FOOTBALL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13939, 26 June 1909, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY UNION.

SOME DISQUALIFICATIONS

. A meeting of the committee of the South Canterbury Rugby Union, was held last evening. . Present —Mr A. Shirtcliffe (eliaiuian), J?aUier Ker-k-y, Messrs \V. Drake, W. Maben, C. Muslin, and H..Fraser (hon. secretary). A quantity of correspondence, was received:— •• .

The Cauterbuy Union notified .that their reps, could play South Canterbury at Timaru.on September 16th.— Agreed to. The Wellington Union wrote that they cannot include South Canterbury in their tour. • Timarn High School asked for, and were granted, 'pave to play Ashburton High School. ' Zingari reported that one of their third graders had played for Star seniors, to fill a gap.—No action to he taken.

Geraldine applied for leave to transfer a player to Temuka Athletics. — Declined. ✓

The Star Club wrote, withdrawing theJF juniors from the competition.. The Hockey Club wrote re conduct of supporters of hockey on the Athletic

grunds. ' ' ■ The Otago .Rugby Union wrote at length re the Duval ease, ami the New Zcaland Rugby Union that they were making further enquiries into the ease, :uid also sent a number of disqualifications. ' . . ,_ The Temuka Club were granted los .drag hire in .connection with the tournament finals. ■ ' The tender of Messrs O'Leary and Horton for supply of tournament medals was accepted, as per specimen supplied. ( . Mr J. Deans, referee in the match Pirates v. Celtic on Thursday, reported that he had ordered three Celtic and two Pirate plavers off the ground—tme of the Celtics i'or disputing a referee s decision; one of the Pirates tor deliberately attempting to kick a player; one -of each side for "shaping to fiffht (Celtic the aggressor, Pirate -under provocation); one Celtic tor rough plav, by seizing and dumping a player not near the ball. Mr Deans attended and exolained his letter, and was thanked" for his endeavour to wipe out illegitimate practices. " The five plavers also attended. I lie first admitted" the'dispute, and was severelv cautioned. The one charged wick kicking (A. Ker) pleaded provocation : he was in the front of a scrum and was pulled through by the ear. He said there were several liistaiic.-s of foul plav. He was disqualified lor four weeks*. The two charged with '"shaping"—Keating (Celtic) and Moffat (Pirates)— denied that there was any fighting. The former was disqualified for two weeks, the latter cautioned, an amendment proposed that both be severely cautioned being lost. The fifth man, charged with dumping, was cautioned. The investigation ot these cases occupied , a long time, the meeting lastJfrom 5 p.m. till 9 p.m. TOUCHLINE TOPICS.' (By C.E.H.) Championship points:—Pirates 12 Temuka 10, Celtic 0, fimaru A, btai I *Pour different styles of football are plaved each week in Sydney—Rugby, Northern, Soccer, and \ ictonan. In the art ot nicking up a rolling tail Bradlev, Hardie, and J. Coles can Sre several points and a beating to most local players. The Rubv Union was well represented in the veterans' team, the president the treasurer, and the secretary donning the rep. colours again. H Walker, a well-kno«n reteree hero last'winter, Is playing this year tor the Svdnev Club: Another member <> the same team, Livingstone, is an old Ti The r meeiing of Newtown and South Svdnev, two crack Sydney. clubs, attracted 23,1X10 people. _\eutowir won bv 13 to 3, E.E. Booth, the ex-Otago man, being a member ot the wmning te The middle of each season, brings out a number of -retired ' players tor Temuka, and in Thursday's game with Star the country team mk hided D. Hor«ran and J. Scott, two well-known

players of a few years back. liigh School on present form promise to make a bold bid for the president's competition. In the junior grade Athletic are improving rapidly, and are capable of making matters interesting with, Zingari and Celtic. The visit of "tue New Zealanders will have the effect of putting the Sydney League on its feet hnaticially. Tiie gross takings at the first two games reached close on £2OOO. The two succeeding games, however, added onlv about £4OO.

Peter Ward, who' at different times played for Southland, Tiiranaki, and New South "Wales, and who is now approaching' the veteran stage, is still before tne public. He is a member of one of -tne new clubs pioneering Rugby in Melbourne. Hardie, of Timaru, would make a top uotclier if he could learn ~.to pass. He is fast, kicks well, tackles'and takes a. ball- finely, but seems incapable of getting rid of it except by kicking." If he could acquire the knack of transferring at the right time he' would he right in the iirst flight. ' Wednesday's rain made the going very heavy at the Caledonian GrountJ, and Athletic Xo. 2 was carrying pools of water. .Xo. 1 ground was a'trifle damp, but was not "too wet for* good play, and the soft turf was greatly appreciated by tlie old-timers when they came into contact with it. The strenuous nature of football confines the *■ life " of a player, within much narrower limits than such sports as cricket or golf, and it is not very often that two generations are seeii on the football field at one time. The Lynch family this week put up what must be nearly a-record for Timaru, father and son each taking part in vdult matches. One of the worst features of our football is the practice of dumping or obstructing a back after he has got in his kick. Glaring cases may be seen every week, but as the referee has to watch the ball, which by the time the offence is committed is usually ten yards away in the air, the culprit escapes notice. if line umpires were permitted to taice a hand, this trick could easily he squashed. The difficulty experienced by one or two clubs in filling up their senior fifteens compels them to promote any promising junior, and in the circumstances the second-grade fifteens can hardly be expected to show up very , prominently. A couple of the junior teams which are not weakened in this # way do not play such gooil football as they might do. Jltist of the points scored are the result of individual efforts, and this individualism seems to me to be the bane of junior Rugby. , Selfishness is the besetting sin of many prominent players in the division, and where combination is attempted the usual thing is to play up to particular players—a practice which docs n< t improve matters rniin the standpoint of either the public or the in glecied men. One centre apparently places the telescO|H> to .his blind e\e ami ignores the existence of his right wing. A fortnight ago 1 bad n /.son tn commend the spectators at the Athletic (•round for their good behaviour. The veterans' match on Thursday apparently put the erowd in a g<.<id humour, hut when the Ceitic-l'irates game started the temper of a small but noisy section changeu and their illtimed inciting or players and baiting of referee were in a,' great measure I responsible for tne regrettable incidents of the game. An erident desire to keep the ball away from .Hagerty was the starting point of' all the trouble, and the Celts indulged in some illegal .scrum work winch was rightly penalised. This roused the ire of a few supporters, pernaps those who saw their half-crowns vanishing, and the subsequent efforts of Celtic to keep play tight and of Pirates to open it up caused a strenuous game to become noisy as well/ and some of the scrum work was anything but pleasing to witness. Each side became voluble, the referee took a hand, and five men had to appear before the committee last night. In the- second half a section of Pirates' follo ,r ers became quite as objectionable as Celtic's few in the early part of the game. If ■ these hoodlums would stop to think a minute, they would see that no matter how outrageous a decision a referee might have given, all the boo-hooing in the world will not induce him to alter it, or to deal leniently with their side next time. If less betting were done, less trouble would result, and if some of the disturbers were kept off the grounds

the game would benefit. The manager of the British team explained the superiority of the New Zealanders by saying that we made a religion of football. In some parts of the dominion the game is taken very seriously, but many other places in the world eclipse these islands in the Intensity of interest shown in the sport. Scottish crowds are moved to occasional riots, the fervour of the Welsh public is well known, and the enthusiasm of the American collegians is a byword. It is doubtful, however, if any country can outdo Australia for wholesouled devotion to leather-chasing. It is estimated that 50,000 people witness the different games each week in Sydney, but this total is easily beaten in Melbourne, where the trams and trains re;rp a harvest each Saturday from the thousands who follow their ' district teams round the metropolis. Photos of recent Melbourne crowds show that a great proportion of the onlookers are women and children, and apparently whole families turn out to barrack. The number of policemen who line the enclosures suggest that the male portion of the spectators are sometimes prepared to do more than barrack, and a few years back it was not an unknown thing for a referee to be escorted home, by a posse of protecting constables. A week or two ago the crowd it Broken Hill invaded a ground whilst a match was in progress, and ended proceedings with a free fight in which • several people were injured. New Zealand has not reached this stage so far.

There have been few games played in a better spirit or more enjoyed by the players than the "Veterans-Timara contest. Condition and more practice in handling enabled the younger backs to win the but the old-timers were a good deal superior in the forward division, and two or three of the scrummers would be ouite capable' uf holding their own with present-day players if they went into serious training. Some of the recent alterations in rides were strange to a few of the old hi igade, but as the referee was under orders to deal leniently with them in this respect they made a very creditable display. Their scrum work .was too good for their lighter opponents, and if their passing was not always successful, they " played the game " to the best of their ability. Included in the fifteen were Cooke (New Zealand and Canterbury rep.), Lyn>h (Otago), Moore (Canterbury and South Canterbury), Jordan (Wellington), Col iins, Shirtcliffe, Mara, Deans, Frase*, Sealy and Thomas (all ex South Can terbury reps.). The veterans of the party were Moore .and Lynch. Moore played for South Canterbury against Canterbury twenty years ago, and i:i company with Mathes'on and McLean went on to Dunedin with Canterbury and played against an Otago team t.f which Lynch was a member. Mara, who a few years back had a colonial reputation as a hooker, still . retains some of his old skill, though he p'lays the <jld game of lifting before the ball is in. The Ambulance Brigade turns* [_ up with a" stretcher, but if it was with* the idea that some of the old boys would require assisting off the field after their unwonted exertion, they were doomed to disappointment, and after tlie> match the team faced . the camera sound in limb if a trifle depleted of wind. The senior game between Celtic and Pirates ended as was generally expected in a victory for the latter; As indicated elsewhere, a great deal too much talking and obstruction was indulged in, and three Celts and two Pirates were sent off for different offences. The first spell was a pretty even game, the forwards being closely matched, 'and what little advantage there was lay with the winners' backs. As is usually the case with two even packs, the "spell was marked chiefly by tight play, and with most of the scrums breaking before the ball was out the backs were given few opportunities. Half-time was called with the score 8-3, eacln.side having secured' a try to which there was some luck attached, though Kane deserved Ins for his line opening. The winners put. a diiterenc complexion on tne game alter changing ends, and beat 'the opposition all round if the tight stuff bo excepted. Tht.'ir forwards opened up and with better strum work" gave the rearguard plenty of chances wnich they turned to good account, leaving off victors by • 2o to 3. In the first half Celts wore getting the better of the line-out play, ana were holding their own in the scrum, but after half-time they were outclassed in both respects, as well as being beaten for pace in the loose. Pirates'backs —or at. least some of them —were quite too good for their opponieiits; the full bacK, however, was poor and neither of, the wmgs was brilliant. The other four were responsible for some smart play. J. Coles and Bradj ley made some fine openings in the se- ' cond spoil and were the star backs of the game. . Wall scored three tries, ! and except for a couple of bad passes | left little room for fault finding. G, Coles did not give such a finished display as in'the two previous games, but ms spoiling and following were very ! good. . Smith played another" line I game, and lauded one lovely goal from the side-line. Kodgers was nearly al- | ways prominent, and in the second sped Motl'ett, Campbell and Hagerty were resiiousiuiu for invaluable work. Th>; Celtic lull back was not much better I than Pirates, and with the exception j of that oi -Uarcy, Kirby, and M. JioiiI lihan the tackling was of die round-the-neck order. Darcy's play ■ was very solid while he lasted, some of his marks 'being decidedly neat. Kiiby's tackling was a great improvement on his previous olforts this season, and on two or three occasions be saved certain scores. \\ . Houlihan's best ■ ef- | forts were in fielding and kicking. Kane was shifted to five-eighths, and proved a decided success, apart from i weakness in tackling, lie kicked and I gathered nicely, and got in sonic spoil- [ iug work which saved many points for his side. His opening which led to a try was very smart, though he .marred ! bis work at the finish by obstruction. The Celtic vanguard is about the most | compact in the senior grade, and none of the players stand out very much. These solid packs usually take a lot of beatiii". and when they are it is generally by superior pace. A fast man or two would be a great acquisition to the j Greens. Not a man of the seven I played a poor game on Thursday, and there was not much to choose between ! the best and the worst. "O'Brien secured possession pretty often at the start, but towards the end had no chance with Hagerty. Niall played a, solid game, and Courtney and Dalton worked hard and did not talk. Kcaring's tackling was deadly, but be was 1 too often inclined to tackle a man who bad parted r.ith the ball.-though both | sides did too much of this. The following are NEXT WEEK'S FIXTURES.

Senior.—Timaru v. Star, Athletic Xo. 1, at 3 p.m.; Colli.-; v: Tomuka, at Teniuka, 3 p.m. Junior.--Pirates v. Col tie. Athletic Xo. 1, at 2 p.m.; Zin<*ari v. Tomuka, Caledonian Ground, 8 p.m.; Timarn v. Point, Athletic Xo. '2, 3 p.m. President's. — Athletic v. Zingnri, Rectory (.'round, at it p.m.; Celtic v. Tomuka, at Tomuka, '2 p.m.; Hii'li School v. Goraldino, at Tiniaru (jiroiinvl to lie arranged).

Fourth Grade. —Hi«*Sl School v. Zingari, /Uhletio .\o. 2; Star v. Celtic, Caledonian Ground, at '2 p.m.