OTAGO RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2402, 15 March 1900, Page 47

OTAGO RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION.

The report of the Committee of Management lo be presented at the annual meeting of delegates to be held on March 24 is as follows : —

The committee submits to delegates the nineteenth annual report of the union, which covers one of the busiest seasons that have been known in Otago. In many respects the events of the season of 1899 present features that call for congratulatory reference. The devotion of players to the game was not less marked than in previous years, and the interest manifested by the public was never keener. As a consequence of these circumstances, the game flourished to a gratifying extent. The foreign engagements of the union were exceptionally heavy. The xisual two matches ■with Southland were played, and of these that at Dunedin was won by Otago by 12 points to 5, and that at Invercargill was drawn, neither side scoring. Visits were paid to Otago by teams representing Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, and Canterbury. The matches against the northern representatives were all favoured with splendid weather, but the ground on the occasion of the Wellington match showed the effects of a previous spell of rain and snow. In this last-mentioned match the Otago repissenlatives were beaten by 6 points to 3, and a severe defeat was inflicted on them by the Auckland team, who scored 13 points to 3. On the other hand, the annual match against Canterbury was won by Otago by 12 points to 6, while that against Taranaki resulted in a draw, each side scoring 3 points. In connection withthe visit of the Taranaki team application was made by the visiting team for monetary assistance towards the expenses of the trip, and, having regard to the fact that the Taranaki Union has few sources of revenue, and that the district over which it has jurisdiction is exceedingly scattered, the committee agreed to grant it one-third of the net piocecds of the match.

It is with the deepest regret that the committee has to chronicle the fact that in the match between Taranaki and Otago an accident occurred to A. M. Armit, a member of the Otago team, which terminated fatally. This sad event naturally cast a gloom over the entire football community, especially as by Armit' s death Otago lost a player who for many years stood out prominently as one of the best threequarter backs in New Zealand, and one who played a prominent part in bringing this province to the excellent position it holds in football. The committee placed on record its deep sympathy with the deceased player's relatives in their crushing loss, and decided to hand the entire proceeds of the match between Auckland and Otago to his mother. Generous assistance, which it is the d'.ily of the committee to acknowledge, in making the Armit fund a substantial one, was received fiom all parts of the colony, and the Wellington Rugby Union, the Canterbury Rugby Union, the Southland Rugby Union, and the Auckland representative players are especially tq_ be thanked for the aid given by them. The^rcsult of the effort was that a sum of £557 12s lOd was raised, which, without any deduction, was devoted to the object the committee had in view.

In accordance with the resolution of the last annual meeting of the union, flag matches were re-instituted in Dunedin last season. These excited a considerable amount of interest, and the matches were well contested. The Senior Flag was won by the Kaikorai Club, with the Alhambra as lunners-up, and the Jimior contest was won by the Alhambra. The Kaikorai Club was requested by the committee to deliver up to the union the Senior banner, which it had held since 1895, in order that it might be re-presented to the club; but, to the committee's surprise, the club maintained that the banner in its possession waa its absolute property, and applied for another banner in virtue of its having won the flag contest for 1899. The committee decided that as the Kaikorai Club refused to hand over the banner won in 1895, no flag be awarded to it for 1899, and that the matter be referred to the delegates. The committee desires to express its appreciation of the zealous manner in which the flag subcommittee performed its duties. A proposal was made by the committee to organise flag matches in North Otago and the country districts, but as the clubs thai would be affected were iinwilling to fall in with the proposal, the idea was abandoned.

A duty which unfortunately devolved upon the committee was the holding of an inquiry into charges which were publicly made against the members of the First Fifteen of the Kaikorai Club of having been guilty of misconduct on the occasion of their returning by train from a visit to Christchurch. The committee held several sittings to investigate the charges, and received a large amount of oral and written evidence, as a result of which the committee was regretfully forced to the conclusion that the charges were substantiated against the team The evidence did -not, however, identify particular individuals with particular acts of misconduct, and the committee regrets that oertain of the witnesses, who might have identified the offenders, saw fit to adopt a course which rendered the conviction of the guilty impossible, and, in consequence, left in doubt the conduct of the unoffending members of the team. The evidence which was given before it has convinced the committee of the necessity for the additions to the by-laws of a provision that in future no team shall be allowed to travel jy#hov.t, havujft first obtained the permission, of

the committee, and also that all travelling teams should be in charge of some responsible person approved of by the union.

The committee, regarding itself as a trustee of the funds of the union, for use only for purposes connected with the game of football, declined, without express sanction from the delegates, to grant applications that were made to it during the year for donations towards charitable objects. The occasion of the organisation and equipment by public subscription of a company and a-half of Otago and Southland Rough Riders for service in the war in South Africa was, however, of so entirely an exceptional character that the committee, in the full belief that it was only anticipating what would have been the desire of the delegates, and that they will heartily endorse its action, voted £25 from the funds of the union for the purchase of a horse for^a member of the fourth contingent. From the balance sheet it will be seen that, whereas the last season was started with a bank overdraft of £51 4s' 2d, the union has now a net balance to its cxedit in the National Bank of £460 17s 7d.

The Referees' Association had a very busy year, and its members deserve the thanks of all footballers for their excellent work. The committee is glad to report that no serious cases of misconduct were brought under its notice by the association, and is disposed to ascribe this fact to the efforts of the captains of the various teams who so willingly, and the committee ■thinks successfully, co-operated to suppress rough play among their members. The committee wishes to impress On players the fact that its disciplinary functions must be nugatory unless it is cordially supported by the captains and older players. During the last season the committee found it necessary to instruct referees through the association that the jurisdiction of a referee over a player does not cease immediately the game is over.

A representative Second Fifteen Was sent to Oamaru during the year to play North Otago, the game resulting m a win for the northern players. It was also proposed to send a junior representative to Milton to play South Otago, but owing to the death of A. M. Armit the proposal was abandoned.

The committee, in pursuance of its £>olicy of encouraging football, donated the sum of £20 to the Central Otago Clubs to enable them to play the inter-country match.

Mr S. E. Sleigh still represents the Otago Union on the English Rugby Union, and manifests the keenest interest in the doings of this province. The committee also wishes to return thanks to Messrs J. M. Hume, J. S. Macarthur, W. Morley, J. R. Murray, and R. D. Macdonald, the Otago delegates to the New Zealand Union, for their efforts on behalf of Otago.

• The work of the committee during the year was very arduous, but the members feel that it was lightened to some extent by the hearty cooperation ajid support given to them by both players and delegates. The committee trusts that both players and the laublic will do their utmost to preserve the integrity of the game, and so repress with a firm hand practices that would in any way tend to bring the game into disrepute.