STEADILY BECOMING WORSE

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1934, Page 10

STEADILY BECOMING WORSE

CLIFTON CLUB’S POSITION. UNION ARRANGING CONFERENCE. The difficulty the Clifton Club has experienced in keeping a senior team together was discussed at the Taranaki Rugby Union executive committee meeting at Stratford on Wednesday. Mr. J. McLeod suggested that to get over the difficulty of country first junior players refusing to play senior the New Plymouth committee members be authorised to call a conference of the clubs concerned to try to come to an arrangement. The committee endorsed the suggestion. Mr. McLeod said that probably all members had seen in the Press the trouble Clifton had been having to raise a team. To keep their senior fifteen in the field they pad had to call on members of country first junior teams. It was known that in some cases such players had refused to leave their first junior team. The union had regraded two first junior players before it knew that those players were able to travel at no cost, and he felt that the union should pull up the players .concerned and make them see that unless there were economic or other reasons they would play as graded. The Clifton Club had pointed out definitely that it wanted certain players ...io were definitely of senior standard, and the club should be aided to keep its senior grade at strength at all costs. Mr. W. H. Moyes asked if the union knew the other. point of view. The country clubs in Clifton’s district complained that the club drew on t’. : other clubs to make up its senior team other than on its own first juniors. Mr. McLeod said he knew that was not so. Last Saturday Clifton hn played three first juniors to make up the team, one who refuse c play being stood on the line for the afternoon from both teams. Clifton was perfectly entitled to draw on players of senior status. The suggestion that the arrangement of a conference of those interested be left in the hands of New Plymouth management committee members was approved.