FOOTBALL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 35

FOOTBALL.

FIXTURES..

July 11.— Kaikorai v. University, at Tahuna Park ; Dunedin v. Alhambra, on the Caledonian ground j Union v. Zingari-Richmond, at Montecillo; Caversham v. Pirates, at Onrisbrook. July 18.— Kaikorai v, Dunedin, on the Caledonian ground ; Unioa v. University, on the North ground ; Alhambra v. Oavershain, at Sb. Clair; Zingari-Richmond v. Pirates, at Carisbrook.

July 25 —Dunedin v. Caversham, on the Caledonian ground ; Zingari-Richmond v. Alhambra, at Monteoillo ; Union v. Pirates, on the North ground; University v. Canterbury College, at Uhristchurch.

August I.— Kaikorai v. Alharnbra, at Bishopscourt ; Dunedin v. Pirates,' on the Caledonian ground ; Zingari Richmond v. University, at Montecillo; Uuion v. Gaversham, at St. Clair. August 8. — Kaikorai v. Union, at Bishopscourt; Duuedin v. Zingari-Richmond, on ground to be arranged ; Alhambra v. Pirates, at Carisbrook; Caversham v. University, at Tahuna Park. August 15.— Kaikorai v. ZLngari-Richrnond, on ground to be arranged ; Dunedin v. Union, on the North ground ; Pirates v. University, at Tahuna Park. August 22. — Kaikorai v. Caversham, at St. Clair.

NOTES BY FORWARD.

• . • The Football Association's Shield contest which is to be held in Dunedia in September nexb, is attracting an entry from Southland, where an association has been formed comprising tbeHokonui (Winton), Pioneers and Thistle (luvercargill), and Rovers (Riverbon) clubs.

* . • One of the senior matches which was played in Wellington on Saturday week is described iv a local paper es havipg been " simply a fight between the forwards, who were not gently disposed towards one another. Of black eyes, bleeding noHes, and braised limbs there was a splendid assortment, aud the language used was not of the purest English."

* . * It appears thai; the Southland representative team will travel by steamer up and down i the coast belwten Dunedin and Wellington in ! their northern tour this month. " Touchliue "in the Southland News says that tbe team, which will probably consist of 16 or 17 players, and the manager, will leave Invercargill by the express on Thursday, July 23, and will stay at I, Dunedin till the following afternoon, whan a steamer will be taken foe Wellington, arriving there on Tuesday morning, July 28 (calling at Tirnaru, Akaroa, and Lytteltoa on the way up ; the match agaicsb Wellington being played tho nc-xb day, Wednesday, July 29. They will leave these the following afternoon (Thursday), and reach Christchurch on Friday morning, where, on Saturday August 1, they will play Canterbury. Leaving Christohurch on Monday evening, Timaru will ba reached on Tuesday, Augtfst 4, where the steamer will delay a few hours longer than usual to allow the match Bg«nst South Canterbury to be played. Returning on board the s»Die evening and touching at Oamaru on the following day, where no match will be played, Dunedin will be reached early on Thursday, and the team will thus enjoy two olear days' rest before meeting Otago on Saturday, August 8. ' . ' There was a nice assortment in the score run up by the Kaikorai against the Pirates on Saturday last— a goal from a try, two petted goals, a penalty goal, and a try. It is rarely one comes across such a variety credited to one club as the result of an afternoon's work.

• . • Two of the officials of the Rugby Union

were on the Bishopscourt ground on Saturday last remarking that, amoug the senior olubs in

| Dunedin, potting at goal seemed to have becc me I a lest art, and they were bewailing the abienoe of successors to A. Downes and A. Laurenson, upon whom had fallen the mantles previously worn by J. Bee and " Gus " Miller. The officials in question were somewhat " previous " in their «pre.'sion of regret, for they saw two goals potted in the very match they had gone to witnes. • . * The following are the fixburas of the Canterbury ' representative football team : — July 30, South Catitarbary ; August I, Southland ; 8, Ellesmere ; 20, Queensland ; 22, Combined Peninsula ; 29, Ota'go— all at Christchurch ; August 8, Wellington, at Wellington ; 11, Manawatu, at Palmeraton North, • . • The New South Wales Union's inquiry into the disgraceful scene (of nlrch we heard by cable) at & match between the Oriental and Homebusb, two second junior teams, when the referee drew a revolver in self-defence, ended in the Oriental Club being expelled from the union and 12 of the players being disqualified. • . • A curious incident occurred in tbe course of the mat oh between the Kaikorai and Pirates Clubs on Saturday last. The partisans of both teams were encouraging the players so boisterously that Mr Downes at one time felt it necessary to stop the game in order to appeal to the spectators to ba quiet, as in consequence of the din it was impossible for him to hear the appeals that were beiDg made to him. Under such a condition, a referee should have no hesitation in taking complete control of the game. ' . * Another incident in tho came match is probably without parallel After Priest had scored his try for the Pirates— a well-earned try, by the way, for he beat two opposing players in his rua for the line— the Kaikorai team, on the call of their captairj, gave him a cheer in acknowledgment of the fact that he was the first player to crors their line for four years, and the Pirates, thinking when their opponents cheered, that the game was over, reipondad with three cheers, and the spectators swarmed on to the field of play, only, however, to be turned back as there were still a few minutes wanting to time. At the conclusion of the. game some of the Pirates elevated Priest and carried htm shoulder-high to the pavilion. • . • A singular application was, I am informed, made tbe other day to the committee of the Otago Rugby Union. It was in effect a request from the Association club at Green Island to the Rugby Union to instruct the secretary of the lately existing Rugby club at ' Green Island to hand over a sum of money in his possession, in his secretarial capacity, to tho Association club, which includes some of the quondam Rugby players. The Rugby Union of course could not interfere in suoh a matter.

Tbe secretary of the defunct Rugby club at I Green Island would clearly not be justified in 1 aitjae si&j wj of its fomj* to .Mb pnueeeteu

without a unanimous instruction from the members of that club.

' . ' Considerable interest is being evinced in the forthcoming match between the Kaikorai Club and a team chosen from the oombined olubs, the latter team being selected by the Match- Committee of the O.RF.U. Sach a match between the ohampion team of the year and a team from the rest of the clubs is a novelty here, but there is precedent for it in the praotice at the closa of the season in England of putting the champion county against the rest of the nation. Still it would be a policy of doubtful wisdom, I think, to constitute the match Kaikorai v. Otago, which is to be played on Saturday week, a precedent for having similar matches played in future years. There is the exceptional circumstance*, justifying the departure this year, that the Rugby Union is gathering in funds out of which to defray in part the expenses of the approaching northern tour. It is proposed, I understand, to charge a shilling for admission to the m&toh, and I have no doubb that the public will not grudge the extra charge when they recognise — as each unit in the football community will no doubt reeogfliae— that the shilling they pay represents their contribution to tbe cost of sending the Otago representatives round the colony. ' . * The average duration of a footballer's appearance in senior matches does not, I suppose, exceed a few years, and, although I met an enthusiast the other day who has played for. 23 years and is not yet content to retire although be finds increased difficulty eaoh successive year in getting into condition, there are probably few whose active participation in the game runs into double figures in the matter of years, and thus a'geaeration in football is a trifling period of time. The match in which, prior to Saturday 1 ist, a try was most recently scored against the Kaikorai, though ib .occurred no farther back than four years ago, belongs almost to ancient history. For an illustration of this oco need only refer to the names of the players engaged in tho matoh in question, in which the Kaikorai's opponents were the Alhambra (whose fame was then jusb beginning tcrwane), and in which the Kaikorai sustained tbe la^t defeat inflicted on them. The following were the contending teams cf that afternoon :— Kaikorni — T. King, Danciin, Lauren?on, RichardKon, Oaradus, Davis, Torrance (2), Millar (2), Wilkinson (2), M'LareD, Bain, B&llantyno ; Alhambra— Ross, Cunningham, Downes, Noel, Crawford, Restieaux, Baker, Briggs (2), Bsquilanb, Johnston, M'Cleary, G- M'Laren, Robertson, Wells.

• . • Two of Saturday's senior matches— that between the Union and Alhambra Clubs aud that between' the Zingari- Richmond and Cavernham Clubs— had to be abandoned, owing to the North ground and St. Clair Park respectively being^unfit for play. * . * The match between Kaikorai and Pirates Clubs on Saturday waß a somewhat remarkable encounter. In the first place there was scored in it the first try registered against; the Ktikorai for four year* — to be strictly correct, the first since May 21, 1892— and the fact that to them belonged the honour, for which all the olubs have zealously striven, of showing.- that it is possible Tor the Kaikorai's defence to qa, broken down, oaused the Pirateß team." to leave ihe field in as great a state of jubilation as if tlipy had gained a viotory instead of having, co far as the actual ecore went, been ; decisively beaten. In the second place it was " demonstrated in the mateh — as indeed it was shown in another rtutch .on Saturday — than it U not a fact that there- is no player engaged in senior football in Dunedin this season who can pot a goal, for the Kaikorai score included two dropped goals. Another remarkable feature of the match was that, though the Kaikorai won handsomely, it cannot be cla'tned by even the most devoted of their admirers that they had the best of the play, or that they had not the best of the luck, the real fact being that they seized their openicgi while their opponents did not avail themselves' of the chances that went their way. The Pir&tes ought certainly to have scored in the firat spell, for three of their number on one occasion gob past the line of the Ktikorai defence with the ba.ll, but > n some unaccountable manner they lost possession of it. • . • It is frequently diffionlfc to reconcile the play of the Pirates in one part of a game with their play in another part of the same game This was so on Saturday afternoon in their match with the Kaikorai. Oae could hardly have credited that the team who played such a strong and aggressive game in the second spell, beating their opponents time a'ter time in the scrum work, holding their own in the loose, and iunning and kicking well, were identical with the team who payed on the whole co spiritlessly in the fir«t spell. Ths tackling of some of the Pirates tsam wa» feeble all through the game, but their play in other respeotß in the tecond spell made amends for that. Duncan, who was c'.osely watched, was not nearly so conspicuous a* iwual, and undoubtedly the best back on the Kaikorai side was Cunningham, who ran very well and passed with judgment.. Fountain made a creditable debut a« wing three-gnatf er in' place of Wood, who was playiog as .third, half. back. D. M'Laren and Canning were the most promiuent of the forward?, bub Priest played the best forward game on the ground, % --and"waß in the second spell well supported by others of his side. Samson and Hay "played capital ' games behind the scrums for tho Pirates. Macarthur kicked well at full back, but wa? otherwise not too safe, and frequently got out of his place. The Bishopscourt ground, it should be said, was in surprisingly' good condition, for, though it was necessarily wet, it was not holding, and there wa3 nothing in it? state ta prevent a good display of football. * . * There was a portion of the University team who were loth to play on Saturday for two reasons. First, the ground was not in the beßt of condition, aud, secondly, most of the men had on the previous night been celebrating the "capping" anniversary, festivities of that description not being conducive to a good display of football. However, by a majority of one votothe team decided to keep its engagement, and with the satisfactory result that they bsat the Dunedin by 7 pcint9 to notbiog. The result of the game only goes- to prove what h»8 often been stated before, that if the 'Vanity would practise more, and their men get into form, they would represent; a strong combination. On Saturday they played with any amount of pluck, and the Dunedinites got but very few chances. Once or twice certainly the Dark Blues looked like scoring, and on one cccaiion the reason they did not do so was due to bad play on the part of some of their own men. One of the team got away with a pretty well open field before him, but before he was opposed at all he pulled up and looked round for someone to pass to, and while thus engaged was pounced upon. The team have got a splendid full-back in Drumm. He collared with any amount of pluck, while his kicking was very effeofcive. Mason and Stehr were perhaps the pick of the backs, while Stepheneon did good service to his side by bis kicks. Tho pick of the forwards were Martin, Rogerson, Toothill, and Williams. For the 'Varsity all the backs played well, though Gran los^ a ohance to bis side by banging to the feather too Long, as 4 then, instead oX naming.

throwing it at the feet of a player who was folt lowing up. He should ende&voar to overcome hid fondness for the ball, as it is a bad fault. Stephens's kiok, as mentioned elsewhere, was a 1 brilliant one, and to O'Neill the credit of th« 'Varsity's try is due, as it was he who carried the leather to the corner flag. Foot, Sale, Bray, and Shand aie the other players who deserve to be singled . out. Mr F. Foster refereed, but he requires to be a little more observant, as some palpable breaches of the rules escaped his notice.

' . ' In the Association match between Kaitan« gata and the Queen's Park, the visitors one and all played a hard game. They were certainly handicapped by the absence of Burns, one of their crack players. Those moat noticeable among them were Reid, Parlane, and the C*rson brothers. Of tho Qneen's Park,' M'Don&ld, Laing, Borlase, and Hayes were about the pick. Waby had little or nothing to to do, about the only time he was really wanted be was away playing leap-frog with one of the backs, a great mistake on their parts. Mr Siedeberg, who held the whistle, had anything bub a pleasant. job on such a ground. However, he gave satisfaction to all parties.

• . * My Auckland correspondent telegraphs t There was very little interest in local football matches of Saturday last, owing to tbe contests having little bearing on the outcome of the championship. Grafton defeated Ponronby by 8 points to 4- points ; City beat Suburbs by 6 points to nil ; and Newton secured a verdiob over North Shore by 20 points to nil. The first Junior Championihip under the Rogby Union was wen by Ponaonby Second, who defeated City Second, after a ■ slashing Lgame, by 3 points to nil. , The winners passed through the season without a single defeat. In view of the forthcoming matches with Queensland, Otago, and other visitors, ib is expected that the Rugby Union will decide to arrange the Senior Cnampionship to be played off between the three leading teams — Newton, City, and Parnell— instead of completing the balance of the second round. Though it was decided by the committee of the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club to refer the question of delegating their rights in the forthcoming New Zealand Championship Athletic gathering to -Wellington, in view of the Industrial Exhibition in that city, at a general meeting of club members it was understood that there is no likelihood of the club waiving its claim. Taking into consideration tbe form shown by our senior football clnbs in the district cup matches this year, I should be safe in guaranteeing you quite as strong a fifteen as the one that vicited you last season, or in fact a trifle stronger. To beat them Otago will need be in her Sunday best. Association footbill is catching on here. The latest innovation to popularise this game in Auckland is the formation of a Public Schools Association under the auspices of the local governing body. The schoolboy* have taken on wonderfully, and already no less than 15 olubs are affiliated and contesting in oham* pionship matches in this grade*