RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 June 1924, Page 15 (Supplement)

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

,THE GAME IN SOUTH CANTERBURY.

Football, or to be precise, Rugby Football, in South Canterbury will celebrate its jubilee /next year. Probably there were enthusiasts chiasing the leather earlier than forty-nine years ago, but it was in April, 1875 that a meeting was held in the Clarendon (now Empire) Hotel to c/onsider the formation of a South Canterbury Football Club. The players of that day did nob consider it necessary to elect half a vice-presi-dents, and the list of officers appointed at the inaugural meeting was a short one:—President, Mr. P. B. Luxmoore; captain, Mr. A. G. Hammersly; secretary and treasurer, Mr C. S. Fraser.

Rugby in the 'seventies, according to old reports, was essentially a’“man’s game,” and short of downright sparring or wrestling, must have been the nearest approach to a sturdy pitched fight Of any other English sport. In an article on “Football under Rugby Rules” in 1875 a newspaper of the time stated that the rough work of the-football field, with its rallies and charges and scrummages, made the player “quick of eye, swift of foot, sure of tread, prompt to take in at'one short; sharp glance the size and strength-of his -opponent; to forecast the chances "of the coming crash, and to decide then and there liow the foe is to be met—whether to be rushed at chest to chest and knee to knee, or whether to be : fbiled by some adroit trick of battle.” ' Football was the best possible school for good temper, and “no man should play it who could not take a good hearty kick on the shins withbut' : riiali'ce,'-and return it, when he got the chance, without vindictiveness.” If a man 1 could not good-naturedly put up with a tumble that would leave him for four or five minuteeb'lank'in tfi'e face ahd gasping for breath, or ff ] Hb objetited'fo' a'kick across the shin that fairly started a thin crimson stream dbwn his white flannels, then “perhaps he had much better stay 'at home 1 and ‘devote his energies to'croquet' 'of" similar; gentle . crafts.” Behind the rough- horse play)" however, "sta/ted the writer, lay the deep and significent fact that •good temper was only another name for self--possession, exactly as pluck was synonymous /with courage. A favourite method of tackling an opponent in those days was to run at him, providing he had the ball, and kick him ■violently across the shins or anywhere'below fthe knee. quite 1 legal, and in the /rules was called/hacking,-a{term which- survives in the rule book to this day. A full ' charge, vwhich meant rushing at an oncoming adversary knd-striking him chest to chest and knee to 3enee was another popular method of; upsetting a man, and was. considered -much safer; than "what w r as then considered the dangerous devics of catching a man round the legs. A*ny of these rules were at about the time quoted amended b$ the Rugby . Union, but .thA general tfon of fhe rules'ta/force the ball through the' enemy’s defence by any means at all, subject to one condition,,that a player must not get offside. At the time of the formation of the South Canterbury Club it was-the ’general rule to play up to twenty men a side, the popular formation in most of the early matches being fifteen forwards, two half-backs and three backs.

The infant South Canterbury Club did not lose much time in getting to work, as on the .afternoon its formation it played its inaugural game in a paddock alongside the Timaru School, and despite occasional little misunderstandings concerning the rules, a very enjoyable gatti'e'resulted. Sides were picked, one captained by C. S. Fraser and the other by A. HammerslyT ~ : According to the “Herald’s report, the sides were evenly matched, though Hammersly’s was the heaviest, and almost in every instance carried the ball through the scrummages, principally owing to good forward play by the captain. After a good contest victory lay with Fraser’s side, who scored a goal from a drop-kick by Fraser, and 1 two tries by Fraser and one by Blundell.- " Hammersly’s side were accredited with four tries, two by the captain, one by Rawson, and one by Craig. Besides those-already-mentioned it is stated that Wakefield and McKellar played well on the ball; while for Fraser’s side Miles, Riches, Waitt and Morgan also showed to the fore. By the mode of scoring .of the time a goal was the only scoring point, and despite the fact that Hammersly’s men scored four tries, Fraser’s team, who had obtained a goal and two tries, were awarded the palm of : victory. It is stated . that in one historical game ' that eventuated 'shortly afterwards the home team ran up a score of about thirty points, but the visitors, who . had only one goal to their credit, nevertheless -won -the game. A force was also regarded as a point to the other team. If no decisive result -was obtained and a drawn game resulted, it was ' termed a drawn game in favour of the side who -possessed the most points in that direction. As a result, tangible evidence of a team’s superiority was always recorded, however slight the advantage. a later period it was decreed that a goal should count 4 points, ana a try one ' point, and more than one case is recorded in which a team which'gained three tries was outscored by the opposition registering a potted goal.

On Saturday, May 15, a few weeks after the 'formation of the club, the first Town v. Country match was played, and a very exciting contest resulted in a draw'infavour of the town by one try (scored by.Kammersly) to none. The teams were as follows:

Country—R. Rutherford (captain) and C. D Fox, backs; black, half-back; Dennistoun, F Raine, J. Raine, Brown, Richardson, Cooke, F

Barker, Mitchell, Moorhouse, Tancred, Howell and Cardale (forwards). Town—Fraser- and Davie (backs); Craig (half-back); Qoodeve, Beswick, Turnbull, Waitt, Rawson, Miles, Mac Lean, Rhodes, Robertson, Mansfield and Hammersly, captain, (forwards). It w'as stated that although the rules were not familiar to many of the players, the match nevertheless, gave the greatest satisfaction to the players on both sides, and also to the spectators who congregated in large numbers.

Now that the South Canterbury Club had become fairly established it- was agreed that an interprovincial game be played with North Canterbury, and arrangements were finally completed for a game to be contested at Ashburton on Queen Victoria’s birthday, Monday, May 24th. The Christchurch team came down on the morning train on the'day of the match, but the local team were obliged to travel by Cobb and Co.’s coach on Sunday afternoon, staying the night at the Waihi crossing. By making an early start the next morning and pushing on to

ling the remainder of the distance in a railway truck, to reach Ashburton at half-past eleven, twelve o’clock being the hour fixed for the match to begin. The ground selected for the game was about a mile and a half from the railway station and some delay was caused through the scene of action having to be reached* on foot. Hammersly lost the toss, and for the first half was compelled to play uphill and against the wind. It had been anticipated that the weight of the South would tell considerably in the scrummages, but in the early part of the game this was not; apparent, the

Northerners compelling their heavier opponents to touch down several times in selfdefence. The advantage of the hill told immediately on resuming after half time, the Southern men driving their opponents very near home by a series of well contested scrummages, and the heady play of one of their lighter forwards. A long a desperate struggle on the middle of the ground then followed, neither side obtaining an advantage for some time. At last the superior condition ot the Northern men told, and a touchdown, the only decided advantage on either side during the game, was

scored to them. Ollivier was appointed to make the try, but owing to a mistake on his part, he allowed himself to be charged by the opposite forwards, the try consequently being without result, which in the parlance of the day, meant that it was not converted. Ten minutes play yet remained, and great efforts were made to obtain a decisive result, but the game ended amidst great excitement in a draw, slightly in favour of the North. It is understood that the health of both clubs was then heartily toasted, after which Hammersly and his men made a

rather depressing journey in pouring rain back to Timaru.

Other games were played during that year, one in particular, which was played at Temuka with a local team proving very interesting. The Temuka team, who played their own rules, obtained two goals to none. Whether the rules were good or bad, states the report, “was a question that need not be gone into, but there was certainly no question but that they were very bad for the Southerners, who were utterly at sea until about half-time, when they became more conversant with the rules.” The game

was played with unabated vigour until within a few r minutes of time, when a scrummage developed under the east goal. Everyone went into it, graphically relates the “Herald” sporting writer of those days, but Hammersly was too much for Temuka that time, as while his side were striving their hardest to drive their opponents back, he, applying his weight and strength to the side of the sturdy mass forced them to one side, and the ball coming out at the side of the scrummage was kicked away,'but fell to the ground.—a corpse. During the melee it had entered an expiring protest to

being so treated, end quietly oozed out of its existence. The 1875 season, the first of the club’s existence was brought to a very successful close at Saltwater Creek on September I lull, when a return match with Temuka was played. The game ended in a complete draw, neither side obtaining advantage in forcing down points. To the efforts of the players and officials of the South Canterbury Rugby Footba” Club in 1375 is no doubt due the success of Rugby football in the province to-day. In addition to the South Canterbury and To--y--r g r' r m ; L_ iL. „

muka Clubs, other clubs were formed in outlying districts, even Burke’s Pass, at that day the recognised capital of the Mackenzie, having its football team. For a considerable period there were no organised competitions, matches being arranged by the old-time method of challenge and acceptance, but the absence of cups and premierships did not result in any lack of keenness, and players in this limousine age, would be appalled by the discomforts and weariness of travel-existing even .in the later years of the nineteenth century. From Geral-

dine to Waimate, a matter of 50 miles, in-a four-horse drag was a mere circumstance to the sportsmen of the time, who did not think of making the demands for boots, jerseys and transit expenses which are common nowadays. South Canterbury football had long emerged from its swaddling clothes before the demand for some system of unified control led to the birth of the Rugby Union about thirty-five years ago. For some years the Union had a rather uphill fight, ..one or two, clubs displaying a tendency to flout its authority, and its headquarters oscillated between Timaru, Winchester and Te-

niuka. About twenty years ago, however, the seat of government was permanently fixed in Timaru, and after a few seasons its mana established and it became a dominant force. It it worth noting that the South Canterbury Union was one of the first to realise the advantage of a federation of the provincial bodies, and it was the first South Island Union to affiliate with the New Zealand Union, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland being later recruits. As a reward for its enterprise, South Canterbury was given the opportunity to supply two men for a New Zealand team for Australia, at a time

when no other South Island Unions were represented. The Union has had its ebbs and flows in playing strength, high-water mark being readied in the years between 1909 and 1914, when its representative team won a high place in Dominion Rugby, and for several seasons was not defeated on a South Canterbury ground. The Union was one of the pioneers of seven-a-side football, and for thirty years has annually conducted a tournament, which for popularity and organisation, courts comparison with any similar fixture in the Dominion. Very recently the Union embarked on a bold policy and

acquired the freehold of the Athletic Grounds, which it had occupied for a great number of years on a very insecure tenure. A loan of £ISOO from the New Zealand Union, and generous donations from a number of shareholders in the Sports Grounds Company (the former owners of the property) made the purchase possible, and since the control of the ground was vested in the Union very considerable improvements have been effected there. When funds permit it is intended to erect a commodious grandstand apd adequate accommodation for players. The Union, which recently created a precedent by applying for and securing incorporation under the Companies Act, fills the position of trustee for players and public, and that the public appreciate this fact seems to be evidenced by the greatly increased attendances which have been recorded at club matches since, the reign of the company ended. Slowly, but nevertheless surely, Rugby has won its way into popular favour until it has become firmly established as the most popular of all sports, and taking one consideration with another it can be said that its outlook was never so encouraging as it is to-day. The number of clubs and players under its jurisdiction has reached record proportions; its finances are in a healthy condition; and if the performances of the representative teams in the post-war years have fallen short of the 1912 level, it is indisputable that the average standard of play over all grades is improving.