FOOTBALL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19346, 27 June 1925, Page 6

FOOTBALL.

RUGBY IN WANGANUI REPRESENTATIVE FIXTURES ARRANGED. Aug. B.—v. Taranaki, at New Plymouth. Aug. B.—v. Waikato, at Wanganui. Aug. 23.—v. Manawatu, at Palmerston North. Sept. 16.—v. Southland, at Invercargill. Sept. 19.—v. Otago, at Dunedin. Sept. 23.—v. S. Canterbury, at Timaru. Sept. 26.—v. Canterbury, at Christchurch. Sept. 30.—v. Wellington, at Wellington. 9ct. 3.—v. Bay of Plenty, at Wanganui. WANGANUI SUB UNION. July 25.—v. Taihape, at Taihapc. Aug. I.—v. Kangitikei, at Wanganui. TO-DAY’S GAMES INTEE-SCHOOL MATCHES. NOTES AND COMMENTS < By ‘ ‘ The Observer.' ’) The best afternoon’* football seen reason will be that provided on the Re-, to .lay. Two great games wnl be in progress from 1.15 p.m. to 2. p.m , ' I ' The first «-onte*t ?s between Ohl Bovs an*l Pirate., and :i battle royal :* is going to be. Old Boys have a splendid lean: on paper. qi: : r tin best so tar ibis sea- i son. and if the; take the field as per programme ’L< v . ught to win. Pirates also have a strong fifteen available and in the event « f their forwards playing up to form it is going to be ' a mighty close game. These teams ! drew in the first round, C—6. The sec- 1 )nd big <-ont- st «*n the main Ker. enjlosure is that between Kairrau and • Fcehnieal Old Boys, and the former combination are very confident of re- I versing the first round result, when Terh. <>)d Bovs sprung a surprise on tar then »hampionship leaders and '■ beat them 9 —5. The ex students an* I now at the top of their form, and if : they v. in again to-day the honours will.' be hard won. for Kairrau ar.* ready for ■: them. To the niaroons to-dav’s game j means much, for defeat will place them ' in a position from which to obtain the .'hampionsnip they will have to do bri- I ter than they have yet done. The position* if the three leading teams- : Old Beys, Pirates and Kairrau—ar about to undergo a change, to ju>t ' what extent will be known after io fay’s games conclude. With two Lrd liant matches in prospect, and the championship in a piquant position, it ’ is a safe bet to assume that very f- w followers of the Rugby game will be ; missing when the roll is railed on the j Rec. Football and race results will be posted in the “Chronicle’s’ ? Avenue branch office window as they come to hand during the afternoon and evening. The All Blacks play a New South i Wales fifteen at Newcastle to-day. Wellington and Taranaki meet at ■ lawera on Wednesday next. Next week’s star game will Im* Ohl I ioys-Tech. Old Boys, and the following i Saturday Pirates and Kaierau will I provide the chief interest. After that ‘.he third round commences. Tn a junior match played here last I Saturday (remarked a participant in ;he game to the writer . it was notice . ible that whenever a mark was taken , and the whistle blown therefor, the marker was generally tackled and “floored.” ThK went on for some; time until the referee began to take notice, and he mildly rebuked the player who had taken the fair .catch I for “standing on the mark!” and; laying himself open to be bowled over. | Remarkable scenes were witnessed, it the funeral of an English footballer some time ago. His jersey, along with ■ his football boots, was placed on the coffin, and the members of his old club were among the mourners wearing their dub jerseys and carrying corner flags. ! . >n the way to the funeral the horse • ’rawing the hearse, fell and broke the ■ shafts and a motor hearse had to be ’ requisitioned. The first Moascar <’up game of the : season is to be played at New l*iv- • mouth this uftvrnoon betw<-en Tr Ante ; College and N. I*. Boys' High School. • •Supporters of the latter team are al- : ’< ady prepared for defeat, ami they , Jullv anticipated going to the station in Monday . .r! r;g to s<e the Moascar ?up depart . >r Pukehou, the home of Te Aute College. On the lire. » n Monday afternoon the Te Aute team play T< *• hnical Co! : ege, anil this fixture should attract a jig crowd. This match should serve as an indication of the I-,.-al school's prospects of subsequent!y capturing the trophy when a date is made for tlw-’ii Inter in the season. Te Ante are again strong, but it is to be hoped Mondav’s game will be more even than last year’s match between the two schools. Next Friday, at I’ukehou. a small village a few miles north of Waipawa. Hawke's Bay. the annual match be tween Wanganui Coilegiate School and Te Aute College will be played. The junior teams will take the field first, and the first fifteens after. It is a pitv that such a great game is to eventuate far from civilisation, shall we say. but it has its compensations, for Wanganui will be the venue of the match in alternate seasons. The Fijians, who have for years given body and soul to cricket, are showing signs of falling under the spell of Rugby football. The Fijian Rugby Union now rules four white and four native clubs, while a couple of Indian clubs have just been formed. The Fijians, always having a good

• opinion of• themselves, are hungering for a crack at the Maorilamlers. and

a challenge is being considered. Apart I from one or two Australian abo. half- , castes, the only ‘‘black man'-’ the ■ writer has known to lake to Rugby is the Kaffir. The game flourishes in the South African “locations” of the big ! towns, and the immaculate turn-out of I the team would not disgrace an iuterI national fixture. • a • ♦ At the last meeting of the Auck- • land A.R.U. executive advice was re- ' reived from the New Zealand Union that a challenge for the Moascar Cun had been lodged by the Mount Albert Grammar School, but that prior chai lengers were Te Aute College, Wanganui Technical ’'allege, and Whan g<irei High School. Another possible challenger is Palmerston High School, which is at the moment withholding its hand awaiting the result of the Te Aute-Now Plymouth game. There is a strong feeling in Palmerston that the I Now Plymouth school is a deal weaker this year than it was last year, and that Te Aute will lift the Cup.

RUGBY POINTERS (By “Referee.”) Ofl-side. —Offside play is bad enough in senior games locally, but those whistlers who have been doing grade mut< he> lately report that the majority of players lower down have practically no clear conception of the how and i “why-tor” of the rule. Lt is simpie ! enough, tou. if onside players would jti.-i remember that they must be more ‘ thaii t«*n yards away—in Uny direction —from the man receiving the bad, and that they must not move, unless backwards, until this nuTn has run tat ieast five yards in any direction. Should the player receiving or catching the ball, mull it. off-side players aie immediately placed on side so long as they were outside of the ten-yard area. At the same time the referee ' has discretionary power to rule any’one off-side if he* thinks the player con’ccroed has r cc-n deliberately or wiliii .. w«»t«i:g off-side. Advantage Euie. —This was well applied during the Pirates-Technicai I game last v. « -*k when the former team, or a player therefrom anywtay, knock-ed-on about a yard in front of the line, ■ and as the ball went over Technical promptly forc< 1. The referee gave a {twenty-five kick off. This, under the j rule whereby any breach over the line : by the attacking side constitutes a force Idowu under the advantage rule: Breach • c.-ver the goal line. Was it Harsh? —That decision against ihe Technical full-back last .week near the goal line lor banging on io the bail when tackled. The decision <-amc in for some criticism, and .no referee stated afterwards that had ‘the free kick not been given he wouhi ’probably have given a penalty - t rv on the score that tiiere were four Pirat-s on the spot against the lullit.ark. who ‘ ‘ cuddled the ball. Carried Back. -Last week a Pirate back look the bail from in front of tin* ran bi hind, finishing up in ! touch ;n-goal. The play was brought ; bu.-k, and scrummaged at the spot, much to the disgust of some of the barrn<kcr>. Returning the Ball to Scrummage.— The l’ir:it<* half did not like being j penalised for tunning the bull back into the scrummage alter it hud been ihook-d. Th.* rule states that “return ing the ball by band or foot tu the ; scrummtige * ’ must be penal •sed by •* • free kick. Anyway, in the case illus ; Iran d. the half-back put his forwards ■ •ofij-side amt by him trying to get through them they were also guilty o. shepherding < i obstrustion. la lact . it was u ‘ ’ three-in-one ’ free-kick. Seen Last Week.—Thfat quick throw in whi. ii should be indulged in more • irequ. tn iy. So long as the referee or line umpire is on the spot ami I he ball tilt-ova in corr»‘vtly, there is no inecj to await the arrival of the other [side. I’he referee who did the recent Kanfurly Shield match informs me that they used four l>ulls at Napier, ‘two on each side of the field, so that ;quick throws-in were the order oi the ‘day. It makes the football more sparkling anyway, ami keeps one s op Iponcnts guessing all the time. Deliberately Throwing into Touch. — This is not often seen, but when it happened on the Rec. last week the ;ret< roe’s decision —a free-kick—-|caused a lot of surprise both amongst, •players and spectators. It was quite iong overdue rule books have come to • right, however. At Long Last.—The much discussed, ‘hr.n.i. and will be available at next ’ .Monday's meeting. Preventing bail going into scrum!m?ige. -On the Rec. Ground last week this was penalised frequently, nri.nlv hiirmgut the “inside leg” hooking. ! A :o r. liti.- method is exploited the onus is on the hookers to Jet the bail .a il*, into t:ie scrummage. Should the inside leg hooker prevent the ball I going in by advancing his foot, or i should he hook the ball before it has p:i > d him. he is bound to be penalised on the score that the bail has not pass’e<t a plaver on each side. This being iso the Hall cannot 1»<- claimed as having been put in fairly. Apj. - ec; ai —A p pa ren 11 y Wti n ga n ut refer-'es i :». e to go away to be appre c-iat.ed. Both Taihape and Kangitike. plgive one of our local referees i«jre::i praise for the manner in which the Sub-l’nion game at Taihape was i ba Hi... it reriainly puts whistlers on their mettle io have to act in front :of a “foreign” crowd. A Good Recruit. —Years ago H. ! Tillev was Wanganui's best referee, so iihat his re-entry into the ranks of the i “whistler* * ? is a good omen and should ‘help the local association along nicely. W. .Mitchell, another old-timer, has also achieved the rejuvenation process.

There’s still room for more. Bules.—lt is reported that Mr D. McKenzie has agreed to come to Wanganui next month to give a lecture on the rules, and if a Saturday night is chosen it is hoped to get a good muster of everybody interested—players, spectators and referees. Au Interesting Decision. —A recent question which caused some discussion was as follows:—A mark had been taken and the ball placed for the goalkick. The ball appeared as if it would go over the bar, but actually fell short. The referee, thinking the !>: 11 over, blew his whistle, sand then, without having given his decision, consulted his touch judges and found the goal had not been scored. The question asked did not state what then happened, but the ruling under the circumstances should have been ia “scrummage at the spot where the ball was when the whistle blew.” This in accord with the rule wherein if the referee inadvertently blows his whistle, a scrummage —as above —must ensue.

Not Understood. —Off-side causes a lot of discussion, as does an on-side player who intercepts a pass, so the following ruling should make for enlightenment: “If a player is on-side when an opponent secures the hall, no act of his own or of his opponents can place him off-side while the opposition has possession of the ball.” There is no catch in this, but it wants careful reading. Lucid—Perhaps, P’raps Not. —In view of the recent discussions regarding the lifting of hands and charging behind the mark during the taking of a free-kick, tin* new rule book’s noro on this is interesting, and is as follows:—“The opposing players must stand perfectly still on the mark.” Th*at is surely what the International Board intended, and the sooner “perfectly still’’ is universally so interpreted the better for everybody. Not Bad, Eh? —The new rule book states that “The off-side rule is not so complicated as in the case of Association football, etc.” Oh no. we never said it was, but then there’s that .10yard limit —there’s the rub. What’s 10 yards, anyway? No two referees or players will nominate the distance alike in actual practice. Good Business. —The 38 referees’ associations must surely be of considerable service to the game throughout New Zealand, and this year they seem more tilive than ever. That’s good business. NEW SOUTH WALES TEAM SYDNEY. June 26. Crossman, Thorn, and Du vis are unable to play in the New South Wales team against New Zealand. They will be replaced by Jamieson, Palfreyman and Windeycr.