RUGBY OR LEACUE ?

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12411, 22 March 1911, Page 4

RUGBY OR LEACUE ?

A NAPIER DECISION. „. ' NAPIER, last night, The question of the hour m football circles at present, and one which will, np .doubt, determine the future of the game of games, is, under what rule* shall we play? Shall we join the Northern League or stick to the old game \ Rugby ? N umbers are for taking on the new game, while a few still stick to the game of the "All Black" (states the Telegraph). The Kia, Ora Football Club heid their annual meeting last evening and decided to play under Northern League rules. Before doing so, however, a discussion «nsued, m which : many points of interest were , brought forward. _ After dispensing with the ordinary business of an annual meeting, the chairman called on Mr George Frator, one of the promoters of .the new game m Napier, to enlighten members on the new rules under which it had boen proposed tb play. , ' Mr Prater ! said the Rugby game, as played m Napier last year, was not worth going across, the road to witness. Players wanted a better game, atad with that object m view the Northern League game was .being started. Players had seen the game played m this town last year* and. the general expression ,wai Jhat it was far ahead of Rugby. Some talk had been going around that if a. player joined the new -union ho should become a professional. This was not so. The game waß a safer one to play than Rugby. In conclusion,, hd strongly recommended the club to join 4he Northern Union League. The Rugby Union had shown the Kia. Ora Club Very little consideration, and he (the speaker) could not see why that body should be studied. Mr R. Breignan endorsed the speaker's remarks, and proposed "That the Kia Oro. Club play under Northern League rules."— Mr J. Bain seconded. Mr Swain said as an amendment ha would propose, "That tho club continue as before." It had, he said, taken four years for the game to get anything like a footing m New South Wales, and how long would it take to get a footing m a, little place like Napier? If the game did succeed m Napier, players would not want to stay here all their lives. They might be removed to the, country, and after playing this game they would not be able to return to -Rugby. The amendment waa seconded by Mr W. Little, whose views coincided with those of the mover. Mr Swain asked if the club played Northern Union football, would it mean that they would be paid? Mr C. List said' rulo 28 fully explained this point, as follows :— This league,. and each leagne member, and any district league, may pay players for loss of time during such period as they are away from their homes as the representative* of such league, or any RUch league, at a rate not exceeding ten shillings per day m addition to any travelling expenses, but no such player forming . part of a representative team shall receive any rnoro or any less than any other member of the same team. With rgard to members going to country towns not being able to play foot ball on account of Rugny being played, and they being Northern Unionitee ,' Mr Frater said that Dannevirke played under Northern Union rules last jVear^ and would do so this. Other smaller ' towns would follow suit. In connection with the paying of footballers, no players received money unless it was out of pocket expenses. The motions were put to the meeting, and it was decided to play the Northern Leagne game by 10 to 7.