FOOTBALL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2860, 6 January 1909, Page 63

FOOTBALL.

NOTES BY FULL BACK. It wa? bound to come. There were so many " incident? " and " romancss " during the British Rugby team's tour in New .Zealand that ir was short of the impossible that they could be long concealed. The inside etory of the tour has hzzn revealed in the recently-published brok " With the British Rugby Team in Maoriland," and the last English mail to hand mersly comprises much that has alrpadv bscn written therein. Under the heading " A Delicate Subject,'' the Athletic News, Manchester, says : — •' In recent years the Rugby Union have .h&d- many delicate questions to discuss, some of which they would gladly have never considered at all had their attention rot bs<?n forced to them by the repeated urging^ of insistent folk who are fond of stirring muddy pools. And" they have now confronting them a subject which that administrative and executive body cannot anticipate with pleasure. It is be- ; ing freely discussed in Rugby circles, and the members of the Anglo-Welsh team who went out to New Zealand are expressing their opinion of tlia -matter in emphatic terms. They are so indignant at what has occurred that by the sheer pressure of opinion the Rugby Union Committee must take action* for mow than one, Lnterna-

1 tional player has declared that unless the I matter is sifted to the bottom the right of the ruling body to d'sal with other ' players must be seriously challenged. It is, however, difficult to say in what manner or under what printed tule the Rugby Union can show their disapproval of a matter which has provoked so much condemnation from men of the touring combination. ."Briefly put, the charges amount to disloyal action. On the voyage out, while every other man of th© party trained andl got into condition for the^strenuous games to ba played, ens man would do nothing of the kind, preferring, co it is declared, to bask in the sunshine and beauty's smiles. Ip New Zealand he could never be relied upon to . turn out. While other players asfeed leave on certain occasions, and were sometimes -refused, "this man became a law unto himself without acquainting the .manager of his intentions. In at least one important 'match he is said to have left tlrei field with the excuse that he had sustained! personal injury, and never returned, though ifc was cteolftrgd that the r-eason given was an idle pretext. It is\ no -secret that so disgusted was i the, manager and so incensed were the r^st of the side that friction was rampant, that the New .-Zealand Union took definite cognisance of the player's conduct, and that he returned to England prematurely. '' The Rug-by Union have never been at" a loss to make their power felt in peculiar cases, and it would eeem that in this instance they will have to adopt a special course to meet such a -case. F-eeling is -so acute that meimbers of the committee have been plainly, told bj- men who went to New Zealand that they will not play in a teas* if this moo be selected for it. All the facts are in the possession of the Rugby Committee, and one or two of its members are not going to .allow the matter to rast. The situation has to be faced ; the question; is. What will the Rugby Union do?" •Concerning the foregoing a writer in the Standard of Empire ' (London) says : — " Vassall is playing better than he could! have played when he was out in New .Zealand and Australia, and if he escapes accident he .will have to play for England, notwithstanding 1 the reports one hears that ■be will sbe deprived of his cap in punishment for certain alleged breaches of discipline when he was out with Mr George Harnett's team." An English appreciation of our old friend, Colin Gilray, Rhodes scholar and N-aw Zealand footballer, now of Oxford University : — "Lr&t me tell you something about this Oxford fifteen. At full back there is on© Sloan, a fine upstanding .Scot,, a grim tackier, a fine kick, -and a player possessed of much resource. ,In front of him are Martin, .a faSfcar runnsr than .&ny of the (tourists : Tarx, the most improved player in England ; "Vassal!, without a superior ; ■and -Gilray, tha New Zealacder, who was unlucky >not to get his Blue last term, and' who is now apparently indispensable to OxfoLd, «o well is he playing. T-hese four jmen. repcessnt the fastest three-quarter ■line in the country. Every man is a sprinter, and evary one runs like a deer." a match Abandoned. LONDON, December 31. The match Wallabies v. Monmouthshire -vras abandoned owing -to the frostNORTHERN UNION GAME. .LONDON, December 29. ' The Northern Union Committee /favour* sending a team to Australasia in 1909, but is awaiting .an answer from NeW Zealand before taking action. j Tlie -Daily Mail says it is no, secret that lack ->»f ©sprit de corps is one of the J chief factors -of the Wallabies' (Australian Rugby team) collapse.