LEAGUE RUGBY IN ANTIPODES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 86, 2 July 1927, Page 11

LEAGUE RUGBY IN ANTIPODES

ENGLISH PLAYER’S HUMOUROUS ACCOUNT OF DOMINION TOUR Douglas Clark, the brilliant English League Rugby forward, tells some entertaining stories in the Leeds “Sports Post,” of his experiences in Australia and New Zealand with English teams. He has a knack of dealing in a breezy style with events “behind the scenes,” 'which constitute some of the most interesting features of a football team on tour. The following quotations from his writings are of particular interest in Auckland, where this noted player is well remembered. “I would like to give my readers an idea of the calibre of the teams we faced in New Zealand, both in 1914 and 1921,” says Douglas. “People at Home labour under a delusion when regarding this portion of the tour as a ‘picnic’ for the players. We had to play some extremely hard matches, and found the opposition very keen. We lost two of the three tests in the last tour, and let me say frankly—we lost on our merits. “We found ourselves up against some strange interpretations of rules, even though the rules themselves were exactly on a par with our own. The result was that some of our players became obsessed with the idea that the referees were unfair. The younger members of our team were particularly incensed, and I regret to say this led to unnecessary feeling being imparted into some of the games. MATCH AT AUCKLAND “Johnny Rogers sustained a broken leg while in the Dominion; but this was an accident. The match was against the Auckland League, and, as we were beaten ana the first test was nigh at hand, the New Zealanders greatly fancied their chances. Furthermore, their team was almost identical to that which had just been successful. “However, on this occasion, we obtained the upper hand early in the game. The crowd did not like this unexpected state of affairs, and they commenced to ‘barrack’ the referee unmercifully. Whether this ‘shook’ the official or not I cannot say, but from this point he commenced to give some very queer decisions. “One of our players—a Lancashire forward—was very persistent in his requests for explanations from the referee as to why he had penalised us. Finally, the referee warned the player that the next ‘question’ would be the last and dismissal from the field would follow. I learned this afterwards. It was immediately after this ‘lecture’ that I, not knowing what had happened, ventured to ask the referee why he had given a certain penalty against us. With a finger pointing toward the dressing-room, the referee unceremoniously ordered me off the field, ’without even my name being taken. “At the subsequent meeting, at which I was present, together with the referee, I was astonished to hear that there were two charges against me. I was accused of repeatedly kicking the ball back into the scrum, and also of continually disputing the referee’s decisions. “I pointed out that the first charge could not be substantiated, as I had been playing loose forward and could not possibly have committed the offence complained of. As to the second count, I had only once asked the referee to say on what grounds he had penalised our side. Fortunately for me, a prominent official of the New Zealand Rugby League asked to be allowed to have a word, and ere long he was able to prove that I was the victim of misidentification. “MUM'S THE WORD’' “I felt the room fully acquitted; but the referee—poor fellow—caught it hot. I knew who was the real culprit among us, though, of course, with me it was ‘mum’s the word.’ “I may say that only on one other occasion during my career have I been sent off the field, and in this case also I was proved ‘not guilty.’ The referee in this particular match thought I had struck an opponent in the mouth, and actually stated that he had seen my victim’s teeth fly from his mouth. As a matter of fact the ‘teeth’ were pearl buttons which burst from my opponent’s jersey in a which I effected. This amusing experience happened during my army career at the war. BOTANY BAY FISHING [ “During our stay at Sydney, we had our headquarters as a splendid hotel at Rockdale, on Botany Bay. And now I must tell you of one or two angling experiences which befell several of us while in this locality. There was a little pier which ran about 100 yards out to sea, and it had a lower promenade from which anglers used to try their luck. “One morning Johnny Rogers and Bobby Lloyd thought they would have a go. Baiting a line, they threw it well out, and then took turns in holding on. After an hour’s patient waiting, Bobby felt a tremendous tug. They both commenced to haul in; meanwhile there was a great disturbance in the water. “Johnny, looking scared, called out, ‘lt’s a shark, Bobby; it's a shark.’ “His fellow Welshman, now singlehanded, continued to pull in the line, and presently there appeared a hor-ribly-visaged fish. It would measure about five feet in length, and was somewhat like an eel in shape. From its ugly mouth it displayed several big fangs. As the full body of the catch became revealed to the two daring anglers, they looked at one another in awe-stricken astonishment.”