RUGBY FOOTBALL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 80, Issue 7181, 27 March 1950, Page 5

RUGBY FOOTBALL

TE AWAMUTU UNION REPORT OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE The following is the annual report of the Management Committee of the Te Awamutu Rugby Union to be presented to the annual meeting to be held on Wednesday night:— Viewed from all angles the 1949 season can be said to have been only reasonably successful. Although interruptions for representative matches and for other causes upset the competition play somewhat, in- the senior grade, this did not occur to the same extent as in the previous year. Nevertheless, the standard of club play revealed that there is room for considerable improvement. Your Committee reaffirms its opinion that the greatest single deterrent to good football in our hignei grades is lack of fitness on the part of the players. Clubs must make it a first duty to bring home to theiimembers their individual responsibility in this matter. In the lower grades the standard of play gives every reason for looking to the future with confidence. The question of revising the grading limits for players in the grades below third will require the attention of the Union in the near future.

Competitions throughout were keenly contested and, with the possible exception of the sixth grade, no grade could be said to be dominated by any one team. Detailed results have been published and trophies were presented at a successful presentation dance at the end of the season. A seven-a-side tournament for grade? junior and below was held at the conclusion of the competition play and drew good entries. During the season there was not an undue number of breaches of the rules. In the main, the offences which were dealt with were of a type which could be easily obviated if the clubs were alive to their responsibilities in the matter of educating their players. There were no serious breaches of discipline. As part of its programme of Rugby education, the Union arranged evening screenings of its coaching film, but these were not well attended. Visits were arranged from several Auckland club teams during the season and, in addition to giving our players valuable experience, these matches proved most popular with the public. It is hoped that this arrangement will be continued next season.

There was an abnormal number of serious injuries during the season which, in this respect, was by far the worst in the history of the Union. This state of affairs was reflected in a heavy drain on the insurance fund.

Rather fewer representative matches were undertaken than in the preceding season and details are as follows : I

Visits of representative teams to other centres were on the following scale:—Senior 5, Senior B 3, Junior 3, Third Grade 2, Third Grade B 1. North Island representative honours were gained by Mr A. Rowan of the Pirongia-Rovers Club. Waikato honours were gained by the following:—Senior: Messrs A. Rowan, Rex Hinton, Robert Hinton, R. Adam, R. Irwin. Junior: J. Carter S. Pavich. Waikato Primary School Representatives: L. Fleming (captain) and W. Kay. A pleasant social evening was held during the season in the Fire Brigade Rooms when Mr George Reynolds, elected a life member of the Union at our last general meeting, was the recipient of presentations from the Union and from well-wishers. Finance: The results achieved during the year on the financial side were satisfactory. The nett profit of £99 on the season’s working was brought about mainly through effecting rigid economies in every direction possible. In this connection special reference must be made to the generosity of those supporters who, by making their cars available, enabled a saving of some £6O to be made in the cost of transpprt.

Of profit and loss items, total receipts for the season were £450 as against £462 for the previous year while outgoings were £350 and £456 respectively. A special item of expenditure during the season was the payment of £32 to the Ponsonby and Otahuhu Senior Clubs from the proceeds of the gate at .their match played at Te Awamutu. Gate and Stand takings at £346 showed an increase of £6 over the previous season.

The balance sheet showing the Union’s total assets at £587 15s reveals a strong position. The* state of the insurance fund shows some deterioration. The balance to the credit of this account at the close of the financial year stands at £139 with contingent liabilities amounting to £37 for claims not satisfactorily established at that date. ■lncluding this contingent liability claims during the season amounted to £175 whicj? is by far the greatest total of claims the Union has ever had to face in any one year. Your Committee is indebted to many individuals and organisations whoes co-operation and assistance lightened considerably the task of administration during the year. No attempt is made to name these wellwishers in this report but suitable acknowledgements of the Union’s gratitude have been made personally to those concerned.

P W L D Senior 10 6 4 — Senior B 6 4 1 1 Junior 3 3 — Junior B • 2 1 1 — Third Grade 4 2 2 — Third Grade B 2 2 — — Colts 3 2 1 —