TARANAKI FOOTBALL PRESTIGE SUFFERS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 15, 3 October 1929, Page 5

TARANAKI FOOTBALL PRESTIGE SUFFERS

B. TEAM’S MATCH AGAINST WELLINGTON I SOUTHERN UNION ACCUSED . ...OF UNFAIR PLAY. For their match against the Taranaki B team the Wellington Rugby Union picked a first class team ( which decisively beat the men from Taranaki. The general opinion, expressed clearly jn the newspaper reports, was that the,.. Taranaki team was art A one, and the Taranaki Union feels that the Wellington Union acted unfairly in not advertising the fact that the Taranaki team was a B one and in not correcting statements to the contrary made in the press. At its meeting- last night the Taranaki Union decided that a letter, to be drafted by Messrs J. McLeod and R. Masters should ho sent to the Wellington Union on the matter. WELLINGTON’S BEST TEAM> The chairman (Mr J. McLeod) said Taranaki’s prestige had suffered severely as a result of Wellington’s treatment. Wellington had not advertised the match as between B teams, and they had picked their best team,. It had been telegraphed from Wellington that Wellington had avenged their defeat by Taranaki at Haweiia. One newspaper said ‘tihdj

Taranaki Union had deceived the' Wellington Union by sending a B team. The Wellington Union should have corrected the statements made by the newspapers, whose reports clearly indicated that they thought the Taranaki team was an Tone. MR MASTERS EXPLAINS. Mr It. Masters said that on one of hi s visits to Wellington ho was asked to see members of the Wellington Union and) to arrange for the match. He saw two member,si, who saw difficulties in the way of sending a team to Taranaki and that match was abandoned, but a match at Wellington, was decided: on. It was always understood that the Taranaki team would be a B one. He certainly said that the province could prodiuce a good B team, this being based on the fact that the B’s bad made a good showing against the A’s. It was alleged! that he had told the Wellington people that some of the better Taranaki players, would not go beyond Napier, and would) he available against Wellington, hut his conversation was about three months ago and he could not have known) anything 'on that matter. Wellington knew Taranaki was sending a B team, and in fairness to the public they ’should have advertised the fact. He did not think Wellington had) been fair in flic matter. The chairman said) that in his opinion Wellington had not been fair to their public or to the Taranaki Union Tf Wellington had been lying Hawke’s Bay at Wellington eight of the men who played against Taranaki would have played against Hawke’s Bay.