THIRDS

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13929, 12 June 1909, Page 5

THIRDS

The following is the suggested representative programme of the Auckland Rugby Union for fhis season, so far as applications already received are concerned :—.: — . July 31. — Auckland representatives v. Northern Wairoa (at Auckland). August 7. — Auckland v. Thames (at Thames). August 14.— Auckland v. Poverty Bay (at Auckland) August 21. — Auckland v. Thames (at Auckland). August 28— Auckland v. Wellington (at "Wellington). August 7. — Auckland B, representatives v. Franklin (at Tuaka'u). August 14. — Auckland B v. Lower Waikato (at Huntly).

De Blois, the ex-Melroso forward, ( now playing in the Clifton pack, should s make a bid for representative honours c this season. He does a tremendous lot „ of work, although the casual observer r v does not see it. W. Tyler, who was a member of the r pro. Black team that went Home to t play under Northern Union rules, is ' now playing the Australian game in . ■ Auckland, being one of tho Eden Club s J j best men. . i A. C. Palmer, the ex-Otago Univer- t sity three-quarter and this year's Eng- , lish international three-quarter, will re- j turn to New Zealand when he has con- J eluded his studies in London. E Football in this division this year j is extremely poor. In match after match the play is nothing but a con- \ tinuous scramble. Now and again some < good play is seen, but it is nearly always through individual effort. After , watching an exhibition of alleged Rug- ( by on Thursday I was so disgusted that I vowed I would make no comments on ; this week's games. The football that is i being played this season is not worth j commenting on- t In discussing comparisons of past ana , present day players, "The Cynic," in < the Sydney Referee, says:— "lt is not , so easy to compare forwards as most » people think it is. This applies prac- , tically to New Zealand and Australia j only, for in the Old Country the for- j ward is not a specialist in the scrum- , mage in the sense that ho is here in the Antipodes. So many brilliant for- ; wards have been turned out by New Zealand that one might fill a column ( s>t two in referring to them. The best j forward of the 1897 team was T. Paul- | ing. and, taking one consideration with , another, I suppose New Zealand has , not a better all-round player to-oav than ho was then C. Seeling and H. , Francis are great all round and among the best one has seen D. Gallagher was a beautiful forward. The leading • "New Zealand forwards as a rule, have had cleverer football heads than the best in -Australia. This does not apply to-day in scrummaging, defence, and line-out play; though in the open (with the ball in hand) it does. There are, of course, exceptions even to tniß. Commenting on the proposals for chances in the Rugby game put forward by the New Zealand Rugby Union, at the instance of affiliated unions The Morning Post (London says:-"Now| the underlying principle of all this proposed innovation is to open. up the came for the spectator, the considera- J tion of the player being brushed aside and forgotten. When Mr. Harnett took the London referees into his confidence, the proposals were received with no enthusiasm among many lead- ;„„ nlavers who were sounded me mftter resolved itself into this question: Is the game of Rugby football for the spoetator or the player? The colonies give first thought to the crowd ; the old school clubs and uni-versiti-s of England intend that tho Rugby game, co far as they are concerned. Bhall remain a game and a sport for the pleasure and recreation of those actively pursuing it. Lj thM line the English schools and vahatirß will receive the backing of Ireland and Scotland. Everything seems to be making for another division in the Rugby game, and the great gate-money clubs in the industrialcentres, knowmg that to preserve their gates they must win at any price, and must open »p the came for the spectator, will drift into professionalism of some sort or another. Kimhy as played ! to-day w quite fast enough for anything in the nature of a sport ; its present excellence has been, Hke that of all great ,r ft mos, evolved slowly. Any attempt to further lessen the grand dominance of Pennine forward play, with its close footwork, will be .strongly opposed by leaders of opinion in the. Rugby schools If the evolutionists desire tbe mere high kick and follow up, as played by the Northern Ui.ion. and want real forward work eliminated from the game, they must seek that fold which is ever open to receive them. Even to-day play is degenerating by tho attempt to introduce the practice of the loose head— an importation from the colonies or somewhere elso. The evil was very pronounced in various matches this reason-"

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