TURNED DOWN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 811, 4 November 1929, Page 6

TURNED DOWN

DIVIDED RUGBY CONTROL NOT WANTED IN TARANAKI

(Special to THE SC A ) NEW PLYMOUTH, Today. The proposal to split the Taranaki Rugby Union into two sub-unions te-i-eivetl very short shrift at the meeting of delegates on Wednesday evening last. The meeting was very largely attended, only one club (Pai**a> and one sub-union (Whangamomona) failing to send representatives. It had been thought that there was a fair chance of the proposal being adopted, for there bus of recent ■ ears been evidence of dissatisfaction with the management of football in this province. But once more the tactful chairman of the executive, Mr. Jas. McLeod, scored a personal triumph. and it was mainly due to lus powerful statement of the Rugbj Union's case that the proposal was heavily defeated. \s was pointed out previously, the grievances of the Southern clubs have their genesis mainly in financial troubles, and their delegates put forward the contention that under the proposed scheme, with each division managing its own afiairs, the union would be more cheaply run. and the clubs’ share of gate moneys would bo larger. The Southerners also proposed that each club should have direct representation on its divisional executive. . . . . Mr. McLeod, in reply, pointed out that Taranaki was the only major union in the Dominion that allowed the clubs to share in the gates, that principle having been long abandoned elsewhere. The union, so far from taking an undue proportion, was barelv able to carry on. Representative football barely paid for itself, and for general administration purposes the union had to rely on the proceeds of club games. The union had acquired a ground at New Plymouth at a cost of 111,500, and it was proposed to provide grounds at Hawera and Hit ham also. As to direct representation of clubs on the management ■ ..remittee, that principle had been dropped everywhere, and it was found in practice that elected members of the executive very quickly lost their vlub identity and that club feeling rarely obtruded itself. A DECISIVE VOTE

The matter was very fully discussed by the delegates, and on the proposal being put to the meeting it was rejected bv 38 votes to 18, the only supporters being the delegates from six (southern clubs. One Southern club (Kaponga) voted against the proposal. A proposal to curtail the voting power of other than club delegates was also defeated on the voices. The idea of the proposers was to limit the voting of representatives of secondary and primary schools strictly to matters concerning them. The schools representatives present very strongly opposed this step, and it was pointed out that it would be almost an insult to them to ask them to attend meetings of possibly several hours’ duration to mil with questions .of school football, requiring only a few minutes’ consideration. The meeting was splendidly conducted and controlled, and the discussion. though thorough, was without

heat or unpleasantness. The supporters of the sub-union proposals gave assurance of lcyal support to the findings of the meeting.