STATE SPORT.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12868, 2 January 1906, Page 4

STATE SPORT.

It is rather surprising to find thai the bor.eward journey of the Xetf ZtnUxtA football team is dependent <en the ,pa:*e strings of the Government. A somewEai obscure message from Wellington which appears among this morning's telegram# seems to indicate that if the Goveramcat will pay the piper, the team will peifrim. in Canada and the United Stat**, trial*! j if only a portion of the men's fares *-«» i bo extracted from the coffers of the Svait. the team will probably come home dlita. • We were tinder the impression that the idea of a visit- to the American continent bad been definitely abandoned,, and (that the match against the Frenchmen tra* to be the final game of the tone. The- memben of the team must themselves be about tired of playing football, and in the recent contents in Wales they wae reported to be showing unmistakable signs of «la]e- j ness. The short voyage across the Atlantic ■ would scarcely suffice to heal them frnm; whatever grievous wounds they may have sustained during the last few months, and j we should think that if there were aay . football laurels to be gained in America.* Mr Dixon's little brigade would just as: soon be excused from the task of attempt- j ing to -win them. But judging from recentcablegrams, football, in the States at all events, whatever it may he in Canada, is more brutality than sport, and there can be no very great inducement for .lie colonial team to invade a counfiy which has risen in revolt against the game as it is played there. In any case, -we do not quite see why the Government «f this colony should provide the funds for an! extension of the tour. The team has undoubtedly served a quasi-national purpose ia advertising the colony, butwe fear the effect would be somewhat destroyed if it got abroad that it was being carted about J the -world as a Government -troupe. The > Premier has already done all that can i reasonably be expected from him in pro-j curing State reports of the results of the! matches, and in informing the woHd. per j mivrinm of a lather sensational London] journal, that New Zealand has bees more'] deliriously excited over the tour of Hsj footballers than it was over the more sera-j battles of its coutingenb; and the aimy I in general in Sonth Africa. II the teamj is to go to America, sorely the New Zealand Rugby Union can finance the trip] itself. It made plenty <i ni&aey cut J of the matches in the United Kingdom, j anil it ought to be able to brisg the men.!] home again without cadging from the Government. I'robpbly the Itabii of g«aig | to the Government has become so ingrained in New Zealanders that the Rugby Uofoa does not know it is cadging.