NOTES BY FORWARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2151, 16 May 1895, Page 33

NOTES BY FORWARD.

I have to acknowledge the receipt oE the Canterbury Rugby Union Annual for tbis year. It U a carefully oompiltd and nicely printed Tolume. A capital notion is tint of annotating ifae iule3 of the game, th.9 readings adopted by the Canleibury Referees' Association on knotty points being published witfi the rue*. In his weekly contribution to these columns Mr Cohen acknowledges his blunder in having deducted the Auckland Union's " dontttt n " of £31 from the New Zealand Union's deficit of £69, whereas that sum had beep taken into accouut. E\en if tfce Taran&ki Union has since sent in £8 cdd, that dees tot alter the fact that the deficit shown in the balance sheet was £69 odd, and it ia a singular thing that Mr Cohen fhould meution that circumstance as if it went in the direction of jmt Tying him in the erroneous stat-ment he originally made. But he says that, "by way of eet off" to the levy, **itba9 to be borne in mind that the central union say that onr payment towards the liquidation of the deficit will enable us to draw £25 per man towards the expenses of Otago's representatives in any team sent to Auttralia next j ear." Mr Cohen has told us that before, and the central union has never said anything of the kind. What it has said is that the pajmeut of the levy " assured the New Zealand Union of the expensss of its team to New South Wales next year, end any affiliated union would prefer paying the few pouads or shilling of its ihwe to having to flnd £25 for each man ib might bate in the representative team next year." Not a word about drawiDg £25 $er man towards the expenres of the representatives, but another ihiug altogether ! And, as I have alretdy pointed out, the position is entirely misrepresented by the New Zea'and Union in its statement of the case. Mr Cohen's assurance that he was not the adviser of the New Zealaud Union regarding the seltction of an Otago member of its Appeal Cjmtnittee I at ouce accept. Who, thtn, is the advi-.er of that union ? The namo of an Otfgo gentleman for appointment to the Appeal Committee wa3 suggested at last meeting of the New Zealand Union's Management .Committee. Whence csme the suggestion? The curi us feature in connection with the iotroduc'ion of Mr Strong's tame into the ques'iou w&s referred to by me last week. It was this : that in the extended report in the Evening Star of the lfct inst. of the annual meeting of the New Zealand Uuion Mr Strong's name was mentioned as the Otago member of the Appeal Committee. Now, that report was ostensibly culled from the Wellington papers, in neither of which, howtver, was Me Strong's name mentioned, it being stated by them tbat " the Management Committee should appoint % fifth member [of the Appeal Committee] from Otago, if a suitable mender was available," and no meeting of the Mmagcment Committee was held until the 6th inst.— five days arter the use of Mr Strong's name by the Btar. A* a matter of fact, I believe that the firat Mr Strong heard of hia alleged j appointment to the Appeal Comix. V tee was what he read in the Star. How came itr about that bis name was mentioned at all ? The use of it seems to have been quite unwarranted— as unwarranted as Mr Cohen's attempt to connect the suggostion ] that be was the New Zealand UniouV adviser with the fact that the misstate ment as to the composition of the Appeal Committee appeared in the Evening Star, the suggestion being obviously founded on the fact that for two years he has been the New Zealand Union's advocate in Otago, aud^that he has apparently, duriDg that time, enjoyed the confidence of its officials. It is with satisfaction I note that Mr Cohen contends that "the executive of the O.R.F U. or their appointed delegate should bo contulted before any appointment from Ofcago to the Appeal Cunraittee is made, and that to go beyond them would constitute a most inegular ' and reprehensible proceeding." But irregularity of proceeding is the New Zealand Uuion s regular form of proceeding. At its annual meeting it was decided to make a pro rata levy, based on the strength ofjunions, for the liquidation cf the deficit. That was irregular, it was improper, and the levy cannot be enforced, because the union's by-laws give it no autVority to demand ftoin the affiliated uuions more than their annual subscriptions. The Management Committee next appear on the scene, and decide that the "levy is to be returned to the onions as soon as the New Zealand Union is in a position to do so." That is also irregular, otherwise it implies that the Management Committee has the right to vary the terms of a resolution passed at the annual meeting of the union. Then, if— as it now seems— the levy is to be regarded as a loan from the affiliated unions, which are asked to pay it, what becomes of the statement that the alternative to paying it is that uuions will have to find £25 for each man they may have in next year's representative team ? It is the lender usually who imposes conditions. The borrower, poor Jbeggor, is forced to accept the conditions imposed by the lender. The O.R.F.U. Committee have eeen fit to remove the disqualification which four years ago was imposed upon P. Keogh, and as it ib presumed that those who formed the majority when the question came to the vote had carefolly considered the matter, it is not my intention to traverse the deci-siou. Professionalism Btrikes at the very root of Rugby football, and when once a man is dec'ared to be ft profesBional it seems to me that very strong reasons Bb-ould exisb before he is reinstated. Such reasons, I presume, must exiat in this case. The committee occupied a difficult position in Jbeißg called upon to decide upon Keogh s application, for fie reason tbat not a single member of the committee which imposed the disqualification is on the present year's executive, and though the committee of 1891 left behind them full notes o£ tbo evidence taken

before &em, and though tfcew notes were available for the committee of 1896, there was no one on the latter committee who was couversant with the particular considerations that weighed with the former body. The inquiry which resulted in Keogh being declared a profefieional was, I may remind readers of these notes, instituted in consequence of complaints wh'ch were made in the public press of betting by players upon a match between the Kaikomi and Alhambra Clubs early in the season of 1891, and of allegations that ! underhai.d influences were at work in bringing about the defeat of the Kaikorai. That inquiry revealed the fact (hat there had been some betting by players upon the match, and in the course of the inquiry the statement was made by one of the witnesses that he had paid Keogh 5s a match for several matches. Upon that | evidence the committee declared Keogh to be a professional. Under the rules as to profesj Bionalism tbe person who made the pajraent waa equally guilty with the person who received it, but the committee made the mistake of not declaring him aho to be a professional. Tha witneas in question was not playing football at j the time, but he played subsequently. It is desirable that there should be uniformity between the style in which we play the game here and that adopted in the Mother Country, and George Stephenaon has directed my attention to one particular in which we have departed from the custom folio *td at Horne — that is in respect to the referee placing the ball in the son urn. There never was any obligation upon tho referee to undertake such a duty, and the principal reason why it has been undertaken by him has, of cour*e, b9en to secure that the ball should be fairly put into the scrum. The laws of the game, however, contain provision for a penalty kick being awarded against the side whose player " wilfully puts the ball unfairly into a ecru carnage." - Vide Law 11 (f). With this check upan unfairness in placing the ball iuto a tcrum, tho systtm by which the halfbacks put the ball in works well in England, and there seems no reason why wo should cot; at once adopt that sjstem — on tbe coutrary, there is every reason why we should bring our practice into uniformity with the Hume practice. While I say this I am aware that not all our reft re c* have been in the habit of putting the ball in the scrum. It is only fair that I should add that the New Zealand Union's Appeal Committee last year decided, on the point be ; ng referred to them, that a player must put the ball in a scrummage. Last Saturday the Star of tho South (Gleuom:rn) sent a team into O*aka to play the local club. Unfortunately the Star weie without the services of two of their best men, which somewhat hand:c*pp?d them. At 3 o'clock the teams lined out as follows :— Star of the South: M'Ni-'l, Stoddart, Whifesida, M-N^ur, J. Gillan (captain), Berry, Johus'on, Gillan (2), Tullch (2), Wylie, MNab, Abernethy, Thomas O»vaka: C&rlton, Lattn, Gow, Lees, Parker, W. Baxrington, Meder, Wyber, Leal, White, Johnston, M'Phee, S. Barrington, Caskie, Stewart. Gjw won the toss, and Thomas kicked off for the Star, Parker returning into touch. From the throw-in a dribbling rush carried the ball over the Star line, and Wj ber scored. Litta t^ok the kick, and registered the major points. Thomas kicVed off, but the ball was well returned into the Star's twenty-five Johnston carried the ball over, and scored. Gow and Wyber shortly afttr were credited with a tyy each. In tha second spell the S'.ar played up, and managed to gain a try (which was converted) from a pretty piece of play, but Owaka quickly attacked again, and Wyber (2), Gaw, Loal, and Parker scored. No futthcr score was legist'red, and a friendly gams re sal ted in a win for Owaka by 33 point* to 5. For the wiunrrs Leal, Wyber, and White in the forwards, and Parker, Lees, and Carlton in the backs, played well ; and for the losers Thomas, M'Nab, and Gillan in the forwards, and J. GillaD, Storldart, and Berry in tho backs did likewise. Owaka plays Caversham at St. Clair on May 25, when a good game should result. In the Junior Flag match last Saturday between the Pirates and Kaikorai Seconds each of the three-quvter bicks on the former— the winning— side potted a goal. This is surely a curiosity. Mr Marchbankß has declined to act as delegate for the OBF.U. to tha New Zealand Uoion. Query : Is it because he will not id ntify himself with the New Zealand Uuion. Joshua vi, 18. The Caversham Club have already discovered that there ia a mighty difference between playing against junior teams and meeting seniors. But tbey had hard luck in drawing the Kaikorai for their opponents in their first nittch. Though A. Esquilant's name wr.s included iv the list of pla>cr« eh- sua to pUy for tbe Albambra sg&iost the Union Club last Saturday, he was a spr-ctator of the Zingari Rich-mond-Pirates match. He has finally retired from active play. At Wellington, on Saturday, in the senior football matches Petono beat Wellington by 9 points to nothing, and the Athletics defeated Melrese by 3 points to nohing. The weekly meeting of the committee of the Otago Rugby Union, held on Monday afternoon, was attended by Me«srs Chisholm (president), ! Gallaway, Duncan, Isaacs, M'Laren, Mont- ■ gomcry, Torrance, and Hutchioon. A letter was received from Mr J. Marchbanks declining to acb as delegate for the O.R F.U. to the New Zealund Union, and it was decided to »sk Mr J. Bee, of Wellington, to accept tha position. Tho rest of tho business was of a routine character. In the senior matche3 at Chri'tcburch on Saturday Christchurch beat North Caist-rbury by 15 points to 10, Kaiapoi beat Eisfc Christchurch by 37 points to nothing, Linwocd were succtssful over Sydenham by 30 points to 5, and Canterbury Collrge were beaten by Merivale by 15 points to 7 points. In the Association match Rangers v. Zealandia, played on Saturday, Bennett, who acted as goal for the latter, displayed surprising powers of defence. Time after time the opposing forwards dribbled the ball right down to him, but in spite of their clever passing he managed, with one exception, to avert a score. The smallneas of the score recorded against Zmlandia was in great measure due to his eifoits. The Caversham team were certainly unfortunate in having to meet in their firat senior matoh such a powerful combination as the Kaikorai representatives, and from the extremely stubborn defence they offered the new seniors should give a good account of themselves as the season advances. In the early part of the game they were somewhat excited, and indulged in too much talk ; but, without doubt, their spirited attacks were a source of surprise to their opponents. The team as a whole is an unusually light one, and consequently they suffered in the scrums, while their passing was defective— in fact, this is a branch of the game to which they would do well to give Bpesial attention. In the early part of the second spell the team appeared to direct their energies more to the opposing backs, and thes? tactics successfully prevented the score being added to for a good length of time, but gradually the Beds were worn down, till towards tho end they

fell to pieceß, and the Blues crossed the lino in rapid 6ucctssion. Amongst the Kaikorai backs D. Tcrrancewas very promim nt on Saturday in bis new position of half back close up to the scrum, while Duncan showed that he has lost none of his dash. Cuuuiugham also played a good game right through, making several splendid runs, whilst Woods and Arniit came out prominently on several ccoas : ous. In the forward division J. Torrauco worked well, but showa still a tendency to indulge in rough play. Wilkinson aud Kiuvig did capital service for tho Blues. Of th 1 ? Cavereham bicks S'alker, of last year's Warehousemen team, played a capital ganieright [ through and provtd a tower of strength b> his side. Burgees has the makings of a gjod player. A. Leng, M'Kvrrow, and Urquhart pUycd a capital de r eusive g%me. Amongst the forwards M'Laren, Hobson, Briggg, R. Laug, and Eagle were prominent. M'Laren donned tbe ju-sey at the last moment to help his old club. The Zicgari-Richmond and Pirate* Clubs did not meet at all last season, and any attempt to foretell the. result of Saturday's contest between the teams was vory much in the nature of guess work. The Zitigari-Richmond team had undergone most change since last season, and the greater knowledge which the members of the Pirates team possessed of each other's play gave them a certain advantage. Somo of the o!d faults of the Pirates' play were, however, soon m»de evident— they snowed a disposition to relax their tffjrts when appealing, and to wait for the whistle (and to this they probably owe their defeat), their forwards did not back up so well as they ought, and their forwards, r el} ing too much on those behind them, neglected to come back when the ball was t-iken past them. Bjth teams gave Mr Marshall, tho referee, some trouble at first by their imperfect observance of the rule that players mus-t have bo'.h feet on the ground in a scrummage, the Ziogari being perhaps the greater offenders in this respect. The Zingari-Riehmond Btarled with nine forwards to eight on Siturday, tb.9 Pirates playing three half baoks, and a team which can give away a forward to a club like the Zirgati does not exist in Dunedin, unless it ba the Kaikorai. Under the circumstances there did not seem to be any justification for M'Fnrlane disposing his team in the second spell after the manner of his opponents' fifteeu and weakening his pack by himself going out as third half back for his side, the result b- ing, indeed, that the Pirates obtained the ball more Irequentlj in the pcrum. Though the ZirgMi-Richnaoud *on by the comfortable margin of 8 poiuts to 3— a goal and a try to a pei alty goal— there was not much to ohoose between the leani3. The Pirates hid all round a better combination of backs, though Thomson, suffering from a bad knee, was not in good form ; but there waa no man on the ground who did better work than M'Farlane (the Zingari capta ; n), aud the Pirates' forwards did not hold their own with their opponents. The luck was about evenly divided— both teams narrowly mist-ing additions to their tcore. A. Fordyce and Williamson did capi'al work for their aide at half back, but the former ghould never have been allowed to steal away from the scrum in the way ho frequently did ; Cunningham was the pick of the three-qnartsr b«cks and played pluckily ; and in Clarke, the full back, who, though not severely tested, gave a good exhibition, the Zingari seem to have gained a dis'inct acquisition. Clarke hails from Rivcridale. M'F-urlaue worlwd very hard for his side, and, after him, Campbell was the most prominent forward. Tho Pirates' backs proved themselves to be a useful average set. Ntill, a new half back from Christ's College, manifested an ability for making opeuii.ga for himself ; Shand did, perhaps, the best work among the three-quarter backs, though Macarthur and Macassey also shaped well ; and Roberts is a cool full back, who, however, is inclined to leave his place, and, moreover, gets too much under the b»ll when kicking, with the result that his drops are lofty rather than long. Burt was about the most prominent of the forwards. Of the Univir-ity back* who figured in tlie Senior Fiag match on Saturday, Noil(full bick) waa the most prominent. He always took the ball well, and kicked well into touch. Aiiong the three-quarters, Maedonald, from last year's High School team, though he did not get munh show, played well, his run by which he obtained his first try being a capital one. Cran aud o'Sb.ea, with the exception of letting Masou pass, were f *irly good on the defence ; and Turton and Snow saved well. The pick of the forwards were M'Nab, O'Neill, Platts, Foote, and Ulrich; M'Nab's score being very cleverly got. Platta was ra'.her too often peualiied for off-side play, but otherwise he played an excellent game. Boyd at full buk played a plucky game for the Dunedin. " Scobie "Mackenzie and Richardson did a good share of the work at three-quarters. Stohr was safe but slow. No doubt one or two matches will' sharpen him up to something liko his old form. All three might justly complain of neglect by the halves. Mason put in a lot of small but useful play. Of the forwards, Rodgerson, Martin, Maclean, and Malcolm were conspicuous among a very even pack. Martin, however, lost oue chance cf scoring. He had passed all bub the full back, when he kicked into touch instead of continuing on when he had almost reached the coveted line. The Alhambra team this year are strong in defensive play but very deficient in what was n« t long ago a feature of the play of the club's First Fifteen — passing. Most of the attempts made on Saturday were poor. Ross, Webber, and Gardener were the moat prominent in the game among the backs; while M'Kewen, Kennedy, M'Allister, Coburn, and Higgina were the pick amongst the forward division. The Union team shaped very well and their passing was decidedly good. Harris, Armstrong, Alexander, Douglas, Smith, Imrie, and Luinb all co-operated well in transferring the ball, and at times with good effect. Alexauder ran well and collared splendidly, and Gibson also showed good foim. Harris put in a lot of solid work for his side, being conspicuous in the game all through. Of the now members of the team one of the most prominent was Armstrong, who played splendidly, passing smartly and accurately and running in five style. Ritchie (another new member) and Minn also played determinedly and kicked well. A committee meeting of the O.F.A. was held last Friday night, Mr J. Findlay (president) in the chair, aho bsing present Messrs Cleland, Moncrieff, Payne, Salmond, Kemnitz, Churchill, and Campbell (secretary). It was decided to guarantee £30 towards the expenses of bringing the Now South Wales team to New Zealand. Metsrs Salmond, Clolland, and Findlay were appointed a Match Committee for the season. The following were elected membeis of the Referees' Clvb :— Messrs Findlay, Clelland, Moncrieff, Salmond, Campbell, W. Duncan, J. Watson, J. Duncan, with power to add. The question of Otago withdrawing their claim in favour of Auckland for the annual tournament was altogether objected to, and the eecretary wao instructed to write to the New Zealand Association accordingly, The international m&tcf»» gcetlftui* W«fe*»

under Association rules, played at Wrerham on Maroh 23, resulted in a draw, two gosh each being scored. In the Melrose v. University Second match, trien were stem* d for Melrr>"e by F. Lnrabebh (3), Watson (2). and Wallace (2). F. Lawlvh. ccmvi-tted two of these int> goals. The Pirates Stcond ran up the large scuro of 27 points against the Kaikorai Second. Hay, Gre^g, and G irdon ea< h potted a goal, while Johnston (2), Gordon. M'Kay, and D. Thomson each scored tries. The Kaikorai backs fumbled a good deal, and lost advantages gaineel by the forwards. R. Kerr ssored a couple of tries for Green Island on Saturday, and J. Davidson also got over the Caversham line. In the second spell Cavereham scored a try aud kicked a goal from a mark. A Hunter and Bauchop each potted a goal for Port Chalmers, playing against the Pajific. Davis scored a try for the latter. T A. Hunter has been elected captain of the Port team. Although the High School team ssored four tries on Saturday against Alhambra Second, not one of them convetted. The Rugby County Championship has again been won by Yorkshire, wl o beat Cumberland on March 27 by a goal to a try. The Junior Flag match, Taieri v. Otakia, played ou Saturday last, was won by the former by 12 po : uts to i:otbing. A Wellington telegram itatea that thn Rugby Union pa c sod a resolution in favour of h >me and homo matches with Canterbury and leaviug arrangements to the Management Committee. It is understood the match will be made an annual fixture. In the matsh between the Rangers and Zaal&ndia Association clubs Bennett was injured in the second epell, and had to retire. Throughout the game tho Rangers had considerably the best of the play. O'Connor, Aihtoo, and Hilgencbrf wn-e about the pick of the backs, and J. North was undoubtedly the mest prominent forward. J. Hutfcon, Mnrchison, and Buttetfield Bhowed good form among the Zealand!* backs, but Ki'kwood has yet to learn to keep in his own position. Tho forwards all showed fair form. The Thistle, in their match against Ucslyn, showed that they have undoubtidly a stronger combination at their command than they possessed last season, and they should render a good account of themselves in subs^qu^nt matches. The Roslyn Beeined a little at se-a in the first spell, but although their parsing wa» not quite up to their old form, a marked improvement was noticed in their nay generally as the game progressed. Their shouting was faulty, in tbe re-pect that tbey dribbled too close in before making their shot ; but the corner kicking was extremely good, Jackson excelling iv this particular. A special meeting of tbe committee of the Otago Rugby Football Uuion was hold on the Bth inst., and attended by Messrs Cbisholni (president), DenuisHon, Gallaway, Isaacs, Duucan, Montgomery, Strong, and Hutohisou. The meeting was called for the further consideration of P. K^ogh's application for a removal of the disqualification resting upon him, and Keogh was hoard in support) «.f h's requebt. After full consideration of all the circumstances of tho cs.se, the committee resolved, by a majority, that Keogh's disqualification, having lantod since 1891 and having been imposed during the pleasure of the committee, be now removed. The Albany and George street Schools played a well contested game, the former winuing by 6 points to nothing. Tho two tries were obtained by R. Patterson. For the winners Downes, Watts, Greaves, Mejer, and Patterson played well, and for the losers Stewart snd Chadniok. At luvercwgill Hsb week, in the Senior Cup match Invercjrgill v. Pirates, the former won by 6 points (two trie*) to nothing. At * meetiug of the First Fifteeu of the Union Club Mr H. Harris was re-elected captain and Mr S. Minn deputy-captain. A special meeting of the Otago Footbtll Association was held at the Imperial Hotel last week, Mr Cleland (vice-presidr-nt) in the chair, there aleo btiog present— Messrs Kemnitz, P^yue, Churchill, Moncrieff, and Campb«ll (committee), aud MessrH M'Millan and Watson (Castle Hill), Find'ay (Rangers), M'Donald and M'Leod (Queen's Park), C. and J. Colder (Ro«lyn) f White (Northern), Garside (2, Momington). A new set of rules of eom-fcitutim of Association were submitted from the committee, and affcar a deal of discussion were adopted. It was decided to form a referee*' clnb, for the object of getting well qualified referees to s.ct in all club matches, &c , and to be named tbe Association Referaes' Club. Rules and by-laws for the same were also submitted and adopted. Mr J. Findlay, an old and enthusiastic As'ociation player, wa* elected president of the Otago Football Association. A letter in relation to a propo«ed vkit of a New South Wale 3 Association team was referred to the committee to act. Rules of the Association and game are to be priuted i-hortly. The appointing of officers for the Referee*' Club was le r t to the committee.