ANTICIPATIONS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 51, 6 April 1914, Page 6

ANTICIPATIONS.

A NOTABLE SEASON FOR DOMINION RUGBY.

PROPOSED ENGLISH VISIT. Specially written for THE SUN. Ere long the Rugby football season of 1914 will be with us in earnest. It should be an important season, fraught with great consequences to the game, from both its Imperial and national aspects. First in importance is the possibility of a New Zealand team visiting the United Kingdom at the end of the season in the Dominion. Unfortunately, the visit is not assured yet, although some people seem to think it isj and also that it is only recently that, the authorities at Home have taken tip the proposal. As a matter of fact, the idea that a New Zealand team should go to the Old Land in the season 1914-15 has been in the air for a long time. Over a year ago it was stated that the International Board would consider the project. And now we are told that a team "may" be invited. So over a year of consideration has failed to produce any definite results. The sour parochialism of the Scottish Eugby Union and the prejudiced conservatism of the English Rugby Union have been chiefly responsible for the delay. I believe that most of the players in England would welcome another visit from New Zealanders, but officialdom at Home is reluctant to extend an invitation. Half of the members of the International Board are nominated by the English Union, and so the prejudices of the English and Scottish Unions prevail in that body.

THE LAST TOUR—SOME COMPARISONS. However, the international Board may be led to note the growth in the overseas Rugby countries of an impatience with its antiquated and- slowmoving methods, and it may, as a sop, throw out an invitation. But assuredly the financial arrangements for such a visit will differ greatly from those which were made for the "All Blacks' " visit in 1905-6. This time the Ifcugby authorities of the United Kingdom will demand—it is certain—a goodly share of the profits. In matters of the pocket they are quick to notice their errors—however much they shut their eyes to their mistakes in the broader politics of the game. ' From a playing point of view, the visit —assuming that that it becomes'a fact —will also differ from that of 1905-6. Rugby in the Old Land has improved in the last few years-r-due largely, to the lessons taught by the "All Blacks" and by the South Africans. Some time ago I had a chat with Dr H. M. Skeet —known to his friends as "Buzzer" Skeet—a New Zealander who distinguished himself at Home as a sprinter and as a Rugby three-quar-ter, and he assured me that the standard of play in England is higher than it was a few years ago. The forwards more nearly approach the New Zealand style, and the backs run more straightly aiid more strongly than they were wont to do. More attention is paid to tactics in attack and defence. Therefore the next New Zealand team to go Home should meet with sterner opposition than met the "All Blacks." MERE SPECULATION - .

Whether the team to be sent this time •will be up to the standard of the tourists of 1905-6 is a question that one cannot satisfactorily discuss, but can only speculate about. Comparison of pres-ent-day players with those of the past is always fruitless and unsatisfactory. It is impossible to get both into one clear perspective. Great players of the past sometimes dwarf, in our thoughts, the men of to-day, when they really should not loom so largely. Perhaps it is because '' distance lends enchantment to the view." Again, we cannot tell what the coming season for /the Do- : minion will bring forth. There/is plenty of good material awaiting the fashioning. But will it be fashioned sufficiently before the team leaves for" England ?"" It 'lies on the knees of the gods. This much I may say, that—allowing as much as possible for the lack of a true perspective-—it does not appear at present as if New Zealand will be able to put in the field as good a team as was that of 1905-6 when it arrived in the Old Country. But there is only one person wljo can answer-the question -without misgiving, and that person is old Father Time. THE' CANTERBURY SEASON.

Let us turn now to matters which at are of more local import but which should attain a wider significance. The season brings an experiment by the Canterbury Rugby Union, which has embodied in its competition rules some provisions which really are amendments to the laws of the game. Three weeks ago, in the Sporting Review page, I dealt at some length with those provisions, but from rather a technical point of view. One effect they should have is to brighten the game and make it more attractive to the spectators, and better for the players. Therefore —but provided other tilings are equal —the public of Christchurch should look forward to an interesting football season. As was to be expected, the Canterbury Rugby Union's experiment has attracted attention elsewhere. Already the voice of the croaker has been heard. The president of the Otago Rugby Union has arisen, with much dignity and importance, and has announced his regret that the C.R.U. has taken it upon itself to move ahead of the other unions—or words to that effect. But there were always doubting Thomases and people who wanted to check the wiieels of progress. There would be no need for the Canterbury Union to play a lone hand if the other unions in the Dominion would emerge into the Present, awake to modern needs, instead of slumbering amid the hoary ruins' of the Past. There has been far too much bowing down to the false gods, Precedent, and Conservatism, in. Rugby football matters. A.L.C.