FOOTBALL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 63

FOOTBALL.

KfTES BY FULL BACK. The death is announced as having tak»n place at Taranaki of Mr Alfred Bayly, the well-known Now Zealand representative footballer. Deceased, wbo had been »n Til-health for some time, was a member pf the famous Bayly family ' of Rugby footballers. He played for bis province for ,many years, and was a member of the New Zealand team of 1895 and 1897 in Au3fcralia. He also played for New Zealand against New South Wales at Christchurch in 1894-. Bayly played for Taranaki against Otago at Dunedin in 1899. He was a splendid three-quarter back, a strong runner, and a powerful tackier. H G. M. Chapman, the New Zealander who. is announced by cable a» having- played for Cambridge against Oxford in the Rugby matoh played- the other day, was a forward in -the Otago University Flxst Fifteen two years ago. C. Gilray, the ex-Otago player, who is now at Oxford University, played for London, Scottish against Sis University ;n; n October. London Scottish won by 25 points to nil, Gilray contributing- his share by scoring a try, as well as snowing np prominently on other occasions. Footballers hail with delight the announcement that a record of New Zealand Rugby up to date is to be issued. It is, however, a matter for regret ( that the publication ia not to be an "official" one. Stated that the British team to visit Kew Zealand next season will be accompanied by a number of supporters, who intend exploiting fhe scenic resources of the Dominion. The match Cardiff v. Swansea, played at Cardiff towards the end of October, resulted •in a win for the Lome team by ♦ point* to nil. Bush was absent from the Cardiff team. * Twenty-five thousand people witnessed the match. -. According to a private letter dated October 20, received in Wellington from one of the members of the New Zealand professional Rugby team now in England, the Yorkshire barrackers are " one-eyed" ; but not so the Manchester people, wbo applaud a»od phw on either side. They natuTallv -have a desire to ccc their own men win, but they are' essentially fair, and their treatment is generous. The first three matches of the tour,, according to the writer, ware supposed to be " oake-walka." but the Englishmen had apparently saved themselves for the visitors, and fought *o the bitter end ▲ noticeable feature

T about the North of England clubs Is that, whatever the state of the game, they are triers for the line right up to the finish. Smith, Messenger, Wrigley, and M'Gregor were considered the stars of the team; but Todd, according to the writer, is going to give them all a run. The letter concludes: "The chaps are pulling together splendidly, and 1 are doing all in tneir power to make the tour a success. Wright is making a magnificent skipper." "We in the South of England will be little concerned about the New Zealand campaign against the Northern Union. The / visitors are not the 'All Blacks,' and the Northern Union teams are not England, and we have no line to show ua whether the New ZeaJanders are fairly representative of New Zealand or the Northern Union players are fairly representative of England. If the English sides lose habitually they will be doing no more than our clubs did; if they win, they will be beating; not the strength of New Zealand, but a group of men wbo will n-3var play for New Zealand in the future, though a few may have done so in the past. So the tour does not matte..- a row of pins to> us-" — London Sporting Journal.