ROUGH PLAY.

Patea Mail, Volume XXIX, 21 June 1907, Page 2

ROUGH PLAY.

THE WAIMATE-OPUNAKE EPISODE. HEAVY SENTENCES IMPOSED. In consideration of the charges of rough play against players of the Waimate and Opunake clubs was continued last night when all members of the!| Management Committee of the Taranalri Union except Mr J. O'Dea were present. It was decided to hear evidence in the case of Young and Howes first. J. Young, referee in the WaimnteOpunake match, stated the first he eaw was H. Young with a black eye. About 10 minutes later he saw Young lying on the ground and heard the spectators say " put the man off." He did not see any blows struck. Later on his attention was drawn that Young had struck Tamu. He did not see it as his back was turned. The captain of the Waimate team came up and said, " If you don't order Young off for striking Tamu I'll take my men off the field." He replied, "If you do your team won't play again this season." Shortly after Howes was knocked out. He heard a blow on the occasion when Young was lying on the ground. Young admitted to him that he struck Howes. W. Ijeng, a spectator, sent in a statement that he saw Howes strike Young with his fist. A. Good, who was line umpire, stated he was od the opposite line and did not see any blows struck, because the men were surrounded by spectators. The occurrence took place on the touch line. It. Westoby, secretary of the Opunake club and who was a spectator at the match, said after a scrum formed about ten yards from the Opunake line Young was seen lying on the ground. He heard a blow struck just as the scrum broke up and saw Young fall. Almost directly after Young struck Tamu. Young appeared to be in a dazed condition. About eight minutes after Young struck out at another player whom he believed to be Howes. He did not see Howes strike anybody. When Young struck the second man he believed he was trying to dodge the referee. He had seen Young who declined to make any statement. J. Hickey, a spectator at the Opunake-Waimate match, said he heard a blow struck and saw Young fall. He did not know who struck YouDg. D, O'Sullivan, an Opunake player, stated he saw Howes strike Young after the breaking up of a scrum, Howes subsequently denied hitting Young. |He afterward saw Young strike Tamu. The witness detailed at considerable length the event, but beyond the blow was not very clear as to what happened. E. T. Howes stated from the start of the game Young bumped him with his head as they were going down in the scrum. When Young failed to " get bis head inside " in tb.6 scrum he screwed witness' head round with bis hands. In a scrum in the first spell Young struck him in the face, He told Young he would hit him back if he did not stop it. In subsequent scrums Young kept bumping him with bis head. He broke away from the scrum in which Young was hurt. He denied striking Young. Immediately afterward Young hit Tamu. Directly afterwards Young struck him. Some time afterwards he w •, standing with his hands on his hips when someone came up, struck him and knocked him down. On coming round he was sitting ' up when Young came up and said, i " that's one for you to go on witb. I'll : give you another." Directly afterwards he found his jaw was broken : and left the field. He denied ever i striking Young at any time. If 0. '. Young (Waimate) said he saw witness j punching Young (Opunake) he hadj;

made a mistake. He might have got hold of Young and shaken him. The case against Pini and Sullivan was then proceeded with. J. Young stated that he ordered Pini and D. Sullivan off for scragging each other. It was not a serious offence and he recommended they be dealt with lightly. He ordered them both off the field. He understood they went off. He would have cautioned them but for the rough play that had been going on. D. O'Sullivan denied there was any ' rough play. He understood the referee to say the matter would be referred to the touch judges and he did not think it was intended they should go off. He admitted being ordered off. A. Good, who was line umpire, and B. Westoby saw the occurrence and did not see any rough play. The case against Forsyth was then taken. H. W. Birchall, of the Waimate Club, wrote stating he had not struck Forsyth, He saw the Pini-Sullivan incident and did not see any rough play. J. Young reported that he saw Forsyth strike a Waioiate man. He did not know what led up to it. S, Forsyth said he received provocation by the player hanging on to him and hitting him. The Chairman thought a very bad state off affairs had been revealed and the union had to put their foot down. He characterised Young's as a most cowardly assault. He moved that Young be disqualified for life and warned off every field under the jurisdiction of the Taranaki Union; that the New Zealand Rugby Union be asked to warn him off all football fields in the colony, and that a copy of the evidence be handed to the police: Mr Powdrell seconded the resolution. Mr Humphries moved that the clause referring to handing the evidence to the police be deleted. Mr Malone seconded the resolution. On being put to the meeting the amendment was lost. Mr Malone moved that Howes be disqualified until the end of the season 1908. Mr Humphries seconded. Mr Skoglund proposed, That it not having been proved to the satisfaction of the Union that Howes struck the the blow which caused the injury to Young's eye, but that the Union is satisfied that Howes did strike Young at an earlier period of the game, that Howes be disqualified till the end of the season 1908. Mr Powdrell seconded the amendment. • * After lengthy discussion the amendment was put and carried. Mr Powdrell moved as a further amendment that 1907 be substituted for 1908. Mr Buchanan seconded pro forma. The amendment was lost, and the resolution was put and carried. The Chairman moved that Forsyth be disqualified till the .end of season 1908. Mr Cargill seconded the resolution, which was carried. Mr Malone moved that Pini and O'Sullivan be cautioned. Mr Skoglund seconded the resolution. Mr Buchanan moved that Pini and Sulliuan be disqualified until the end of 1907, consideration being taken of the fact that they did not go off the field when ordered. The Chairman seconded the amendment, which was carried; Mr Humphries moved that in the opinion of the Union, from the evidence taken, the referee did not exercise sufficient control over the game, and and that the South Taranaki Referees' yssociation be asked to enquire into the matter. Mr Buchanan seconded the resolution which was carried. J. Preston, of the Clifton thirds, reported for rough play, was disqualified for a month. The referee, Mr E. A: Urwin, in the Okaiawa II v, Kaponga II match, reported E. Price, of Kaponga, for striking Whare, an Okaiawa player. The line umpire, Mr Betts, sent in an account of the affair. It was decided to suspend Price and that he be called upon for an explanation at the next meeting.