NOTES BY FULL BACK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 36

NOTES BY FULL BACK.

Fred Jackson, the member of the British Rugby team -who is at present in New Zealand, has found his way from Dunedin to Wellington, and is working his way to Auckland. By the way, the statement that Jackson purposes remaining in New Zealand until next season ir antioipaticn of having his suspension removed and playing under the banner of the New Zealaud Rugby Union is incorrect, in to far as it is impossible for a, British footballer to have his suspension removed until he lias gone Home and defended himself before tho English Rugby Union undo*whose jurisdiction he is. There is, I fear, little prospeot of Jackson playing football in New Zealand. Kelly, of Wellington, who threw in h's lot with ±b& professional team which visitsd England last year, has, it is understood, received a. good offer to join the St. Helen's Club, Lancashire. Kelly is likely to accept, in which case he will take his departure from Wellington on October 22. Advice ha^ been received that W. Johnston, of Otago, who was a member of the All Black amateur Rugby team which visited England, and who also made tho-. English tour with Baekiville's team, arrived pi Wigan on September 6, and signed on the same night to play for the Wigan Club, '

f Three of the professional All Blacks ar« reported to have thrown in their lot with Home clubs this season. Johnston to. Wigan ; Lavery, a three-quarter, to Leeds ; ! and Kelly, half-back, to St. Helens. Ac ; Smith and Todd will again assist Oldham , and' Wigan respectively, five of the "tourists" 4,-re accounted for, and as a South Wales correspondent declares that another is to -come to the principality tho number may be made into half a dozen. Rugby football in England, not less so in New Zealand, is in the throes of »n upheaval o%ving to the inroads of professionalism and the action of the English Rugby Union in its alleged farcical inquiry into acts of veiled professionalism. The question has, of course, say* one authority, an international as well as a national aspect. The other nations have j^p control over the government of the game in England, but as there ie every reason to believe that the Scottish and Irish Unions are by no means devoid of information on. the subject of veiled professionalism, it is quite possible that they will decline to allow their clubs to meet English clubs, and' will refuse to play, international^; matches unless- the Rugby JTnion shows -by - its general policy -and actions that it -does not- intend to\ staffer the evil to exist with- ' out punishing- the offenders; The Australian Amateur Rugby teem*-to-distinguish it from - the professional team at present in England, plays iv London en v Saturday next, 24th inst. A deal of interest attaches to its first appearance in the. metropolis. The New South Wales Ruarby Union lias • despatched A. Burge and Girvven to replace two injured members of the Australian team. Auckland football enthusiasts have decided to raise a money testimonial to George Gillett, the Auckland wing forward, who has announced his retirement from the game, as a mark^ of their appreciation of the services he has rendered to Rugby football in New Zealand, and beyond. At a meeting recently held a sum of £20 was subscribed. The' d-eath of the famous Donald Jowctfc will be heard of with regreat by old Rujrbv - ! football men throughout the -world. Ho ; was one of the band of Yorkshireroen who formed the backbone of the English team that defeated Scotland in the year after the rupture with the other unions had been healed by the formation of the International Board. -Jowett towered above the giants of the sri-eat Yorkshire forward sides , of the late '8O'« and early '90's in the physical sense like Saul among the wonhets. Twice* when he played for England against Scotland Jowett scaled over 18ist, and yet he was one of the fastest and most active forwards on tho field. Later, in club foottelW. he was known to have played, and played well, with 20stso£ pushing weight in the scrum. ■»»"••* orreat goalkjcker ak6, a«d one of hia best £nd longest feAts in this direction was against Scotland at Raeburn place, when. England won by * R oal and a try to no, th Cc2nwall'e record last "year was the mos' brittiant thai <ou-aty over earned. me team ooft only eectrr<>d- the ooravy cha-m-pUmship for tho first time-, but won 8« out of seven matches, scoring 139 jx»nte "to. 45 The side was beaten only by Devon. (17 to 8) but this result was subsequently reversed by 21 to 3. In a review of^ the ecason, the Sportsman remarks that the premiership now pass<*> for the ; ?" t tim f "T 0 the 'hands of Cornwall, an which county th-& game has made much progress, givmif us a eet of etrong, sinewy players, who may be looked upon to occupy in the fejaire ttt prominent position which Yori»Sn-'«men claimed a decade ago." " The emblem worn on the jersey end on the blazer of tho Australian amateur team < in England ie t v he Waratah, the w«et beautiful of Australian, native flower*. The Wauratahfi" would, accordingly, Jx. more fitting as a popular mame. The New /ealaDders were very soon termed the Ail Blacks" by the EnHiiah press, taa term originating through th© jereeys and knickers of th© team being black, unrelieved save by the silver tern on the breast. The South Afrkoxe were known as Th« Springboks," owin^ to the badge of tin* learn being a springbok, just as the silver fern is that of New Zealand and the wararah that of New South Wales. The professional Rugby team will, no doubt, tak© tha name of tfoc Kangarocs.— Sydney Referee. Mr Hamis-h Stuart," the Scottish critic touches on tho tour of the Anglo-Wekh te&m in New Zealand, in an article in toe • Daily Cbron-iole:— "Although tfvo final record -of tho British, team in New Zealand has d':«a>ppoinied our hopes, it must bo admitted that the s'de have don© neither batter near worse than ex-pectod. On pape* the backs leaked good enough to hold their own with rhe best divisions hi New' Zealand, representative or Drovineial, but the 6amt> could not bo said of the forwards, - ■while experience lias shown that composite- British sides rarely, if ever, olay up to their paper ftrength. The individual excellence is rarely reflected by their collective excellence wlion put to the proof of play The great home example of t.hia t.ruth is of ccuroe, furnished by tho Barbar'ans. A side engaged in a cenously planned and extended tour ere, of courae, very different from sides on a sort of h-^li-dav tour. Yet, when all is caid, the fact remains that British sides never play together or do th&.r powers the same justice as do Colonial sides. One has only io point to the siiccc^ cf the New Zea- - landers and South Africans in this country. The Briii*h side have been unlucky m the matter of accidents to players, and have also been handicapped by the peculiar interpretation of , thi rules in New Zealand and by certain practices on tho part of their opponents to whom our men are not used. Knowingtho style c& game affected 1 by the British team and their opponents, on© need have little hesitation in attributing the compare tivo failure c£ our men to inferior «orummagirig. Th : s defect wastboundr to make our back play look comparatively, poor, while, of course, accidents made the back divisions weaker than would have been tiho case had the side emjoyed imnvunity front incapocitatinig' injury." And yet, after ell, the British team* strong pcint, as far as the Australian peri; of their tour i-s conocmed, wob their scrummaging:. And, as far as one can judge, saya "Lyric," it was also the case m New Zealand. On their Australian form, the two weak spots, compared with New Zealand representative iootbaH. was (1) inferiority of tli© backs in systematic atlaok ; (2) want of dash and cleverness in handling the ball by the forwards in the loose.