NOTES BY FULL BACK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2823, 22 April 1908, Page 60

NOTES BY FULL BACK.

Rugby football, under the auspices of thj. Otago Rugby Union, commences m real earnest on Saturday, when a start will be made with the various Grade competitions, liking a line through the number of players who are turning out, the season promises to be unusually successful from a purely playing viewpoint. What th© standard of the game will be is yet to be Been, and this oannot be realised until the season is well advanced. Certain it is that the Otago standard will be well maintained, and m writing thus I am not' unmindful of the fact that eeveral of our crack nlayers ihaye left us and thrown m their Rugby abilities with other clubs and m other countries. Gordon, Denniston, a sterling forward of the Pirates' Senior Fifteen, and an exOtago Representative of last season, is now resident m Queenstown, where he is very popu'arly regarded. I had the pleasure of meeting the ex-Pirate footballer at Easter, and m an interesting chat gleaned that he is anxious jo take up Rugby again this seaaon. Denniston will probably olay for one of the local clubs, either Queenstown or the Remarkables. The team which is fortunate enough to secure the services of th . ex-Otago forward tfill be considered more than passing . fortunate. As Denniston is now m the Southland district, more unlikely things might happen than that he .will be selected for the Southland "trials" an view of the match against the coming Anglo- Welsh team of Rugby footballers. The thin end of the wedge It has been decided by the conference of referees that referees absent from home acting m union matches receive 10b per day. It appears to me that it would nave been much moreintelligent to have adopted the resolution to , pay the out-of-pocket expenses of feferees. The Pirates team this season does not promise to be much above the ordinary. But then w© suspect th© Pirates of concealing tbeir abilities until tbe season ia well advanced. Was it not early last year thafc Mie "All Black" were trounced right and

'-.■■'<. and then came with a late run at <»r end cf the ■season? It may be ■ . •■' - L ;* : "-'ito unsafe to prophesy exactly what will happen. Any- ... 0 •j.i.ai uOi.n learn every By the way, writing of Pirates it was stated m these columns a week or two ago that the membership of the team had been increased By the introduction of the Native team from Portobello. At the timo I stated that the difficulty regarding the Native footballers would be their inability to get into town to practice with the Pirates Club. This is exactly what has happened. Only a few of the players from Portobello have put m an appearance at the practices of the team. Some remedy should be found for this. Either the players should make an extra effort to get to town to practice, or they should train seriously m their own district. The much better arrangement would be to get into the city and practice with the club they have elected to join. It is possible the Pirates wiil get a couple of good men out of the Portobello team, and one whom, I think, should be a certainty is young Karatai, who is gifted with most of the qualifications which go to a three-quarter baok m the making. Before leaving off the Pirates Club let. me mention that J. R. Burt and N. Kirkcaldy have again signified their intention of turning out for the "All Blacks" this season. The presence of these veterans on the field may shock the rising footballer, but it should be an incentive to the young player to train with a view to securing senior honours for themselves. Union were deplorably beaten by their old rivals Linwood on Easter Saturday, and the hot cross bun and Easter c"» does not altogether explain away the poor form of the Maroons. One does not expect highclass football at Easter, hut the class we were treated to by the Maroons, and only a trifle less so by the visitors, was scacely any class at all. By the way, the present writer well remembers the first match played by the Union and Linwood. It took place on the Caledonian Ground m the early nineties, what time the names of Beadle, Porteous, and MacLennan were well known m iho Union Olub's history, and O'Brien, Ormandy, and Orchard were names to conjure with m Linwood. Those were the dayß when inatohes between the two clubs were looked forward to from Easter to Easter. The friendships made by the earlier players have remained firm throughout- the passing year__

And this of Union for the coming season : As m the past, the crack footballer from Wales or elsewhere does not usually ' rush down to the North Ground to put on ! a marcon jersey ; rather does he steer clear ! of this club, whose members play the game i for the game's sake, and derive much ! enjoyment therefrom. This to say that the star footballer from foreign parts has not materialised as far as the Union Club is concerned. The Marcons will rely for their success this season very largely on last season's players, and the team, though young and albeit a trifle light, will probably put up eeveral good performances ere the season is far advanced. The 'Varsity has already heen dealt with to the extent which the changes m the composition of the team permits. There is little more to say concerning the Royal Blues save this: that a great error will be made if it is supposed that owing to the departure of its orack players 'Varsity will be weak this season. Th© backs will not have the experience of those cracks, Gilray. Adams, and Macpherson, and will lack the weight of the departed, but they will be real flyers, clever on taking the ball, and fast withal. While relying to a great extent- on the players of last season, Alhambra will draw much srocd and useful material from its Juniors to make up its Senior Fifteen of 1908, and I am quite safe m stating that when the Red-and-blacks acquire the necessary combination they will not be the worst m the competition, and will, m reality, be superior to most. The Dunedin team, as usual, will be strong forward, but a trifle weak behind the pack. The Dark Blues, however, are training; consistently, and 1 are certain to work into a healthy combination of Rugby talent. ~ Zingari, the "die-hards" of the local competition, will be "up against " anything that comes their way, and the enemy can be certain of a hard game, m which there Will be no "Beg your pardons." Of Kaikorai I have heard little, though seeking information everywhere. The team will, I understand, be composed largely of last gear's players, with a fair leaven of Juniors. Booth, the "All Black," who is now a New South Welshman, and may he after the trip to England next season, will be greatly missed from the Blue-and-black division this season. When there is any sterling defence to do Kaikorai will look round for Booth— and he will not be there. , Port has promised to turn out a good side this season, and will certainly be strengthened by the inclusion of Taylor, the ex-Uhristchurch five-eighth, and Clearwater, a forward from Southland with a renutation. , n Much to the regret of our North Otago friends, the New Zealand Union has declined to accede to the for a I match against the coming Anglo-Welsh team, of touring footballers. The Athenic, with the English footballers on. beard, is due m Wellington on May 18. „ , „ Balance sheet of the Now Zealand proI fessional team's English tour: — Receipts: Gate receipts— Sydney, £427 lis ld ; Ceylon, £50; England and Wales, £8838 2s 4-d ; Acrobat, " £4 ; fines from members, _£32; interest on unpaid contributions to ""capital account, £114-; bank interest, lesa charges, £27 16s lOd;— total, £9493 10s 3d. Expenses : Ocean travelling, £1125 4s 7d ; railway travelling, £429 3s; hotel expenses, £1371 14s ; gratuities £63 9e 3d ; uniform gears, etc., £64 2s Id; medical attendance, £74 7s ld ; organising expenses, £40 ; cables, postage, etc., £36 4s 3d; sundry payments, £5 17s 6d ; auditors' fees, £4 4s; weekly allow alloc to members (22 weeks afc £29 per week), £638; divisible profit, £5641 4s 6d;— total. £9493 10a 3d. For Oxford University v. London Scottish a fciw days before the mail left our esteemed footballer Colin Gilray was m the Oxford three-quarter line, and scored two tries for tho 'Varsity, besides playing a brilliant . game. ' / The annual fixture between Sydenham, and Dunedin wae played at Sydenham Park, Christchurch, on Easter Saturday. The ground was m excellent order, antthere was no wind. ' The game proved a good one, the Sydenham backs having the

' better of the play, whilst the forwards were fairly evenly matched. A lot of hard, forward play was indulged m throughout the game, and the tackling wae very sure. The visitors were successful m obtaining possesion ol iho hall m the pack, and kept tha .game as elese as possible, evidently being afraid of opening out, m view cf the calibre of their opponents' backs. On the visitors' side Ulark and Morgan (backe) did a lot of good work, and Fitzpatrick led the forwards m great style, playing an sxeellent game. The new blood m the Oriental (Wellington) ranks this sea-son includes Mona i-nomson, the All Black three-quarter; Al'Kinlay, Isaacs, and M'Leod, of the Al.ka.mbra Club, Dunedin; Pain, North •Hago; Hunter, a lafe Soccer player from tha south; and Milne, Taieri Rovers. It is expected that Scobie M'Kenzie, tho Otago and Auokland representative full and three-quarter baok, will be seen out with Oriental before the present season is far advanced. Four representative forwards from other places are going to play /or Southern this season (says the Wellington conv»s:->nnrl/»nt °\Caj*terbury Tim e3)-viz., Crowley (Taranaki), Templeton (Wairarapa), Houlihan (south Canterbury), and Rogers (Auokland RoldiSalds). Their Ita-cks will include Armstrong (Otago) and Perkins (Leicester County, Engand). Tho colours of the coming English team are jerseys of white and red hoops, with an edging of blue. Really the red, white, md blue of previous English teams over again. \ Tho "gates" m connection with the matches against the English team will it is confidently expected, -constitute records throughout the Dominion. The net proceeds arising from tho various matohes prayed by the ISO - English team were as +°7in WS^T N - Z o m u a , tch . £1196 '; Auckland, ±720; Otago-SouthLand, £5.0'; CamterburyWouth Canterbury- Westland, £367 ; Taranaki- Wanganui-Manawaitu, £187. " The Management Committee of the New /Zealand Rugby Union decided to defer until next meeting the question of appointing the selectors of the New Zealand team The "All Blacks" Stead and Glasgow intend re-entering the field m Southland this season, .and Casey and M'Donald are already m training. Casey will again be found m tho rants of the Southern Club, whilst M'Donald will onco more captain Kaikorai. As the ohteome of a paragraph written for this column a Sydney writei sa3 r s : — " There is much raking over of jerseys and picking out of toe-ball boots m Maoriland m preparation for the forthcoming visit of the British Rugby team. Several members of the notorious 'All Black' combination are crawling back to the field, and all the younger fry are scrambling for positions m the teams for ihe big matches. One bright particular star this season will probably be Donald Stuart, supposed to be the finest forward Maoriland has ever produoed. He missed the 'All Black' trip to Fqgland m 1905 by reason of a doctor's certificate, but he will play this yeai- for Dunedin Pirates, and probably represent Otago and Maoriland. The cash spectre seems to loom large m Rugby affairs just now, and there is likely to be the usual wild and whirling cry with reference to paying players for time lost and expenses. Nothing ha 3 been definitely settled, but it Ts fairly well known that several prominent players intend to apply to their unions for such payment. Evidently the unions will find themselves between the devil of secret payments and the deep sea of professionalism, and there is much speculation as to what the result will be." Concerning the annual general meeting of the New Zealand Referees' Association a northern writer has this to say: — " I have been shown a copy of the balance sheet of the association, and note three iiicms of expenditure that surely need some explanation. Nearly £10 was spent m the _ usual holiday for the -.executive to Dunedin, to attend the annual general meeting, and a similar amount waa voted to the_ secretary, by way of honorarium, this m face of the fact that only seven meetings of the executive and one general meeting of delegates were held. In addition, £13 was voted to the secretary for expenses m attending the conference m Brisbane. It need only be mentioned that at this same conference decisions wea*e arrived' at that, to my knowledge, have been m the rule book ever since the Rugby rules have been m existence — all this to prove the futility of the conference. Still, it gave the delegate a nice free trip, and enabled him to see the New Zealand team play m Sydney and Brisbane. These three items of expenditure amounted to nearly £33. ( The revenue from affiliated associations was £9. Need any more be written?" A Press Association telegram states that the Rugby match between Albion (Christchurch) and Poneke (Wellington), which took place at Christchurch on Saturday, was won by the former by 19 points to 3 points. A telegram to hand states that ZinpariRichmond (Rugby) defeated Miller's Flat by 3 points to nil. The Maoris of both islands are very anxious to secure a match with the English footballers, and negotiations to chat end have been m progress between Mr C. R. Parata and the New Zealand Rugby Union. Mr Parata has been informed (says the Dominion) that the union would willingly do what it could to arrange the match, but the itinerary has already been drawn up, and the matter must be left to the visitors. There is just a chance that a match may ie arranged for Rotorua. during the visitors' stay there. It was at Rotorua that the la6t English team played a Native fifteen, but m the proposed event the Maoris would be representative of the whole Dominion, and would not be merely a local team. It is said that out of the 15, 10 would be interprovincial players.