of magnificent physique and in the pink of condition, it was a pack of which Southland can justly feel proud. In most previous years 'Southland have had forwards of bulk and height but inclined to be lumbering when the pace was on. This alert and well-trained eight was every bit a? formidable in the open as in the tight. That their relentless bustling and following up did not disconcert the defence, after some shakiness over the first 10 minutes, was a feather in Canterbury’s cajr Herron. Purdue. George, and Warq stood out for consistency. NOTES C. Cameron, a Melbourne Australian Rules footballer, has had a series of accidents during his career, which would have daunted the average player. He has had the following injuries:—Broken toe, once: broken leg, once: fractured ribs, six times; broken chest bone, once; broken collarbone four times; broken nose, twice. Up till last Saturday, Southland had lost eight games on end in Christchurch. VANBRO. the Faultless Hair Cream*