ON THE BALL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16831, 6 September 1922, Page 2

ON THE BALL.

THE RUGBY CAME. ODDS AND ENDS. j During the interval ot the Christ's College-V.’ollin'f'ton College match (say ; the Wellington “Pest'") the writei ! was surprised to hear the re i mark addressed to the rfeferec by n prominent supporter of Christ’s College : “ T say. watch those <;iiig-for wards, will you r 1 Tt they beat the hall they arc. off-side.” Mr Kitto’s reply was brief and to the point : ’ I know j that as well as you." j Some Christchurch ladies who were j present at the Wnnganui-Maunwatu | match showed great enthusiasm, espeI rial I y in the finer points of the game : Oil one occasion T’otaka made a clever i evasion of the opposing forwards, and ! one of the Christchurch ladies juinpe 1 i up in the stand and. lo the amusement ! of those in the vicinity, called out. ‘’ Oh, you lovely hoy.” 1 A former well-known Otago an 1 I Hawke's Bay plover. W. P. Mitchel', was much impressed with Ford’s display for New Zealand against the Maoris in Wellington. The Canterhur. man. he ?a)d, reminded him of ‘ Bar ney ” Arinit, Knikorni's fine wing three-quarter, who gained New Zealand honours in If>o4. Mitchell was a Zingari player a good many years ago, and was subsequently the Hawke's Bay lock. His experience enabled him to size up the capabilities of many players, and Arm it was. in his opinion, on; of New Zealand's best wing three quarters. ’Hie compliment to Ford i.uot misplaced (rays the ‘‘ Post ”). University A on their play throughout the season have well earned the honour of premier team for 1922 (state ’ Referee” in the “Dunedin Star’’). At times their displays did not com*: up to expectations, hut this was largely due to alterations in the team and absence of a general like Fea in the hacks. This player was most unfortunate in being injured so often, and had it not been for the good all-round play of Perry, the Blues would have had r much wanner task before them. . Th > forwards wore badly beaten by some of 1 lie other teams. Tt was the pace and individual work (not the collective play) of the b.-vks that invariably saved them. To win eleven out. ’ of twelve sanies was, on the. whole, however. a creditable performance, aud n> one can begrudge. 'Varsity the premier position. A. B. S. Walker, who successfully rgiptained New South Wales against the New Zealand All Blacks, is an old Grammar School boy. and has been playing representative football since 1912. says the Sydney “ Daily Telegraph.” Then ho -toured in the same team as Wogan to America. During the war Walker was with the Light Horse, and played in the U.F.F. competitions at Cairo after the Armistice. Walker has been captain of the Eastern Suburbs since his return, and last year led them to victory in the. firstgrade premiership. No gamer haltback ever took the field, and his great effort in the first Test match against the. Maoris with a large gash in his head sustained early in the game will never be forgotten by those who were present. Wglker is 29 years of age, oft Sin. and weighs list 101 b. R G. Stanley, who scored all the Non South Wales points—one try and four goals—against the New Zealand All Blacks, is a University representative whose defensive work against New Zealand Universities last year first brought him under the eye of the selectors. Ho is now regarded as one of the safest three-quarters in Sydney. Although only sft 7iii in height, he is veritably a ball of muscle, and only 21. Stanley has a great future in representative football, and gained a deal of experience touring New Zealand last year with .Air T. H. Bosward. There was much surprise when Fi. Algar, the Poncke captain, was ordered off near the end of the game against Petone, says the “ Post.” It had been stated that Algar was playing his last game, and the incident was a very regrettable end to a notable record. Al- - action, however, was not of a very serious nature, and when it was brought under the notice of the committee it transpired that the player had been given a good deal of provocation. The committee considered that aspect of the affair, and administered a caution, but it, as is alleged, an epithet was used to Algar. the committee should take steps to deal with the player who made the remark. “ THE WRITING ON THE WALL.” After dealing with the comments by a Sydney writer, au ‘‘ Otago Daily Times ” correspondent draws attention to the remarks made by Mr S. S. Dean (manager of the All Blacks) on the New Zealand team’s return and makes an appeal for a strict enforcement of the rules. The remarks hv Air Dean were as follow:—“For the rest, Beilis, played a, great game as rover or wing-for-ward ; but the Sydney referees are • out ’ to kill the wing-forward, and Beilis suffered the penalty.” The correspondent comments:- Bells suffered t.toe penalty! The penalty of what? The penalty. I take it, of playing the wingforward game as it is illegally allowed to he played right throughout New Zealand, and this after the New Zealand Referees’ Association instructed its members to enforce strictly all penalties for illegal tactics adopted by wing-forwards. I wish to congratulate the Sydney referees on the splendid stand they are taking, and it is now

up to the referees in New Zealand, I now that they know that in England South Africa, and New South Vales, ! the referees are not going to allow the ; wing-forward to dominate the good old game hut are going to put them in , their places, with the support they will ! have from other countries, to enforce all penalties allowed by the breaking j j an ay from the rules by the wing-for- ! | ward. You only need to take the ro- > | presen tat ive. matches played here this s > . season, and especially last Saturday's • ■ | match, where Otago’s wing-forward | should have been penalised over and ! over again for illegal play. Wake up. j referees, and enforce the rules of the j game. This cry shout the largo num- ; her of free kicks given against the All ; Blacks can be easily explained. The ; New South Wales team evidently play- | cd strictly to the rules, and were very : seldom penalised, but the All Blacks j kept breaking the rules, and were de- ! servedlv penalised. 1 would like to \ point out the writing on the wall to the ; officials of the game throughout New : Zealand: “ Honours even against the South Africans. Tost the rubber to ! New South Wales.” UNIFORMITY OF RULES. One of the most important results ofthe recent tour of the All Blacks in Australia is the attention that has been drawn to the necessity lor closer understanding ou the interprej tat ion ot the rules of the game as the \ j have been reconstructed (states the I Auckland “ Star *’). Admittedly the j game is the most important thing, and ; its existence is threatened if a p-osi-j tion is allowed to exist through lack | ot common understanding among the players that will result in international | games being decided on what the reiei«oe and one side regarded as infringements of the rules, and the penalised side does not regard as infringement l . This is the position now in both provincial and international gomes in Aus tralasin, and it focqses attention op the widespread influence on the game of the referee, who is really the cdu-’ rator of the players in every local centre. Consequently the. present problem is one that can he simply solved by the referees, provided the administrators of the game give them the facilities for the solution. A letter on this subject conies from Air Sam TCroufeld, secretary of the Auckland Referees’ Association, who says:- “ On whom, then, does the future mainly depend? I make bold to say the referee, the only official who lias it in his power io make or mar a game, and without whose assistance no contest, would be possible. But having admitted that, one is compelled to draw the attention of those gentlemen who accept this onerous duty to the great want of uniformity in their rulings, and if they are to upheld the exalted position in which T have placed them, they must see to it that conferences among themselves are held annually, even if it should mean travelling through New Zealand •°r a s far as New South A\ ales, South • Africa, or England, and vice versa., ' with the selected representatives of the respective unions when on tour. No matter how well trained a team may be in the finer points of the game, their . efforts must tail when compelled to play under an official whose rulings are opposite to what they have been accustomed to, and this can only be done by accredited representatives of the Referees’ Associations, and not by Rugby Union officials, because it is the duty of the former to make them selves conversant with the latest definitions of the rules, and not the function of the union officials. I trust that . those responsible for the management j t.f Rugby will in the future recognise |to the fullest extent this important office and render all assistance necessary to bring about these direct conferences which must eventually mean uniformity in ruling and a. more satisfactory condition for players and public alike.” This suggestion by Air Kronfcld is not altogether n new idea, hav ing been advocated two or three years ago by that keen enthusiast and referee, Mr AJf Wctherilt, but is particularly opportune, now that the value of uniformity has teen so practically demonstrated in the Australian tour, and it is to be hoped that both j jeferees and union officials will deal | with the proposal in a prompt and business-like fashion.