FOOTBALL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 8 May 1890, Page 28

FOOTBALL.

NOTES BY FORWARD.

A number of the supporters of the Kaikorai Football Club have resolved to hold a bazaar to augment the funds of the club, and at a preliminary meeting to discuss matters the following gentlemen were elected to act as an Organising Committee : — Messrs Smith, Lillico, Wedderspoon, Riddle, Sonntag, Kemnitz, Torrance, M'lntyrej Duncan, Millar, Conway, Rae,

Chisholm, Broadley, Hutchison, D. Livingstone, and Farley. The idea is to raise sufficient to send the first fifteen, should they retain the premiership this year, on tour through the colony.

There was a combination of circumstances to make the match on Saturday between the Kaikorai and Albambra Clubs one of unusual interest. In the first place there was the fact that while the former held the premiership for 1889, the Alhambra were an excellent second, and that, in fact, a match between them at the close of the season, which, if won by the Alhambra, would have put them ahead of the Kaikorai, resulted In a very even draw. Then theie was the fact that both teams had been la training for some time, and proved themselves at Easter to be good scoring teams — as witness the defeat of the Oamaru Athletics by the Kaikorai, and the drubbing that the Invercargill Star got from the Alhambra.

Another fact which provided an element of interest was the closene^B of the previous contests fchafc have taken place between the clubs. These contests were only three in number, two of them occurring iv 18?7, and the other that whleh I have mentioued as having be "in played last year. The first of the matches in 1887 was drawn, each team scoring a try, and the return one was wou by the Kaikorai by a try to nil. A goal apiece was the result of last year's match, so tlmt tho scoring up to Saturday between tho two olnbs hud been restricted to five points for tho Kftikoral nnd four for the Alhambra. The day was fortunately nil that could be desired. Everything was in favour of a good game, and of the best team wiuning. But did the best team win ? That is a point which, if you decide to take the opinion of the majority of the spectators, must be resolved in the negative. The Kaikorai undoubtedly had the advantage in the first spell, but the Alhambra, with equal certainty, showed a tremendous superiority in the second spell, and had "hard lines" to boot. What, for instance, could have t:en harder than their double misfortune when, wanting a point to tie with the Kaikorai, Downes potted at goal from a good position with only one man in front of him and the ball would not rise, and when M'Cleary, following up as a player should follow up, and dropping on the ball behind the line, saw it slip out of his grasp behind the rails, where it beoame dead. There were oue or two other occations during the last few minutes when the Reds had " hard luck," and I think that had Downes, on one occasion when he got past the Kaikonu halves, passed to Noel instead of keeping on, a score must have resulted. The play was for the most part — with exception of the first half of the second spell— of a most satisfactory character. The Kaikorai forwards all appeared to me te play well, and there is none of them whom I can specially piok out. Their backs disappointed me. Keogh played on the Alhambra side of tbe scrum all through, and, though he kept within the letter of the law, repeatedly broke its spirit in a way that I shall regret to see continued. Laurenson waß the best fcabind the scrum, neither Davie nor Thomson sustaining hiß reputation, while Claff ey was anything but reliable. The best forwards on the Alhambra side were two of the new men, M'Cleary and Flank. The former played a five game in an excellent spirit and led hiß men well, while Flank was always on the ball and did a lot of useful tackling. Crawford's efforts at half back were almost completely smothered by Keogh, but Bestieaux played a good, unselfish game, starting many of the passing runs that were a feature of the back play on his side. Downes did not seem to be in condition, and tired towards the end, but all the same he played a rattling game, and was well supported by Noel, who appears to be unusually dangerous this year. Baker and Fitohett made few mistakes and both kicked well. r

One of the amusing incidents in the match was the effect of tha second goal obtained by the Alhambra upon their umpire, who jumped about and waved his flag in the air. The officials had a hard time of it, for the play was fast and appeals wero too frequent, and they must be permitted to share occasionally in the excitement. A reprehensible and illegal practice was indulged in by one of the threequarter backs on the losing side. The practice was that of tripping an opponent, If this had occurred only once it might have been excused as accidental, but where the same player three times chose to stop an opponent in this way it must be assumed to have been deliberate.

The championship matches for this season were commenced at Wellington on Saturday. The Wellington Club defeated the Athletic by three goals and a try (10 points) to a goal and a try (4 points). Fache, formerly of the High School and Dunedin Olubß, placed two goals for the winning team. The Ponehe Club defeated the Epuni by two goals and two trieß (8 points) to nil.

Oockroft, Ooulton, and Malcolm went North on Tuesday morning. While their departure will be felt severely by the Pirates Club, which they had joined, the loss to the province is also a heavy one, for Oockroft was probably the finestforward who has played in Dunedin this season.

The great rivalß, the Swinton and Salford Clubs, met on March 8 for the second time in the season. A tremendous amount of interest was taken in the match, and the " gate" was the biggest ever seen at Salford. quite 12,000 persons gathering and filling every point of vantage, and keeping their posts in the face of as furious a storm of wind and rain as ever drenched an ardent lot of enthusiasts. The result was a victory for Swinton. by a try and three minors to two minors.

The last international Rugby match of the season was played on March 15 when Ireland encountered England at Blaokhenth. The Irishmen won the toss, and England kicked off, the ball going dead behind the goal line, thuß giving England a minor to start with. The drop out by Forrest failed to clear, and for a few minutes the Irish lines were in considerable danger. A grand bit of passing by the English three-quarters fairly roused the enthusiasm of those present, and twice Stoddart made very feeble efforts to drop. The second attempt was charged down, and then the Irish forwards, prominent among whom were Le Fanu and Forrest, dribbled to the other end in really brilliant style. A couple of free kicks brought relief to England, and then another brilliant bit of passing was shown by the English three-quarters. Another kick at goal by Stoddart, who was well fed by Aston, fared no better than his previous attempts. This was succeeded by a series of scrummaging, in which the Irishmen held their own, but while the English three-quarters were fairly well fed, their own men in the same position had very little to do save to tackle. Then came a fine piece of play on the part of England. It was started by Scott, and the bnll wont through tho hands of Stoddart. Aston, Bedford, Holmps, and one or two others, until it finally reaohed Moimon, who actually got over, but was forced back by some halfdozen sturdy Irishmen, who intercepted his passage Very soon after this Everehed. who bad been playing grandly, got hold near the centre, and rushing down the touch line got over, and Rogers completed tha try. Jowetfc waa called up for the place, but it was too difficult. The hick-out was followed by another splendid rush of the Irishmen, which was neutralised by another run by Morrison up the right, and after some loose play in the centie Aston broke clear away; and though he might have got in himself, he preferred to make a score certain by passing to Stoddart, who grounded the ball close to the touch line Once more Jowett's place was a failure. In no wise disheartened by these reverses, the Irishmen now played up harder than ever, but first Evershed arid then Mitchell succeeded in stopping very ugly rushes. Half time was then signalled, the score being two tries to nothing in favour of England. Though, during the second half, the Irishmen had Ihe sun in their faces, this made little difference to their play, but there was a disposition to keep the bill more elo3e than before. Some tall IdcKing resulted in the Iriih being forced to save, au operation which they compelled their opponents to undergo almost immediately afterwards. About 10 minutes after chaujje the play Blackened on bolli Bides, but at last, from a scrummage in the Irish half, Speneo dashed off, and though Wa'lmiKton floored him iv a workmanlike manner, lie managed to sling the ball to Morrison, who backed up well and a third try resulted. Again was Jouelt'a luck dead out, .uid (h.^.'h the ball looked like going over it just screwed uuti-ide in a most annoying style.

Then came another spell of slack play, whioh looked like lasting to the end. During the last five minutes, however, the Irishmen woke up, and pub in such sterling woik that they fairly drove their rivals back. The Englishmen had to rouse themselves to avert the danger, and the sound of the whistle must have been welcome to some of them, especially those who were very nearly played out. Three tries to nothing was the result, and fairly represented the difference between the teams. Two international matches under Association rules were played on March 15, one English team whipping Ireland at Ballynafeigh by nine goals to one (auother injustice to Ireland !), while another Bnglish team obtained a victory over Wales at Wrexham by three goals to one. Some amusement at the Ru^by international match between England and Ireland was caused by the Irish full back coming out wearir<» an e>eglass, which he stuck to most religiously throughout the game His ploy, however, is of a rather more vigorous style (says the Athletic News) than that adopted usually by the eyeglass brigade, and he got through his work in really a creditable fashion. His kicking, too, was very sure. A member of the Irish press who was present at the same match was rather enthusiastic. He entered into the spiiit of the game thoroughly, and hie thouts were most encouraging fco the te-m (or rather would have been could they have heard them). Once when the Irishmen were olose to the Bnglish line he got into a state of wild excitement, and sung out to some Englishmen he fc' ought in front of the ball, " Get on aide, d you, get on side " The tremendous volley of laughter elicited by this ebullition steadied him a bit, but he soon burst out again. Dr Bond, at the annual meeting of the Auokland Eugbv Union, suggested the payment of men to act as referees. The nutter requires careful consideration, but on the whole I (" Action," in the Auckland Star) fancy the advantages of such a plan of obtaining capable referees would greatly outweigh the disadvantages. There are many working men who take great interest in the game, and who are intelligent enough, as are most; of our working men, to easily learn off the rules of the game. If respectable men were appointed their deoHons would have jußt as muoh weight as those of the irresponsible officials who now aot as referees. This position of referee is, on the whole, an unpleasant one ; for, though playera may hold their tongues on the field, tho referee is sure to come in for plenty of abuse after the match, and the public are not chary of giving expression to partisan feeling if the referee does not please them by liis decisions. There would be more o nfidence, probably, in a man who was known to possess a thorough knowledge of the rules, and to have the confidence of the union in his integrity and ability. The men themselves would have plenty of respect shown them, from the fact that they would not be slow to bring offenders to book, knowing that so long as their actions were right they would have the support of the union. The same writer says :-"An effort is being made by the Management Committee of the union to induce the other leading provinces— Otago, Canterbury, and Wellington— to fall in with Auckland in the plan of touring the colony in turn. The ide.i is a very good one, and it is to be hoped all the provinoes will fall in with it. Mr Clayton, when in the South latt season, spoke to several of the leading footballers of the other provinces, and they viewed tho plan very favourably. As he pointed out, it would be very encouraging to players to know that every season there would be an interprovincial match, in which they would have a chance of playing if their form justified selection."

SATURDAY'S MATCHES.

The first interclub match of the season was played on the Caledonian ground on Saturday, and as it was between the Kaikorai and Alhambra clubs, which are the two that were most successful in their matches last year, it excited an unusual amount of public interest and attrarted a very larga attendance. A very hard and exciting game it was, the Blues (Kaikorai) winning by 8 points to 7. Play had hardly been started before the Kaikorai rushed the ball into the Reds' (Alhambra) territory, and Wingfield scored a try, which Torrance enhanced. This advantage was shortly followed up by Laurensou potting a goal for the Kaikorai, thus increasing the score to 6 points The Alhambra then had a look in, as Noel with a splendid run got across the line, but Resbieauz failed to raise the score. The Kaikorai were not to be denied, however, and Da vie got another try for them, the kick at goal being re^ultless. The Albambra showed a superiority in passing, and as a result of a fine display Baker scored. The kick was taken by Restieaux, who was again unable to score the major points. Before the first spell terminated D. Thompson got a third try for the Kaikorai, but Torrance did not successfully negotiate the kick. The teams crossed over with a substantial advantage of 6 points — 8 to 2 — in favour of the Kaikorai. For some time play in the second spell was uninteresting, but then the Alhambra began to press their opponents, whose slipshod back play frequently assisted the Reds. Eventually Bestieaux started a passing run »nd Downes, who played in fine style, transferring the ball to Noel, a roar of applause from the crowd indicated that the latt; r was across the line. The ball was planted fair behind the posts and Restieaux registered a goal. The play had only been in progress for a few minutes before a free kick was awarded against the Kaikorai in their own territory folr a held ball, and Restieaux piloted the ball, amid loud cheering, across the bar, the Alhambra score being thus increased to within & point of their opponents. From this stage till no-side a determined onslaught upon the Kaikorai lines was maintained, Downes, Noel, M'Cleary, find Plank being most noticeable, but time won the day, and the Kaikorai had the victory as already stated. Messrs W. J. M'Laughlin and A. S. Wedderspoon were the umpires, and Mr E. B. Morrison acted as referee.

On the conclusion of the Kaikorai-Alhambra match on Saturday, the Dunedin Football Club played a scratch game which was well attended. Some very good play was ehown at different times by various players.

The Pirates Club had their final practice on Saturday, when the match was Fifteen v. Nineteen. This produced a very fast game in which several membr.rs showed a decided improvement upon the form they had previously shown. The Union Olub played a Probable Fifteen against teams No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. The first match was started at quarter to 3, No. 1 team playing No. 2, and after a very evenly contested game ended in a win for the former by 2 points to nil, tries being obtained by M'Leod and Alexander. The Probable Fifteen played two teams of 19 and 24 respectively, and beat them by 24 points to nil (No. 1 by 11 points and No. 2 by 13 points). The Pacific Second met the Pirates Third on the Carisbrook ground on Saturday last, and after a good game defeated them by 9 points to 1. Tries for the Pacific were gained by Summerell, Brooks, Lister, and Butler, one of which Brady converted into a goal. Brady al<o kicked a goal from a mark. The try for the losers was scored by Neill from a dribbling rush, but the place kick was a failure. The Port Chalmers Club played its last scratch match on Saturday, when there was a splendid attendance of members. The game all through was very fast, some good play being shown, C. Falconer potted a goal ond, J. Crawford and Hunter scored a try each H. HoWpn kicking a goal from one of them. Of the backs Hunter, Wilson, Strachan, Holden, and Platts played well, while Davidson, Bauchop, Crawford, Farley, Irvine, and Taylor were about the best of the forwards.

A Christchurch telegram states that in the senior championship matches on Saturday Merivale beat Obristchurch by two tries to nil; East Christchurch defeated Addington easily by a goal and six tries to nil; and Canterbury College beat Bydenham by two goals and two tries to nil.

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL.

At a meeting of delegates from the various Association football'clubs in and around Dunedin on Friday night ib was resolved — " That an association of the clubs be formed, to be called the Otago Football Association." Letters were read from Mr Maude, of Christchurch, with reference to the proposed match in that city on the Queen's Birthday, and it waa definitely decided to send a team x,o Christchurch, It was agreed that the subscription for town clubs be one guinea per annum, payable in advance. The clubs constituting the association are the Northern, the Southern, the Roslyn, the Thistle, the Burnside, and the Kaitangata. It was agreed that the association's colours should be black and white shirt, hose, and cap, and blue knickerbockers. The following officers were elected :—: — President, Sir Robert Stoui ; hon. treasurer, Mr James Hunter ; hon. secretary, Mr J. W. Hay (Bank of New Zealand) ; committee, two delegates from each club. The Southern Association Club played their opening match on the Caledonian ground with the Burnside, a club which has been recently formed, the game resulting in a win for the Southern by five goals to one. After the first spell the Southern were two goals to the good, for which D. Laing and A. Carver were responsible. On changing ends the play improved, the forwards working better together, but the combination of the home team proved too good for the visitors, and A. Carver was successful in scoring two goals, his brother, W. Carver, also scoring one. The visitors had several easy chances of scoring, but their forwards were very erratic in shooting at goal. A dribbling rush, headed by Smith, Davidson, and Hayward, carried the ball to the Southern goal, and from a good pass from Smith, which was neatly taken by Hayward, the latter scored. For the visitors Smith (captain), Easton, Hayward, and H. Smith worked hard to avert defeat; while the two Carvers, and D. Laing were the pick of the Southern forwards, and Gibbs and J. Laing (backs) played a safe game. The Northern team started the season's matches by a contest with the Thistle Club, at Sawyers' Bay, and proved victorious by three goals to one. Tbe first spell was in favour of the Thistle, and their strength was displayed by the fine back play of Morris, Warden, and Brandham. On the other side good defence was maintained by Moncrieff, Walker, M'Leod, and Gardiner. After changing ends the Northern men, under their captain, took every advantage of forcing play, and improved in combination to call of time. F. Ross, who is in good shooting form this year, kicked the goal for Sawyers' Bay, and was too good for the right men of the visitors. He was ably seconded by Jamieson and Austen. For the North M'Leod, M'Donald, Mason, and Wilson, all new men, played excellently, and Moncrieff and Gardner are good specimens for them to imitate.