TARANAKI RUGBY UNION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 79, 24 March 1914, Page 7

TARANAKI RUGBY UNION.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of delegates to ' the Taranaki 'Rugby Union is to be held in Stratford Borough Council; Chambers on Friday evening. The ( following notices of motion will be dealt, with:— ! Clifton Club to move: "That Rule 2j under heading "Finance" be altered to read: "The accounts of the'• "Union| shall be audited by one or more audi-! tors appointed at the Annual General: Meeting. Such auditor or auditors not to hold any other office under the Union." I Stratford Club to move: "That the words 'Hon. Treasurer' be inserted after the words 'Hon. Secretary' in line four by By-law 5." Committee's Report. iYour: Committee, in'presenting its annual report for the 1913 season, has' pleasure in being able to record that for the first time since the inception j of the Competition Taranaki football-, ers have the honor of holding the Kanfurly Shield. This fact should have a beneficial effect on the.game this season, the prospects ror a successful year being bright and encouraging. A pleasing feature at last season's football was the presence of two school teams' in the Third Grade Competition, the Now Plymouth High School eventually winning the Northern Championship. The encouragement of school foothall has received your Committee's attention,

and a keen competition among the primary schools of the northern end of the province resulted in. the Stratford school the Pitman Cup. Competitions in the southern and western parts of the province have yet to be organised. Representative Foothall.—Nine representative games were played, viz., against Wellington j (2), Wahganui '2), Auckland (2), Manawatu, Wairarapa, and Australia. Of these matches those against Auckland at Auckland, Manawatu at Palmerston North, Wanganui at.Wanganui, and Hawera, were won, the others being

lost. In addition to these, the "B" team played three matches, viz., against Auckland at New Plymouth, Wanganui "B" at Wanganui, and Wairoa Sub-Union at Patea. The matches against Auckland and Waneianui were lost, the other match being won. , • .•■■

Financial.—The - balance-sheet discloses a loss of about £9O during the past season. The trip to Auckland, although it gave Taranaki the coveted Rar.furly Shield, did not turn out so well financially as, anticipated, the profit on the trip being £40,. T'he inauguration of "B" team matches cost' the Union about £77, tins fact accounting for the larger part of the loss sustained. Should our representatives manage to retain the Shield, the. gates at the various home matches should be larger than usual, and our finances at the end of-the year consequently in a much better position.

Club Championships.—The Provincial Championships .were won lis follows:—First grade, ;Waimate ;.. second grade, Waimate; third grade,. Okaiawa. • . •

Honorary Members. —Suggestions have been made at various times that the Union should open an honorary members' list, admitting old players and supporters of Rugby l as honorary members of the Union at £1 Is each annually, honorary members' tickets admitting them to all inter-provincial matches. The suggestion is '■ placed before the delegates for consideration. Alt. Bayly Scholarship.—The 1913 scholarship was won by Master G. Lawn, of the Stratford District High School. The thanks of the Union are due to Mr Moyes of the New Plymouth High School, for his kind-

ness in entertaining visiting boys at the school. More interest is now being taken by the Southern schools in the competition, four schools under the jurisdiction of the Wanganui Education Board competing for the 1913 scholarship.

International Football.—Your Committee have pleasure in recording that five Taranaki players, viz., J. Stohr, R. Roberts, G. Loverige, M. Cain, and H. Dewar, earned international caps, these players representing New Zealand against the Calif ornian teams, while C. Brown and R. Taylor I had the honor of also earning New Zealand caps by playing in the test matches against Australia. In conclusion, your Committee wish to thank the Press its generous support of the game, the Referees' Association for its assistance, and! players for the worthy manner in j which they uphold the good name of Taranaki football. Balancs-Sbeet. The" statement of receipts and expenditure shows a credit balance of! £l4l 3s M. The liabilities exceed' the assets by £73 lis 6(1, outstanding! accounts totalling £260. The following credit., balances were shown for the different matches: Taranaki v. Auckland at New Plymouth £69 0s 6d, North v. South £2l 4s 9d, Hawera v. Waimate (Ist Juniors) £2 5s 6d, . Taranaki v. Wellington £57 5s I'd, Taranaki v. Wanganui £6l lis 6d, Waimate v. Stratford (juniors) £4 9s 6d, Waimate v. Tukapa (Seniors) £-19 12s, Star v. Inglewood (Saturday) £-1 J4s 6cl, Tukapa v. Inglewood £5 17s. In the 2nd Junior final, Okaiawa v. High School, both sides of the account balanced. In the match Auck-i laud v. Taranaki B, a debit of £33 j 15s is shown.