FOOTBALL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19845, 20 May 1927, Page 10

FOOTBALL

THE GAME IN BRITAIN SERVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Special to “Chronicle”) LONDON, March 31. This year the usually thrilling contest lot the Service Bugger Championship ended in a fizzle. At the beginning of the season it looked as though the Army would have almost a walk-over. Not only had they what seemed the best pack, including such stalwarts as “ Horsey ” Brown and Mae Vickers, the two Irish internationals, but at halfback they had Arthur Young, England ’s elusive scrum worker, and behind him a three-quarter line far outshining ■anything cither the Navy or the Air ■Force could produce, and ineluding HasSlet, who last season played at centre for England. The triangular campaign began with jhe Navy beating the Air Force after a desperately close struggle. As a matter of fact, on the day’s pray the Air Force hardly deserved to lose, and their defeat was due to a magnificent eleventhhour rally by the Navy forwards. Then the Navy met the Army, and fill the soldiers had their money on the scarlet jackets even at odds-on. The Story of that dramatic battle has already been told. The Navy won by a Darrow margin, thanks to a magnificent display of their perfectly-drilled pack, led in masterly fashion by Lieutenant Eyres and the veteran Quarter-master Luddington. My own impression of that match was that, on their form that afternoon, the Navy forwards might have beaten any of this season’s international packs. Finally, the Army met the Air Force last Saturday, and this time it really was almost a walk-over. The Air Force forwards were trained and disciplined right up to concert-pitch, but they failed to touch the standard set by the Navy, and Russell, the Air Force captain, who is now at the Air Ministry, completely failed to hold Arthur Young, his vis-a-vis as scrum-half. It was a sad day for the Baby Service. The Air Force has taken as its motto “smart as the Guards; efficient as the Marines/ 1 and its one ambition has been to whack the superior veterans of the two other Services at anything and everything from polo to tiddleywinks. Hitherto, the airmen have lived nobly up to that ambition, even though they have not always quite realised it.

But last week-end at Twickenham ■was not their day out. They never had a chance in a game that was one of the dullest ever put up between Service sides before a crowd of stalwart captains in mufti and fair ladies in parade dress. In fairness to a gallant captain it should be said that Russell, who has devoted himself to coaching and inspiring the Air Force towards Rugger greatness, is nowadays beginning to be handicapped by that terribly infectious complaint—anno domini.

Tour in the Argentine. Tours of British Rugby teams are always difficult to carry out, but a watm invitation has been received from the Argentine, and a party of players will leave for South America at the end of the season. Mr Adrian Stoop, the old

Harlequin half-back, who of the players in this country was perhaps the first to assimilate the methods of the original All Blacks, and who by his genius and enterprise did much during his playing career to revolutionise the game in this country, is in charge of the secretarial arrangements, and he is getting the party of players together. They will leave in June and spend about a month in the Argentine, being away altogether for ten weeks.

Mr James Baxter, the president of the Rugby Union, and the chairman of the Selection Committee, is to act as manager of the tour. Mr Baxter is himself an old international. Now a man of leisure, he has wide sporting interests outside Rugby. He holds an official position in yachting, and has done a great deal of racing on the English, Scottish, and Irish coasts. He is also a golfer, and at the present time is the captain of the Royal Liverpool Club, at Hoylake, where the amateur championship was inaugurated nearly forty years ago, and is to take place this summer.

In regard to the visit of the New South Wales team next season, it is unfortunate that the tour is to start early in September, before the players in this country have had time for practice. It is considered, too, that it would have been better if the tourists had been given more matches against purely club sides. Apart from those to take place in Wales, the only English clubs to oppose the Australians are Oxford and Cambridge. The chief test the tourists are to undergo will, of course, be against Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. The match with England, on January 7 will bring the tour to a conclusion.

Undisciplined French Football. French football, both Rugger and Soccer, is stil lin a very ur state, and the match which English fifteen are to play in Paris s weekend is being regarded with some apprehension. It is not forgotten how the crowd got out of hand, and became very threatening, during the game with Ireland. No action was taken in respect to the conduct of the spectators on that occasion, but, if anything like the same scenes mar the match with England, the position will be serious

But in regard to Rugby it is the high-ly-excited spectators, who do not properly understand the gamp, who give the trouble. In Association football, however, the players even more than the crowd have been at fault. The iother day the Corinthians went over to play a charity match, which furnished receipts of nearlj £l,OOO, and, because the referee declined to allow a goal because the scorer was offside, the goalkeeper left the field, and returned only under great pressure. It was all very amusing to the English amateurs, but there was always a danger that trouble might occur, through the crowd misunderstanding the position. This week a similar incident has occurred. A team representing the Isthmian League, a London amateur body, went to Paris, and played at the Buffalo Stadium. In the first half one of the Frenchmen was hurt, and had to leave the field. The French captain deman<l- - that he should be allowed to call on a substitute. This, however, is against the rules of the game, and the English side would not agree. At the interval the Frenchmen declared that, unless they could have the help of a new man, they would not continue the match. The French officials pointed out that this was illegal, and for a quarter of an hour there was a heated argument. Finally the team brushed aside all opposition, and went on to the field with a substitute. In order that the position should not be further aggravated, the London side played without protest, and at the finish won by four goals to two.